I heard yesterday that the entire ER crew is being mandated to go to a retreat so they can learn to get along better. The hospital will bring in all agency workers to cover the hospital for this event.
Our hospital has gone overboard in the last year or two trying out all the latest and greatest touchy feely stuff, spending a great deal of money. Mind you, it's a small town rural hospital where everyone is like a family in a way (albiet dysfunctional at times).
The people in the ER are probably typical for that dept everywhere. I doubt if they are as hard bitten as in large ERs. I have floated there and been treated okay. Yes, there are some blunt and opinionated people there, but I don't think it's totally out of the ordinary.
What do you think? Has anyone heard of this type of thing?
I still say send me, since management cannot seem to approve my application to go to conferences, for additional pediatric trauma emergencies, or new diabetes education, I'll take whatever they give especially since I can make anytime away from work beneficial for me, I do agree that most employment probs with co-workers is actually promoted by bad management, so again, if they want to pay for a retreat I'll take it and make it work for me.
I've seen this crap and it was a crock. They intend to try to change the way the staff thinks because all the problems are because the staff "don't work as a team". Admin refuses to believe that it is their poor management that is causing the dissention in the ranks. All they will accomplish by forcing the staff to go is to make them more resentful of the admin. You cannot FORCE people to be happy at work, to smile all the time when you are wading in b.s., to turn the other cheek when your pt verbally or physically assaults you. They are wasting their money.
What I loved is the part about they are going to hire all agency nurses to staff the ER while the regular staff is on retreat. When something goes wrong because they have an entire staff made up of agency nurses who are unfamiliar with the routine, guess who is going to be blamed? The ER staff of course. Because if the ER staff wasn't such a problem, admin would not have been compelled to force them to the retreat which created the need for agency staffing.
I also wonder about religious issues here. I do not do unnecessary work on Sabbath. Caring for pts is necessary. A retreat for work in my book is considered work but it is not necessary to be done. Therefore if I were there, I would refuse to go to the retreat (if it's on the weekend) on religious grounds. I wonder if any of the ER nurses feel the same way and what the ramifications would be if they refused to spend their religion's holy day at a "work retreat".
Thank you, thank you, thank you!:):)
It seems to me that it's like 'adults' deciding what's best for the 'children'! I consider a job, my 'work', not my 'life'. When I'm done, I'm outa there - my free time should be just that.
For the most part I never socialized with the people I worked with. I saw enough of them at work. Do they really want me to go to some retreat and say to Suzi Sweetums: I don't like you because you're a backstabbing piece of garbage. Now THAT would clear the air! Or how about I just keep my mouth shut, and stay away from Suzi, 'cause Suzi isn't ever going to change?
The last "retreat" I attended, the managers weren't even there. They perpetuated some much of the strife on the unit yet they say it was all of the staff. They made the whole days vs. nights issue worse.
For instance, management was going to buy the night staff dinner since night staff was short staffed and a day shift RN had a problem with it, complained to the manager. So when the day shift RN was confronted by a night shift RN, the night shift RN got a good talking-to...like.."It wasn't necessary for you to say anything to her"...But they obviously listened to the day shift RN because management didn't end up buying night shift dinner, even though this same day shift RN would run to management in tears crying that days is so busy, please buy us lunch and they would do it.
I consider a job, my 'work', not my 'life'. When I'm done, I'm outa there - my free time should be just that.
Now THAT would clear the air! Or how about I just keep my mouth shut, and stay away from Suzi, 'cause Suzi isn't ever going to change?
TRAMA1RN
174 Posts
I still say send me, since management cannot seem to approve my application to go to conferences, for additional pediatric trauma emergencies, or new diabetes education, I'll take whatever they give especially since I can make anytime away from work beneficial for me, I do agree that most employment probs with co-workers is actually promoted by bad management, so again, if they want to pay for a retreat I'll take it and make it work for me.