Humiliated by unfamiliar computer program and rude co-worker

[silt]

One night I was working alone with only one other girl. She demanded that I chart on all the patients in the entire facility on their computer even though I barely understood the program.

It was my first week there so I did not know, and had never worked with all the patients. Like many others, this computer was mounted on the wall with no chair to sit in.

I think it's dangerous to chart on patients who you never met and never took care of.

After several minutes, she yelled, "What's the big hold up?" She should have offered to help me and I should not have had to ask her.

I was so flustered, I wanted to start screaming. In the meantime, she was filling out paper charts at a table where she got to sit down.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Did you tell her not to yell at you after she had yelled, "What's the big hold up?" Some things are best handled right then and there, not after the fact.

Did you inform her that you do not chart on patients whom you have not laid eyes upon, or that you did not understand the computer charting program?

Although your coworker should have offered some help, not all people are cut from the same moral or ethical cloth. I wish you the very best of luck with this situation.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

There are just so many things wrong with this scenario.

Individual issues appear to reflect a really poor workplace culture. Nursing 101 - never chart anything based on 'hearsay'; that you have not personally validated. "Old" nurse's nonexistent interpersonal skills (where do we even begin . . . ) should not be trusted to nurse a grudge, certainly not patients.

Management seems to be completely ineffective. Training must be provided & competency validated prior to using any type of technology, including EHR systems. Should have clear policies/guidelines about documentation. Ignoring ergonomics (no chair for computer input) is courting disaster: 1)OSHA & workers comp claims are just waiting to happen & 2) actively discouraging use of the (probably expensive) software.