Is the charge nurse the boss of unit secretary?

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Friend of mine is doing secretary work at a hospital. She says she has been getting bullied by a charge nurse. The nurse has yelled at her and even said things in front of other nurses like basically calling her incompetent. The nurse has also said racist remarks. My friend tried to go to her bosses but nothing has been done and it is getting worse. Any suggestions on what to do? She also says that when she has went to supervisors, things get back to the nurse and it gets really bad.

My friend is the type that cares a lot about patients and wants to help. This CN seems to throw attitude of 'Oh well.' To me, the lady seems to be getting big headed about her status. She just got CN a year or so back. A few other nurses have talked how stuck up and self absorbed she is.

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My friend is the type that cares a lot about patients and wants to help. This CN seems to throw attitude of 'Oh well.' To me, the lady seems to be getting big headed about her status. She just got CN a year or so back. A few other nurses have talked how stuck up and self absorbed she is.

This may be part of her problem. In every facility I have worked, the Unit Secretary is NOT involved with patient care *at all*. She may be way overstepping her bounds, which could create some annoyance to a nurse.

She needs to do HER job, and allow others in direct patient care to perform THEIR duties.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

The charge nurse may not technically be the secretary's boss in the company hierarchy, as in the charge nurse isn't going to be the one doing her annual evaluations and approving her time cards.

But the charge nurse does give the secretary direction as to what the secretary needs to do.

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Specializes in Pedi.
The charge nurse may not technically be the secretary's boss in the company hierarchy, as in the charge nurse isn't going to be the one doing her annual evaluations and approving her time cards.

But the charge nurse does give the secretary direction as to what the secretary needs to do.

This. The charge nurse isn't the one who hires/fires the unit secretary, approves her time card or does her annual review but that doesn't mean that the charge nurse doesn't have supervisory responsibilities over her during the day/the need to direct her. The "boss" of the unit secretary is probably either the nurse manager of the floor or some administrative boss but that seems kind of irrelevant to what was said in the OP.

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As charge nurse, I directed clerical personnel. Yelling and using racist remarks is subjective.

If supervision is not answering her complaints, your friend has no recourse. Get outta dodge.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I am going to be honest. I suspect this is you, not your friend. There is too much detail and, frankly, too much investment in things that are not any of your business if you aren't the person involved.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
As to whether the charge nurse is the boss of the unit secretary, I suppose that would vary by facility type, structure, shift, etc.

Yes...and you definition of 'boss.' Hire and fire? No. Work with HR to decide on appropriate discipline for a particular situation? No. Direct the secretary during the shift; ask her to do something (sometimes not in a sugar coated, "pretty, pretty please" way)? Yes. It is really the job of any nurse to delegate duties to ancillary staff members, the secretary being one.

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I am going to be honest. I suspect this is you, not your friend. There is too much detail and, frankly, too much investment in things that are not any of your business if you aren't the person involved.

My thoughts exactly. If she is indeed a friend, she is spending too much time "visiting", if she "knows" everything she claims to.

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No I'm too busy with school to do much work. I also have kids and do part time work at a vet clinic. This has been going on a while and we are very close and talk a lot. Lately it's been complaints about the situation she has. Thanks for suggestions. I'm going to just keep telling her to keep looking in other places.

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Specializes in Psych, Peds, Education, Infection Control.
This may be part of her problem. In every facility I have worked, the Unit Secretary is NOT involved with patient care *at all*. She may be way overstepping her bounds, which could create some annoyance to a nurse.

She needs to do HER job, and allow others in direct patient care to perform THEIR duties.

I had this problem once with a secretary. She spent most of her day telling me how I should have been running my unit as a charge nurse, telling patients what they could and couldn't do, and generally being a pain in my tushie. She was a very nice person, actually, but she had no idea what the boundaries of her job were - and since she'd been at this hospital so long, I got a lot of, "That's just how she is." She transferred to another unit, where there was a clinical manager who basically laid down the law with her, and we've gotten along great ever since when I see her. You can have problems with knowing your scope of practice without being a terrible person - but it will still create problems for you at work.

OP, I recognize you're trying to help your friend, and the CN may indeed be a huge witch. They do exist. But, as others have said, you're only getting her side of it. And even if the charge is terrible, none of us are that charge nurse's boss, and generally managers don't take complaints from people who are not under them or patients/family of patients. So while I get that you're frustrated, we simply aren't the best source of help for your specific situation.

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Specializes in Psych, Peds, Education, Infection Control.

Also, every time I see anyone post "is so-and-so the boss of so-and-so" anywhere, I think of my peds patients telling me, "YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!"

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
I had this problem once with a secretary. She spent most of her day telling me how I should have been running my unit as a charge nurse, telling patients what they could and couldn't do, and generally being a pain in my tushie. She was a very nice person, actually, but she had no idea what the boundaries of her job were - and since she'd been at this hospital so long, I got a lot of, "That's just how she is."

There is a very thin line with unit secretaries (any staff, really). Secretaries who are short of that line roll their eyes and huff when even asked to do the most basic of tasks that are in their job descriptions. The other side of the line is the secretary you describe, who tells everyone else how to do their job, even when it is not the secretaries place. I generally ignore the behaviors of both these types as long as it is not directly impacting patient care. If the secretary (again, could be any staff) is lazy, I generally ignore it as long as the basics are getting done--I knew as a charge nurse I was not going to make them have some miraculous transformation. If they are the busy body, nosy type, I let them be, and do my thing, knowing that I know better than them how to do my job.

If a secretary finds the sweet spot--hard worker, their stuff is always done, they are a resource without being overbearing--that person is an incredible asset to the unit, and I wished they could be cloned!

To the OP, I'm not sure which of the 3 your friend is. Also, based on a couple little snippets, I cannot really reach a conclusion on the CN in question. As others have said, you are only getting one side of the story, and have only see this nurse in one isolated snap shot. I've said it before about other things--I hope people don't choose to judge me on one, very isolated look at me.

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