So, I'm a Float pool nurse, and last night, I was pulling meds when a Staff nurse comes up to me. Without so much of a "hello", he snaps, "How many patients do you have?"
My eyebrows raise. "Are you Charge or Resource nurse?" I ask.
"No," he answers
"Then it's none of your business," I respond.
"I have five patients tonight. How many do you have? Are you taking any admits?" he continues to press.
"Again, it's NONE.OF.YOUR.BUSINESS. Take it up with Charge if you have a problem," I retort.
"Oh, I'm just making conversation," he sneers.
"No, you're being nosy. And I don't have to deal with it!" I reply.
I told the Charge nurse about her Staff nurse's wildly inappropriate questioning. Charge said that "she would deal with it. At the end of the shift, Staff nurse had not apologized for his behavior, so I emailed his manager about the incident. The manager did not email me back.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
OP: You call this colleague "wildly inappropriate"? Wow not even close. YOU were "inappropriate" in your lack of professional treatment of your colleague.
Your behavior was rude, condescending and most definitely inappropriate. Lucky you did not get your head pinched off. I would not have been so nice in return.
Nursing is teamwork and yes, you should have answered the question, followed up by, "is there anything you need help with"? Or if you needed help you could have simply answered the question and politely asked for it.
You need some serious self-reflection and an attitude adjustment. STAT.
Shoe on the other foot, I would never had approached a complete stranger on the floor and started an inquisition on their assignment without a proper introduction first. Also, everyone's assignment is written on the board and it's on a piece of paper handed out to everyone at the start of shift. If I have a bad attitude towards my assignment, I certainly wouldn't take it out on a new Float nurse. Usually, when I was a Staff nurse when I'd see a new face, I'd have the decency to introduce myself and ask if they needed any assistance.
So, if ever again someone comes at me brusquely while I'm doing my med pull, which is supposed to be a non-talk zone anyway (there are signs all over the medication room), I'll tell them again where they can put their bad attitude, and even do it with a smile!
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Shoe on the other foot, I would never had approached a complete stranger on the floor and started an inquisition on their assignment without a proper introduction first. Also, everyone's assignment is written on the board and it's on a piece of paper handed out to everyone at the start of shift. If I have a bad attitude towards my assignment, I certainly wouldn't take it out on a new Float nurse. Usually, when I was a Staff nurse when I'd see a new face, I'd have the decency to introduce myself and ask if they needed any assistance.
So, if ever again someone comes at me brusquely while I'm doing my med pull, which is supposed to be a non-talk zone anyway (there are signs all over the medication room), I'll tell them again where they can put their bad attitude, and even do it with a smile!
Not everyone is up for small talk. I know a few people who honestly are irritated by it. There is no reason to be so rude because someone asked you how many patients you had. *You* are the one with a bad attitude OP, not the other nurse. They were blunt but not rude. Telling someone to shove their perceived rude attitude up their rear end is very clearly rude. If I was the NM I would make sure you were not floated back to that unit.
But I'm starting to think you're pulling our collective legs.
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I think you're being a little harsh on the OP. Granted, I wouldn't have reacted the way that he/she reacted, but we don't know the tone of the conversations, or if gestures were made. The other nurse could have been in the nurse's face. Body language can dictate a lot, something many of us are cognizant of in nursing. I believe it was excessive to email the NM about this. I would have just spoke to the other nurse.
OP, just take this as a lesson, and maybe think before you react if you don't do well with confrontation.
I think the OP is leaving a lot of details at the wayside. Also the more OP posts I don't think we are being harsh at all.
No, small talk would include at least some sort of introduction of "Hi how are you?" Launching of into questioning a total stranger, especially during med pull, comes across as very blunt.
I actually like meeting new people on my Float job. That was one bad instance. Very presumptive, are we?
Shoe on the other foot, I would never had approached a complete stranger on the floor and started an inquisition on their assignment without a proper introduction first. Also, everyone's assignment is written on the board and it's on a piece of paper handed out to everyone at the start of shift. If I have a bad attitude towards my assignment, I certainly wouldn't take it out on a new Float nurse. Usually, when I was a Staff nurse when I'd see a new face, I'd have the decency to introduce myself and ask if they needed any assistance.
So, if ever again someone comes at me brusquely while I'm doing my med pull, which is supposed to be a non-talk zone anyway (there are signs all over the medication room), I'll tell them again where they can put their bad attitude, and even do it with a smile!
Peace and love to you - clearly you are not open to any constructive criticism - so I am bailing on this thread because I see zero growth or self-reflection of your own actions.
I agree a friendly introduction or a "hey - you're new here! What's your name" would have gone down much more pleasantly for you, but that was not the situation you were dealt. Hence, it now becomes your decision/choice on how to handle such a matter. And, again, I would say you have the control to turn that situation around with a little humor and kindness - even though it wasn't shown to you (from your perspective). Be the bigger person - rise above all these perceived slights and smooth your own path....gently call him out, and if he continues to be hostile/abrasive, leave it with him.
However, I am repeating myself and obviously from your response you didn't care for what I - or anyone - has said. I wish you the best moving forward in your career as a float - but I think you're going to run into some serious bumps in the road if you approach every "wildly inappropriate" situation like this. And, at the end of the day - that will not serve to make your work-life very nice, and consequently may impact your care of the patients.
Wildly inappropriate was the time I was called a **** by a new manager who thought he was being funny, or another time when I worked with all men and first day on the job I was asked how often I masturbated. THAT'S wildly inappropriate. Think about it!
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Hgraves64- Hello glorious and cheerful nurse, so full of life and spreading kindness and good cheer, love the shoes by the way and did you get new scrubs?? I was just curious, how tall are you??? Asking for a friend. :| :|
Reminds me of one time I was looking for a supply in the supply room. Another nurse walked in, so I asked her where x was kept. She too thought I should've started with hello/how are you and promptly chewed me out for it. Didn't even answer my question.
Periodically she would accuse me of avoiding conversation with her, even yelling loudly once at the nurses station how rude I was for not saying hi to her. She was partially correct--I was pretty convinced at that point she was hot-headed and would take offense to any perceived slight, so no, I didn't try to engage her in small talk. Not worth getting yelled at...haha.
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
No, small talk would include at least some sort of introduction of "Hi how are you?" Launching of into questioning a total stranger, especially during med pull, comes across as very blunt.
I actually like meeting new people on my Float job. That was one bad instance. Very presumptive, are we?
Yes, he was blunt but he wasn't rude. You were. I would rather have my nails pulled off one by one with no pain relief than work with you.
I'm not presumptuous, I'm going by the details you have provided us. Not answering a simple question a coworker asked & then running to the charge nurse & NM makes you look bad. You are not always going to get along with everyone, does that mean you should report all of them just because they don't like you/you don't like them/they did or acted in a way you don't like??
Are you an adult or a toddler? Grow up & learn how to handle situations [correctly]. That does not mean escalating things further when someone does or says something you don't like. Certainly don't run to charge or management, talk to your coworker yourself. Unless the coworker is causing harm to you, another nurse or a patient there is no reason to go to a charge or management.
You also need to learn how to take criticism because everyone has told you what you did was wrong & how to go about it better in the future but you refuse to listen. I wouldn't be surprised if you get yourself fired for acting like that.
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BrnEyedGirl, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN
1,236 Posts
I just hope that the OP's night didn't go to $&!!, after that display of attitude her coworkers may just let her sink!