Any advice for dealing with awful coworkers? This person is more than a coworker, but in fact is my "boss" while at work.
It is so bad that it makes me not want to go to work. When she walks into the room I just tense up. Sometimes I will go to the furthest location from her I can find in order to chart, even though my patients are located at the other end. I find that she is rude to everyone, but there have been 2 occasions where I have been specifically singled out and embarassed.
I was thinking about it, and realized she has never given me ANY positive feedback - I mean zero. As the person in charge, she should be giving me both positive feedback and constructive criticism. Once she lectured me in front of 4 fellow nurses, and in essence called me a slacker (but tried to make it look like she was joking)...what's worse is that it wasn't anything I should have ever been lectured on. ANY TIME I ask her a question, the person that should be there to support my learning, she looks at me like "you are retarded, I can't believe you are asking me this." Oftentimes I will avoid asking questions and just try to figure things out on my own, which I know is not safe, but I am just so scared of her. I get positive feedback from EVERYONE else I work with, I have people go out of their way to say nice things to me and encourage me. From the person who really SHOULD be doing these things, however, I am scolded for trivial things.
I don't feel like I have any right to report her, because 1) who am I going to report her to without her finding out? and 2) what if I am just being totally irrational/I really do suck? Sometimes she is nice, she is so nice to the patients, and I just can't decide if I am the only one perceiving her to be someone who is not fit to be in her position.
At this point in time I am planning on leaving once the committment I made to the unit is fulfilled, and I can honestly that if it wasn't for her, that might not be the case. I know it's silly to let one person have so much influence on me, but I can't escape her if I'm working where I am right now. I am never confrontational with her, I always accept her criticisms and fix whatever she tells me, I never complain or ask for days off or do anything to cause her grief, and yet she still treats me like crap...
Please help &/or share similar stories. I posted in this forum as I am a new nurse and because I feel that my fellow new nurses will best sympathize with feeling inadequate.
Reading your post lets me know I'm not alone and that is a good feeling to have. Yes, I believed seasoned nurses do eat there young. But even though I cried, I stood up to this horrible woman! And that's alot more than I can say that other's do on my unit that won't stand up to her.
I feel alot like you, I also hope that this is part of a process of adjusting to new nurses. This particular nurse that gives me a hard time, I hear her drilling other more experienced nurses, but she doesn't seem to disrespect them as bad as she does me. But you know what???? It's not going to happen anymore. Next time I won't cry. I'll just stand up to this horrible person!!!
I have had similar experiences. If you give a bully an inch they will walk all over you. They will continue to do so until you stand up for yourself. No one can take advantage of you without your permission. Forget the people pleasing and co-dependence. Exercise: For the next week look in the mirror and say, I am not a piece of crap. I am somebody! Do this every time you go to the bathroom. I know, sounds crazy, but it works. Then tell nurse ratchet to lose her s*itty attitude. Nothing is worth losing your self- respect.
bigredrn57
61 Posts
I have had similar experiences. If you give a bully an inch they will walk all over you. They will continue to do so until you stand up for yourself. No one can take advantage of you without your permission. Forget the people pleasing and co-dependence. Exercise: For the next week look in the mirror and say, I am not a piece of crap. I am somebody! Do this every time you go to the bathroom.
I know, sounds crazy, but it works. Then tell nurse ratchet to lose her s*itty attitude. Nothing is worth losing your self- respect.
Be good to yourself.:wink2: