Nurses rat on nurses

Nurses General Nursing

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I have noticed a disturbing trend amoung nurses. I am new to nursing so maybe I am wrong. Nurses seem not to have any loyality to each other. I have seen many nurses sell out, tell on, rat out, or whatever other description you would like to use. I am a male RN who has spent the last 7 years as a firefighter / Paramedic. I realize that the Fire service is not a fair comparison. Within the service there is a very strong tradition of not giving up your brother/sister firefighter. In nursing there seems to be no control on this behavior. The loyality to each other is stronger than any loyality to a system because you place your life in your fellow firefighters hands and the system can't do that for you. I have had feedback from others who attribute it to the fact that nursing is a female dominated profession but that does not feel right. Female firefighters adhere to the standards of silence as strongly as their male conterparts. I have also heard this tradition blamed on The Sisters of Mercy. That they began the tradition of loyality to the system over your fellow nurses and that it as well as eating our young is a legacy from them. I would like to here from other nurses male and female on this topic as well as some suggestions for change.

You have noticed correctly! It's a tough enough job without colleagues pouncing on you for any little oversight or infraction. I worked the night shift and in one case I failed to remove a pt's heparin lock as ordered by a MD. The day shift nurse also failed to notice that the heparin lock was not removed. The blame landed squarely on my shoulders. I accepted it--I realized I wasn't perfect. But for crying out loud! Once the problem was identified couldn't it have easily gotten taken care of without attacks? You have heard of the phrase "Nurses eat their young"? I have found this to be soo true. Mainly I believe that older nurses can be threatened and annoyed by the youthful vibrancy, excitement, and knowledge base of new nurses. I've definitely encountered theses attacks many times, but on the other hand I've also encountered great mentors and kindhearted nurses also.

All rscarlatti is saying is confront the nurse before breaking off a phone call to the board...We need to stick together...

And use discretion...If a fellow RN is routinely flushing heplocks w/ K+, then leap to the phone (perhaps an extreme example, but the point is made)...If he/she rubs you the wrong way, or forgot a BP, then, bring the fellow RN aside and discuss your concerns...

my point...gross negligence should ALWAYS be immediately reported to the RN, the supervisor, and the board (not necessarily in that order)...

but true accidents, personality conflicts (c'mon let's be real...1/2 of the nursing problems are due to this!!), and brain farts, can usually be dealt with, without the help of your state's nursing board...

sean

Maybe if you put yourself in the bed of your patient... the idea of "ratting" might make more sense. I think we all would like to avoid confortation or conflict, but when it comes to patient safety I think you need to draw the line. I would do anything to help a fellow nurse in times of need, but I think it would enable them to cover up a deadly or potential for a deadly mistake ...

But I really don't think anyone has said they would cover up a really deadly mistake. We're talking about helping each other out in situations that your fellow nurse would need help with. Suggestions or comments that would help that struggling nurse to do a better job.

Hello everyone :) this is my first post..so cut me some slack..hehe ~smiles~

We ALL are human...period...not one of us is beyond making a human error or oversight.Hopefully, if and when we do it causes no harm to a patient.Guess my point is, we should all stick together for the benefit of the patients and each other.Helping each other is a major part of nursing to me. I work nights , and we are "IT"..if we can't count on each other we are 'screwed'..I thank the good Lord I work with a really great crew. Many of the other shifts have problems with 'backstabbing' nurses.As mentioned by many prior posts..no nurse can ever condone patient neglect or abuse, but don't sweat the minor things-fix it,tell the nurse who made the oversite(in private), and go on. We all live and learn every day :) .........................Mandy

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

a wee bit of common sense goes a LONG way.

I agree with Mandy and find my night shift coworkers tend to be a more cohesive group...which is why I luv my night shift!

Gotta say again I've worked with some way bytchy guys...they overadapt to the group mentality...and can be the worst of the worst. We are all individuals and shouldn't generalize.

Very often nurses from 'the other shift' seem cliquish and it can be hard to gain a camaraderie. I try to make a point of working an occasional off shift so we can get to know one another and gain some trust in our working relationship. Also try to attend functions, parties, after work get togethers with them so I'm not a stranger.

And I let them know things like "I found your shift change dose of Claforan in the fridge, saw it hadn't been given, and hung it"... so they know I'm a team player and didn't just go 'write it up' to get the other shift in trouble. Once shift to shift antagonism gets ahold it can be hard to change, sadly.

Generally I have found over the years that MOST nurses will reciprocate genuine team work attitudes, and it makes for a better atmosphere for all. :)

I tend to treat gossipers and those who love write ups the same way I treat everyone else.....unless it is a major they get one warning that if I see it again it will be taken to write up stage.

Majors like malpractice and dangerous negligence, or habitual bad practice must be documented and corrected...even though we dislike 'writing up ' another nurse, we must do it for everyone's sake. Ignoring bad practice helps nobody.

The pizzy stuff I tried to ignore unless it effects unit morale...then as charge I might need to address it. This stuff took a lot of my time and energy as charge nurse, sadly. Now that I'm NOT in charge, and just do agency, I can ignore the pizzyness and do my job...a nice change...LOL!:roll

This is really great dialog. How can we build a spirit of comraderie in nursing. I try to infuse a spirit of fraternity with the nurses that I work with. In South Florida we have many foreign born nurses. The Island nurses seem to have a strong bond. Sometimes I feel left out. I wish that all nurses had that strong a bond. I do feel that the system has placed nurses under a great deal of pressure which is increasing our error rates. The only way we are going to survive is to have greater loyality to each other than we have to the system. Of course I am not questioning the holy cow of patient safety but its time we start to think about the safety of each other also. I have only been a nurse for about a year but have already lost a coworker to her own hand. We watched her performance deteriorate and nobody did anything but complain about it and write her up. I was too new to question it. I worked her last shift with her. The supervisor sent her home because their was obviously a problem.

She was found dead three days later when she failed to show up for work.

She had been a nurse for 25 years.

Wow! (I mean that in awe and disbelief) No wonder this thread started as it did. :o And it certianly is another reality check for all of us.

I wonder if she had any other health/stress issues in her life? Nonetheless, she was nodoubt overworked with whatever condition she may have had.

My prayers find you and the staff that work with her.

There is a huge difference between covering for a co-worker, and covering up for a co-worker. Helping and supporting our fellow staff increases patient safety, IMO. I would never let another nurse flounder, but I would also never let another nurse compromise patient safety. I don't mind calling labs that the previous shift forgot to call, or changing a dressing that was missed. But if something critical is missed, or a serious error is made, I will document the error. For instance, a few months ago I floated to another unit. A patient with renal failure and a high potassium was ordered Kayexalate. A new nurse took KCl out of another patient's drawer, and gave that instead. Had she come to me, I would have happily explained the difference between the two meds. Instead she gave a med she was unsure of, and jeapordized a patient. This is the kind of thing that cannot be overlooked, and I did write it up.

I think this is a good example of what I am talking about.

Why not just teach the nurse the difference of the two meds and leave it at that. The patient was not harmed so why hurt the nurse by documenting the error. Do you believe punishment is a better teacher than encouragement? That is an outdated and discredited style of teaching that went out years ago yet the attitude still persists in nursing. Lets get over the past.

How was I supposed to know she didn't know what she was giving if she didn't ask? Had she asked, I would have explained the difference. And as far as the patient not being harmed, he had to undergo an extra dialysis treatment to remove the excess potassium. A mistake like this could have been fatal. I don't believe in being harsh with new nurses, but just like any other profession, there are some people who do not belong there. I have had my hair ruined by a bad stylist, and my meals ruined by a waitress who did not know what she was doing. A mistake made by a healthcare provider can have devastating effects. Part of my responsibility is to be a patient advocate. If anyone thinks that covering up a mistake like this is OK, then I am afraid for our profession, and our patients.

By the way, I would write up a physician, a respiratory therapist, or a housekeeper if they did something to endanger a patient. I have written up a physician in fact.

I don't write people up frequently. In twenty years, I have probably not written more than 5 or 6 people up. Each time there was a blatant error that jeopardized a patient.

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