What's the worst thing the workplace bully did to you? has done to you?

Nurses General Nursing

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I worked with a so-called nurse that took every monthly note out of the eight pts charts that I had to chart on and did God knows what with them. I couldn't prove it, but she was the only nurse at the nurses station when I finished up the very last one and said, "Pheeeew, thank God I'm done with those dreaded notes!" The next day I went back to one of them to check on something I wrote and it wasn't in there. Huh??? I checked another chart for the same thing and IT wasn't there either. "What the ----?" I checked the rest of them and not one was to be found! I went right to the head nurse and told her the story and then told her I wanted a transfer off the unit today because I could no longer work with that blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, BLAH!!!.... I was outta there in 2 hours.

She did other things like taking my work keys and hiding them for a few days until she saw me ripping my hair out trying to find them. When I finally asked for the last time, "Has anyone seen my keys before I spend $25 dollars to get new ones?" ($5 a key) She would say, "Oh, these?" And open the narcotic box and reach up top and way in the back and pull them out. "Yeah, thanks, those are mine!" and yank them out of her hand and give her the dirtiest look. She could have given them to me the first day I lost them, but nooooooooo, she watched me squirm for three days. I wanted to choke the "B!"

Another time I was decorating the unit for Valentine's Day. (actually had time to do this years ago) I must have cut out 500 hearts of all different sizes, plus bought some really nice decorations from the hallmark store. She asked me to run some blood to the lab. I asked her to watch my decorations, tape etc that were on one of those little stainless steel carts we used for meds (way back when) so the pt's wouldn't mess with it. (Alzheimer's unit) "No problem." I come back from the lab and I couldn't find the cart or the decorations. Asked her where did she put it. She said "I didn't touch it." Yet I found the cart put away, but no decorations. I just knew she put them some place so I searched high and low for them and never found them. I wasn't going to let her spoil my plans for decorating our unit, so that night I went home and I cut out another 500 hearts and went back to the store and bought some more prettier decorations. The next day I did the same thing and she says I found your decorations. "Where?" I said. "Right here in this drawer." "The h*ll you did!" I said "I looked in all of these drawers and they weren't there! But thanks, because now I have double the amount and will decorate to the hilt!" She says to me, ''Who's azz are you kissing?'' I said "No ones! Especially NOT yours!" Oh she burnt me up! But I got her back with all the decorating. Those were just a few things she would do to torment me besides humiliating me in report, spreading rumors about me, undoing dressings I did. She died 8 months after I transfered off the unit. Guess what from? Ca of the brain! And everyone that knew her had NOT one kind word about her.

So tell us if you care to share, your horror stories with the workplace bully. Inquiring minds would like to know.

OMG!!!!!!!! What an awful woman! Maybe the brain mets she had where frontal and making her behave like she did.

I once worked with a woman who could dish it out but couldn't take it. She had a permanant scowl on her face when you were handing over and looked down her nose at junior staff.

One time I had checked a controlled drug (CD) with a student and took it to the bed space. I was about to draw it up, but the patient opposite was about to pull his tracheostomy out, so I naturally dropped everything to go and stop him doing it (ie so he wouldn't stop breathing). I then went back (literally 30 secs later) and my CD was gone! I looked all over and was about to ask others, but she came strutting up saying, "Lost something?" and handed it me, saying, "NEVER leave a CD alone!" RIGHT infront of the student, purposefully to humiliate me, I know she was watching me.

I did try to tell her, but she just walked off, and as I needed to draw up the CD, I just rolled my eyes and sighed loudly. Trouble is, the nurse in charge saw me and told me off for pulling faces!!!!!! (BTW, those two were as thick as thieves) However, I did tell the nurse in charge WHY I did it.

We have several run-ins like that, but she was like it with everyone. We have both since left.

The worst bully I worked with was a fellow supervisor who instigated a 'mobbing' against me on the management team. I was a new supervisor and didn't know these management folks well enough, so she was able to convince them I was a terrible, dangerous nurse who needed to be reported to the BON. She did this by twisting and exaggerating situations, and also by advising me to do things that got me in trouble (so she could document dirt on me) Of course there were never witnesses to these things she did. So it was hard for me to prove what she was up to.

I never realized before this happened just how evil and vindictive people can be. When I filed a grievance against her, things just got worse. Eventually the BON cleared me, but all her vindictiveness has remained on my Group One report so it never really goes away, I have to relieve the awful experience to every potential employer.

This is a good thread that may help younger nurses out. I advise nurses to be very cautious around a supervisory person who does not seem 'right' or is manipulative and vindictive, and to get away from under them ASAP. I learned this the hard way.

Sometimes I wish I was meaner and tougher. I agree we nice guys make easy targets. But I was raised to be a good person and it's a hard habit to break...LOL. ;)

:eek: WOW! I can't believe any nurse would have the time to devote themselves to making a collegue's life miserable. It saddens me that as professionals we are not more supportive of one another. Reminds me of the old addadge attributed to nurses "eating their young". Fortunately, I've never had anyone come after me in such a manner. Most of the nasty nurses I've dealt with like to try to find any minor deviation from practice or minor error and make a big deal out of it (usually in front of other people). As if they've never messed up! No one's perfect. And I'd usually just say, "have you read the latest policy revision?" or "have you read in the latest nursing journals that the way you do it isn't best practice anymore?" Most of the time these people are the same ones that insist on doing things "like the old days" no matter what evidence based practice says.
Specializes in OB, Post Partum, Home Health.

A nurse that no one cares for, and has the reputation for being the manager's "spy" and obviously a liar! Went to management with accusations that I was having an affair with one of the doctors. The proof that she supposedly had was the I walked through the doors with him one morning, therefore, that must mean that I was with him the night before and we came to work together.

I ended up quitting my job over it!! (oh, yeah, and going to work for "the doctor in question") I still feel that the best revenge is that they all still wonder a little.

Just for the record, no affair going on!!!!

i once worked in an or where we had to clean the room down after every list before we could go home. one day we cleaned and polished and cleaned and polished. the head nurse checked and said "Ive found blood on something, clean the room again". Because she wouldent tell us where we cleaned and cleaned and every time she sent us back in to clean that blood off. Finally exausted my colleague started crying and I was emotionally drained. The head nurse sneered at the two of us, caught hold of each of our arms and marched us into the room to look at the speck of blood on the base of a stool. It wasent blood , it was paint. The same woman is now retired and I still hate her today as much as I did that evening all those years ago.

new to a new night supervisor position, the day supervisor was very intimidated by me.... don't know why to this day.

She undermined everything I did and said and convinced the staff that I was out to get her job, (well anyone new to a position comes in with a blazing get things done attitude, she sat and coffee clutched and balanced her check book), I never wanted her job, just to do mine well.

My first priority was changing scheduling out of management hands to give it to the staff, hell they're working it... right???

I spent a month preparing for my presentation at a staff meeting on different scheduling options, tracks, self scheduling ect.... she convinced the staff that I had different motives, told her pet nurses that I was out to give the new people what they wanted, not take care of them like she could ect.

The meeting ended up being SOOOO hostile against me, (when my intention was to have a schedule that was FAIR, done by the staff), worse yet, the manager allowed it to continue, as I suffered through personal attacks and well it was VERY bad.

Hindsight taught me to get buy in and move slowly before suggesting any changes, but this continued until this RAT left to manage the step down which has the highest turn over rate in the hospital.

People like this make your life at work just miserable, I chose to stick it out, still have the dents in my skull from that perverbial wall. Sometimes it's easier to leave,

:(

Sometimes the battle is worth it. To this day I look back and wonder if it was:eek:

Originally posted by nimbex

[b

People like this make your life at work just miserable, I chose to stick it out, still have the dents in my skull from that perverbial wall. Sometimes it's easier to leave,

:(

Sometimes the battle is worth it. To this day I look back and wonder if it was:eek: [/b]

Sounds like we endured the same person...or two evil twins...:o

what is the worst thing that a workplace bully ever did to me??

Well, it sounds silly, but I went to talk to her about a problem and she refused to listen to me, instead she told everyone that I was aggressive.

Something like that has a way of following you around and giving people the idea that you should be treated like crap because you are someone to be brought down a peg or two.....????:confused:

It bothered me a lot because up until then, I really liked her.

Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

I've worked with my share of unsuppoortive and manipulative co-workers.They have all been found out in the end.I am in LTC now and have been intrigued by the cna's on the unit.The bully was fired last year. I gave one of the statements that helped her on her way.I found out later the full extent of the dirty tricks she played on the other aides and the residents(she would go in the lounge and hide another aide's carkeys and pull the sheets off of her beds after she made them-threw her lunch away more then once) It's a pack mentality and thoses that perceive themselves to be in position of strength andpower will do their best to get rid of anyone that they do not like.Sadly they are usually effective because the admin does not want to hear about it until it is too late..NOw I have a borderline personality that thinks she is in power-but some of the other cna's are working behind her back to undermine her...While all of this is going on we do have pateint care concerns-seems they come last on the agenda in this crowd...

Specializes in Mostly LTC, some acute and some ER,.

Oh, numerous things. I'll be here all day. The thing that hurts more than anything is when she makes me look like the bad girl by shouting at me infront of co-workers and patients when I am not doing anything wrong.

Dayum night owl :/

I'm all for peace and harmony...but !@#$...I'm afraid I'd have to talk to that 'heffa' off the job and set her straight.

Can't really say I've ever been bullied..attempts at manipulation yes, but not bullied. Seems some nurses, and people in general for that matter, always seem to sense who they can/can't bully.I've had to help out co-workers in a few instances who were being picked on/pushed too far.I find it helpful to remind folks to 'sweep around their own backdoor' before trying to start BS.

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