Management hate

[beckster_01, BSN, RN]

Blaming all of our problems on our "superiors" is certainly not a new phenomenon, but for whatever reason it has been bothering me lately. Sure, there is some BAD management out there. But are all supervisors made of pure evil? Seriously, is anybody else sick of the disdain for accountability that is so popular in our culture? Don't blame it on "young people." I am 25 and I can see it. It is a cultural problem.

Today I got talked to for a med error. It did not cause patient harm, but was potentially quite serious. I don't know yet if it will lead to a formal write up, but if it does then I DESERVE it! And yet I am capable of not letting it destroy me. There were many circumstances surrounding the error- multiple interruptions in report, 2 extremely unstable patients, an assignment that should have been split, and poor communication with the charge nurse who ultimately ended up caring for one of my patients for the first 4 hours of my shift. But all excuses aside, I deserve to be held accountable for a mistake that I could have caught had I taken two seconds to check my drips correctly at the very beginning of my shift. I am happy to work with my manager to be sure that this doesn't happen again, to me or to another nurse. Because lets be honest, briefly glancing at each of my drips and making sure my bags are full does not count for checking my pumps with my assessment. I know that being sorry isn't good enough, and will do whatever it takes with my manager to make sure my patients stay safe in the future.

From the time I have spent here on AN, it seems that in our culture that we think we are above accountability. Why is "lateral violence" always another person's fault? In my situation, I could be complaining about the meanie charge nurse who caught and reported my mistake. But it would have been irresponsible for her not to do it. Why are so many of our mistakes and shortcomings blamed on leadership? It takes two to start a fight. If someone is rude to you, look at the situation. Were you the one that was careless and deserves a bit of constructive criticism? Are you taking things to personally? Did you do everything possible to follow protocol, wrap things up for the next shift, and prioritize appropriately? Since when are we no longer responsible for our own actions, and our own interactions with other people? If everyone tried for about 5 minutes to walk in another person's shoes, and to see an issue through the lens of another person's eye, then half of the complaints on this website would disappear.

//end late night (and probably incoherent) rant//

[snuggles49]

Very well said......I would love to have you as one of my employees.

[Morainey, BSN, RN]

Yes... I agree wholeheartedly. I've heard so much 'not my fault', 'not my problem', 'not my job', 'no one told me', lately. It's getting old.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Thank you for this post - it is encouraging!

[llg, PhD, RN]

Yes ... definitely ... Thank you for posting. You sound like the kind of nurse we all want to work with. I wish you the best of good fortune in your career (to go with that great attitude of yours.)

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

I told my manager I would NEVER want her job. It's like being an air traffic controller.

No matter what she does, someone gets ******. I am much happier to be a worker bee.

[Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN]

IMO, one of the ugliest aspects of being a manager: you often get to see the worst side of the people you work with.

[AmeliasAunt]

I agree with your posting 100%. Accountability is lacking in nursing. There have been times that I have even pointed out my own mistake, realizing that I will have to deal with the consequences. Fortunately, none of my mistakes threatened the health of the patients, but if my error could correct a process or prevent someone else from doing the same thing then of course I'm going to speak up.

[beckster_01, BSN, RN]

Where I work we use a shared leadership model. So there is a unit manager, who is responsible for finances/budgeting, hiring, firing, disciplinary action and so forth. Then we have four nurse leaders who share tasks such as the orientee program, continuing education, audits, scheduling, etc. The rest of the nurses are encouraged to have some sort of leadership role as well, whether they represent our unit on a committee or take part in unit council. After 1-2 years everyone is oriented to the charge role unless they explicitly don't want it. I am not close to feeling ready for it in the ICU, but when I was working on the floor I was frequently a charge nurse after being there for 1 year. I honestly think that this atmosphere puts things into perspective for everyone. When everyone on a unit understands how difficult leadership is there are far fewer complaints and much more perspective. I really believe that leadership is not a born trait but a learned skill, and maybe if being a leader was more of an expectation in nursing then we wouldn't whine so much? Just a theory anyways...

[Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN]

OP, I really like your attitude.

I have experienced working with really ineffective management, and it really stinks. Even so, you are still responsible for your own actions. So far in my brief time as a nurse (6 years), I have had only one really excellent manager. Most seem mediocre.

However, I have been in middle management myself in my previous career, and I know what it's like to be the meat in the sandwich between YOUR manager and those that you supervise. It's not an enviable position.

[gipeggy]

Hi beckster,

You are wise beyond your 25 years! I appreciate seeing your perspective on things. I am guilty of ranting about bad management, having left a job I had for over ten years due to disagreements with her. But I certainly would NEVER want her job either. She had to deal with the powers that be and manage a large group of MAs and RNs with strong personalities. I'm grateful to see someone out there who stays accountable for her own mistakes. It's true, this culture is very blame - oriented. I have a feeling you are an excellent nurse. We all make mistakes, unfortunately in our line of work they can be life - threatening. But you demonstrate exactly what should be done when we make them. Admit it immediately, do something about it, and take steps to help ensure it doesn't happen again. One of my favorite clinical instructors , way back when, told me it that we will make mistakes, but it is what you do about them that counts. Thanks again for a very refreshing take on this issue. Best of luck in your career!

Peggy

[monkeybug]

I'm fine with constructive criticism. One of my favorite things about my job now is that we have weekly meetings with our nursing supervisor to improve our performance and discuss issues. I want to do a good job, and I want my mistakes to be pointed out to me so that I can stop making them. What so many of us encounter, though, in our nursing jobs is NOT constructive criticism and effective management. I've worked for many nurse managers over the years. I've worked for good ones, and I've worked for some truly appalling managers. The last one, the worst one, treated me and everyone else like we were truly dirt beneath her feet. Nothing was ever said positive to us, ever. We were lied to on a daily basis. She never, ever backed us. If there was a patient complaint we were never given the benefit of the doubt, no matter how ridiculous the complaint. It was enough to leave a really bad taste in my mouth towards management.