Elderly coworkers becoming a burden.

[o3lissao]

I work on a busy telemetry unit. We have an RN on night shift that is in her 70s and while she is the nicest, sweet old lady, with a great sense of humor, when it comes to nursing, ITS TIME TO RETIRE GRANDMA. The saddest thing about this situation is that she genuinely cares about her patients, she talks kindly to them and really wants to help, unfortunately she looks like she should BE the patient, not caring for one. We recently (over a year ago) switched to a new computer system and her computer skills were poor to begin with. She can't enter simple orders, if she looks away from the cursor when scrolling she steers the mouse off that direction and doesnt understand why the screen isn't moving. If there is an alert or warning on a med when she is trying to administer it that patient had better just forget about it. She cries in front of patients when she gets flustered, she cries on the phone with doctors when she is flustered. The worst is when she sits at her computer at the nurses station for hours muttering in a high pitched whine to herself. She complains to herself about not knowing what is going on with the computer. We have all started ignoring her because she wont ask for help, its like she is just hinting out loud hoping for someone to come to her rescue. We used to help her but its to the point now we all want to run and duck for cover. Even when you show her things she is already so flustered at that point its like the information bounces right off. You don't want to show her, you just want to jerk the keyboard out of the way and fix it for her and go on about your day. If we didn't work in the profession we did it might be easier to accomodate her but we are already so busy, so short staffed, and already taking care of a bunch of other helpless geriatrics, its frustrating to have to carry the burden of another employee (elderly or not). She also does things old school ways sometimes and then when newer staff members do them different the patients complain or are concerned about their care. For example, if a patient is giving her a hard time about smoking she will facilitate a smoke break for them just to avoid the confrontation. If the next shift doesn't do that the patient obviously thinks 1 of the 2 is a bad nurse or not qualified and dislikes being jerked around.

Whats more frustrating is the things she gets exempt from because she doesn't do them correctly. We prep patients for bypass surgeries and the whole process is lenghty, time consuming and requires a lot of paperwork, not to mention inserting 2 gigantic IVs, having extra tubing and equipment ready to go with the patient, and preparing the chart, etc etc. She consistently forgot things or didn't do things correctly and the CVOR complained on her so much that eventually when she got a patient assignment that included a CABG prep, she stated our manager said she isnt to take them anymore because she never does them right. HOW IS THAT FAIR? You make the same amount of money, if not more (since you came with the building when it was built), but you arent expected to do the same tasks? In addition the supervisors are annoyed with her so if she is scheduled and someone is to be put on call or needs to leave during the shift because the census drops--its always her because they don't want to put up with her.

I have had patients wake up in the middle of the night and see her in the hall and turn on their light to ask me if they are dreaming or if she is real because of the way she looks. She frightens some of them (long, white ponytail, bright blue eyeshadow). Also, she falls asleep, almost to the point of us thinking she might be narcoleptic. She used to do it frequently when we taped report, less so now that we do face to face, but she has even fallen asleep at the desk in the middle of that. I feel bad because as I said, she is nice and if she were capable she would help you with anything, but a lot of us are starting to think she might not be safe anymore. The issue also is with the hospital which is severly short staffed and just needs a warm body to show up, for which she qualifies.

Anyone else have slow and/or elderly employees they are concerned about/for? Let's hear it.

[Ruas61, BSN, RN]

The original poster set the tone with mockery and degradation of another nurse set with a big focus on her advanced age.

You start off belittling groups of people so willy nilly anything valid you may have had gets lost in the fray.

[o3lissao]

Thanks for your input Decembergrad.

I try to be professional in the work place to the best of my skills. I went to nursing school like everyone else, I can step back and look at a situation critically. If she were a fantastic nurse with all these skills and knowledge to share I might have said "eh, she may not be able to chart what she did, but what she did was solid." But the fact of the matter is, her skills aren't great. Her charting isn't great. As another poster likened it to babysitting and that is accurate. I guess overall my real issue should be with management either not caring or not recognizing that she isn't functioning at a safe level and maybe quietly switched to a slower paced unit with less patient turnover and less critical patients.

I do stand by the idea that it isn't fair for other to have to pick up a co-workers slack, young or old, new grad or old grad. If someone isn't getting it and consistently needs someone else to come behind them and fix their mess or double check everything they do bc they might make a mistake, there's a problem. Double checking it was orientation is for. You're here, we have the same degree, do your job. Not donthe parts of your job you can handle and then let someone else fill in the blanks. I'm annoyed with the generalizations people make about this nurse and saying "well she probably does this or she probably does that" and she probably has a great deal of knowledge and skills to share. You haven't worked with her, you don't know. Did I say "all people over the age of 55 in the nursing profession need to be set out to sea on a glacier??" NO. I said I have one nurse, in particular that is a burden and I asked if anyone else had one nurse in particular that is a burden. Someone mentioned that we give special exemptions for pregnant nurses and them not having to take patients with certain infections. Yes, we do. But it's temporary and a way to keep from harming a baby, she will take a different patient in their place, not get to take less patients than everyone else.

[nurseladybug12]

OP I sympathize with you. I am on the computer all shift long, I could not do my job without it, so I can understand how annoying it must be to have to watch her struggle with it and hear her verbalizing her annoyance with it for hours as you described. I bet that most of these nurses responding would feel the exact same way that you do after one shift with her, you never really know how something is until you experience it. I think that it should be suggested that she take a refresher course on the electronic charting and maybe your hospital could even help to send her to a basic computer class to attend if she is that bad with computers, she sounds very unfamiliar with computers in general. If she is constantly begging for help from every passerby and slowing down productivity of others all shift than I think a basic class should be encouraged. My mom had never even turned a computer on until 2 years ago and would call me to ask for help on how to turn it on! Now that she has taken online classes for the past 2 years she is more savvy at computers than me. As for the other issues with her safety, I would steer clear of her and CYA, if she is unsafe,unfortunately I think something bad will have to happen for mgmt to do anything about her.

P.S. When I was in nursing school one nurse at one of my clinical sites would come in dressed in white pantyhose, white clogs, white dress, and cap, all she was missing was a cape and I thought it was awesome, old school nurse.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

This post struck a chord with me, and maybe that was the original intent. The following may be harsh, however, the OP was harsh as well. When someone who puts their heart and soul into a facility for many, many years to be treated as if she is an elderly invalid who has no place in nursing is not right on many, many levels.

Perhaps this nurse should be made charge nurse and not take a patient assignment at all. Maybe she should do initial assessments on patients. Maybe there is a place for her on a unit she obviously is invested in. Because otherwise, she could be sitting home collecting social security and if she has been with the facility a long time her pension, without the stress and humiliation that her fellow nurses subject her to.

If she is unsafe with patients, then this is an issue. However, no matter what the age, there's a number of nurses who do not practice well. That she is "elderly" has not a thing to do with it.

If you sleep better at night making a fellow nurse cry and question herself, then you need to self reflect, get some compassion, and stop with the gossiping. If ya'll are so short staffed, busy and have complicated cases, you certainly have a great deal of time on your hands to participate in this type of behavior. Just think if you were a new nurse among more seasoned nurses who picked apart, made fun of, threw in a few comments about your looks, your personal situation and the rest just for kicks. Then this would be a "those old nurses are so mean to me" thread. You state that the person in question is kind and lovely. And has been nursing as long as you have probably been alive. It is beyond belief that you would post such unkind and out of control thoughts, and say it is all about age.

There are nurses who have accommodations for ADHD, other health issues.....and they can be quite young. Sorry that all nurses are not painted with rainbows and glitter and PhD's and the gift for perfect clinical competencies. That is called delusional.

No matter how you look at it, you and your fellow nurses are bullying this nurse. Period. Your license is not on the line here, hers may be. And that is sad, but has not one thing to do with her age. Many nurses who have been at this for years are finding it difficult when things change to the point of education outweighs training.

Also, if an MD gives a smoking order, they give a smoking order. Whether you personally are for or against it. Sometimes it is a matter of someone leaving AMA or smoking. There can be many reasons. Is it correct? Well, not particularly, however, not for you to judge.

I feel for the nurse who is thrown to the wolves each and every shift.

[o3lissao]

Thanks for weighing in nurseladybug.

To bring up another subject someone bashed me for related to this post, the more I think about it, it grates on me too that people acted like I shouldn't have mentioned her appearance. The hospital addresses appearance and dress code in their orientation and policy so why shouldn't someone's appearance be held against them? We have nurses that come in with a thong climbing up their back every time the bend over and patients complain but no one would have been mad if I had mentioned that. We have nurses come in looking like they just rolled out of bed and slept in their scrubs and we have had patients and families complain about that. No one would have disagreed. A persons appearance greatly influences your first impression of them and sometimes the way she looks makes some patients and families question her capabilities. Plain and simple.

[Ruas61, BSN, RN]

Twinkle twinkle little star..............

[o3lissao]

This post struck a chord with me, and maybe that was the original intent. The following may be harsh, however, the OP was harsh as well. When someone who puts their heart and soul into a facility for many, many years to be treated as if she is an elderly invalid who has no place in nursing is not right on many, many levels.

Perhaps this nurse should be made charge nurse and not take a patient assignment at all. Maybe she should do initial assessments on patients. Maybe there is a place for her on a unit she obviously is invested in. Because otherwise, she could be sitting home collecting social security and if she has been with the facility a long time her pension, without the stress and humiliation that her fellow nurses subject her to.

If she is unsafe with patients, then this is an issue. However, no matter what the age, there's a number of nurses who do not practice well. That she is "elderly" has not a thing to do with it.

If you sleep better at night making a fellow nurse cry and question herself, then you need to self reflect, get some compassion

NO ONE GOES OUT OF THEIR WAY TO MAKE HER CRY. No one sleeps better at night thinking they could have ruined her day. The point was that we have tried helping her but at our wits end dealing with her. Night after night, the same medication warning pops up "you have scanned 100 units of insulin but the dose is only 25, are you sure you meant to do this?" All you have to do is click acknowledge buuuut every night there is a meltdown that can be heard from the hallway. No one is "MAKING" her cry. I can speak for my unit when I say we have all went out of our way for over a year now to explain what's happening to her. She just doesn't get it.

[CodeteamB]

To bring up another subject someone bashed me for related to this post, the more I think about it, it grates on me too that people acted like I shouldn't have mentioned her appearance. The hospital addresses appearance and dress code in their orientation and policy so why shouldn't someone's appearance be held against them? We have nurses that come in with a thong climbing up their back every time the bend over and patients complain but no one would have been mad if I had mentioned that. We have nurses come in looking like they just rolled out of bed and slept in their scrubs and we have had patients and families complain about that. No one would have disagreed. A persons appearance greatly influences your first impression of them and sometimes the way she looks makes some patients and families question her capabilities. Plain and simple.

OK, you lost me there.

Disheveled appearance, easily fixed

Whale tail, easily fixed

Appearance of advanced age, out of one's control

I don't think that is the most important part of your post, but it is also not a particularly valid complaint on your part. Inability to function as a nurse is totally different than looking aged.

[fakebee]

If she's unsafe and a danger to the patients then she has to go. However the majority of your post focuses on her computer charting difficulties and the fact that she can't prepare patients for open heart surgery correctly. The computer problems could probably be greatly decreased if someone with excellent computer skills somewhat close to her age and (most importantly) in no way connected to your floor gave her some additional training away from the work site in private- I'm pretty sure your hospital has informatics nurses who could do this. You need to realize she can improve but she'll never be you or your coworkers when it comes to using technology, she hasn't been immersed in it all her life like a lot of people have. If she can improve to the point that she meets the hospital minimum standards she is -competent. If not, then an outside impartial party can provide that info to your manager. As far as prepping pts for surgery, what parts is she having problems with? Is it starting IVs, the paperwork, shaving the chest? Do you have a unit educator who can evaluate her and possibly get her up to speed and if not take the reasons why to your manager- again an unbiased and impartial voice. As far as the "we all have the same job description and if so and so can't or won't do this so they need to go" take a really hard look around you at your associates- chances are there's someone who dreads psych pts, another who can't handle addicts, someone else who runs screaming from GI bleeders and who swap and trade admits and inpatients to avoid these situations, it's all about your skill set and comfort level. I didn't read anything about her assessment skill, critical thinking ability, ability to prioritize, or work ethic so I really don't have the big picture so I'm just basing my suggestions on what I read. My one overriding thought when I read how understaffed you are is that if I were you I would do everything I could to maximize the abilities and skills of my coworkers so they not only could do their jobs but would also want to keep working there so I don't get to do theirs when they leave. Some additional food for thought is that units that are chronically understaffed are that way for a reason- what are the reasons yours is that way?

[o3lissao]

OK, you lost me there.

Disheveled appearance, easily fixed

Whale tail, easily fixed

Appearance of advanced age, out of one's control

I don't think that is the most important part of your post, but it is also not a particularly valid complaint on your part. Inability to function as a nurse is totally different than looking aged.

It's not the appearance of the advanced age, it's the tons of blue eyeshadow or the area where one tries to fill in their eyebrows but misses the area where the brows are and ends up drawing lines on their head. Patient families have voiced concerns about her vision and her fine motor skills.

I'm not saying its ok or that its the biggest issue, I'm saying its just another factor contributing to people questioning her capabilities.

[Ruas61, BSN, RN]

You are very concerned about her abilities to function competently as a nurse and her professional look.

You indicate that your employer is turning a blind eye to her unsafe abilities, practices and appearance.

Perhaps you should alert the BON of your state to your concerns.

https://www.ncsbn.org/index.htm

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

If patients complain or question her capabilities, then you need to get the house supervisor involved. Like one would with any complaint that a patient has about a nurse.

If you work short staffed, how would that be any different than what is apparently happening now? So one way or another, you will seemingly have more of a workload.

Bottom line, if you had discussed a nurse who was unsafe, couldn't deal with the computers, the workload and the patients but management kept her on due to just needing a warm body, then the focus would have been on constructive ways that this could be dealt with, what others have done in similar circumstances.

When you use inflammatory comments to describe age, suggest that she is slow, and that her looks have a thing to do with anything--then you are fanning the flames for some pretty strong response.

I am finding your responses to be more and more over the top, so by nature I question the validity. However, instead of venting, perhaps you need to speak to your charge nurse to handle the difficulties in the moment, or put in incident reports, field patient complaints, and it seems as if you are all disappearing when she is having computer issues--and the powers that be do track that stuff, so it is not as if it will be an unknown to them that computer errors are being made.

It is not becoming of anyone's character to be that hateful towards another person. Especially in the workplace. (But really, in life). And if things are happening that this nurse is truly mentally incapacitated, (no matter what the age) and is acting inappropriately at work, why is it that you all would take time from your critical patients to gossip about this? Or to bring it to a message board to get other "ha ha funny/outrageous" tales of nurses who may have significant cognitive/psych impairments? You have an ethical duty to report unsafe nursing. To continue to allow this nurse to humilate herself, and help her along with your own tales is really just not nice or the compassionate thing to do.

To continue to really bully this nurse instead of concrete solutions/actions like she is some freak show at the circus is just not an honorable thing to do.