Not respected by management

[Stephanie041689]

Hi everyone,

I need my fellow nurses opinion. This a two part situation.

I work in a group home we recently got a new manager no more than a month ago. With the old manager I would coordinate patients care. If I had a patient that I feel might need to be sent out I would complete my nursing assessment and depending on if it can wait or not I ultimately would decide to send them to our local hospital.

With this new manager I tried doing this with her today, collaborative care and while in contact with her she calls the floater. The floater's job it is to go out with pts and stay with them until they are admitted.

So while I am texting my manager she's not texting me back and is instead talking to the floater who would be the equivalent of a can in a nursing home.

Since i wanted my pt to get care and didn't want to delay it but didn't think it was important enough to call 911. I wanted the floater to drive them to the ER so they can evaluated.

The floater starts making a scene in front the other CNAs and pts that are there. I go and get the paperwork ready my new manager calls me and chastise me telling me I need to keep the line of communication open. But in my head until I know for sure I'm sending out someone I'm communicating with my direct superior.

So pt goes out & the icing on the cake is the fact that we have a new admission and the only reason I found out about it was because I recieve his MAR today. The floater cna knew about and was telling the oher cnas. Found that out tonight when I was telling them we have a new patient.

I just became a nurse. This is my first nursing job I was going to stay there for a year for experience.

I am debating if it's worth it to stay this company, manager doesn't respect the fact I'm the nurse. And this floater cna is making my job hell and this new manager sides with her and doesn't back me up nor respects the fact for my shift I'm in charge.

I do have another job at a pediatric nursing agency.

[Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN]

I'm not sure if this is really confusing or if I am just really tired.

[Stephanie041689]

Sorry if my post is confusing I'm just so tired and frustrated that I needed to vent and my fingers can't keep up with my thoughts.

Basically I receive no support from management; my direct supervisor in regards to this one staff. I work in the group home this non licensed personnel's main responsibility is to go out with patients to the ER until they are discharged or get admitted. She's the floater.

I am the only nurse on shift. My manager who is my direct superior is not a nurse and doesn't truly have any type of medical training at all.

My manager is still in training since she just started less than a month ago. And basically with today's scenario did not support me as her nurse and me being in charge of my shift.

She chastised me for not communicating with the non licensed personnel all the while I am texting her (manager) updates of the emergency at hand. And getting paper work ready to send out my patient. She stated that I needed to communicate with my co workers.

But in my head since I am communicating not only with my manager but with the senior nurse that handles medical issues and most importantly my patient. I am communicating with the people who are most important at that time.

And what made my night even more amusing was later on was I found out we were getting a new patient. And the only way I discovered that is because the delivery man for the meds gave me completely new mars and said that we were getting a new client.

When I spoke to my other co worker who is also a non licensed personnel she stated she found out earlier from the floater.

My manager doesn't communicate with me. Nor does she support me. Call me crazy but I would think that all nursing staff at least should be notified when a new patient is coming in and when they are coming.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

AHA - after finding out the setting, it clarified the issues and situation for me.

Communication is a two-way street. It would appear that you need to initiate the process with your manager in order to define your working relationship and any boundaries that exist. The discussion should also include the scope of your authority over the unlicensed clinical personnel. Bottom line? You need to follow the established policy on transfers & ED visits rather than simply play it by ear. If there is no policy, you need to help create one.

You're still very early in your career. Trust me, you're going to have to "break in" a lot of new managers in the coming decades so it's a skill that will be very valuable in the future.

[Marisette, BSN, RN]

AHA - after finding out the setting, it clarified the issues and situation for me.

Communication is a two-way street. It would appear that you need to initiate the process with your manager in order to define your working relationship and any boundaries that exist. The discussion should also include the scope of your authority over the unlicensed clinical personnel. Bottom line? You need to follow the established policy on transfers & ED visits rather than simply play it by ear. If there is no policy, you need to help create one.

You're still very early in your career. Trust me, you're going to have to "break in" a lot of new managers in the coming decades so it's a skill that will be very valuable in the future.

This is actually very good advice. I have provided inservices throughout the years in various nursing homes. It sounded odd to me when a non nursing administrator made decisions on issues that could effect nursing care, but that's what appeared to occured in my opinion. This happens everywhere to different degrees. There are Masters of Business admistration and CEO's in every healthcare organization. They may not be directly in front of us, but there hidden behind the desk.

Difficult coworkers is something you will encounter in almost every situation and you have to nip it in the bud. You may want to tactfully explain your concerns to this manager. However, don't make it about you. Explain your concern about patient care, specifically admissions and how you want to prepare the patient and the staff for a smooth transition to care. Then ask if there is a process for admissions to the facility. Direct your concerns to the manager, don't give the difficult coworker credibility by going down to her level or engaging in gossip. Your the professional.

I have transferred and changed employers in search of better situations and nicer coworkers and have encountered even more challenging situations and more difficult coworkers. Sometimes, running away is not the answer. You end up job hopping. Why not get cozy with your new administrator. That is, discuss issues tactfully. Inform your administrator about your desire to facilitate a smooth transition for the new admission and ask if there is a process in place or can we develop a process that is acceptable to all. Engage your coworkers in coming up with a plan if you can. It may or may not work, but at least you tried . If nothing else, you will understand if your present situation is hopeless and you need to move on.

I'm sure your difficult coworker loves the fact that she has an open door of communication with the administrator. You need to develop a similar relationship. Pretty soon, your difficult coworker will be looking over her shoulder to figure out what is going on. Being the new person in the work place is very challenging and there will be people who take the opportunity to challenge your skills, knowledge or authority. You have to prove yourself. Respect is earned, not given.