i hate to say anything bad about a fellow nurse, but i work with an incompetent nurse. i watch her and listen to her "stories" about why she is doing something and i just cannot believe she was passed through nursing school. to make it even worse she has the personality that does not know how to say "i don't know" so she makes up crazy stories. i thought maybe i was exaggerating her story telling but one day i made up a disease process and she actually started talking about it as if she sees it all the time. aaaahhh! i really do not know how to handle this. i watch her access ports without any caution to sterile technique, give wrong patient education and lie to the don about medication she had given during the day. i reported what i have been seeing to the don, but i felt like a total a**! there was no way i am going to let her harm patients. when i am with her i feel like i have to watch her every second in case she does something stupid and then tries to hide it.
has anyone else had to deal with something like this?
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
seems to me that the nurses crying about the eating of young are the most defensive and argumentative here lately. and i'm sorry in advance but geez some posters really get there knickers in a twist over a legitimate concern of a fellow nurse. patient safety should take priority not who can talk the talk but not walk the walk.
thank you i'm going to bed now :)
i'm always wondering, when someone brings up that "eating the young" garbage, whether they're being overly defensive. "it's not my problem; i didn't do anything wrong. it's just that nurses eat their young." the op seemed to have a legitimate concern, so why excoriate her instead of helping her?
Well I didn't particularly like being called "holier than thou."
And actually...I might know you. You sure sound a lot like a nurse colleage at my first job in Med/Surg.
My first day on the job she looked at my nametag, saw the BSN behind my name and made nasty remarks about BSNs and their graduates. After 3 months of watching me like a hawk, she saw me make two notable mistakes: a HIPPA violation (ironic thing is she broke HIPPA too, I was glancing over at a chart that she left open) & not labeling a syringe. She reported me to the Nurse Manager, who went over the two complaints but otherwise gave me glowing feedback.
Later that day, the reporting nurse asked with a smirk, "What did you and the NM talk about?", psh like she didn't know. I replied "I am really flattered that I am the focus of your shift, but if you watched your pts half as much as you watched me perhaps you wouldn't lead the floor record for falls." I got fired. If I could do it all over again I would have took a picture of her facial expression!!
So if my posts seem "overly defensive" I apologize but I clearly have a biased view as a former subject (not victim, that bitty didn't phase me) of being "watched like a hawk."
well i didn't particularly like being called "holier than thou."
and actually...i might know you. you sure sound a lot like a nurse colleage at my first job in med/surg.
my first day on the job she looked at my nametag, saw the bsn behind my name and made nasty remarks about bsns and their graduates. after 3 months of watching me like a hawk, she saw me make two notable mistakes: a hippa violation (ironic thing is she broke hippa too, i was glancing over at a chart that she left open) & not labeling a syringe. she reported me to the nurse manager, who went over the two complaints but otherwise gave me glowing feedback.
later that day, the reporting nurse asked with a smirk, "what did you and the nm talk about?", psh like she didn't know. i replied "i am really flattered that i am the focus of your shift, but if you watched your pts half as much as you watched me perhaps you wouldn't lead the floor record for falls." i got fired. if i could do it all over again i would have took a picture of her facial expression!!
so if my posts seem "overly defensive" i apologize but i clearly have a biased view as a former subject (not victim, that bitty didn't phase me) of being "watched like a hawk."
we don't know each other. sorry to hear about the mean nurse. there is a big difference between someone learning and making mistakes (we all do) and pure incompetence.
guess there was a little transference going on with this post for you. hope you have a job where you are happy now and have supportive co-workers. as far as arguing the type of person i am from my small post...i am done with that. good luck to you (really, i mean that, no sarcasm).
I am not as concerned about the person's crazy stories as I am about the unsafe care she gives, and the perceived incompetence. Document as was noted by someone else on here, and follow the chain of command in your facility for reporting unsafe behavior. In the Texas NPA there is "duty to report" another nurse who is violating the standards of practice, reporting to a nursing peer review committee is acceptable to meet this requirement. I don't know what state you are in, but it would be to the good of the public if you checked on it! I always think...."would I want that person taking care of my most beloved family?"
Well I didn't particularly like being called "holier than thou."
And actually...I might know you. You sure sound a lot like a nurse colleage at my first job in Med/Surg.
My first day on the job she looked at my nametag, saw the BSN behind my name and made nasty remarks about BSNs and their graduates. After 3 months of watching me like a hawk, she saw me make two notable mistakes: a HIPPA violation (ironic thing is she broke HIPPA too, I was glancing over at a chart that she left open) & not labeling a syringe. She reported me to the Nurse Manager, who went over the two complaints but otherwise gave me glowing feedback.
Later that day, the reporting nurse asked with a smirk, "What did you and the NM talk about?", psh like she didn't know. I replied "I am really flattered that I am the focus of your shift, but if you watched your pts half as much as you watched me perhaps you wouldn't lead the floor record for falls." I got fired. If I could do it all over again I would have took a picture of her facial expression!!
So if my posts seem "overly defensive" I apologize but I clearly have a biased view as a former subject (not victim, that bitty didn't phase me) of being "watched like a hawk."
i feel no shame. these threads are my favorite. the culture of nursing is often so passive-aggressive..why is it so wrong to directly challenge each other??
oh, it's not wrong, it's weak. a passive aggressive lacks the brass ones to do what's right and stand strong in adversity. i don't know what culture you come from as we don't know each other, but mine is professional, supportive and strong.
these threads scare me instead... an over competent nurse that is unwilling to learn is potentially someone that will one day care for you and others you love.
:crying2:I have to say that I am a little saddened by the direction this thread has gone. Maybe it is my fault for not wording my problem better. I was really hoping for help and not bickering between one another.
I have a serious concern about a dangerous nurse and feel I have been put into a bad position because of it. I strongly feel I must protect the patients, so I am going to keep being watchful. When I witnessed the nurse running a blood product on a patient yesterday full bore because she wanted to go home....I just wanted to cry. What is wrong with this nurse? She documented it as if she did it per protocol. It is her documentation against what I had seen and heard from her mouth. If asked about it she will lie; just like she did about the meds she said she had given. I hate this part about nursing. I wish the NCLEX was harder and people were screened more for their sincerity to BE a nurse and not just hold a job as one.
:crying2:I have to say that I am a little saddened by the direction this thread has gone. Maybe it is my fault for not wording my problem better. I was really hoping for help and not bickering between one another.
I have a serious concern about a dangerous nurse and feel I have been put into a bad position because of it. I strongly feel I must protect the patients, so I am going to keep being watchful. When I witnessed the nurse running a blood product on a patient yesterday full bore because she wanted to go home....I just wanted to cry. What is wrong with this nurse? She documented it as if she did it per protocol. It is her documentation against what I had seen and heard from her mouth. If asked about it she will lie; just like she did about the meds she said she had given. I hate this part about nursing. I wish the NCLEX was harder and people were screened more for their sincerity to BE a nurse and not just hold a job as one.
I think the advice you received was all good. You need to follow the chain of command and keep reporting. I've no other advice as
I'm to busy to watch other nurses, but every once in awhile I will pipe up if I see a fellow nurse doing something outside of our protocol.
yikes, again... and again another thread gone too far... shame on us. this is crazy, you people that I love make me nuts some times. This is so simple... why does it need to be so hard?
Because in the world we live in today... where online chat rooms, emails, text messages, and IMing has taken the place of real face to face conversations... we tend to lose something within ourselves that makes us humble, forgiving, and thoughtful human beings.
Actually I wouldn't exactly call her actions dumb. Those actions are very deliberate. Perhaps as a compensation for something she feels lacking. But that is not sign of being dumb...she knows EXACTLY what she is doing and perhaps has become so caught up in it, that now she just does it. But she knows.
It's more of an insecurity and trying to get a one-up over the next person. Not so good.
Nice post, and I agree. She would be dumb is she actually believed her stuff.
It can happen, however, that you (or other "competent" nurses) exacerbate the problem by getting on her case about everything. I had a preceptor like that, and it was horribly irritating. It's easier to make stuff up than to deal with grief from coworkers.
Whatever the case, let the learning process occur. If she doesn't learn, then she won't last long, but don't feel so important that you start to believe you can do something about this nurse's habits or personality. Go with the flow.
Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,051 Posts
i'm always wondering, when someone brings up that "eating the young" garbage, whether they're being overly defensive. "it's not my problem; i didn't do anything wrong. it's just that nurses eat their young." the op seemed to have a legitimate concern, so why excoriate her instead of helping her?