constructive criticism, what to do

Ruby Vee, BSN · Feb 24, 2017

Hello all!
So I'm a traveling nurse and I finally found a hospital where I would like to stay on permanently and I let my desire be known to the current manager who I believe I have a good rapport with.
We talked about this in her office the other day and she let me know there were concerns from some of the charge nurses that I wasn't letting them know of certain patient situations. I was blind-sided and couldn't believe it. She said that they the charges were concerned because I wasn't asking about policies and procedures at that hospital. The funny thing is I can remember several times asking charge nurses specifically about policies and procedures about a certain intervention at work. I asked if they had any concrete examples of where they were concerned about my nursing practice and she said they didn't have.
I am very serious about my nursing practice so this was quite unsettling. I'm not very vocal at work about much (i.e. I don't talk about my plans for the weekend, my brother's farm house etc...), I'm just not that type of person. I, however, do keep on top of patient's not being stable. If a BP is really low, I tell the charge "Pt's BP is low, I'm concerned about his MAP, Hospitalist notified, here's what he's thinking/ordering" and then I'm done. I don't go on about it or ask them what I should do usually because I'm confident I know what to do.
I explained this to my SO and they suggested that I be more open to events. If there's an inservice, be part of that. Or if they're having a get-together or going out after work, do that. My SO is hinting I guess that the charges may be more concerned about me being "less part of the grop" than my actual nursing practice.
Anyway, I really like where I am due to the specific pt population we serve so I have been dwelling (trying not to) on what the manager told me. Any suggestions on what I can do? I can't change my person at work but maybe I need to be say more to the charges about pt situations? I just can't really put my figure on it!
The manager is really nice about it she admitted herself that she's like me, not really talkative etc...
Anyway, any suggestions would be VERY MUCH appreciated as I'm racking my brain on this!
Z

Your SO may be correct in that it's more about you being a part of the group than about your actual nursing practice. I know you can't change your personality, but perhaps being more open to chatting with the charges . . . and not just about your patient. Ask them advice on a great restaurant to celebrate a birthday or anniversary or the best place to get pizza or chicken wings. Two or three minutes of chitchat with the key players on the unit once a shift may be enough to swing the needle from "don't know about this person" to "nice guy/gal . . . let's keep him/her."

Also, travelers with a lot of confidence tend to scare charge nurses . . . we don't know that you know what you don't know. Asking constant nitpicking questions is annoying, but we like to know that you'll ask about questions of policy/procedure before we wind up in the manager's office explaining how we let you get away with . . . . whatever.

Here's a thought, and I don't know if it applies. You're using very gender-neutral terms in your post. If you are part of a same-sex couple and trying to keep that on the down low, your team members may be reading you as "secretive" or "not friendly." Most nurses don't care if your SO is male/female or an alien from outer space as long as they're friendly when they're introduced at the after-work get together. I realize that I may be blind to discrimination against same-sex couples because I've never been part of one, but honestly even old nurses like me (and my husband and our friends) can be friendly and supportive of same-sex relationships. Give us a chance.

Orion81RN · Feb 25, 2017

Everything above poster said. One thing I did that didn't entail me having to give too much personal info, was to take part in occassionally ordering out for food. That shows inclusion. Not just accepting an offer, but offering up yourself. "I'm thinking of ordering out. Anybody want anything? Ideas?"