how to handle this????

mindlor · May 2, 2011

I think you should get involved, nurse ratchet needs to be shown the door....

SilentfadesRPA · May 2, 2011

I am not trying to sound offensive but for you to remain silent then you are equally culpable to this lateral violence.

How can you not share this ?

You know in your gut what is the moral ethical and right thing to do. Please do it. You will have helped the profession.

Marc

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · May 2, 2011

I am not trying to sound offensive but for you to remain silent then you are equally culpable to this lateral violence.
How can you not share this ?
You know in your gut what is the moral ethical and right thing to do. Please do it. You will have helped the profession.
Marc

You need to got to your manager with your observations and concerns. No GOOD manager wants to lose a good nurse who is willing to try and grow. Most aggressive people bully because of the inadequacies they feel themselves....therefore making themselves feel better about themselves.... someone needs to call her on her behavior....let your manager know. Maybe a talk with HR might be in order.....good luck

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · May 2, 2011

Has anyone tried speaking to the problem nurse directly? Is she is a charge/leadership position (to be writing people up)? She might not even be aware of her behavior or her attitude. It is the most uncomfortable conversation to have, but really it's the most professional and easiest way to go. Given the alternative- quitting or reporting the person to management- having a conversation with this particular nurse could save a lot of hassle and stress.

The long term problem is that if this nurse's behavior caused on worker to resign, it probably won't be long before she alienates another. Even if your co-worker decides to resign, someone should still bring this situation to the attention of management so the employee can get some counseling about appropriate behavior and make the work place less toxic.

Momfirstalways · May 2, 2011

Say something! That girl is being bullied and needs support!

79Tango · May 2, 2011

I have stuck up for the "slow, meticulous worker" in the past and paid for it. If she is a part-time employee and the "bully" has the authority to write her up, personally I would stay out of it. How are other "part-timers" treated in comparison? Where I am from, the part-timers have to hit the floor running and be able to augment the full-time staff.

tokmom, BSN, RN · May 3, 2011

Just the loud intimidating voice is wrong. I have worked with bullies. The sad thing is, they are like bowling balls and the nice people are the pins. They knock one down and keep on going until they plow through everyone. This person that left is only the first target. There will be more.

alphabetsoup · May 3, 2011

I quit a job once for the same reason. I don't miss those days. Seriously, first, an occurrence report is not supposed to be a punitive thing. So if the bully is writing up occurrence reports right and left, it makes me wonder if 1) are these legitimate things to be reported and 2) does the co-worker need some additional training and mentoring? I don't know what kind of facility you are at, but sometimes transferring to another unit can be a wonderous thing.

twin1RN · May 3, 2011

why she is resigning? Is it really just because of this bully? If it is, then encourage her to speak to the charge nurse/ director of nursing (and say you will support her bullying claims).

Tell her you've seen her improve over time, and that it would be a shame for her to quit because of a bully, especially if this is what she really wants to do.

Bullying erodes your confidence, and when it comes from someone you work with, it is like someone chipping away at you relentlessly. No one deserves that.

My heart goes out to her, and to you. Doing the right thing isn't always easy :redbeathe

Maevish, ASN, RN · May 3, 2011

ugh....there's a nurse like this where I work. She can be ok for months at a time, then freaks out over little things, is loud, VERY critical (but god forbid you point out a mistake she makes herself!), and won't teach you the right way/better way to do something unless you beg her. I've started offering to go to other floors more, when our ICU has low patient census because I'm sick of it and it's making me hate my job. However, she's on the boss's good list (and don't get me wrong, she knows her stuff and is a great nurse, it's just her people "skills" are so abrasive, you forget the good) so nothing will happen.

Gold_SJ · May 3, 2011

Mm I can see how its complicated as you don't seem to be a person wanting to put more stress into anyones life, this part timer or the more aggressive personality you work with. I think as a senior nurse you do have the responsibility to advocate for the RN. If you feel the floor is failing her in support, then most likely the floor has and this can potentially be rectafied by speaking about it to the Nurse unit manager, after all the girl may just need some more encouragement/mentoring or given assertiveness/leadership training to help her stick up for herself.

On the other hand this rough nurse you speak of, she may truly not realise she's badgering this other nurse as maybe its her nature to be blunt or critique performance in the idea she's helping the girl. For some just speaking with this lady/bully may completely spin this around and she'll take a big step back or rethink how she acts towards the part timer as she has different needs to function on the floor then how she'd thought. As I'm pretty certain the majority of people don't go to work with the ideal they'll try to get a person to resign or make them miserable, she just might lack some emotional intelligence.

Overall hope things work out and try not to stress too much.

Really hope this nurse feels better and regains her confidence in herself.