Emotionally unbalanced supervisor?? Please help!

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I am kind of a new nurse only a few months into a job at a busy community hospital ER. It may be busy in part because the senior staff tend to be unfriendly and unhelpful to newbies. That being the case, we lose A LOT of new hires, fast. Lost half a dozen or so in 2 months.

One of the patient care coordinators has taken a disliking to me. She has embellished and even made up half truths about me, trying to make me look bad, then gone to our Unit Manager, whom I very, very rarely see or talk with.

This particular patient care coordinator is supposed to help all staff with the intake of squad patients, and other things, and yet I can't seem to find her when I have a patient(s) coming in by squad. She gets snippy with me, then projects issues on to me (who is calm by nature). She yelled at me, then had the nerve to come back, hours later, and said I seem angry.

I'm quite sure she's emotionally unbalanced. My unit manager is too, and listens to her for some reason and gave me a terrible performance review I surmise largely based on this supervisor's input.

It was a terrible review, out of nowhere, with no suggestions for improvement. Stuff like 'you administer medications safely, but you struggle with iv starts sometimes, so you are not progressing as expected.'

I reported hostility and racial tension/slurs (which make me uncomfortable) and the retort was: you come off as stand-offish.

What should I do? I have another job, I can get by with if need be, but I won't be bringing in the same amount if I quit this place, thereby reducing my hours by that much.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

Only you can decide the best course of action for you. Are you sure you're bringing your best self to the job? It can sometimes be a red flag when a newbie starts in taking everyone else's inventory. But if new people keep leaving in droves you may well be in a toxic workplace. If that's the case, you have to decide if you're better off with this job or without it.

We're not you. We don't have to work in your workplace or live on your paycheque. If there's anything about this job worth keeping then it may be worth your while to keep your head down and forge ahead. Be receptive to all feedback (even when you know it's bs) and keep trying to learn and grow. If you haven't gotten much traction after a year, start looking for the exit. At least by then you'll have some experience under your belt and look more attractive to a new employer.

If you can't hack it for a whole year because the stress is starting to cause health problems, then just get out. Live on less while you make a new plan. Good luck.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Unfortunately I have seen more than my fair share of unhinged health care professionals both peers and management. Is there any way to work around this nurse? Can you can do your job without involving her? My concern would be that since they have agreed and given you an unflattering evaluation they might be stockpiling up ammunition to fire you? I'm a fighter by nature but also believe things that don't make sense are rarely ameliorated by sensible strategies and I'm not interested in attempting to go head to head with a supervisor who I believe to be unstable. Thankfully I have not been targeted but if I had I probably would have left if I wasn't able to find an acceptable work around until they moved on to their next victim. Its a bummer.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Soooo, not only the patient care coordinator is emotionally unbalanced, but the unit manager is as well?

There's way more to this story.

And you've already reported racial tension/slurs and hostility?

Your days there are numbered. Might as well start looking for a new place. Try not to burn bridges on your way out, if you haven't already.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

I thought you were planning on quitting this job six weeks ago, when you wrote about the ineffective manager?

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How does not "liking" you equate to somebody being "emotionally unbalanced"?

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How does not "liking" you equate to somebody being "emotionally unbalanced"?

Never said that. I said she's emotionally unbalanced, *and* she doesn't like me. Not because she doesn't like me, she must be emotionally unbalanced. I have observations and reasons for coming to my opinion, which I won't get in to, in order to save time.

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I thought you were planning on quitting this job six weeks ago, when you wrote about the ineffective manager?

This is true. I was thinking about it and still am. There are aspects of this job that I like, but unprofessional/inadequate management makes it tough to stay sometimes. I have made my best efforts. I'm just shocked, because I hadn't received any feedback whatsoever until a few weeks ago. Ironic, because that's when I told a few co-workers I started a second job.

It wasn't to get away from this job per se, it was to have additional employment. Many have changed their attitude toward me since then, even if slightly, and I don't see why it's perceived as so wrong to get a second job in another nursing specialty. If someone told me they'd gotten a second job I'd say 'oh, cool. how do you like it?'

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Never said that. I said she's emotionally unbalanced, *and* she doesn't like me. Not because she doesn't like me, she must be emotionally unbalanced. I have observations and reasons for coming to my opinion, which I won't get in to, in order to save time.

Okay, I get that she's an absolute git but none of what you've posted is indicative of any emotional instability. That's a fairly serious accusation to make on a public forum. This isn't as anonymous as you might think. I'm sorry you're having a rough time. Nasty coworkers are the pits.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
Never said that. I said she's emotionally unbalanced, *and* she doesn't like me. Not because she doesn't like me, she must be emotionally unbalanced. I have observations and reasons for coming to my opinion, which I won't get in to, in order to save time.

Really? You took the time to come to AN, start a new thread, accuse someone of mental illness- and yet, you don't have time to back up those accusations?

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Really? You took the time to come to AN, start a new thread, accuse someone of mental illness- and yet, you don't have time to back up those accusations?

Yes, really....only, mental illness and emotional instability are not quite the same thing.

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So your co-worker and unit manager are emotionally unbalanced and you are surrounded by mean old nurses? Sounds like it is time for a new job. The only alternative is that you figure out how you can adapt to your environment, but if you've resigned that most of the staff is unpleasant then it may be time to move on. You can't change other people, but you can change how you perceive them. You have to ask yourself if you really want this job and can make it work. If you are a new nurse this may just be a growth opportunity for you. You may just take a direct tact and confront your co-worker saying "I feel like when I need your help....xyz" and see if she is responsive to your needs. If she isn't then time to discuss it with management, even if it is uncomfortable. Unfortunately ER is often not the most caring or supportive environment and can feel very 'wild west' at times. It has been my experience working in the ER that employees tend to be more rogue than the rest of the hospital. Your skin gets very thick working ER.

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