Hi, guys! I am a middle-aged nurse and have been in nursing for almost 30 yrs. (hospital, community, teaching) and am a certified Women's Health NP. I worked at a family planning clinic as an NP for 6 yrs. and left due to the atrocious management that also included a manager who was verbally/emotionally abusive. So I left that position to return to the hospital I'd previously worked (med-surg) for the float pool.
Just 2 yrs. ago I decided I should get some OB experience to go w/ my Women's Health NP. Well, I had been forewarned about the "difficult personalities" of staff on the OB unit but I thought that wouldn't be a problem for me as I've never had an issue w/ coworkers in the past. Well...when I first started there I noticed that 1 staff person about my age was constantly being criticized and cut down behind her back. I didn't want to confront the offenders but couldn't stand listening to this "gossip" so I'd leave the room if this would start. So this nurse eventually left and guess what! I am now the scapegoat. It's not the older, experienced nurses who are causing the problems but seems to be this one charge nurse (we have 6 charge nurses on our staff) who is "out to get me" (as several staff have chosen to share w/ me). One time she verbally lambasted me in front of the whole staff during morning report for not removing a gavage tube from an ICN baby who was going out to the room w/ his mother (even though 2 prior shifts of nurses did the same thing and this was only my second shift in ICN). Because of that, I was deternined to confront her but felt like she'd eat me alive alone so I chose to confront her in the company of our unit director, so she could mediate. Well, it helped for about 2 wks. and now I feel like we're just back to square 1 if not -1!
For example, one day I had 2 L & D induction pts., both of whom received epidurals and delivered on my 8-hr. shift. It's routine that when we are busy w/ a L & D pt., other staff will check on our other pts. Well, during the first delivery, another younger staff nurse (who this charge nurse tends to gravitate toward) called me on the intercom telling me my other pt. needed something. I asked her if she couldn't please check on my other pt. and later thanked her for it. Well, seems she "checked" on my pt. but "have to admit I didn't do any charting on her" (we use computer charting). I must have looked surprised when this charge nurse (who had a pt. assignment of 4 PP moms/babies, 2 of which were discharged) said, "She was helping me".
So, I am at the point of returning to the hospital float pool but consented to our dept. director to give it "one more month" before making a final decision. I really enjoy OB and my dept. director has placed me on a committee to do annual mandatory urit education and has made me a student preceptor as she believes in my abilities. But this situation has so tarnished my view that I find I can't hardly enjoy my job. Unfortunately, we're a small rural hospital so it's not always possible to avoid working the same shifts as this charge nurse works. Darn!
