Survey: Are you confident that your nursing colleagues are competent?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Here are the results of last months survey question

Are you confident that your nursing colleagues are competent? :

surveyresults9-02.gif

Please feel free to read and post any comments that you have right here in this discussion thread by clicking the "Post Reply" button.

Thanks

you make a good point with all the other professions and all.

docs don't back stab each other like this.

one of the things that bring us down is "caring too much" it truly is. I dont' think we should be patiet advocates at the expence of our collegues.

Originally posted by alansmith52

you make a good point with all the other professions and all.

docs don't back stab each other like this.

one of the things that bring us down is "caring too much" it truly is. I dont' think we should be patiet advocates at the expence of our collegues.

So we should cover up for our collegues at the expense of our patients?

Originally posted by alansmith52

you make a good point with all the other professions and all.

docs don't back stab each other like this.

one of the things that bring us down is "caring too much" it truly is. I dont' think we should be patiet advocates at the expence of our collegues.

Uhhhhh.....

I'm entitled to be concerned with the level (or lack thereof) of the competency of the nursing staff I work with, particularly when they show lack of education, lack of common sense, lack of accountability and lack of professionalism.

When I give report shift after shift to the same nurses and each morning return to find the items I've reported left undone, unchecked, ignored... there's a problem. It's not about being there to help them, (I take your comment to mean more along the lines of bailing them out or babysitting as opposed to helping, however) Alan... I am. I'm the first one out there on the line whenever, wherever a fellow nurse needs assist, advice, orientation, or my particular skills. It's about working with a certain group of individuals who just don't have the aptitude/desire/competency/Professionalism to DO the job they were hired to do.

Some people just should NOT be in this Profession... but because of the "shortage"... culling those who don't belong just doesn't happen unless their performance is so abysmal that continued employment would jeopardize the facility in which they work. In the meantime... those of us who DO care... who ARE accountable... who GET the job done... must continue to work/babysit/hand hold those who don't.

Not that you'll understand one iota of my comments, however... just as you've failed to see the points of view of the many others who dared to disagree with you. By the way... your own comments here are tantamount to the "back biting" you supposedly despise, so don't EVEN go there with me. No one here is back biting... we're venting our frustrations with those who increase our workload, who have the potential to do harm to those very individuals we are hired to assist and who are either too ignorant or too oblivious to see/care.

One last note... you said that, "I dont' think we should be patiet advocates at the expence of our collegues." We wouldn't HAVE colleagues if we did not have PATIENTS. Of course, your comment was purely nonsensical, regardless of whatever point it is you were trying to make.

I KNOW the good *I* do where I work... the question is, Alan... do YOU?

My vote? No, I am NOT certain of the competency of certain of my colleagues. My solution? Be there for those who need guidance or time... and bring the deficiencies of those who just plain know better to their attention... and to the supervisors/managment attention if they continue to exhibit incompetent behavior.

Peace:)

Originally posted by alansmith52

I dont' think we should be patiet advocates at the expence of our collegues.

I'll thank you, then, to make sure you are never in the position of caring for me, a member of my family, my friends, or in fact anyone I care about. I think that if you research it, you'll find that your state BON doesn't share your opinion, either.

Dear Lord. That is one of the most frightening things I have ever read.

Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health.
Originally posted by alansmith52

one of the things that bring us down is "caring too much" it truly is. I dont' think we should be patiet advocates at the expence of our collegues.

Re-quoting this once more to make sure anyone reading it gets the full impact. Holy cow.

The vast majority of my colleagues/co-workers are very competent, dedicated professionals. However, there is one RN who works nights (my shift) who is so bizarre, so weird, so NOT a competent nurse:confused: This guy defies a description:

My entire nursing career has been in adult psych. For some reason, this guy works psych nights because: you get more money, the patients are sleeping so you don't have to deal with them:( , and there are no bosses to observe him performing his OCD rituals.I won't waste valuable space going on and on about what all this clown HAS to do in order to even start the shift (you wouldn't believe me anyway!):eek:

If he was some first-rate, super nurse, a lot of his "eccentricities" could be overlooked, but he's not. He's rude to the patients, he avoids all but the most impersonal interactions with them, and he's got this cleanliness phobia: he gloves to give a med cup with two acetaminophen tabs to a perfectly healthy patient whose only "uncleanliness" is they were recently diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder:roll

This is the God's truth. Until I met the guy, I thought other staff were exaggerating, or maybe had hidden agendas with the guy, but I soon realized they were right; unreal:uhoh21:

Right I was too tired to reply to this post last night after work (I have just had 3 very busy shifts working along side wonderful Dr's and nurses)

so here goes.

__________________________________________________

alansmith52 "one of the things that bring us down is "caring too much" it truly is. I dont' think we should be patiet advocates at the expence of our collegues."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

My job is caring for very small sick babies they are unable to ask for help or complain about care or treatment so they therefore NEED ME TO SO DO!!!!! I try to protect against anyone or anything to the best of my ability (this includes DR's)

Do I give a drug that is prescribed incorrectly NO.

Do I except dangerous or incompetent care NO.

Yes there are ways of dealing with this channels to follow but there are times when action is needed NOW. Yes I feel like I'm telling tales at times but I am responsible for my actions and whether that is to do something that has harmed someone else of to allow someone else to do so.

the responsibility IS the same.

I do not care too much it is my job to be their advocate because they cannot do so for them selves.

___________________________________________

alansmith52 "docs don't back stab each other like this."

--------------------------------------------------------------

Is this really such a good thing we are all human none of us is perfect. Perhaps in the UK we have had this show that closing ranks to protect ourselves is a bad thing I suggest you read up on the "Baby heart surgery scandal" and then tell me if it really is.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/background_briefings/the_bristol_heart_babies/297182.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/636589.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/background_briefings/the_bristol_heart_babies/102958.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/background_briefings/the_bristol_heart_babies/201793.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/532006.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/background_briefings/the_bristol_heart_babies/442048.stm

If it done correctly It's not stabbing each other in the back it's protecting the profession. How can we improve the care we give if we do not self criticise

There are certainly times when a good nurse has gotten run out of a place because of cliques, backbiting, and fault-finding. But, that is an entirely different thing from a truly incompetent and dangerous nurse. Let's make that distinction very clear.

Specializes in Geriatrics/Oncology/Psych/College Health.

Lends more credence to the horrendous wrenching gut feeling I get at the suggestion that we should try to "cover up" bad nursing. Even after sleeping on it, I'm still shocked at the utter lack of logic and absent compassion for the people whom are entrusted to our care.

I'm with Stargazer - I'll take my chances with one of those nurses who "cares too much" rather than someone who think his first loyalty is to his coworkers, patients be damned.

In my current position I would say yes all are competent. However this has not always been true. There have also been times that I felt my co-workers were competent, but there's was not (:eek: opps, that would have been me.)

i think nurses at the staff level that see a co-worker who is grossly incompetent rightly will go to management about the individual. this is where things break down. they want to turn a blind eye to the whole thing and turn it around on you. of course, most nurses, w/ a few exceptions are caring and try to educate and help those who are lacking or inexperienced BUT if the person is unwilling or unable to learn then the staff nurse's responsibility should end there if they have gone to management about the person. the co-worker i posted about earlier is very arrogant and will tell you she "knows how" to do a particular task and refuse your help and then turn around and do it incorrectly. then she will lament "no one ever told me that." the problem is people tell her the same thing over and over and over. she isn't listening. she is totally self-absorbed, immature, and i really fear she will kill someone one day. she has been w/ us for over 1 1/2 years and time and experience seem to do nothing to help her in her skills or judgement. it's not her age, we have had others who are young who learn and may be slow at first, but improve as time goes on. i think we were all awkward when we were new nurses if the truth be known. the thing that really disturbs me about this girl is that she always puts herself first. "i couldn't wait for the dr. to call me back w/ those orders. i was so hungry i had to go to lunch and then i just forgot." management hired this ding-a-ling and knows she is a very poor nurse. they have all of the incident reports going through their office. why don't they just get rid of her instead of telling others of us to help her more? we have enough work to do already! it makes me sick. half the time, we have to take a heavier load because we have her working on a shift w/ us and then we need to spend some more time figuring out how to help her fill out her incident report or answering her endless questions. she is such a liability. perhaps you'd like her at your facility alansmith. i've had enough of her at mine!

sorry, i hit return too soon. how would you like her to be your nurse alansmith or your child's?

+ Add a Comment