First job after LPN licensing & Being treated with disrespect!

[Mary0000]

Hi I need help on making a wise decision. I just started my career as an LPN and my first week has been hell. I was hoping this dream job would focus on patient care but so far it has been gossiping, a lack of respect from colleagues due to my preceptor trying to make me look incompetent. I was put with this preceptor to train but so far the preceptor leaves out important details as far as where to chart important information therefore the doctors are complaining to management that I'm not doing the job correctly. Management believes everything the preceptor says and gives her high fives and congratulates her on doing a great job. I'm thinking the preceptor is making up lies about me behind my back to make me look incompetent. Management and the preceptor seem to be good friends. The manager makes her the leader in the area and totally disregard that we both are LPNs. She prefer to treat me like a tech. Management makes these huge announcements in front of other team members that the preceptor is the leader and we must follow her lead. I've tried to talk to manager but she always says, ask your preceptor if you have questions.

When I am seeing patients, the preceptor interrupts my time with the patients and states, speed it up with your assessments In front of the patients". She also will whisper to the doctors that I take a long time with assessments so now the doctors have started to interrupt my time with the patients. The preceptor sits and gossips with the techs and since her influence on them, now they don't have conversations with me and have no respect.

When I took this job as a new grad, I was hoping to focus on patient care and just being there for my patients as well as a positive welcoming atmosphere but it has been drama and backstabbing. I graduated at the top of my class and for someone to try and make me look incompetent because I'm not being trained correctly and because I'm the new employee is unacceptable. Being that this is a dream job for me, should I leave or stick it out and just ignore this behavior?

[Sour Lemon]

Horseshoe said:

Why would an experienced nurse who has a good rapport with the rest of the staff be jealous of a nurse fresh out of school?

And who's telling you about this "jealous streak"? What is their motivation and what are they saying about you when you're not around? People who talk that way usually have something bad to say about everyone and to everyone.

This person is NOT your friend.

[Leader25, ASN, BSN, RN]

halosfire said:

It seems as though some of you nurses are giving this new nurse a hard time. I am sure you have all come across a bossy nurse who may be jealous or feel threatened by this new nurse. Believe me after 30 years of nursing there are still rude and unprofessional nurses in every job. I would try to work it out however if it continues I would report it and maybe have a sit down with manager and the 2 nurses .Ladies sorry but sometimes:happy: they just don't like you no matter how hard you try.Give this nurse a break~

This is so true,and witnessed a few real bad ones with major animosity that was senseless.One month is not enough time to know if you really need to leave for your sanity's sake.Being the senior nurse she is in charge and will tell you to go eat( if she tells you she wants to punch you through the wall ,then that is different).As has been suggested to you a meeting of all the parties is in order, but a caution here is that if the aides/techs,see your feathers easily ruffled all the time,they will not want to stop pushing your buttons.

So you can leave or dig your heels in and defend your stay.

[TriciaJ, RN]

Every job I ever started in my life (nursing and otherwise) I ate ****burgers for the first 6 months. Sometimes the people who gave me the roughest time at the beginning became my staunchest allies as time went on. As the new person, I considered it my responsibility to learn the job, develop my competence and prove my worth.

Nothing is worse than the newbie who wants to run his/her own program from Day 1 and refuses to be told anything. They are a major monkey wrench in the works. Not only do they have spotty employment records as a result, but they are usually venting about tumultuous personal lives as well. Hard to muster up much jealousy.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Horseshoe said:

You should have had a number 5, and that is:

5) Do some honest soul searching to see if you are in any way contributing to the problems at hand.

Leave out #3 and #4.

[Ashley_SF, BSN]

TriciaJ said:

Every job I ever started in my life (nursing and otherwise) I ate ****burgers for the first 6 months. Sometimes the people who gave me the roughest time at the beginning became my staunchest allies as time went on. As the new person, I considered it my responsibility to learn the job, develop my competence and prove my worth.

Nothing is worse than the newbie who wants to run his/her own program from Day 1 and refuses to be told anything. They are a major monkey wrench in the works. Not only do they have spotty employment records as a result, but they are usually venting about tumultuous personal lives as well. Hard to muster up much jealousy.

This has also been my experience. When I started as a new grad in dialysis the staff was definitely putting me through the paces to assess whether I was dependable or not. After several months, they were there when I needed them, stood up for me and always had my back.

Being a new grad is a major transition. I would give it at a least 6 months before I decided to leave, unless as others stated, you are truly being harassed. I also agree, that having a private conversation with the other nurse and letting her know how you feel and how you are interested in working hard, being part of the team, etc may smooth everything out.

Hang in there!

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

All jobs you have working with others in some type of nursing hospital or facility will be this way. Don't trust anyone or talk trash about this person. Play the game and get your experience. You may or may not end up liking the person. One day you may be able to work more independently as a nurse. Don't burn the bridges leading to this opportunity. Many nurses job hop, end up running into each other and the same situations. Let the girl help you. She will leave you alone at some point. You better be perfect at this job otherwise get along with the girl. One screw up and she will say see I told ya to let me help you. Don't come across fake. Just be cool.

[chacha82, ADN, BSN]

If you walk up and hear someone gossiping, keep walking. File away that tasty tidbit and move on with your day. Maybe she's just trying to make sure you get a lunch? I precepted someone once and got so sidetracked by 14:00 she was like umm...I guess I will go to lunch now! I felt terrible for forgetting about it. She may still think you need direction and is trying to help instead of just letting you twist in the wind. If she tells you something and you take it as an order, smile and say "OK." It's then up to you if you do it or not. This can go a few ways. One, she decides you are independent enough and she stops giving you "orders." Two, she keeps at it and you just say "OK" every time because what's the real harm in it? Three, you lose your cool and one day the fur flies.

Edited to say I will take a bossypants any day over a tattletale...

[AbbyLane]

I wouldn't quit. Talk it out face to face and be professional about it. Don't make rash decisions 1 month into a job, it's not worth it and I feel like it would look bad on your end.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Mary0000 said:

Also I have been told that the "experience" nurse has a jealous streak...

I have seen lots of coworkers talk crud on other coworkers. They're jealous, they're lazy, they're incompetent, a back stabber, a snake in the grass, a gossiper, untrustworthy, etc. I have found that 99% of what is said is either greatly exaggerated and/or flat out false.

As for the lunch issue: in your previous post on this other nurse, you said this nurse is a leader. It is 100% the job/responsibility of the leader/charge to tell the other staff when they should take their lunch. If you are the leader for a unit with 5 nurses, what good is it if 4 of them go to lunch at once? That's the job of the leader to determine how to best cover the unit during lunch time.

Another thing--I have noticed that some new nurses have trouble pulling themselves away from their assignment to take a lunch. Where I worked as an assistant manager, if a nurse clocked out "no lunch" frequently, we would follow up with them to find out why. Sometimes it would be as simple as a new nurse saying "I didn't feel comfortable asking another nurse to watch my patients." Perhaps she is making sure that you don't develop this habit. She may think she is asking appropriately, but maybe her delivery is coming off a little harsher that than she thinks; more like an order than a friendly suggestion. Perhaps it is friendly, and you are just misinterpreting it as being a harsh order since you seem to have a problem with this nurse being a leader. Just a thought....

[peachtreednurse, RN]

Unless this person actively disrupts your ability to work don't let the behavior bother you. Concern yourself with conducting yourself as a professional. Know your scope of practice, devote time to you patient care and documentation, refuse to get sucked in to the "drama", by trying to gather a secret alliance with those you feel might be empathetic to your situation. Jealousy, competition, and personal popularity are not what you've signed on for...

[Have Nurse, ADN, RN]

Horseshoe said:

If I recall correctly, your supervisor has told you explicitly that this nurse is to be viewed as the team "leader." You seem to have a real problem with seniority and think that because you have the same license, you bring the same assets to the table. This could not be more wrong. You are a brand spanking new nurse and need to soak up everything this nurse can give to you. Is she going overboard? I have no idea. But your other thread suggests strongly that you don't seem to understand that finishing at the top of your class only a few short months ago doesn't put you on par with experienced nurses. You have tons to learn that nursing school didn't have time to teach you.

Also understand that wherever else you may go, it would be almost unheard of that you would not have a hierarchy with regard to seniority, knowledge, and experience that will trump the fact that you have the same license. Count on this and try to be a better "student" until you have several years under your belt, or you will find yourself making the same complaints over and over; only after much angst will you realize who the common denominator was in all of these situations. And by the way, as an RN who worked years in ICU, a post cath lab unit, endo, and OR, I've had many a day when the charge nurse (same license as I possess) told me to go to lunch. It's not that big of a deal. It's part of her job to help manage the flow, as coverage must be found for each nurse while they are off the unit eating lunch. If I had a legitimate issue with the timing of that, I'd tell her/him about it, and of course they would work with me on that if it were possible to do so.

I'm afraid I agree.

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

You can go to lunch doesn't sound rude and if there is just the two of you it makes sense that you have to coordinate your lunch breaks. You also bristled at the thought that she is the team leader which makes no sense since you are brand new and she is the experienced senior nurse. I think you are overreacting.