I need advice

[nicenurse2017]

Hello! I'm wondering what you all would do in my situation. I've been a nurse for 5 years now, and gained the most experience from my last job at a rehab (it has more of a med-surfs floor feel to it). I still work per diem there.

I recently started working as a 1:1 nurse for a student at a school. Compared to my other job, it is extremely easy. I give medication 2x during the school day and that's it basically.

My problem is with the attitudes of my patient and her mother. They both do not treat me very nicely. And I feel the mother is trying to get me in trouble.

I always text her after I give medication, and one day she didn't respond. Two periods later a staff member of the school came up to me to tell me that she had called, worried, because she hadn't heard from me. I texted her again and she finally answered. But I feel like the day before I made her angry because I wasn't able to give the second round of medication and that this was retaliation or a warning. Am I being insane? I always feel like she is looking for something wrong. I wish I could explain more but it's hard. I am the second nurse so far this year for this student by the way.

Any thoughts/advice is appreciated!

[JKL33]

Are you required to communicate with her throughout the day? I wouldn't agree to play these games with her - and I would tell her that. I can see myself having some kind of conversation about how I will do my job to the best of my ability, will notify her if there is anything noteworthy during the day, and other than that we will have to have a relationship where she can trust me and we can work together for the child's benefit or else it's not going to work. I'd have no problem having a kind but very straightforward conversation to this effect. She can take it or leave it.

Don't play games and don't entertain a situation where you're her new target and she spreads the misery just because she can. I know life is rough for a lot of these people but that is not what you're there for, regardless.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

I worked for an agency that warned us to NEVER give out our personal phone numbers to clients. They didn't provide cell phones. Texting for this hovermom wouldn't be possible.

[rkitty198, BSN, RN]

If it isn't protocol to text then don't. It's crossing professional boundaries if it isn't protocol. Define your job, define your role, define the professionalism you carry. She is probably leery of medical providers. It sounds like she has had bad experiences with medical people in the past. When you have a child with a chronic illness parents tend to be skeptical of everyone taking care of their child. You need to gain her trust and break that barrier so that she will stop her behavior.

The only way to do that is to show her you are the child's advocate and your professionalism by drawing clear boundaries.