Is it fine to email my supervisor/boss for any concerns I may have?

[italiansugar]

I work in a hospital, but only per diem and every other weekend. I work as an aide. It's going to be my 4th month and my 90 probationary period is over. There's going to be a big meeting coming up with all the aides and I overheard that the supervisor was going to go over major things. I heard from another aide that something happened last week with misunderstanding between a nurse and it led to one patient just leaving and disappearing because that aide was supposed to watch. They were supposedly going to fire that aide, but didn't. The problem is I was the only aide that worked in that certain floor that happened, and it was worrying me because I had no clue this had ever happened but I was the only aide that worked that week in that floor. I was about to email my supervisor and just ask her if I am doing a good job and if there's anything I can work on. Is that okay to ask?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I was about to email my supervisor and just ask her if I am doing a good job and if there's anything I can work on. Is that okay to ask?

It is certainly okay for you to ask. However, do not expect a straightforward response.

Some supervisors will provide honest, constructive criticism to provide you with feedback that you can use to improve any weak areas and strengthen any good areas of your performance. If your supervisor fits this bill, you might want to thank your lucky stars.

Other supervisors are uncomfortable with direct confrontation, so they'll tell you that everything is alright, even though they really see areas that need improvement. If you have this type of supervisor, you'll be left in the dark until it is too late.

[JerseyBSN]

I'd give the supervisor/nurse manager more credit. I'd ask directly if there is a problem with "you". If she says no then I seriously doubt she'd throw you under the bus in the middle of a meeting.

[Ajashay]

I dont know that I would do that... she might feel like maybe you are doubting yourself or insecure about your work, which is obviously not what you would want. I know that when I used to be a manager of a DME, whenever I had people ask that it felt like they were looking for praise. Maybe rather than asking if you are doing a good job you could say "I feel like everything has been going great but since I want to make sure I am doing the best I can I wanted to see if you had any recommendations of anything I should be doing differently or areas of improvement I should be working on."

Best of luck with this!

[MrWarmHearted]

fyi the title of your headline is a little misleading.

you are not asking about just any concern - it stems from a particular incident. . .

There are things that you can/discuss on email - in this case, it is better for you to talk to your boss in person

[Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN]

Didn't you already ask this?

[TheMiss]

e-mail, or better call, or even better, ask face to face to clarify what happened

[Sparrowhawk]

Face to face.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

threads merged as asking same thing

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

I'd talk to her face to face. It seems you're thinking you'll be blamed for the patient leaving since you were the only aide that worked the floor? This means you have specific concerns, not just that you're thinking someone might not think you're doing a good job. Talk to her before the meeting, and say what you've heard and that you want to talk about it to clear the air.

I'm a bit confused about the aide that wasn't fired. If you're the only aide that worked there that week, how could someone else be blamed for whatever led the patient to leave?

Do you have regular evaluations by the boss? If you don't want to bring this issue up now, evaluation time might be the time to do it, if it's still on your mind when evaluations happen.

[caliotter3]

Something as serious as this incident and the consequences should be discussed in person. Otherwise, on a day to day basis, the email idea is probably not wise. No news is good news. As long as nobody calls you into an office for a little chat, you can consider that you are doing a good enough job to stay employed.

[NoviceRN10]

I would hope if you are in the middle of a mess someone would have let you know.