I talked to HR

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I have a nursing manager who is not approachable because he/she knows "everything". I get so tired of letting this person know that something needs attention i.e. protocols are updated in the computer but the paper versions for the chart have not been updated and it's been a month at least. I made an appt and talked to the HR manager and they told me to e-mail this person on each item seperately and cc it to the CNO stating what needed attention and how long it's been going on etc....Well I did it. Surprisingly I got a call from him/her thanking me for bringing to his/her attention the things that had slipped their mind and they were all being taken care of immediately. Hum?

Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.
Oooo....be careful. While I COMPLETELY understand where you are coming from, remember the whole "Thank you for bringing this to my attention" is what they are SUPPOSED to say....it does not neccessarily reflect how they feel.

Unfortunately, in MOST cases (not all), managment is NOT your friend, and they do NOT appreciate being told what needs to be done. Dont make the mistake of thinking they are on your side. What they do appreciate is someone who keeps quiet and does their job.

Keep in mind this is just my opinion.....Im sure your heart is in the right place and you genuinely have good intentions. But once you start going up the chain of command and involve HR....watch out!

Ditto this!! I told my former nurse manager that I wanted to grieve my employee eval with HR since I did NOT agree with it and she had NO documentation to back it up. Guess what? 6 weeks later, I was FIRED!!

That was over 4 yrs ago and I can't get hired ANYWHERE else because that former employer has blackballed me! I can't prove it mind you but I KNOW! I recently interviewed for a job with Select Specialty Hospital. Interview went well, I figured I was a shoo-in. Two and a half weeks later the DON called to tell me that she decided to go with someone else.

Hmm...just this past weekend, I found out who that someone else was..a former coworker who I had listed down as a reference on my Select application!! Select's HR dept NEVER CALLED any of my personal references!!! I verified this with all of them! So, they HAD to have called that former employer who told them I'm not eligible for rehire along with god knows what else.........

I need to get out of my current position but I've got NO WHERE else to go. All because I told that NM I was going to HR.

So, watch your back sweetie...cause it could be YOU looking for a new job real soon!

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Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.
well said but god- is this the caring profession! :mad:

Sadly, it's the TRUTH!!

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Specializes in OR Hearts 10.

An anonomus (sp, too early) note to HR or whoever up the chain of command first then see if that helped would have been my first choice. Some will say "if you don't have the nerve to do it in person not to do something" BUT then you see all these responses.

For example, we were getting our yearly evals 4-6 months late, eveyone really tired of it, so someone made a copy of the P&P stating if evals were not done in a timely manner the supervisor in charge of doing them was not eligible for a raise that year. Those copies, with pertanient info highlighter were placed around the dept. Surprise all evals that were behind were caught up within a week and they are never late now.

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Good, but watch your back!

Two words. Bad move.

If I were in your shoes I'd start looking for a new job.

You've just painted a large "bulls-eye" on your back!!

Postscript: It's been 4 months and things couldn't be going better. I'm now working on projects with my nurse manager per their request. He/she has said they respect me for making sure things got done :yeah:

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Yay!! So glad there is a happy ending to this. I was reading this post and was like, "Oh, that poor girl," and even though everyone meant well it was making me nervous for you...

Good for you for standing up for something and actually getting good results from it :D I would have def been anonymous (and probably will be in the future after reading this post), but I'm still happy that your story had a good ending...:up:

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i guess if you want things to change, you have to initiate the change and not just go with the status quo.

Bravo for this bold move.

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Specializes in Oncology.
I agree with the above. Sadly, there REALLY is NO "freedom of speech" in nursing. It's best to keep your mouth shut and smile(however fake it may, or has to, be) on your face at all times. Neither management nor HR wants your input on anything despite what they say! Good chance you'll be retaliated against by one or both...or at the very least, intense scrutiny of every aspect of your job from here on. Just speaking from experience and observation...

This is true of any job, not unique to nursing.

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I am so glad to hear that something actually went well after talking to HR. I worry a lot that as a profession we are encouraging each other to pretty much duck our heads and stay out of the lime light. But we can make positive changes even if it may make us a target!

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