So I have been at a new job for a year and a half. I am at the same hospital I have always been at. I love my new job. However, I work with a nurse that has been in this current unit for 20 years. She is having some issues at home. Has been for a few years. she had always been a bully from what I have heard.
Well in my opinion her nursing care is atrocious. I have never experienced someone who gives bad care intently. She knows how to do better and doesn't.
We work with babies and they can't ask for help. Parents trust us to care for their children. I would never let her touch my child.
She is completely unapproachable. A bully. Mean. I have already been to the nurse manager who said she spoke to her about her attitude. There has been no improvement. My coworkers agree that she is slack and gives poor care but everyone is pretty much afraid of her.
What is my next step? Should I go directly to the director of nursing? Should I try to approach her? We only run with 2 nurses staffed at night so avoiding her is impossible. Should I make a list of things she does that is unsafe, slack, poor care?? I don't know what to do.
I told her the baby is bleeding and we need to hold pressure for a bit before we can continue. She said the baby bleeds like a pig and grabbed its foot and did a heel stick without applying a warmer first. So any way just an example.
...and what was your reply? In all of your examples, you keep leaving out the part where you told her that her behavior and treatment is inappropriate. Are you afraid to speak up and react on the spot or what?
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
So how do you draw the line from being rough and not nice to being abusive?
I didn't quote all your posts but my two cents would be first to separate how she treats you and other co-workers as well as those things you have heard about her past history from the topic of patient care.
Lots of experienced pediatric/neonatal nurses handle babies in a way others might call "rough". Not being able to soothe a crying baby is an unavoidable thing sometimes.
What I read between the lines here is that this is something other than that. Twenty years is a long time to be on one unit. Though I don't know what the culture of your workplace is or the population you serve, it seems reasonable to me that what you're seeing is part of a downhill slide.
You rightly didn't detail the specifics of her "issues" but she is still grappling with them. "Burnout" is a term that gets bandied about easily here, but when it's for real the nurse herself may not realize what is happening, that her "firm touch" is turning into something else because of the turmoil in her personal life.
My feeling is somebody needs to intervene before something really bad happens. It's about being an advocate for the babies and their families. Sometimes you get nasty blowback, and only you can truly judge your present situation. I can't see this getting any better. I feel for you, though. It's tough all around. Wish you the best.
I don't understand how leaving screaming babies unconsoled is not abusive. But then, I've thought American parenting culture has a lot of serious flaws for a long time.
I'm American but have consciously chosen to go against he dominant ideas about parenting in this country in several important ways.
But there is medical evidence to support soothing crying babies, and showing that not doing so is damaging. I don't understand why that gets so cavalierly dismissed.
Well y'all have definitely opened my eyes. If she was beating a baby I would intervene immediately and protect the patient. It is more being rough. Which you say is subjective. Rougher than I would ever touch a child. Is she beating it? No. Slamming it into the wall? No.
I never said I didn't like her. I said she was mean and a bully. Which doesn't matter any way. I have worked alongside many nurses in my career that I didn't like. I never felt the need to find reasons to get them in trouble. I am not that person. I came here looking for support and advice. I was looking for some encouragement too probably. I don't want to get someone in trouble or fired. I want her to do a better job. I want to do the right thing.
I have a right to be offended if I want by the harshness of some on this thread.
I appreciate the helpful advice. From this point forward I will write an incidence report when she does something against policy or that is harmful to the child. And yes I will intervene if she is hurting the child. I haven't been sitting back watching her beat children. I am sorry it came across that way to some.
(bolding my own)
THIS. Right here. And also follow up incident reports with a report to corporate compliance.
Do not be in the mindframe that you want this nurse to "do better". That is on her. What your goal is relates to the safety of patients.
Along with the great advice given by the many nurses on this thread, I would also add that you should watch how you term your phrases. Slamming is definitely different than being a little rough. When you say slamming, people read that to mean hit or thrown. You need to use descriptive words that describe exactly what happened, use words that she used in quotes, and don't embellish anything when you make out your incident reports.
So I have been at a new job for a year and a half. I am at the same hospital I have always been at. I love my new job. However, I work with a nurse that has been in this current unit for 20 years. She is having some issues at home. Has been for a few years. she had always been a bully from what I have heard.
Well in my opinion her nursing care is atrocious. I have never experienced someone who gives bad care intently. She knows how to do better and doesn't.
We work with babies and they can't ask for help. Parents trust us to care for their children. I would never let her touch my child.
She is completely unapproachable. A bully. Mean. I have already been to the nurse manager who said she spoke to her about her attitude. There has been no improvement. My coworkers agree that she is slack and gives poor care but everyone is pretty much afraid of her.
What is my next step? Should I go directly to the director of nursing? Should I try to approach her? We only run with 2 nurses staffed at night so avoiding her is impossible. Should I make a list of things she does that is unsafe, slack, poor care?? I don't know what to do.
You need to tread lightly with this as does your co-workers.
"Slack", "bad care"...these are not specific. When you report things to your manager, you need to be specific. Give exactly what happened, what date, what time. If you speak in generalities it will look like you are making things up. Report them daily. Don't make a list over the course of a week...that can get you in trouble as well.
Make sure it isn't silliness or something petty. This can make you look like the bully instead of her.
By JadeLPN - "Do not be in the mindframe that you want this nurse to "do better". That is on her. What your goal is relates to the safety of patients."
Obviously this is the OPs concern, that for the pt's. I feel like there is real frustration and near-abuse by this nurse in question and the OP has quite a sticky situation on her hands but like I posted earlier... real, definitive situations with date, time, and specifics, without any personal opinions filed in incident reports are the best way to address issues like this. I personally don't feel like going to a manager would be my first choice for varied reasons.
Thank you CBlover for your advice. I don't need anymore rude comments from any other members. I will take the advice I have received and go from there. This nurses behavior is not my fault and I am not responsible. I am trying to help. I have been to my manager. I was trying to see what other options I have. I will not be made to feel like crap by a bunch of people on the Internet. I now remember why I quit coming to allnurses.
It is tough. We all bring our baggage to our responses. I say if you are honestly worried (and it sounds like you have good reason to be) you need to keep this going. If the NM isn't doing anything follow your directed chain of command. This may be the DON it might not be. Keep a paper trail though. I find emails work best in situations like this. Good luck and kudos for standing up for those who have no voice.
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
When you do your incident reports be very specific, and factual. Do not make value judgments like "mean, bully" or refer to personal problems at home. It's important to separate these things out, even though they are all affecting how you feel about the situation. I think you are in a difficult position. Best wishes.
I think you should have proof of how the nurse is treating the babies. Then maybe go back to the head nurse and talk to them again about the situation. If it is really that bad, then something obviously needs to be done to fix it or the employee should be terminated. I would not want a nurse taking care of my baby improperly either!
Whenever I read in one of these posts about the baby being slammed into the bed, I imagine the poor little baby's neck snapping. I couldn't see how it would be easy to deal with this coworker on an ongoing basis, if she acts as unsafely as you convey in your post.
I think the OP should have never made this post, This borders on the unethical. Any allegations of abuse must be reported to the appropriate agencies, they should not be publicly exposed online for the world to see.
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lovinglife2015
292 Posts
...and what was your reply? In all of your examples, you keep leaving out the part where you told her that her behavior and treatment is inappropriate. Are you afraid to speak up and react on the spot or what?