How to Respond?

[motor_mouth, MSN, RN]

The issue is that when I give report to the evening shift, a few of them are always questioning why I did what I did, why I didn't do something else, why XYZ wasn't given on time, etc. They look at me like what I am telling them is useless, sigh loudly, and roll their eyes.

Whether this is because I'm a new nurse, new to the unit, or just them, I'm not sure how to handle it. I do not like confrontation and, as a new nurse, am already worried about making a mistake, trusting my judgment, being on time with meds, etc. Even though my preceptor says I am doing awesome (even today when I was late with meds because of dealing with another patient's urgent needs) I can't help but doubt myself because of how the oncoming shift acts toward me.

Is this just something I will learn to put up with? It does sound as though it's not just me that these people act this way towards, so I suppose there's that. I don't want to be rude back, for obvious reasons, but giving them the explanation just seems to get eye rolls and loud sighs.

Thanks for letting me vent!

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

Just ignore it and they will stop.

[BloomNurseRN, ASN, BSN, RN]

Give a basic, straight forward report and they will eventually back off. When nurses ask me questions during report that really aren't necessary, I usually respond "that can be found on the chart" or something along those lines. For example, I was giving report and stated the patients O2 sat was stable on oxygen and the nurse asked if the patient used home O2. I just politely responded that could be found on the chart and moved on in my report. Give the important information and ignore or bypass the fluff/rudeness. If asked things like "why was that given late" you can always respond "that's been documented" and move to the next part of report. I don't know if that's their personality or if it's a new nurse issue but if you train them on what you will tolerate, they will figure it out. Good luck and keep your head up!

[motor_mouth, MSN, RN]

Thanks! Assertiveness is definitely not a strength of mine! Something I'm working on with coworkers for sure though.

[jaimeca]

It sounds like just giving new staff a tough time for no good reason. The nurses on the next shift sound just rude, they way they are giving you lip. Just give a concise answer to any off topic questions or crappy comments. I like the idea of saying 'that's documented in the chart'. Sounds like code for 'please shut up and back off'. Change of shift today another nurse was giving me attitude about off topic things too, it's just about trying to constantly have one up on the newer nurses.

good luck!!!!

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Based on my own experience, this is the best thing about bedside shift report.. it really decreases staff whining and bickering - LOL. PP's have provided you with excellent advice.

[motor_mouth, MSN, RN]

Thanks everyone! I must be sounding more assertive because I haven't gotten the eye rolls and sighs lately. One of them has even thanked me for report!

Bedside reporting is nice, but I work in geriatric psych, mostly dementia patients, so that wouldn't really work LOL.

[crj96]

I had a couple nurses that would pull this with me and I would get really flustered when I knew I had to give them report. Eventually, I learned to be really, really prepared for report by having the answers for them and responding with confidence. It took some practice, but I was able to "stare them down" so to speak and it honestly made me a better nurse.

[Julius Seizure]

For example, I was giving report and stated the patients O2 sat was stable on oxygen and the nurse asked if the patient used home O2. I just politely responded that could be found on the chart and moved on in my report. Give the important information and ignore or bypass the fluff/rudeness. If asked things like "why was that given late" you can always respond "that's been documented" and move to the next part of report.

"Why was that given late?" Is rarely something that they have any need to know.

"Are they on home O2?" CAN be relevant.

If you know the answer to a question like that, simply say yes or no, then you can move on. If you dont know, you can say "I'm not sure off the top of my head, but it's probably in the H&P", and then move on.

There is no need to explain yourself for everything, and some nurses are downright difficult to report off to. But not all nurses are like that, some are just asking questions as a collaboration with you, and I would urge you not to blow off every question that anyone asks with a "its in the chart." Granted, differentiating when is appropriate and when it is not is a skill that you learn with time/experience.

[Rebel Nurse]

On my unit, there are a couple of nurses (and one in particular) who are really picky about reports. Most people will accept whatever report is given and if I don't have answers to some of their questions, they just say "that's ok I'll look later". Some people, however, have a million questions that I don't have quick answers to. They roll their eyes or sigh, like you said, but I was warned about them by my preceptor. He said "I still get scared giving report to some of them" and I said, "I'm not scared, I just want to do a good job". I love days when I actually have time to thoroughly read all of the notes and prepare a really organized report, but it just doesn't happen all the time, especially because we are brand new and still learning! So to answer your question, I just respond by saying "I'm sorry, I don't know". Something that sometimes helps is, if you have a computer in front of you during report, have the chart opened to the patient you are giving report on. You will be able to look at things quickly if someone asks a question about a value you may have forgotten or the results of an xray, for example.