Is this fair?

[RachelLVN]

Last night was my second night off orientation. My orientation time was EXTREMELY prolonged due to having time off for surgery, and also I'm going straight to work on my RN, so since the beginning of August I've only been working 2-3 nights per week. I love my charge nurse, but the relief charge nurse is constantly trying to check up on me, put me down, and always going around to all my patients and asking them if I am providing deficient care, is there anything I didn't do for them, etc. She even told my preceptor she hopes I won't make it as a nurse.

Generally on nights we have about 6-7 patients a piece. Last night when I came in, we had an unusually low census (18 pts) and 4 nurses. I found that I was assigned 6 pts, and all the other nurses were assigned 4 pts. When I confronted the CN about it, she said that really I probably should have had 7 pts, but it wouldn't have been fair for someone else to only have 3. I asked her why I should have had 7, and she said that the hospital likes to break new nurses in quickly?

She also told me that I had to take the first admit (fortunatley all the other nurses got onto her about that and told me that if there was an admit, they would take it).

Well, I quickly found that one of my patients had Alzheimer's, climbing the rails and wandering the halls going into other peoples' rooms (one of those Houdinis that always manages to get out of restraints) and one of them needed a blood transfusion (never done it). Fortunately the nurse that witnessed the blood for me helped me with that.

I could put up with her during orientation because my preceptor would always stand up to her. But the last night she was making my life complete hell.

During orientation one of my pts was choking and the respiratory therapist told her to go get the suction off the crash cart, but she wouldn't do it because she said "to open the crash cart would be too much paper work."

I have tried to talk to my NM about this, but she doesn't return phone calls, emails, and she is never in her office when I go up to see her. Also I work nights so she is never there. One time I asked her if we could make an appointment, she said we could, but she wasn't there when I got to the appointment.

Last night this CN told me that she had put in her two weeks (which MADE MY YEAR!!!). Should I even bother trying to hunt down my NM? How should I handle this abuse?

All in all it wasn't a bad night - I feel like I learned a lot and handled the things that came up with my pts appropriately, so I was proud of myself for that, I just don't feel like arguing with this $%#%$#^ anymore.

My main question is this: is it customary for nurses to be "broken in quickly" like this?

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

It may not be right, it may not be fair, but it's also not uncommon. I won't stick up for the crew that's been less than wonderful with you, but "fair" isn't something that will often be applied to your work environment. Sad to say, but it's true. You will have GOOD charge nurses and poor ones. Good nurse co-workers and poor ones. You will find yourself picking up slack someone else leaves....is this fair? Maybe not, but it's life. Life isn't fair

I can tell you that when there's an odd number of patients to be assigned (meaning that once everyone gets X amount there's one left over) then the LPN (LVN) WILL get that extra one. Why? Because he or she cannot do the IV pushes, work with PICC lines, do full assessments on a new admission. The RNs have to pick up his or her meds (and we give lots of pushes and TPN, antibiotics through PICCs) and so forth for every time one of those patients has a need the LPN cannot fill. So yes, you'd get the extra patient pretty much every time on my unit.

You're probably having it a bit rougher because of the prolonged nature of your orientation. It's also not "right" or "fair" but there may be the thinking that by now you should be up to speed and pulling more weight than you are. I didn't say it was something I'd support, but I'd bet that's at play here, too.

Sounds like your problem, for the most part, will resolve with a new CN. Do your best to pick up your own end of things as best you can, be efficient and helpful, and things are bound to get better. And if they don't, after you've given it plenty of time to work its way out, then you can always "vote with your feet"!

[morte, LPN, LVN]

where i practice, you need two rns to hang blood.....i presume not were you practice?.....since she is leaving, assuming that comes to pass, i would try to run under the radar.....if she ends up staying you need to have that talk with your NM....if you dont get any where with he/she...try HR..she is basically hazing you...whch could be considered creating a hostile work environment..

[RachelLVN]

Hmm, I hadn't thought of these things. In our hospital you need two licensed nurses to hang blood, and LVNs can do everything RNs can do on my unit except d/c chest tubes and give epidural boluses.