just another vent, unhelpful co-workers

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A co-worker never ceases to amaze me. Over half the time I work with her it seems like she is sitting at the nursing station doing nothing or looking through her purse, no matter how much other nurses are rushing around. The other day I had a difficult patient with several things going wrong with her. I asked my co-worker (as she was sitting at the nurses station next to me as I was trying to catch up on my narrative notes) if she could check my patient's blood glucose. She said no and sat there, I said what, she said I have to watch my patient (a stable patient who had been out of OR for several hours.) I honestly thought she is joking right? I said ha ha I will watch your patient (we could see her from our chairs at the nursing station) and you check my patient's glucose. She got the lancet and glucose strip and set them on my patient's table and walked away!!!!! :mad: Never ceases to amaze me how lazy and unhelpful some co-workers can be. I know this isn't just in nursing, anyone in any job can come up with similar stories!

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

You are right its not just nursing although since we are dealing with lives it would be nicer if everyone did help each other. Unless someone offers to help me I don't ask for help with my assignments unless I'm working with someone who I know will gladly pitch in. I think it kind of depends on your relationship with the person and the situation. Maybe since you were writing notes, as opposed to running around with IV bags hanging off your arms etc., she might have figured you really didn't need the help and were only pointing out that she was sitting around on her butt? :confused:

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I'm the same way I don't ask for help nor do I expect help from my co-workers. Not sure why bu I've always been like that.

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I give help to the max. If I can drop everything to help I do it. However if I need help I'll wait for it. One incident of not waiting for help and getting some temporary back pain was enough of a warning for me. I'm not taking the chance of throwing everything away just because I didn't get help on a pull-up or transfer!

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Let me guess...she gets away with it because a)she's your boss BFF OR b) your boss subtly encourages such behavior with the divide and conquer managment style?

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I'm the same way I don't ask for help nor do I expect help from my co-workers. Not sure why bu I've always been like that.

Same here. At least it decreases my frustration with coworkers. I don't expect what I won't get.

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Specializes in neuro/ortho med surge 4.

I cannot stand that attitude. I help out when I can. If I am running straight out I tell that person I am sorry but I cannot help unless it is for a simple boost up in bed. My unit is great. Most of us try to help one another.

I always say what goes around comes around- eventually.

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Specializes in Acute Care.

Our jobs are hard enough without this sort of nonsense. I would tell your boss exactly what happened. TRULY! In the nursing arena if you are the sort of person who is unwilling to help your fellow nurses, you probably have no business in this profession. Yes that may sound harsh but we are not producing nuts and bolts here. We are dealing with peoples lives.

Another nurse being totally unwilling to assist a staff member is NOT ACCEPTABLE! Period!

Having said that, it's always going to be the case that there are some nurses who are more willing to be a team worker. I search those sort of nurses out. For me, I love doing I.V.'s. Everyone on my unit knows it. When they have a problem, they call me. In return, when I have a problem, I call them. It works wonderfully when everyone sticks together. Being a team worker has helped me to maintain my sanity in the insane world of post op/ortho.

Don't put up with it.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

I have a very hard time asking for help. I've had enough incidents where I asked for help and didn't receive it. The worst is when people tell you to ask for help if you need it, then refuse to help when you ask them. It has happened to me more than once.

I have no problem asking someone to teach me something, but otherwise I'd rather work alone. At least I know things that need to be done will get done. I help people who help me.

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Specializes in ED.

I'm just a PCA right now but in my senior year of NS. We have one RN on our floor that is like this. We have a great LPN on our floor and he had to ask her to give a med the other night and she said, "Ok. Now let me find something for you to do for me."

When I've had a few of her patients she will page me from a patient's room while I'm doing my Q4 vitals or blood sugars to come in there right away. I drop everything to go in there thinking she really needs help but all she want is for me to empty the patient's urinal or take his trash our or something like that. Really? You are already in here with gloves on and you can't empty a urinal? :uhoh3:

She has no concept of team work whatsoever and it is very frustrating to us all. Management knows how she is but what can you do? It frustrates the you-know-what out of me!!!

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Specializes in Acute Care.
I'm just a PCA right now but in my senior year of NS. We have one RN on our floor that is like this. We have a great LPN on our floor and he had to ask her to give a med the other night and she said, "Ok. Now let me find something for you to do for me."

When I've had a few of her patients she will page me from a patient's room while I'm doing my Q4 vitals or blood sugars to come in there right away. I drop everything to go in there thinking she really needs help but all she want is for me to empty the patient's urinal or take his trash our or something like that. Really? You are already in here with gloves on and you can't empty a urinal? :uhoh3:

She has no concept of team work whatsoever and it is very frustrating to us all. Management knows how she is but what can you do? It frustrates the you-know-what out of me!!!

Ok, I have to say something about this from the R.N.'s stand point. I have no idea what your unit is like. On my unit the P.C.A.'s have responsibility for about 5 % of the documentation. I have a hard time with emptying every urinal I come across ( I do empty most) when the P.C.A.'s always manage to get out on time and I always manage to be doing charting when I should be in my car headed home. Sorry but that just isn't cool

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I'm the same way I don't ask for help nor do I expect help from my co-workers. Not sure why bu I've always been like that.

That's how I am, too. When offered help, I accept it maybe 10% of the time, and only when I'm completely frazzled and have 18 things to do.

In the OP's situation, I would have just put off the charting for a bit and checked the glucose myself. I admit that if another nurse was sitting there charting and asked me to do a pt care activity for her, I would probably be a bit taken aback unless it was 30 minutes after the end of her shift and she just had to get that charting done before she can go home. My motto is, pt care comes before charting, there's always time for charting a bit later.

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