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Nurses General Nursing

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I work with a wonderful LPN who is in school to get her RN. she's only doing her academics at this time. She's an excellent nurse, and I think she'll make a good RN; however staffing's been horrible lately and everyone has felt the effects, and now this nurse is starting to drive me crazy.

She goes off at the desk, and rants and raves to everyone including to new staff in orientation about how

1.) LPN's do the same work as RN's and get paid less,

2.) How come LPN's get usually 1 more pt assigned to them than an RN

3.) Most RN's can't manage their time worth crap compared to an LVN

4.) The only GOOD RN's she knows were LPN's first.

5.) Charge nurse is a BS position, and CN really should take the same amount of pt's as every one else.

I've tried talking to her gently once, and she blew up...

I do not want this to be an LPN VS RN war.....

I know she's stressed with school, and work has been stressful...should I just tell her to keep her comments out of the nurses station at this time.

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Specializes in ICU, telemetry, LTAC.

I think better staffing would help her, sounds like an overreaction to stress. Life stress plus pay stress plus overstaffing stress, etc. So she's venting...

Do you have anyone approachable to talk to about improving staffing? It may or may not be doable right now with the flu season going the way it is. God knows this week was heck with admissions and the census where I am.

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

We must work with the same person. =)

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Specializes in med-surg.
I think better staffing would help her, sounds like an overreaction to stress. Life stress plus pay stress plus overstaffing stress, etc. So she's venting...

Do you have anyone approachable to talk to about improving staffing? It may or may not be doable right now with the flu season going the way it is. God knows this week was heck with admissions and the census where I am.

School in itself is stressful and work on top of that is horrendous. I'd cut her some slack, but if she doesn't quit going after the charge nurse, she's just tightening a noose around her own neck.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

It's demoralizing to work with people who react to stress negatively. I work with a nurse like that. He's fine with it's slow, but when the do do hits the fan he's complains.

The problem is that sometimes it's spreading. They can find allies in the negativity with other stressed out people and soon the unit moral suffers. As a chrage nurse, I allow him to vent......"yes, we're very busy and short staffed today and we're all working hard. I appreciate that." Sometimes I have to tell him to give it a rest.

If you want to give her some time that's ok. But if it's been going on a while, you might gently inform her how she's coming across. Being positive about it...."you're a great nurse, I love working with you, but lately you've been very negative and I'm wondering if that's how you want to come across, because it's becoming unpleasant and I'm sure you don't mean to be perceived that way..........". Leave the LPN rants out of it at first.

Good luck.

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We are all stressed...the hospital is at full capacity and admits are lliterally waiting overnight in the ED for pt's to be discharged in the am so they can be admitted, we have 3 nurses out, one with an injury, 2 who are pregnant, then one (deservedly) was fired. Until then we were the best staffed floor in the hospital.

We have more nurses coming in soon, the entire floor is being kept updated on the times and dates of new hires, travelers and agency nurse during this staffing crises. Some were already here...but then this area got hit with the flu hard. And the facility went from 75% to 110% capacity overnight, and some of the regular staff we already had started calling out sick, making staffing even shorter. We are playing musical beds at 0200 to create beds for pt's who need a heart monitor, or as soon as someone dies in the ICU, we literally are transferring that BIPAP pt up to be intubated as soon as the ICU room is clean, and an admit is already on the way to take the Bipap's old room.

Heck I'm stressed just remembering that night...I had serious issues with an RN, that if I hadn't stepped in, it could have resulted in a detrimental outcome for the pt, and then I got my @ss chewed out by expecting the RN to take over her own pt's care after pt had been assessed by MD and had med orders.

So, yes, we know there is a solution coming, albeit it's a shortterm solution to the staffing problem, but management is bringing in help. And we are taking 6-7 pt's on nights...really bad nights 7-8...

I'm stressed to...and honestly sometimes I just want to scream at her that she has NO idea what it's like to be charge nurse on a REALLY REALLY bad night when all the pt's families are mad, all the alarms are going off, and everyone thinks that you aren't doing anything because you've been on the phone all day. When the truth is that you've been fighting for some help or a little break for the same staff that's dissin you. And your own pt's are getting the worst care on the floor because you're too busy taking care of everything else.

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thanks Tweety

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Just be patient with her. Soon enough she will be humbled..or maybe not, I'm an RN and sometimes I amazed at what new nurses don't know. Sometimes I wounder what the heck nursing schools are teaching these days. If she's stressed just try to be supportive but do not... take abuse. Remember no matter what you are the RN, she is an LPN and you are held responsible for a higher base of knowledge. If there's trouble and you end up in a law suite ,you are still the RN, she the LPN . I would bet that she whould have no trouble sitting in a court room saying, I'm just an LPN, she was the RN in charge of the pt.

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Specializes in everywhere.

I was a LVN before becoming an RN. I see both side to this. I also work with a LVN who told me "I do everything a RN does except push two meds". WHAT?!?!?

I explained to her the things that a RN does that she is not capable of doing within the scope of her practice. At the same time I told her I was a LVN before RN also and understood her frustration.

She just started her pre-reqs for going for her RN. Her attitude is really getting old with me, but I'm trying to be patient with her.

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Specializes in CCU,ICU,ER retired.

First off, I am a LPN, have been since I was 22. I worked in Critical care all of my career. #2,4,and 5 on her list are just bogus and sound like sour grapes. I have worked with RN's That couldn't blow up a paper bag, I have wsorked with LPN"s that couldn't find their way out of ICU. The only absolutely true thing I read wsa about managing their time. I was taught that in school, before you graduated in clinicals you (or I) was given 5-6 patients There was no screet club or hidden socieity that marked you for the difference of being a LPN or RN it was your education period. The only difference between a new LPN or me is what I learned inbetween. In the end before I retired I knew as much as aRN but it took me 30 yrs to get there. When I hear a LPN ***** she is as smart as an RN I laugh, they aren't. They should just look at it and give it up. If they want to be an RN go to school.

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

Tape record her and save the tape, then play it back for her after she's been an RN for a year.

She'll eat her words......... ;)

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If your work situation allows you to stand still long enough to become a target for someone like that, congratulations on not being overloaded and enjoy yourself. When someone like that tries to buttonhole me on the move, I just nod sympathetically as I pass by.

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