For 2 years I have worked in a family practice medical clinic. The NP I work with, whom up until approximately 1 month ago, have had a very good working relationship with. She recently began treating me very differently. She's dismissive, hateful, condescending and NOTHING I do is right in her eyes. I just can't please her. The stress and tension I've been feeling over this is really wearing me down. I spoke to my clinic manager about it two days ago. Wednesday I triaged a patient as I normally would, updated the EMR chart to show ready for provider, and as I was leaving the exam room pts mother asked for some info on a different child. I left the exam room, and pulled the other pts chart(we just went EMR and her other child's record is still paper) and began to gather the information. At that time the NP came to my work area and began YELLING at me for not walking back to her office to notify her that she had a pt ready, that I had turned the chart "green" saying she had a pt so WHY didn't I go to her office and tell her!!! Then she walked into the pts exam room. She did this in front of 3 other employees and 1 student NP. I wanted to crawl under my desk! I was embarrassed and humiliated I knew I was going to cry, so I grabbed my purse, and walked outside and went and sat in my vehicle to let the waterworks commence. Our clinic is super small, not even a breakroom, and I needed privacy for a few minutes. My clinic manager came out less than 5 minutes later. We talked and I told him that I wanted to talk to HR. He told me to take the rest of the day off and he would have HR call me. HR guy called, and he said some things that alluded to pt abandonment and safety issues. How would it be pt abandonment when the NP was in the room WITH the pt when I walked outside? I would have went back inside after a few minutes had my manager not told me to go home.... I would think the concern for pt safety would be greater having a distraught nurse caring for them. Additional info, pt was there for a runny nose..Any advice or input is greatly appreciated!
I disagree. The NP took over care of the original patient. As for patients yet to be seen, she has not started care with them, and therefore cannot abandon them. (plus her boss told her to go, and staffing is the responsibility of the facility) Unless there are more patients involved, I think she's OK. Next time, just say "I need a few minutes, I'll be back" to most anyone.
About the original conflict...you had the pt ready, then as you were walking to inform the NP, mom asked an additional question. You were working on addressing her question, so *technically* she WASNT ready, and the NP can go pound sand. Who's needs come first, the NP or the patient? You acted correctly.
I think this calls for a meeting between you, the NP and manager. Yelling at staff in front of clients is ALWAYS incorrect. Generally you don't assume someone is slacking, you go and communicate, politely. NP is probably doing this with other staff as well, and hopefully will leave soon, or have a major attitude change.
The NP can go pound sand.â€
I am now in love with that phrase and immediately must find a way to use it in my life!!!
Specializes in Education, Informatics, Patient Safety.
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing a nurse attorney, and she really opened my eyes! I won't go into all the details, but please consider the value of resigning. I wish with all my heart last fall when I was repeatedly called in for conferences about what seemed like small, unrelated issues, that I had know then what I know now. You can be fired at any time for any reason (as long as it's not for discrimination or whistleblowing) - and there will be nothing you can do about it if it happens. Lorie Brown is the atty I spoke to and she highly recommended that if you feel like you are about to be terminated, to develop a graceful exit strategy. If you are discharged, there are resources out there, but they can be tough to locate. Please know that you are not alone - things like this happen in health care ALL THE TIME. It is easy to tell someone what they should have done, but in the moment, we are human and make mistakes, and I am finding there is often very little room in health care for mistakes. Whether or not you were right at this point is irrelevant. Time to take care of yourself. And folks are right, HR and for that matter, anyone you work with is not "your friend". Your friends are your friends, and work is work - treat it like that. If you aren't being treated with respect, find a place to work that will treat you better, or that is a better fit for your personality. Find your dream job, and don't waste your time working in an environment that makes you feel "less than". If you want more info on Lorie or on resources for nurses who are fired, you can check out my podcast Safety Rules on iTunes. My goal is that no nurse will ever have to go through what I went through.
Not patient abandonment. You do not need to be in the same room as the patient at all times. Did they say pt abandonment over another patient? Because from your story you had already handed care over to the NP and you hadn't started care on anyone else. They are grasping at straws and trying to smooth the situation by throwing something on you, to show that the NP wasn't totally in the wrong. So that YOU don't pursue it further. This sounds so toxic, I would be looking for a new job
I knew I was going to cry, so I grabbed my purse, and walked outside and went and sat in my vehicle to let the waterworks commence. Our clinic is super small, not even a breakroom, and I needed privacy for a few minutes. My clinic manager came out less than 5 minutes later. We talked and I told him that I wanted to talk to HR. He told me to take the rest of the day off and he would have HR call me. HR guy called, and he said some things that alluded to pt abandonment and safety issues. How would it be pt abandonment when the NP was in the room WITH the pt when I walked outside? I would have went back inside after a few minutes had my manager not told me to go home.... I would think the concern for pt safety would be greater having a distraught nurse caring for them. Additional info, pt was there for a runny nose..Any advice or input is greatly appreciated!
PixieRN1
183 Posts
The NP can go pound sand.â€
I am now in love with that phrase and immediately must find a way to use it in my life!!!