Inappropriate Conversations in the Workplace

Nurses General Nursing

Published

While working in the emergency room, I have endured many conversations that range from issues in today's news to political standpoints. I keep my mouth shut for the most part and take care of the assignment at hand, the patient.

Today, however, my feathers were ruffled and I had to take a bathroom break to prevent a heated outburst. The conversation at hand was dealing with racism and police shootings that end with there not being any justice for the victim. The nurses and nurse practitioner was literally making fun of a particular situation that vexed me to no end. Mind you, this is the emergency room with multiple patients.

I've never engaged or actively participated in these conversations. My question is, do I go to the director about this or turn the other cheek?

ETA: Multiple patients were complaining about not having any updates about placement etc... while this could have been done while the "conversation" was ongoing.

Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
My daddy always said to "sit back and enjoy the show, 'cause if you give some folks enough rope, they WILL hang themselves."

"if you give some folks enough rope, they'll hang themselves" is a favorite karmic saying of mine, along with the similar concept of "let 'em drive their own nails in their casket", which goes along with

Edgar Cayce said: "You can't get someone into more trouble than they can get themselves into".

Give 'Em Enough Rope was also a good album.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
ER nurses can get bitter and burned out

Growing a thick skin is often necessary to withstand the monumental onslaughts of stress that comes with this job.

If we can tune out the non-satiable chronic malcontents while still being open to true areas of concern, we can expend our energy in those areas rather than depleting our energy in futile endeavors.

Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
While it may be to advantage to know how your co-workers feel about certain issues and where you may stand, there's a time and a place for that. The E.R. isn't one of them.

True. However...

Often times we are confronted and receive sanctions as a result of "what could have happened". If a patient experienced no actual negative ramifications of an action or inaction of an employee, no crime truly is actually committed.

It's a gray area. Yes, the behavior is inappropriate. Yes, the medical professional was not expending energy in a therapeutic endeavor. Yes, the patient didn't receive the quality of care they deserved.

I have come to accept that there are a lot of medical professionals who intertwine their personalities in their work which is often difficult to stomach. But that's the way it is.

People are people and I don't like the majority of them. However, if my needs are met with a goal attained, I realize that I'm just going to have to put up with all the BS that goes along with receiving services.

It truly is the nature of the beast.

Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
Not if it's handled diplomatically and appropriately.

I like the way you think, Have Nurse. However, we cannot utilize all of our energies chasing windmills; attacking perceived enemies.

The best revenge is living well and the best way to combat inappropriate unprofessional behavior is through exemplary professional behavior.

"If you build it, they will come."

Specializes in Case manager, float pool, and more.
"If you build it, they will come."

Love it. "If you build it they will come."

Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
Patients being neglected.

If that really is your concern, then you could go and address it with your management...but leave the content of the conversation out of it. After all, if you are doing it truly for the sake of the patients not being inconvenienced, there's no difference whether the conversation was about sex and politics, or about kittens and spaghetti recipes, right?

Though if you decide to do this, I'd suggest you do it anonymously, lest you become the next topic of conversation..and lest someone decides to repay the favor when they see you having your own chat-fest.

IMO, I don't think it's a battle worth fighting though. A patient or family member's complaint will go a lot further faster than a coworker's complaint: like others have said, they'll get themselves into trouble soon enough. Make sure your own behavior is polished, and let your coworkers worry about theirs.

Specializes in NICU.

You really want to be a tattle tale? Do your work and leave it alone,you never know when you might need their help.Solve problems do not create.All work environments have their edge.

Specializes in EMS, LTC, Sub-acute Rehab.

Outside of the military, I've never seen a true level of professionalism. So I'm not sure what ruler you're measuring with.

Although I've never attended to Pts in the ED, I've dropped plenty of them off as Medic. As a pre-hospitaler, it very much seemed like a sh!t of drama and tragedy staff and Pt alike. But when it was go time and we dropped a critical Pt, the ED staff was very much on point.

Taboo conversations are often a way of venting and verbally exploring the human condition. Gallows humor comes to mind. Both go a long way to leaving work at work.

As another poster stated, an opposing view point provides another opportunity to reflect on you're own perception of reality.

"Those who cling to perceptions and views wander the world offending people." ~the Buddah

Specializes in PICU.

OP:

What if the conversation had been about ordering out food, and everyopne had their own opinion, patients would still have been "neglected, not updated, etc"

It does appear you were more bothered by the conversation than the slowness of patient care. The fact that you needed to leave and go to the bathroom (by the way I applaud), could also be interpreted as delaying patient care. There are always topics that people discuss that are heated topics, and some may be more appropriate for a happy hour rather than "chat hour" at work, but alas, it doesn't always happen.

How long had this conversation been going opn, 1 hour, 2 hours, longer? I see people all the time on FB, dating websites, etc, is that not the same? I understand your point that we should always be focused on moving patients through the system, as a delay in placement could impact the next patient that comes through, but sometimes, people may not be aware that they have been talking for long periods of time. If this conversation had been going on for an hour + I think maybe the charge RN should be aware that care was being delayed, or even say, hey guys, this conversation has been very enlightning, but we are cloggin up the ER, let's get these patients moving.

Perhaps you have an in-service coordinator at your workplace? Maybe the coordinator can give an in-service for the department about customer service, emphasizing on professionalism. We recently had it in mine, and the coordinator mentioned "not to discuss personal issues in front of the patients."

You had to take a bathroom break to prevent a heated outburst of your own. Might not a heated outburst have been unprofessional as well?

Yes. Therefore, OP took appropriate measures as to NOT be unprofessional.

Yes. Therefore, OP took appropriate measures as to NOT be unprofessional.

But her actual concern was that patients were being neglected, so he took a bathroom break before getting too hot under the collar about it.

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