Is my manager incompetent?

[ITALY123]

Okay, so we have had a few new girls start a few months ago. I really like all of them and try to coach and give positive feedback to them. Over the past month, I have noticed one of the girls tending to act careless when it comes to patient care. The patient comes first in all we do, and when she is told to do things such as go to a RAPID RESPONSE or go get STAT blood work, or even call a doctor with critical results she just shrugs her shoulders and pushes it aside. This in turn makes us mad and makes us think she doesnt give a ####. I went to the manager to let her know that patient care is being affected and all the manager had to say was " why are you looking at the negative things in her"? .....???? Am I mistaken or should she have not gotten off her butt and pulled the girl aside to set her straight? I am not the first to complain about her and yet the manager acts like she does no wrong????? Am I looking at this the wrong way? Give me your insight plz....

[ivorybunny]

This situation is very difficult. I have also found myself in a situation where I am very concerned about the actions of a nurse and have spoken to my manager, and yet there are no results. Or to me, what seemed as any type of results. Perhaps it is because it is not our place to know what is said to the offender by the manager. Perhaps she said that comment because she doesn't want to deal with at the direct moment or maybe she has had several complaints and now has to deal with it in a displicinary action? Every place is different. For us, we are not suppose to complain about issues- we use a system to "write it up" in EMS- which seems even more like tattle-telling. It's suppose to provide a clear documentation of concerns related to either a person or a system in place. Have you spoken to her? I know that my manager doesn't want to hear about it unless we have tried to discuss our issues with each other. (I have always thought that's what you're suppose to be here for, but hey what do I know) Maybe since she's new she's blowing things off cause she's scared or really not sure what to do. I don't know. But I do know how frustrating it is to bring issue after issue to your manager and have no resolution. My best wishes.

[ukstudent]

Your manager would be incompatant IF you knew what was happening with your co-worker. You are not ment to know what is happening with anyone your work with, just like your co-workers should not know if your manager is having dispinary talks with you. It comes down to privacy issues.

If you are truley concerned about patient car and safety then you need to write it up for your manager. Managers can't do much with with he said/she said statements.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I guess my question is: how do you know that she didn't "get off her butt" (as you say) and take some action? Any manager that would take corrective action in front of others would be incompetent, in my view. So, you really don't know what did or did not happen.

I'm struggling with how to say this politely, but since you asked for our insights....I think your attitude is a little much. Did you seriously expect your manager to hop up right then and there, go corral the nurse and berate her for all of the wrongs that you reported? If that was not your expectation, I apologize, but that's what your post sounds like.

It is the manager's responsibility to gather all information on any issue (from all sources, not just one person) and then take action, which action may or may not ever be known to anyone besides the nurse involved. Maybe it would make you feel better to start documenting issues that you feel violate patient safety. Not necessarily to hand to the manager every time you observe something, but to have a record of your observations if you are ever asked for your opinion.

[streptococcus]

One of the problems with nursing is that most nurses have no formal training in management, supervision, or how to combine them to be a good leader. Therefore, their reasoning processes involve a lot of trial and error learning, often contamination by friendship and cliques.

[pennyaline]

One of the problems with nursing is that most nurses have no formal training in management, supervision, or how to combine them to be a good leader. Therefore, their reasoning processes involve a lot of trial and error learning, often contamination by friendship and cliques.

This lack of management expertise also shows up in staff members such as the OP, who believed that her manager should have jumped into action immediately upon hearing her report and now questions the manager's competence because of what she perceives as failure to act. The OP does not seem to see that management is a juggling act and that she herself is one of the balls her manager keeps in the air.

[David13, MSN, RN]

If you continue to believe that your coworker is not practicing safely, my best suggestion to you is to document, document, document. Document the practices that you have witnessed and believe to be unsafe, and also document any responses you made as well as your attempts to bring these concerns to your manager.

I would also check into the policies of your facility to determine if there is an "official" course of action that should be taken when an employee has concerns regarding unsafe practices.

You are correct. The safety of the patients in our care should be our primary concern.

Good luck.