Nasty nurses

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Jun 4, 2014

You need to be more assertive when you want to take a break. Also if it was her admit how did you end up finishing it? Did she order you, ask you or did you just feel you should do it? Did you have less patients than her?

I don't see proof that you are being mistreated so far, just that there is a lack of communication between the two of you, and that you are not being assertive enough. Some people are set in their ways and like to take breaks at a regular basis, again you need to speak up is that is a conflict for you. Also someone may want to take a break before they will get an admit since the paperwork can bog you down.

dance4life · Jun 4, 2014

Im starting this fall and honestly, i HOPE I get a tough crusty old bat! Do you know why? Its because they know what the HELL is going on in that hospital. They know the ins and outs down to the people who change the air filters. I want someone like that on my side. Tough love is better than NO LOVE. Learn from the crusty bats, wipe off your tears and prep for the next pt. Life isnt about hugs, kisses and unicorns. Nursing IS about respect, yes. And you need to respect the crusty bats. Besides, its the crusty bats that will soon retire and then you can swoop in and take their job. Be thankful for the opportunity! Usually the mean ones are the ones FULL of knowledge and experience that people are too afraid to talk to. Remember why they are in nursing? Because they DO CARE. Dont kiss booty but def take notes. I HOPE one day someone will refer to me as the "crusty bat". Lol. Respectfully to all past, present and future nurses spread your bat wings and fly!

Actually, the one who got me fired wanted me to push an IV Cardiac medication on a Medical Surgical floor. Um, yeah... knows ins and outs of what? How to kill a patient? OK...

I use to love Crusty Bats until this happened to me today. She gets to sleep her wonderful head tonight while I have to sit here and wonder how I am going to take care of my family.

Just no... Rather deal with the newbie. Usually, they don't try getting me fired.

dance4life · Jun 4, 2014

Wait I better not say that or a New Grad will get me fired next.

excited1 · Jun 4, 2014

Agreed! But as a licensed nurse, you do need to know your scope, meds, limits, etc. if you did the right thing in your mind, you should be resting your head tonight just as you are implying the other nurse is. Nothing you can do about it now, right? And if you arent able to rest, that could mean you feel you should have done differently and will need to decide your next steps.

We all will have moments such as these. Its how we reflect on the situation and learn how to handle it next time. If you really feel she has it out for you (she already has a job there so not sure why she would feel threatened) then talk to the charge nurse or HR.

openyourmind · Jun 4, 2014

Im starting this fall and honestly, i HOPE I get a tough crusty old bat! Do you know why? Its because they know what the HELL is going on in that hospital. They know the ins and outs down to the people who change the air filters. I want someone like that on my side. Tough love is better than NO LOVE. Learn from the crusty bats, wipe off your tears and prep for the next pt. Life isnt about hugs, kisses and unicorns. Nursing IS about respect, yes. And you need to respect the crusty bats. Besides, its the crusty bats that will soon retire and then you can swoop in and take their job. Be thankful for the opportunity! Usually the mean ones are the ones FULL of knowledge and experience that people are too afraid to talk to. Remember why they are in nursing? Because they DO CARE. Dont kiss booty but def take notes. I HOPE one day someone will refer to me as the "crusty bat". Lol. Respectfully to all past, present and future nurses spread your bat wings and fly!

You can totally have that guano. I'm sure no one will complain. :thumbup:

excited1 · Jun 4, 2014

Im pretty sure everyone on here is trying to provide support, but the fact is, if you werent comfortable pushing the meds, why did you? I am just at the beginning of my journey and your story scares the heck out of me for the reasons you are sharing today. But if you are pushing meds, you better know what you are pushing, why you are pushing, etc. and if it seems weird, stop and clarify. There is NOTHING wrong with asking and if you disagree, ask for a charge nurse or someone else to assist. You may seem like a pain in the rear, but the fact is, its your hard work and license that could suffer.

I am sorry you are going through this, really. And if you are that upset, call your manager asap.

dance4life · Jun 4, 2014

I never pushed it. I told the Manager what she did, how I spend 30 minutes sticking up for myself, and printing out the policy for her so she wouldn't push it. Of course I was fired for complaining about how Ridley I was treated by a staff member. Floats need permission to leave late and I was never paid.

The crusty nurse kept saying I didn't know anything because I was a float. Guess what the big crusty hospital fired me just like the float she told me I was. They must of been in agreement about Floats or didn't know how to look up the policy on the computer. It took them five days to let me know they didn't need my services anymore.

When hospitals have big crusty nurses working for them they don't care about patients it seems they just care about their crusty nurse colleagues getting retirement. She should of been fired not me! My child shouldn't have to suffer. I knew the policy from being a nurse not because it was a hospital policy! Real safe big top hospital. Maybe they will lose their top ten spot like another hospital I know that had old crispy crustaceans running it. They are due for review. Plus I am complaining to the Labor Board they owe me for a lot of time.

excited1 · Jun 4, 2014

That just seems too terrible to happen to fellow nurses. Not denying thats what happened to you, just maybe a bad seed. As cliche as it sounds, karma will come back to the bad apple and good things will happen to you.

dance4life · Jun 4, 2014

Actually, I have been fired three times in the past year from nurses with hear say or lying problems. My family and I lived in our car last summer. Unemployment verification took forever. Of course I got it eventually. I was also reported by a hospital to the Board for not documenting. I have to wait 3 years to find out my fate. Get that NSO Insurance. Lots of little devils out there. Not sure I want to go back. It must be my Karma that I too nice for nursing. It is hard saving when you have to keep catching up from being fired. Still catching up from being homeless last year and my credit is ruined.

All these people that have done this to me work for big hospitals, have great salaries, benefits, great credit, etc.

There is no Karma unless it is leaking.

Anna Flaxis, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2014

I do not like nurses that use their seniority to bully newer nurses. There is this one nurse at my job she seemed ok at first but I feel I have to watch out for her. She is mean and takes advantage of my newness. The last time she had an admission that I ended up doing because she didnt feel like. Initially the patient was supposed to go to a room in my section of the unit but the pt's family decided she wanted to be in a room in another section. It was at that point that it became this nurses's pt but when she realized the family member was crazy and she didnt complete it, I had to. That was number one. Number two she takes first break but takes her sweet time to give me report and comes back late then instead of being available so I can give her report, she starts taking care of her pts while Im waiting to go on break. I really dislike this. How can I demand my respect and stop these older nurses from thinking it's ok to talk to me anyhow and walk all over me?

While it's nice to think that we work with other people who care about *our* needs, the fact is that usually, it's up to *us* to get our own needs met. Even in a workplace where people are very considerate of others, you still need to speak up. It really doesn't have to be a big deal. With the admission, if you had already started it when you thought it was your patient, then just completing it before passing the patient on would be a courteous gesture to the other nurse, who is having a new admit sprung upon them. For the breaks, as others have stated, you need to speak up when it's time for you to take your break. When she comes back from her break and starts in on patient care, you need to approach her and tell her you need to take your break and give her a *brief* report and get your behind off the floor and onto break. Again, it doesn't have to be a big deal. And, if she takes a few extra minutes on her break, then guess what? This means you can take a few extra minutes, too.

dance4life · Jun 4, 2014

I really wish someone would of scared me I would of gotten into Engineering and had a nice Mortgage or Car Loan.

excited1 · Jun 4, 2014

@dance4life, you have been through SO much. Maybe taking a step back and taking a break wouldnt be a bad thing. Lots of people in this world struggle and can never seem to get caught up. Like Albert Einstein said "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different results." I refer to that quote often. More often than i wish i had to.