Basically we have a new manager and the CEO of the home was introducing her around the building. I have a good relationship with the CEO. They both came up on the floor and greeted all the staff at the nursing station. I was sort of flustered with my work I had 2 falls, agitated patients, family complaint of their patient not getting their meal, etc... they even served cake at the nursing station (gotta eat it at the lunch room though) to celebrate the start of this new manager. So when I was absent for all of these, the manager then got upset and told the CEO how she felt.
The next day on my shift, I went to the CEO's office and other Nursing managers/educators told me "Hey you're a good worker. I don't want to give you a letter that will be on your record, but for now I will give you a verbal warning. You did not participate in greeting the new manager. It is a sign of disrespect and will not be tolerated here".
At first I was very shocked. Like seriously? I said "May I speak freely"? The managers said "Yes". I said "Okay. I am sorry that I was unable to join your cake celebration. But you have to understand. I had 2 falls, patients getting antibiotics, agitates patients, patients O2 going low because they remove their nasal prongs etc... so as you can see, due to the dire situation, going to your cake party/celebration could not be on top of my priority".
They thought I was mocking them. They just said "do not let it happen again".
Basically we have a new manager and the CEO of the home was introducing her around the building. I have a good relationship with the CEO. They both came up on the floor and greeted all the staff at the nursing station. I was sort of flustered with my work I had 2 falls, agitated patients, family complaint of their patient not getting their meal, etc... they even served cake at the nursing station (gotta eat it at the lunch room though) to celebrate the start of this new manager. So when I was absent for all of these, the manager then got upset and told the CEO how she felt.
The next day on my shift, I went to the CEO's office and other Nursing managers/educators told me "Hey you're a good worker. I don't want to give you a letter that will be on your record, but for now I will give you a verbal warning. You did not participate in greeting the new manager. It is a sign of disrespect and will not be tolerated here".
At first I was very shocked. Like seriously? I said "May I speak freely"? The managers said "Yes". I said "Okay. I am sorry that I was unable to join your cake celebration. But you have to understand. I had 2 falls, patients getting antibiotics, agitates patients, patients O2 going low because they remove their nasal prongs etc... so as you can see, due to the dire situation, going to your cake party/celebration could not be on top of my priority".
They thought I was mocking them. They just said "do not let it happen again".
LOL. How dare you not welcome Cersei to the management team with a bended knee and all the respect the crown deserves. Jesus. Surely this will be a bright and happy kingdom. I feel for you. This one clearly thinks they fart rainbows.
Beware of this new manager, he/she is a backstabber.
So true! Definite red flag of a narcissist, needs constant attention and praise and then complains because you were doing your job. The fact that you were busy doing your job dealing with serious problems and still not satisfied because you didn't drop everything and stroke her ego!
I would start looking for another job as this mgr sounds like a problem that will only get worse!
Basically we have a new manager and the CEO of the home was introducing her around the building. I have a good relationship with the CEO. They both came up on the floor and greeted all the staff at the nursing station. I was sort of flustered with my work I had 2 falls, agitated patients, family complaint of their patient not getting their meal, etc... they even served cake at the nursing station (gotta eat it at the lunch room though) to celebrate the start of this new manager. So when I was absent for all of these, the manager then got upset and told the CEO how she felt.
The next day on my shift, I went to the CEO's office and other Nursing managers/educators told me "Hey you're a good worker. I don't want to give you a letter that will be on your record, but for now I will give you a verbal warning. You did not participate in greeting the new manager. It is a sign of disrespect and will not be tolerated here".
At first I was very shocked. Like seriously? I said "May I speak freely"? The managers said "Yes". I said "Okay. I am sorry that I was unable to join your cake celebration. But you have to understand. I had 2 falls, patients getting antibiotics, agitates patients, patients O2 going low because they remove their nasal prongs etc... so as you can see, due to the dire situation, going to your cake party/celebration could not be on top of my priority".
They thought I was mocking them. They just said "do not let it happen again".
Sounds like my last mgr who was a bully and loved to harass the staff and threaten them with writeups. Every email would start with God and love and end with I'm going to write you up...
Then she loved to hassle the day shift and would wander around not to help, but to interrogate them. One of the hardest working and most helpful nurse, always picking up overtime for them at the drop of a hat, was threatened with a write up for saying things had been bad due to poor staffing. This poor nurse was dragged into the office and threatened with a write up if she ever complained again, this after answering the mgr's question how are things going! Unbelievable!
I guess JKL33 is right, but I couldn't stomach what she suggests. Thankfully I worked the night shift so rarely had to deal with her. I was able to get by with emails but, of course, my speaking about safety, only put a target on my back. I kept all my emails for protection in case anything happened. Eventually I had enough of that place and mgr and quit. I'm glad to be free, but should have quit sooner.
I see, so you are to smile and give the impression that despite all that you are going through, the only thing that matters is that you appear as if you don't have any worries, concerns or complaints. That sounds rather robotic to me. I guess that is what they want, robotic nurses that don't feel and only need a charge of the battery, which is suppose to happen, when you plug yourself into your outlet at home when you get off work. This is the reason I moved to night shift.. I only had to see the higher ups for a short span of time and some I could completely avoid in some cases.. What a mess! You might need to have them program you, I mean get a list of all the things they expect of you in regards to this person. This is if you plan on sticking around. Atleast you will know if you need to roll out the red carpet, get her coffee, and give her compliments. Nurses can be their own worst enemy. Supporting this behavior is why conditions for nurses are unlikely to change. It will take all nurses to stop it. 1 will most likely be singled out as the trouble maker.
I see, so you are to smile and give the impression that despite all that you are going through, the only thing that matters is that you appear as if you don't have any worries, concerns or complaints. That sounds rather robotic to me. I guess that is what they want, robotic nurses that don't feel and only need a charge of the battery, which is suppose to happen, when you plug yourself into your outlet at home when you get off work. This is the reason I moved to night shift.. I only had to see the higher ups for a short span of time and some I could completely avoid in some cases.. What a mess! You might need to have them program you, I mean get a list of all the things they expect of you in regards to this person. This is if you plan on sticking around. At least you will know if you need to roll out the red carpet, get her coffee, and give her compliments. Nurses can be their own worst enemy. Supporting this behavior is why conditions for nurses are unlikely to change. It will take all nurses to stop it. 1 will most likely be singled out as the trouble maker.
Basically they want a Stepford nurse that just smiles and puts up with the abusive working conditions. A lot of management is narcissistic and some sociopathic, ie snakes in suits. Unfortunately many people with these personality disorders are drawn to management for the prestige and power over people. They need their ego stroked.
As to nurses being their own worst enemies, you are wrong. Staff nurses in these situations do not have any real power other than to quit! As the OP stated she was threatened with a write up for simply stating truth.
If you have a mgr that is helpful, caring and humble; you are truly blessed. They are a rare gem in corporate healthcare! Thank your lucky stars if you have such a wonderful mgr.
The best boss I ever had was like this, had your back, helped everyone, listened and cared, and therefore was loved by staff who would then help out by picking up. Morale was at its highest when she was there, but sadly she was among the first to be let go by Wrongway! But not the last, over a couple years they sent all our mgmt and educators packing and replaced them with Wrongway suits who did the corp bidding. Morale was at the bottom and consequently there was a mass exodus of nurses and PCA's, so had to hire travelers to keep the doors open. We were fully staffed until Wrongway blew in with their bad wind.
I agree with playing smart. Say sorry and immediately upon leaving the office write a detailed email to yourself and cc it to a good friend as a record.
I totally always choose the legal route. I keep an attorney on retainer so my cc would be to him. Any further petty incidents involving the management goes the same route because even though it appears that you have a silly, pompous manager who is likely to be petty later on, or possibly not, just as they build a file in human resources on you, you play the same game. These records are important if you ever have to sue.
I keep a detailed record of everything management does because I absolutely know they are not on my side. You would be surprised how many times when they are confronted with their own indiscretions, they back down! I also would not tell anyone, even your best friend what you are doing!
Most of us can't afford a lawyer on retainer. I did keep all my emails to my mgr re safety issues even after I left, just in case anything happened with JACHO or state. Never felt the need to do that before. But we had decent mgmt and staffing before and never had the unbelievable safety issues due to a lack of equipment like tele monitors, suction, oxygen meters. Even filed a corp compliance complaint before I left. I know my mgr was then in the hot seat and finally buying the necessary equipment.
Morale was at the bottom and consequently there was a mass exodus of nurses and PCA's, so had to hire travelers to keep the doors open. We were fully staffed until Wrongway blew in with their bad wind.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
On 3/8/2021 at 7:27 AM, DK123 said:
Basically we have a new manager and the CEO of the home was introducing her around the building. I have a good relationship with the CEO. They both came up on the floor and greeted all the staff at the nursing station. I was sort of flustered with my work I had 2 falls, agitated patients, family complaint of their patient not getting their meal, etc... they even served cake at the nursing station (gotta eat it at the lunch room though) to celebrate the start of this new manager. So when I was absent for all of these, the manager then got upset and told the CEO how she felt.
The next day on my shift, I went to the CEO's office and other Nursing managers/educators told me "Hey you're a good worker. I don't want to give you a letter that will be on your record, but for now I will give you a verbal warning. You did not participate in greeting the new manager. It is a sign of disrespect and will not be tolerated here".
At first I was very shocked. Like seriously? I said "May I speak freely"? The managers said "Yes". I said "Okay. I am sorry that I was unable to join your cake celebration. But you have to understand. I had 2 falls, patients getting antibiotics, agitates patients, patients O2 going low because they remove their nasal prongs etc... so as you can see, due to the dire situation, going to your cake party/celebration could not be on top of my priority".
They thought I was mocking them. They just said "do not let it happen again".
I'm guessing that if the thought entered your mind, should I take 30 seconds to greet the new manager because obviously she is a person who is highly sensitive to perceived slights or should I risk her going behind my back and complaining about her hurt feelings without having a clue as to the reason for your absence-- you would have greeted this person.
Maybe I'm so old school I think it might have been nice if your new manager approached you, noticed you were juggling live cats, quickly introduced herself and said something along the lines of we can continue this conversation later. I've had a number of jobs when the new manager did that.
Nursing culture has changed quite bit since I started, though. I sort of expect that a new manager would find it more desirable to develop a rapport with the staff rather than say something to a higher-up that was intended to result in negative consequences for the nurse.
It's really unfortunate that this group of managers and executives are comfortable with such a punitive reaction to a social faux pas. I do agree with the others, though. Any explanation you provide will probably antagonize them further.
For your sake, I hope this is an isolated incident and not indictive of her overall management style.
HarleyvQuinn, MSN, RN, NP
222 Posts
LOL. How dare you not welcome Cersei to the management team with a bended knee and all the respect the crown deserves. Jesus. Surely this will be a bright and happy kingdom. I feel for you. This one clearly thinks they fart rainbows.