Handling chauvinistic male charge nurse

[pedicurn]

I work with a recently promoted male charge nurse who I would best describe as a clever 'men lead, women follow' type.

He is a second career type with a professional background ....smart and accomplished in areas outside of nursing.... but with only a couple of years of nursing experience.

He was acceptable as a junior staff nurse but loathsome to several of us who picked up upon his poor attitude. Leaving his messy bedspaces for his female coworkers to tidy was standard behaviour. Am quite upset this guy was promoted over-and-above several more experienced others with the same smarts and degree

This guy irritates me . Constant need to 'lead' me despite me having so much more experience and the same BScNursing degree....even as a staff nurse.

He has really stepped over the line a couple of times eg 'look at me when I am talking to you' .... LOL

However he usually knows how to stay within boundaries but at the same time be subtle with his expression of his perceived importance. He alters his body language to do this eg makes sure he is standing up and I'm sitting when he is telling me something.

Or he uses a slightly dismissive tone when I voice my opinion. Or he walks away immediately after saying his piece thus cutting out participation from anyone else.

He is subtle .... but he's clever with it.

He is an evangelical type and I suspect his beliefs are responsible for his offensive 'men lead and women follow' attitude.

But of course he knows he needs to keep religion out of the workplace. Because the moment he brings religion in, we will nail him.

I need to have several effective retorts up my sleeve that allow me to both maintain my self-respect and stay out of my managers office.

Any ideas ??

[eriksoln, BSN, RN]

From what you've described he's authoritative, decisive, charismatic, knowledgeable, and concise. All good qualities in a manager.

You've also said that he's short, dismissive, non-engaging, and heavy handed. All bad qualities in a manager.

One thing I would do is try to put an end to any rivalry and bickering between you two. Try to deescalate the situation instead of escalating it, which I'm sure as a nurse you have a lot of experience doing.

That was my first impression. A blood feud will do neither any good.

He'll realize soon enough that regardless of his title, if he doesn't have the respect/support of the staff...........he's dead in the water. Managers like Charge Nurses who........well..........manage. If he is creating blood feuds all over the place for himself and there is meeting after meeting about this and that tiff with this nurse then that nurse, he'll find himself being demoted or "gotten rid of" very quickly. The best charge nurses have everything handled, all the bases covered and all the drama removed from their shifts. Thats what the managers want. If he can't accomplish that, they'll be looking for other options for his position.

Only advice I can give you is.......in the meantime, until he does learn said lesson, let him know when he is annoying you. "Don't talk to me if you're going to act like that, its annoying and counterproductive. If you keep acting that way, we'll be having a meeting with the manager" Thats all you have to say. Just draw the lines in the sand, and if he insists on crossing them............HI HO HI HO its off to talk to the supervisor we go. Too many meetings of that sort will have him scrambling to find a new job.

[pedicurn, LPN, RN]

While Infinisynth's assertion was overstated, I'd be willing to bet that this thread would not exist if the nurse in question were female. It seems that the OP has more of a problem with the fact that this nurse is a male more than anything else, otherwise the "chauvinist male" bit would have been left out. As someone else pointed out, there are probably also some jealousy issues regarding being passed over for promotion.

We've all seen this behavior in just as many female supervisors as males. I don't think that gender or religion has anything to do with it. Some people just shouldn't be placed in positions of authority.

Having said that, I think it would be in OP's best interest to focus on self-improvement and being the best nurse that she can be instead of trying to play politics and backstabbing.

Lots of jumping to conclusion here ...have you read my posts???

It is naive to believe that bad things don't occur (like gender/religion/race affecting promotion and hiring)

And you are quite right ... I do need to do some self-improvement .... I need to improve my political skills ... because I am going to need them

[Murse901, MSN, RN]

Lots of jumping to conclusion here ...have you read my posts???

It is naive to believe that bad things don't occur (like gender/religion/race affecting promotion and hiring)

And you are quite right ... I do need to do some self-improvement .... I need to improve my political skills ... because I am going to need them

Yes, I have read your posts, which is why I jumped to those logical conclusions. Sure, there are decisions that are unfairly made due to gender, race, or religion. In this case, I doubt it's true.

Again, you are far too concerned about the fact that this is a male. Otherwise, you wouldn't have pointed out that he's a "chauvinistic male charge nurse". From what you've described, he seems assertive, but not chauvinistic. Assertiveness is probably what put him into a charge role in the first place.

If he is truly as bad as you make him out to be, the situation will work itself out. Low-level managers who run things like a tyrant and do nothing but stir up trouble are typically promoted to higher level management positions, so he'll be out of your hair in no time.

P.S. Repeatedly saying "have you read my posts?" is not an adequate defense to those who counter your argument. You've used it in several of your replies. If people hadn't read your posts, they probably wouldn't reply in the first place.

[pedicurn, LPN, RN]

Yes, I have read your posts, which is why I jumped to those logical conclusions. Sure, there are decisions that are unfairly made due to gender, race, or religion. In this case, I doubt it's true.

Again, you are far too concerned about the fact that this is a male. Otherwise, you wouldn't have pointed out that he's a "chauvinistic male charge nurse". From what you've described, he seems assertive, but not chauvinistic. Assertiveness is probably what put him into a charge role in the first place.

If he is truly as bad as you make him out to be, the situation will work itself out. Low-level managers who run things like a tyrant and do nothing but stir up trouble are typically promoted to higher level management positions, so he'll be out of your hair in no time.

P.S. Repeatedly saying "have you read my posts?" is not an adequate defense to those who counter your argument. You've used it in several of your replies. If people hadn't read your posts, they probably wouldn't reply in the first place.

Again have you actually read my posts?

His gender is an issue because he is a male nurse who has been promoted with way less credential than the several other nurses in the same role who happen to be female.

He is a charge nurse ....not an manager.

And finally ... bringing sexist attitude into the workplace is emotive behaviour ...hardly professional. This fact plus his lack of experience and people skills may see him pushed out of a charge nurse role. Unfortunately, further up the ladder ...instead of down

[pedicurn, LPN, RN]

Yes, I have read your posts, which is why I jumped to those logical conclusions. Sure, there are decisions that are unfairly made due to gender, race, or religion. In this case, I doubt it's true.

Again, you are far too concerned about the fact that this is a male. Otherwise, you wouldn't have pointed out that he's a "chauvinistic male charge nurse". From what you've described, he seems assertive, but not chauvinistic. Assertiveness is probably what put him into a charge role in the first place.

If he is truly as bad as you make him out to be, the situation will work itself out. Low-level managers who run things like a tyrant and do nothing but stir up trouble are typically promoted to higher level management positions, so he'll be out of your hair in no time.

P.S. Repeatedly saying "have you read my posts?" is not an adequate defense to those who counter your argument. You've used it in several of your replies. If people hadn't read your posts, they probably wouldn't reply in the first place.

I pointed out the facts , you seem to be missing them in my posts ..... he has way less experience, no graduate education and no people skills.

His female coworkers in the same position have strong experience, graduate education and good people skills.

Odd that you say that I am ' far too concerned about the fact that this is a male".

And (oh my ....are we in 2010 yet?) it is very old-fashioned to call his behaviour assertive

[Murse901, MSN, RN]

Again have you actually read my posts?

Oh my God. Are you freakin' serious? Now you're just being annoying and argumentative.

His gender is an issue because he is a male nurse who has been promoted with way less credential than the several other nurses in the same role who happen to be female.

He is a charge nurse ....not an manager.

While a charge nurse does not have the designation "manager", a charge nurse is management and can be called a low-level manager. This is just semantics and nitpicking.

Maybe he doesn't have the credentials that others do. Maybe he has less experience. But, maybe he has consistently higher performance evals than the others who applied for the position. Maybe he's shown the leadership traits and qualities that make a good charge nurse. Maybe, just maybe, you're blind to those traits that he's shown because you're so caught up in the whole male vs. female thing.

And finally ... bringing sexist attitude into the workplace is emotive behaviour ...hardly professional. This fact plus his lack of experience and people skills may see him pushed out of a charge nurse role. Unfortunately, further up the ladder ...instead of down

I'm not sure what your point is. Obviously, sexist behavior is not professional. No one has said that it is. But, I just don't see what you've described as being sexist. Is he telling you to go into the kitchen and make him a sandwich? Are there other male nurses on the floor that he clearly shows favoritism to?

Your opinion clearly isn't going to budge on this issue. I'm not here to try to change your mind. All I can do is point out the sheer ignorance of it all. If you don't see him as a manager, if he doesn't sign your pay checks, if he doesn't fill out your annual eval, who even cares? If you didn't apply for the position and you weren't passed up from promotion, why bother obsessing about crucifying him? As long as you can go to work, give your best to your patients, and go home safely, who gives a crap?

Honestly, if a male nurse had started a thread like this and entitled it "****** female charge nurse", do you think that everyone would be cheering me on? What did you expect to come from this?

[klone, MSN, RN]

While a charge nurse does not have the designation "manager", a charge nurse is management and can be called a low-level manager. This is just semantics and nitpicking.

While I realize it's different everywhere, at every place I've ever worked, the charge nurse was not in any way, shape or form considered management.

[Murse901, MSN, RN]

I pointed out the facts , you seem to be missing them in my posts ..... he has way less experience, no graduate education and no people skills.

Whether or not he has good people skills is a subjective observation. To you, he may seem like Hitler. To someone else, he may seem like Gandhi. Does he meet the minimum experience requirements for the position as designated by your hospital? Is graduate education required for the position? There are other factors at play that your clouded mind doesn't seem to grasp.

His female coworkers in the same position have strong experience, graduate education and good people skills.

See above.

Odd that you say that I am ' far too concerned about the fact that this is a male".

And (oh my ....are we in 2010 yet?) it is very old-fashioned to call his behaviour assertive

Your freakin' thread title is "chauvinist male charge nurse". You ARE far too concerned about the fact that he's a male.

And no, it's not old-fashioned to call his behavior assertive. Grab a dictionary. If a woman exhibited the same behavior, I'd call her assertive as well. The word "assertive" is not gender-specific.

Yes, we are in 2010. I'm not sure why you keep bringing up the date. I'm AOx4, thank you very much.

[fuzzywuzzy, CNA]

Where are people getting the impression that she has a bias against male nurses? Why is "chauvinistic" always in quotation marks?

There ARE chauvinistic men out there. Unless you're a woman who's been on the other end of their behavior, you probably don't understand. Just because he didn't stand in the middle of the hospital pounding his chest and demanding a beer and a sandwich doesn't mean he respects women. You can be a total jerk and be subtle about it.

She didn't even say he was a bad charge nurse either! Just that other equally (or more) qualified people were passed up for the same job. I can see how that would be upsetting to have someone's condescending attitude reinforced in that way. Seriously, I don't think it would be a problem for her if a male nurse who didn't treat her poorly got that job because this is mainly about the way she's being treated- no need for the "but what about the men?" privilege-denying straw man argument.

[Murse901, MSN, RN]

While I realize it's different everywhere, at every place I've ever worked, the charge nurse was not in any way, shape or form considered management.

As I said, they may not have the designation "management", they can be considered managers. Perhaps we're mudding things up here. A charge nurse does have some authority and responsibility for the unit. In that way, they are managers. They may not be able to write employees up or send anyone home, but they are in the management hierarchy in that they supervise employees to varying degrees depending on the facility.

In the scope of my original statement, it actually doesn't matter one way or the other. My original statement, intended to lighten things up a bit, was:

If he is truly as bad as you make him out to be, the situation will work itself out. Low-level managers who run things like a tyrant and do nothing but stir up trouble are typically promoted to higher level management positions, so he'll be out of your hair in no time.

[pedicurn, LPN, RN]

Oh my God. Are you freakin' serious? Now you're just being annoying and argumentative.

While a charge nurse does not have the designation "manager", a charge nurse is management and can be called a low-level manager. This is just semantics and nitpicking.

Maybe he doesn't have the credentials that others do. Maybe he has less experience. But, maybe he has consistently higher performance evals than the others who applied for the position. Maybe he's shown the leadership traits and qualities that make a good charge nurse. Maybe, just maybe, you're blind to those traits that he's shown because you're so caught up in the whole male vs. female thing.

I'm not sure what your point is. Obviously, sexist behavior is not professional. No one has said that it is. But, I just don't see what you've described as being sexist. Is he telling you to go into the kitchen and make him a sandwich? Are there other male nurses on the floor that he clearly shows favoritism to?

Your opinion clearly isn't going to budge on this issue. I'm not here to try to change your mind. All I can do is point out the sheer ignorance of it all. If you don't see him as a manager, if he doesn't sign your pay checks, if he doesn't fill out your annual eval, who even cares? If you didn't apply for the position and you weren't passed up from promotion, why bother obsessing about crucifying him? As long as you can go to work, give your best to your patients, and go home safely, who gives a crap?

Honestly, if a male nurse had started a thread like this and entitled it "****** female charge nurse", do you think that everyone would be cheering me on? What did you expect to come from this?

You are minimising my concerns. It's a gender issue .... hope that's not the reason you are minimising ?

I brought up an example of a hiring decision which I believe gender played a role. That is an illegal practice. Though obviously can be difficult to prove.

Hope you really don't think this kind of stuff is 'ignorance' ???

His behaviour is subtle ... and there.

Sometimes not so subtle eg Leaving his mess for others to clean up ... pretty much like telling us to go make him a sandwich isn't it?

And no he is a charge nurse (one of seven) ...we already have a manager

[klone, MSN, RN]

As I said, they may not have the designation "management", they can be considered managers. Perhaps we're mudding things up here. A charge nurse does have some authority and responsibility for the unit. In that way, they are managers. They may not be able to write employees up or send anyone home, but they are in the management hierarchy in that they supervise employees to varying degrees depending on the facility.

So does someone who is precepting a new employee. Doesn't make them a manager.