How do you deal with not being appreciated at work?

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I got yelled at by the charge RN at the front of the whole team on the first day of my new travel assignment because I explained that I'm supposed to be on orientation that first night. She was trying to give me a full assignment. 

Ever since then, I feel awkward around the team. I feel like I am in the hot seat. The unit is  high acuity & full of new grads. I try to help out as much as I can but sometimes it feels like I am picking up slack without any appreciation. I am an experienced travel nurse & I genuinely go to work with pure intentions. I make sure everything is well done. 

To be honest, I'm just shocked & ashamed that I got yelled at like a child. Just venting I guess

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

Make a formal complaint on that charge nurse.  Let your agency know that you won't return and why. 

Keep your head down knowing that it's temporary.  Good luck.  

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There's always the consolation of knowing that person has made themselves look ridiculous. 🤷‍♀️  Try not to absorb it. Don't feel ashamed. A fully grown child was yelling, sounds like a personal problem. 

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Thank you so much for the advise. I realize now it is truly the name of the game for travel nursing. I guess I have been fortunate for the past 13 assignments where I didn't experience overt toxicity. I'm praying for everyone & polishing my halo. I know what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. It will take a lot of strength 😰😭🙏

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

I was given a hallway on a temporary (1 shift) assignment. It was my first time working at this hospital and when I got a post-op patient with a stack of new orders.....I had to tell the charge nurse there was no way I could've taken care of the paper work, as I did not have ANY familiarity with their forms AT ALL (multiple lab requests needed among other things.) I could have made a huge, complicated mess if they insisted I do it all anyway. They weren't happy with me at all, but there was no way I could sign my name to any of the orders, as my career and my license was at stake. 

I know things are different with traveling nurses assignments, but tmb's advice to keep your head down and keep working out your assignment was spot on. 

I wish you the best.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I would say the problem is above the charge nurse.  Admin didn't want to let you orient.  The charge nurse was caught off guard and lost her cool.  What happened?  Did you get an orientation?

The CNO where I last worked was complaining out loud to staff nurses that travelers wanted orientation and she wasn't going to pay for it.  They were there to work ie take an assignment so I would say your problems are with the culture and admin at the top!  She refused to give them a day of orientation so she just put them on the schedule to take an assignment from day one.  She was a braggart showing off flashing diamonds she got from a covid bonus even though she never stepped foot on the covid floors, while the bonus was given only to a few select nurses that were on the covid floors a lot!  Then she bragged about going to Mexico for vacation during covid 2020 when we were still supposed to be on lockdown.  Also was known to lie and offered no support to nurses or staff so we were glad when she finally retired.

 

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Specializes in ED & Critical Care CEN, TCRN, CCRN, CFRN, CTRN.

Red Flags! I would cancel that contract. If you have an assignment on your FIRST day, and no orientation, it's not safe. Keep in mind, that when you take an assignment, you take responsibility for those patients. The hospital will NOT have your back. You have to protect YOURSELF and your license. I've seen MANY travel nurses get disciplinary taken on their licenses for things like this. I saw a travel nurse get a reprimand from the BON because one of her dementia patients "walked out of the hospital" and got injured. They gave her a 1-day orientation, 9 patients, and no NA help! To make matters worse, she had a sitter, but the sitter went to lunch without a replacement (the charge nurse was aware). The bed alarm went off, but nobody went to see what was happening. Today, 4 years later, she can't find an inpatient job or another travel contract because of the disciplinary action on her license. It's not worth it! 

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.

Yes, you were lucky if this was your first run in with a toxic travel gig. Mostly I found travel contracts to be toxic work environments. I can think of only one that wasn't. I did get paid very nicely, but I gave a pound of flesh. This may be particular to psych nursing, but that is what I experienced in general. I was screamed at more than a few times, berated for stopping abuse of a patient, had the keys thrown to me without a word of acknowledgement, and I never got report. It was a nightmare, but I slept next to a fat wad of cash.

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