How would you have addressed this situation?

[NursingHopeful95, ADN]

Hey everyone! 
I've been working on my unit for almost 2 years now. I work day shift on a busy surgical/ oncology floor. Today I had a busy shift. Towards the end of my shift I discharged two patients so I was automatically the first one to have to take a transfer. It was a comfort care patient on a morphine drip from the SICU who was about to pass away. They sent this patient to our unit because SICU needed a bed. I got report on the patient at 6:45pm. They nurse was already holding to give report when I found out I was getting a patient.  Patient rolled onto the unit 10 minutes later. I checked my morphine drip orders, introduced myself to the family and verified the morphine drip on the pump. I then proceeded to give the night nurse report. She was floating from a different unit. 
 

Right away her approach was very unkind. She proceeded to ask "Why are the orders for the medications not discontinued? Isn't this patient comfort care?” I stated "Yes they are. I honestly got report 15 minutes ago and have yet to discontinue the orders (fyi orders were for albuterol, Pepcid, etc)”. She kept pressing me on it and in a rude tone was like "You're always supposed to check your orders before you get report!.” I'm very soft spoken. I don't like confrontation and I definitely feel like she sensed this from me. I responded with "My priority was not to discontinue orders that the patient clearly won't be getting while on a morphine drip. I was busy providing patient care and I'll discontinue the orders when I'm done getting report". On my unit our policy is that when a patient is put on comfort care all other orders are discontinued by protocol. So I couldn't understand why she was making a big deal out of this. She then shouted and said "DON'T GIVE ME ATTITUDE.” I was honestly shocked she raised her voice at me. I told her I wasn't giving her attitude it simply stating that I wasn't able to get to it as it was not a priority at the time and would discontinue the orders as soon as I was done giving report. 
 

I later found out from my nurse manager that she stormed into her office and stated that I yelled at her. Apparently she was so mad my nurse manager needed to calm her down. I'm so embarrassed! I've never had any issue with a coworker where a nurse manager had to get involved. Let alone for something so silly. I explained my side of the story to my nurse manager and she simply asked me to discontinue the orders and apologized for her shouting at me. 
 

I understand it's a difficult time in nursing. We're all stressed & we're all burnt out. I'm just not very good at dealing with these sort of situations. I don't like confrontation, but the same time being as soft spoken as I am I'm learning to stand up for myself. I do what I need to do for my patients. I don't question other nurses so I was very taken back by the situation. I know it sounds silly now that I'm typing it out but how would you have handled the situation?

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

NursingHopeful95 said:

I understand it's a difficult time in nursing. We're all stressed & we're all burnt out. I'm just not very good at dealing with these sort of situations. I don't like confrontation, but the same time being as soft spoken as I am I'm learning to stand up for myself. I do what I need to do for my patients. I don't question other nurses so I was very taken back by the situation. I know it sounds silly now that I'm typing it out but how would you have handled the situation?

Bottom line, you can't control what other people do or say. My fater who was the best man I ever new would have advised to let the situation "Roll of your back like water off a duck." He also advised during times of stress to go the pond and watch the ducks because "You rarely see an angry duck.They just go about their business in their normal ducky way."

Hppy

[Marsha64]

I have the same problem but our turnover is so fast we don't have techs with service over about6 months.  Recently unit management and our peer group decided that the nurses should get one of the 3 sets of vital signs to decrease falls and allow more time for baths and stocking by the techs.  Ha, ha, ha.  Even before the change techs were on their phones, completing a week's worth of school assignments, huddling and talking.  One tech near me actually was face timing a friend, joined by another tech.  They were LOUD.  Another problem I have is cursing in all areas of the unit.  So now, at the beginning of the shift, we are getting vital signs, checking blood sugars, assessing patients and preparing to pass medications.  Every room I go in is a mess.  There is no water at bedside.  The patient always is hungry and needs to go to the bathroom.  The techs are blissfully sitting in the hallway, laughing and cursing,  talking about what happened at the club, ....

I am so sick of it.  I have voiced my option to our peer review people and department manager.  My argument is they are rewarding bad behavior.  They also have taken away the nurses ability to delegate.  I work as a tech when we are short staffed.  I use to fuss about working as a tech but no more.  It's the cushioniest job on the unit.  I don't know what to do.  

[JKL33]

Marsha64 said:

I have the same problem but our turnover is so fast we don't have techs with service over about6 months.  Recently unit management and our peer group decided that the nurses should get one of the 3 sets of vital signs to decrease falls and allow more time for baths and stocking by the techs.  Ha, ha, ha.  Even before the change techs were on their phones, completing a week's worth of school assignments, huddling and talking.  One tech near me actually was face timing a friend, joined by another tech.  They were LOUD.  Another problem I have is cursing in all areas of the unit.  So now, at the beginning of the shift, we are getting vital signs, checking blood sugars, assessing patients and preparing to pass medications.  Every room I go in is a mess.  There is no water at bedside.  The patient always is hungry and needs to go to the bathroom.  The techs are blissfully sitting in the hallway, laughing and cursing,  talking about what happened at the club, ....

I am so sick of it.  I have voiced my option to our peer review people and department manager.  My argument is they are rewarding bad behavior.  They also have taken away the nurses ability to delegate.  I work as a tech when we are short staffed.  I use to fuss about working as a tech but no more.  It's the cushioniest job on the unit.  I don't know what to do.  

 

Don't know if you will see this reply so long after your post but if I worked in a place like that I would be making my exit.

Life is waaaaaay too short.  I'm 100% serious. Don't argue your point any further; they either do not care about your perspective or not see it the way you do--and which of those it is doesn't matter in the least.

I stayed with a former long-term employer of mine about 5 years longer than I should have, far too long after things went off the rails, and I would say that was easily the biggest mistake of my nursing career. Sometimes we are too cautious to make a move or are worried that the grass won't be greener (which is so frequent a warning it has become trite). My response to that is this: If you're standing in a fairly green patch, then yep, the grass somewhere else has a good chance of not being greener than your already green grass. However, if you are standing in a barren wasteland or a massive pit of dog crap, there is indeed a fairly decent chance that the grass WILL be greener elsewhere.

Take that into consideration. If it's intolerable to you--if it's significantly, seriously taxing your health/mental health, LEAVE.