probems with a coworker

[Lightning Bug RN]

Hello.

I just wanted to get opinions and/or advice on how to handle working with a fellow nurse without butting heads all the time. This nurse and I get along very well as long as everything is going her way, but if an admission has to be assigned, there is always some reason she feels it is not her turn to take it, and only will take it with hostility. Also, there is alot of tension because this nurse works 8 hour shifts, and the majority of the nurses on my shift work 12's. This nurse feels that the 12 hour shift nurses if they are floated to another floor for the first 4 hours of their shift, and this floor calls for a nurse from our floor for the next 8 hr shift, that the same nurse should have to stay this shift as well, even though these floors always change your slot. There always seems to be a battle of wills. The arguments are always in front of coworkers with her raising her voice at me. I in turn attempt to be professional and try to explain my thinking but I am just so tired of the arguments. I always try to bend over backwards to accomodate this nurse, and for the most part we get along well, and she if very knowledgable and is more then willing to help you with procedures when asked, and I want to maintain a good working relationship, but these arguments are happening more and more. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Lightning Bug RN

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

let me just repeat, call the nursing supervisor to help you get the floating situation and the admission problems straightened out when the manager is not there. that is what they are there for. i had to handle situations like this when i was a supervisor. but, i didn't know about them unless the staff nurses called and told me what was going on. once i knew that there was a nurse who would be likely to cause problems with this i would always follow up when there was floating asked to be done. i also followed up with the manager of that unit later. now, i can't speak for your supervisors, but this is the way i was taught to handle conflicts. you are going to have to demand that your manager make a definitive judgment on what to do about this situation. also, when this other nurse is giving assignments i would feel perfectly comfortable giving her the same crap she's giving you and refusing to float and see what she does to handle the situation. however, i'm willing to bet that she's on the phone with either the supervisor or the manager, real quick. i just have a feeling that she is playing with you because of your kindness and inexperience. she sounds to me like a real work of you-know-what that needs an attitude adjustment--badly--by someone who can put her in her place. i'm sorry to have to say this, but one of the reasons she's probably getting away with this is because your manager's ineffectiveness at knowing when to step in an resolve problems that has allowed this to happen. the problem may go further than that if the supervisors are also unwilling to get involved. if that is the case, then i would have to say it's time to get up on your horse and ride off to look for another job. if management is willing to let their staff people duke out problems like this that are tantamount to a bully getting the upper hand, then something is wrong in the system.

[TrudyRN]

Thank you for the welcome,and I appreciate all your advice. I just wanted to explain a few things about what is happening. As for the floating, we do have a book which keeps a record of who floated last, the problem is that this nurse feels that if you are a 12 hour person (this nurse works 8 hours) and you are floated for the first four (7-11) let's say to the first floor, and then at 11:00 the first floor calls for a float nurse from your home floor, this nurse feels you should stay up there and wants to refuse to go if it is her turn. I attempted to explain to her that they always change your slot so like you are starting from scratch, but she insists she is right. I have spoken with my manager regarding this issue, and he says it's our call.

As far as when we have admissions, when I make the slots out for 11-7, I always put who is first admission next to that persons name, the problems occur when this nurse walks in and sees first admission, she usually feels it is unfair, or if we get another admission after this I attempt to be fair and ask her how her slot is going, and can she handle an admission, and the answer is always no, or if it is someone else's turn and I ask her to take it because they are drowning with someone going south, she refuses, and I end up taking it if I have any room in my slot. I am usually charge nurse when we work together. In regard to being charge nurse, the one thing that has me nervous looking at the schedule for December, that maybe they were trying to give me a break, they have this nurse in charge the majority of the time, which has never occurred before. I am nervous about this because I don't believe she can be objective aand fair .

As far as getting into verbal arguments, I agree that it is unprofessional. I do not raise my voice back at her, I speak in a calm way, attempting to resolve the situation without alot of fuss, because this is occurring at change of shift, when everyone is trying to get through report and out on the floor before 1:00 AM. I just find her yelling at me very upsetting, and then I am upset for the rest of the night, while it seems she feels herself justified in all she says and does, and does not seem to be flustered at all by all the tension she creates. Thank you all again for all your advice. Sincerely Lightening Bug RN

Your manager is great - ducks his responsibility to make a decision.

You are wrong to try to please everyone, nice though that is of you. You just have to put your foot down and not worry about trying to please anyone. As long as you are fair, try not to worry about it.

It should be an eye opening experience for her to be Charge. Maybe you could try throwing a hissy fit so she can see what it's like to be on the receiving end of one. I don't mean it. It would probably go over her head, actually.

I just think that your manager is of no help. He's probably trying to let you guys be adults and work it out yourselves but you can't. So I think you should, AS A GROUP OR ELSE YOU WILL BE IN TROUBLE IF YOU GO ALONE, let him know you need help. Consider speaking to the next one up the chain of command if he won't be decisive.

Good luck. What a sorry state of affairs it is that professional nurses, who want only to be able to care for their patients, have to deal with all this malarkey and feel always that they are drowning. I weep for our profession.

[Simplepleasures]

Good luck. What a sorry state of affairs it is that professional nurses, who want only to be able to care for their patients, have to deal with all this malarkey and feel always that they are drowning. I weep for our profession.

Ah Trudy me too, when Im not mad as ****, I want to cry.:icon_sad:

[shuuu1968]

I like getting an earlier admission. I HATE the ones that come an hour or two before end of shift...screws me up every time!

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

If you split the floating into 4h slots for everyone it would be fair, though more annoying. She would HAVE to take her turn.

In my hospital we might get called for 4 hours or 12, but if you were floating it was for the whole day whether it was 12 or 8 hours. Luckily most people on a different floor for 8 hours would prefer to finish out a 12h shift there, since their patients are already settled. We also agreed that once you were gone for 4 hours that counted as your turn, whether you stayed for just 4 or for 16. Switching off by turns was unfair in a way because the hours would come out uneven. The key was it was unfair to everyone, which made it fair. Making that point stopped a lot of arguments.