How to handle cussing nurses?

[DutchgirlRN]

I work on a very busy acute care med/surg unit. I began doing charge several months ago. I make out the assignment for the on-coming shift. Yesterday they called me from the break room and began cussing at me about the assignment. We aren't no d.... f....ing super nurses, and yada yada.

Later I heard from my co-workers, several who were in the breakroom at the time, that they were cussing about me amongst themselves before they called me. They were saying how I shouldn't be in charge if I don't know how to make out an assignment. The whole deal was that they were starting out with 6 pts each. They are allowed to have up to 7 each on nights. We frequently start out with 6 pt each on days. I hate to sound stereo-typical but I know for a fact that from 11 pm to 5 am they sit on their butts. One of our day nurses went to nights and also I used to work nights so I know. Anyway, they come out to the desk complaining. They were still cussing and fussing. I said come on I know you're not overworked ! They were like well on days at least you have discharges. Yeah and we get another one right back ! Plus we deal with direct admits, three meals, more meds, frequent med changes, Doc's around all the time wanting us to help them, family members and visitors interferring all the time. The patients on the call lights all the time. Give me a break !!

My nurse manager tells me she thinks I'm doing fantastic in the charge roll.

I'm not intimidated by these nurses I just think they are so rude, I often hear them cussing amongst themselves at the station. I know occasionally the patients must hear them and how does that reflect on our hospital? Our nurse manager is aware but is not willing to start replacing them because they are very reliable as far as always being there and always willing to work overtime. She has asked me several times to work a night shift and I have told her that I won't work with "potty mouths" I cuss when appropriate, don't think I'm a prude, they just seem so lower class to be around. There is always such friction between the shifts. I know this is very common. Should I send an e-mail to the entire night shift? Any opinions appreciated.

[DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN]

Only thing I can say is to never think that all the 11-7 shift nurses do is "sit on their butts".

I'm referring specifically only to my own hospital/floor. I know each hospital or floor has their own set of issues. Shift change happens to be the thorn on our floor. I do not ever assume to know what goes on anywhere else also there are good nurses and those who are just trying to earn a living. I'm dealing with the latter group. When I worked nights my patients were cared for the way I would want to be treated. On a "typical" 12 hour shift I probably sat on my butt for at least 4-6 hours. If you could see my butt you would know I'm telling the truth !:rotfl: I didn't feel bad about it, I knew my patients were taken care of and I never complained to days that I was overworked and understaffed. I complained like hell about being TIRED, that was legitimate. More power to those who works nights, I can't do it anymore. A good nurse is a good nurse whether they work days or nights.....that's not my issue.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Remoind them that their charge nurse is the one to go to about problems with the assignment, because she will be the on who makes the changes.

As for the cussing, i'd looking the policy handbook and make sure there's written rules on it, and then speak to the supervisor.

[barefootlady, ADN, RN]

Every shift has it's challenges. I have worked about every shift that could be thought up and I have never seen any nurse sit on their butt from 11 pm to 5 am. If an email is sent it needs to be to everyone and it needs to address the unprofessional language of all shifts, to single out a certain group will only lead to more discontent and discord. Good Luck, reading your post remined me of why I hate charge and just want to be a plain old staff person.

[renerian, BSN, RN]

Welcome to management. I usually just come right out and ask people what they are thinking? Most of it you know, dirty looks, body language, voo doo dolls sitting on your desk full of pins! :rotfl:

Do you have a patient load as charge? Do you jump in or are you on desk? That helps me figure out how to address it?

I just bring it up/straight up.

renerian

[jasonn]

How to handle cussing nurses?

Just tell them to F.... off :rotfl:

J/k

[elnski]

....with 6 pts each. They are allowed to have up to 7 each on nights. We frequently start out with 6 pt each on days...

whew!! here in the Uk wher i work, i was pulled out from my unit to work in a respiratory ward..and i handled 12 patients..for me to do the meds, vital signs, etc...yada-yada... when i was i Singapore..I would handle 30 patients in the medical-respi nurse, only w/ 2 enrolled nurses...name the trachy patients, confused, septic, and back to back nebs i hav to giv in most of the pts.....

dear me.. 6-7 patients.. what a breeze!!!

sumtimes its jus the comfort zone we dun want to compromise......

[nursbee04]

Do not get me wrong. I have worked nights. If they have time to sit, when their work is done that's great I did 12 years of nights, I got many hours of studying done on my shift but it ruined my health. I wouldn't do nights again for double the pay. But gripping about having too much to do is ridiculous. Please don't assume that you know what the night shift is doing ;excuse me, is not doing. They are not required to take off labs, do equipment maintenence, change needle boxes, change dated IV tubing, they have no other duties than the patients they are assigned. They have a tech for each 10 pts. The techs also do the I&O's including IV's. On days we are required to take off the labs as well as rounds reports, change needle boxes, calicbrate the accuchecks, restock the needles, check the crash cart, etc...... It is totallly beyond me why this is allowed.

Is the crash cart not checked by every shift? Is it not the responsibility of every shift to keep carts restocked? If they are "sitting on their butts" as much as you say, then they don't have enough to do. I work nights, and we don't have aides, we do total patient care. We do everything for our patients, we have less resources and we have no backup staff. We frequently get the shortest end of the stick. I have a hard time believing that nurses are sitting for that amount of time. Are you sure? Maybe they are angered and put off by your attitude towards night shift. Maybe they do more than you realize. Maybe not. In any case, any nurse who has that much free time isn't doing her job in my eyes. I hope your situation improves.

[cbreezen482]

I agree with you NurseBee....I work nights 7-7 and we are constantly busy!

Usually between 7-11 we're all running around like chickens with our heads cut off, many nights without aide's and understaffed. Once we get everyone settled and in bed (if we're lucky enough to not have the sweet little Alzheimer's pts thinkin it's 6am and time to get up)...we're busy doing other things, ie: Stocking med carts, check crash carts, cleaning up rooms from dicharges (our housekeeping is VERY anal where I work..won't clean a room if a Coke can is sitting on the bedside table), not to mention the 2 hour charting that we are required to do on all our patients, and 4 hour reassessments. I find plenty to do on nights!

[mattsmom81]

Not to mention the can of worms involving the 24 hr chart check and trying to second guess what went on all day and play CYA for everybody. Yeesh...somedays I am really tempted to NOT look back in the chart for fear of what I will find undone, questionable or just plain wrong...and what chaos follows.

When I did charge on PCU this is what most of my night was: putting out fires started when I wasn't there and playing catchup with all left undone (again when I wasn't there) and trying to help my staff do they best they could. Too bad the patients need care on top of all that....and of course it wasn't til 2 am that we got them partly settled down enough so we could LOOK at our charts. THEN the real headaches started.

Ahh..the life of a night nurse....days tends to think we 'sit' and have it easy. Only time I was sitting I was desperately on the phone or into charts, problem solving, reentering/fixing order errors, etc...this required 'some' sitting on my unit as that's where the computer/phone was....ya know I never got a break...didn't dare leave the unit as charge, but I made sure my staff got breaks.

[NurseCard, ADN]

RN1976, what kind of unit do you work on, chick?? A Kidney Stone unit? I say that because our kidney stone patients are the easiest. Admit 'em, give them a patient-controlled-administration pain pump and a strainer for their urine... they're good to go!

What I'm saying is... you say that you have worked night shift and "sat on your butt" most of the night, routinely. Then you must work on a unit where the patients are, routinely, pretty low maintenance at night. I work night shift and, with a patient load of 7 patients, I may STILL run my tail off all night long. That's because I work on a post-surgical unit, but we also see a variety of other types of patients, including renal, oncology, pediatrics, etc. I work in a community hospital. =)

It sounds to me like the "extra" duties aren't divided very fairly between the shifts, on your unit. =) If the night shift nurses have so little to do, then THEY need to be the ones changing needle boxes, changing IV tubing, doing extra paperwork, etc..

Ew, I'm glad we don't have to change needleboxes! Our Environmental staff takes care of that little job! =)