This is more a vent, because i had a horrible day at the hospital today. As a nursing student I was assigned to one of the nurses at DEU facility. At 7am I introduced myself and let her know I will be working with her. She looked at me, didn't say anything and left. I literally ran after her. She was getting a report when the patient started complaining how everyone gives her different diagnosis and she can't trust anyone. As soon as we stepped outside of the room (night shift nurse, my nurse and I), PCT informed the nurse that patient wants to talk to the head of the hospital. Charged nurse told my nurse to just talk to the patient again and try to calm her. At the same time, the night nurse told me to stay outside of the room while they are talking inside (so that patient doesn't get even more agitated).
I was standing outside of the room when my nurse open the door and screamed at the top of her lungs "why are you just standing there, my patient tripped and almost fell, what's wrong with you. You should help me."
I made sure patient was ok (she didn't fall, she tripped as she was walking and talking to the nurse) and told my clinical instructor to assign me to another nurse. She said "yeah, we had the problem with this nurse before" and she reassigned me.
Towards the end of my shift, I overheard charge nurse talking to the mean nurse. She informed her that medical director complained that she never smile or talk. I was thinking "ok, but screaming on top of her lungs in front of the patient and patient's family at 7am is ok?" I was just buffled that no one cared, it seems like some nurses can act any way they want and professionalism is something some nurses forgot and they still can get away with it.
I think you had an excellent educational experience today. You're not going to forget this any time soon. The most productive thing you can do is analyze the situation you witnessed and incorporate its useful lessons into your future practice.
Lesson #1: Listen to patients, hear what they're saying, but don't take it personally.
Lesson #2: When patients have concerns, do what you can to right the situation, and if you can't reasonably do anything and the situation is escalating, call someone with the authority to get to the bottom of their concerns and/or complaints rather than responding in kind or taking it out on those around you.
Lesson #3: Although you (in your future nursing role) might have a terrible day (as it seems your assigned nurse was), now you know exactly what it looks like to take it out on others in ways that are unprofessional and at some point simply ridiculous. Did that nurse make you look foolish? No. She made herself look foolish. Before the day was even over she was reaping the negative consequences of taking things personally and letting those things affect her on a professional level.
Lesson #4: You sort of/almost did the exact same thing your nurse did, which was to become completely agitated by taking personally a situation that had nothing to do with you. If someone acts like a lunatic and screeches at you for something having utterly nothing to do with you - - you have to be able to quickly categorize that as something which is not worth you getting agitated over, especially to the point that your concentration and/or ability to do your job is negatively affected.
Lesson #5: Everyone has a bad day now and then, and sometimes it's a super bad day. And we are (almost) all capable of some sort of near melt-down when we've simply just had enough. So...anyone who can come around during those times and share a smile or a "what can I do to help you?" or any small bit of encouragement is doing a good thing.
Thanks God I am not planning on being a nurse for too long... Especially not after witnessing this ridiculous pettiness in nursing. And honestly, I am thankful this all happened 5 min after the shift started because I saw her attitude and knew it was going to be a miserable day. While she was getting a report (before the issue with the patient) she acted like I didn't exist and like i am some inferior species comparing to her all-mighty nurse status.
She probably won't but I do hope she gets fired soon so she has some time to reflect and learn some self-control, stress management and how to not be mean and ****** just because her life sucks.
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
Hello FutureNurse -
I think you had an excellent educational experience today. You're not going to forget this any time soon. The most productive thing you can do is analyze the situation you witnessed and incorporate its useful lessons into your future practice.
Lesson #1: Listen to patients, hear what they're saying, but don't take it personally.
Lesson #2: When patients have concerns, do what you can to right the situation, and if you can't reasonably do anything and the situation is escalating, call someone with the authority to get to the bottom of their concerns and/or complaints rather than responding in kind or taking it out on those around you.
Lesson #3: Although you (in your future nursing role) might have a terrible day (as it seems your assigned nurse was), now you know exactly what it looks like to take it out on others in ways that are unprofessional and at some point simply ridiculous. Did that nurse make you look foolish? No. She made herself look foolish. Before the day was even over she was reaping the negative consequences of taking things personally and letting those things affect her on a professional level.
Lesson #4: You sort of/almost did the exact same thing your nurse did, which was to become completely agitated by taking personally a situation that had nothing to do with you. If someone acts like a lunatic and screeches at you for something having utterly nothing to do with you - - you have to be able to quickly categorize that as something which is not worth you getting agitated over, especially to the point that your concentration and/or ability to do your job is negatively affected.
Lesson #5: Everyone has a bad day now and then, and sometimes it's a super bad day. And we are (almost) all capable of some sort of near melt-down when we've simply just had enough. So...anyone who can come around during those times and share a smile or a "what can I do to help you?" or any small bit of encouragement is doing a good thing.
I can't "like" this post enough. Nursing school is where you start to learn that everything isn't about you.
That is ridiculous. Asking from someone to respect me and be professional is all about me. How about nurses learn to communicate and stop abusing nursing AND medical students. These are the rules, this is how we learn... by shadowing...But I guess inferiority complex is very strong with some nurses.
Thanks God I am not planning on being a nurse for too long... Especially not after witnessing this ridiculous pettiness in nursing. And honestly, I am thankful this all happened 5 min after the shift started because I saw her attitude and knew it was going to be a miserable day. While she was getting a report (before the issue with the patient) she acted like I didn't exist and like i am some inferior species comparing to her all-mighty nurse status.
She probably won't but I do hope she gets fired soon so she has some time to reflect and learn some self-control, stress management and how to not be mean and ****** just because her life sucks.
Maybe she was rude, maybe not, but you are making this all about you and the fact that you want her to be fired is not only petty, but mean and unforgiving, especially when you know nothing about her or her situation. I hope you reflect and consider your own opinions and actions. Respect is a two way street.
Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
Not sure how you came to the conclusion that nobody cares about this nurse's "attitude" when several points of your post prove that, in fact, multiple people cared enough to do or say something.
Having students is taking more responsibility, because you have to explain and teach how things work, teach skills and answer numerous questions. Sometimes nurses have a choice to decline having a student, sometimes they don't. She may have acted in a mean way in your eyes, but the way you are reacting is not any better.
Of note: Not all clinical instructors (BSN RN's) receive bonus pay, but ALL do volunteer and receive extra training in effective educational and training techniques. In a DEU the nurse/clinical instructor is supposed to WANT to teach.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
She probably won't but I do hope she gets fired soon so she has some time to reflect and learn some self-control, stress management and how to not be mean and ****** just because her life sucks.
Wow
The nurses attitude sucked. And you are right, we have bad days and we need to work on keeping it out of the work place.
However your attitude really isnt brilliant either, wishing someone would get fired because she wasnt all sweetness and light to you
Any sympathy I had for you just went out the window
Signed the mean miserable nurse who loves ketchup with my student nurses
Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.
Thanks God I am not planning on being a nurse for too long... Especially not after witnessing this ridiculous pettiness in nursing. And honestly, I am thankful this all happened 5 min after the shift started because I saw her attitude and knew it was going to be a miserable day. While she was getting a report (before the issue with the patient) she acted like I didn't exist and like i am some inferior species comparing to her all-mighty nurse status.
She probably won't but I do hope she gets fired soon so she has some time to reflect and learn some self-control, stress management and how to not be mean and ****** just because her life sucks.
Why are you planning on not being a nurse for very long?
Thanks God I am not planning on being a nurse for too long... Especially not after witnessing this ridiculous pettiness in nursing. And honestly, I am thankful this all happened 5 min after the shift started because I saw her attitude and knew it was going to be a miserable day. While she was getting a report (before the issue with the patient) she acted like I didn't exist and like i am some inferior species comparing to her all-mighty nurse status.
She probably won't but I do hope she gets fired soon so she has some time to reflect and learn some self-control, stress management and how to not be mean and ****** just because her life sucks.
Specializes in Psychiatry, Community, Nurse Manager, hospice.
OP,
You control yourself. You influence others by and through your self control.
It is unfortunate that the nurse told you to go out in the hallway and then yelled at you for not being there when the patient tripped.
It was mostly unfortunate for her. She was then reprimanded in front of you which was certainly humiliating for her. As long as we are talking about professionalism, you should know that it is unprofessional to reprimand someone in front of others, especially people who work under them. It is also inappropriate to reprimand a nurse for not smiling enough.
You are learning that hostile work environments lead to errors. Don't make the mistake of thinking that a hostile work environment is one person's fault. It never is. And you can usually find the cause of the hostility in the way people are managed.
When people feel emotionally upset they do things like draw up incorrect insulin or yell at students. If they are treated with kindness and compassion there is a better chance that they will realize their mistakes and try to do better. If they are chastised for feeling badly (ie; you don't smile enough) it's unlikely they will be able to process their feelings in a way that helps them improve.
When you drew up the 8 units, your instructor corrected you without emotion, right? She was in a good place at the time and able to be objective. That was helpful to you in noticing that your emotional distress was affecting your attention. Next step is to improve yourself. How can you prevent this error in the future? What will you do next time you are feeling stressed while drawing up a med to prevent errors? It will definitely happen again. Learning ways to cope is important because total control over your social environment is impossible. There will be many more people acting badly at work in your future. Hospitals are high stress environments.
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JKL33
7,043 Posts
Hello FutureNurse -
I think you had an excellent educational experience today. You're not going to forget this any time soon. The most productive thing you can do is analyze the situation you witnessed and incorporate its useful lessons into your future practice.
Lesson #1: Listen to patients, hear what they're saying, but don't take it personally.
Lesson #2: When patients have concerns, do what you can to right the situation, and if you can't reasonably do anything and the situation is escalating, call someone with the authority to get to the bottom of their concerns and/or complaints rather than responding in kind or taking it out on those around you.
Lesson #3: Although you (in your future nursing role) might have a terrible day (as it seems your assigned nurse was), now you know exactly what it looks like to take it out on others in ways that are unprofessional and at some point simply ridiculous. Did that nurse make you look foolish? No. She made herself look foolish. Before the day was even over she was reaping the negative consequences of taking things personally and letting those things affect her on a professional level.
Lesson #4: You sort of/almost did the exact same thing your nurse did, which was to become completely agitated by taking personally a situation that had nothing to do with you. If someone acts like a lunatic and screeches at you for something having utterly nothing to do with you - - you have to be able to quickly categorize that as something which is not worth you getting agitated over, especially to the point that your concentration and/or ability to do your job is negatively affected.
Lesson #5: Everyone has a bad day now and then, and sometimes it's a super bad day. And we are (almost) all capable of some sort of near melt-down when we've simply just had enough. So...anyone who can come around during those times and share a smile or a "what can I do to help you?" or any small bit of encouragement is doing a good thing.