New charge nurse is getting on our nerves...

[flashpoint]

We have a new charge nurse. From a nursing standpoint, she seems to be very competent...she knows her stuff and knows it well, however, some of the things she does as a charge nurse are getting to be a bit annoying. Our ICU nurse is supposed to float if there is no ICU patient. He/she is supposed to be available to help out in ER as well as helping on the medical floor with vitals, IV meds, basic patient care, etc, but is NOT supposed to be assigned to patients unless staffing is short or if there is a pretty critical patient on the medical floor. The new charge nurse has been told this, but consistently assigns the ICU nurse to patients. When the ICU nurse is assigned patients, they are supposed to be co-assigned to another RN and she also fails to do this. Also, she seems to be making a lot of inappropriate assignments based on patient acuity and nurses' experience and skill level. Last night she assigned the most critical patient on the floor the the newest nurse (fresh out of RN school, less than a week out of orientation) while the most expereinced RN was assigned only one patient, a 22 year old in for pain management after an MVA. The new charge is also becoming well known for stopping fellow nurses in the middle of the hall and quizzing them. Last night, she had a CNA in tears because she didn't know what Adenosine was for...she made the CNA look it up and read about it before she could go on her meal break.

So...management is aware and said to just be patient for now and that they would talk to her about making more appropriate assignments. How are we supposed to put up with this until her behavior changes?

[leslie :-D]

put it on paper; on grievance forms or incident reports or whatever your facility uses......i don't think you can write about how she handles other staff, but if you witness outright mental/verbal harrassment, then you should be able to write that up too.

then submit the grievance and discuss it with her nm.

in the meantime, don't focus on what she should be doing; just do your work and stay out of her path.

eventually someone will notice that policies are not being followed and how that impacts the mgmt. of the units.

much luck to you.

leslie

[mattsmom81]

I'm sorry you're feeling frustrated.

Most of the stuff you talk about 'might' be explained by a new charge who doesn't know the unwritten policies, and time will hopefully change her approach. It's a transition for everybody when a new unfamiliar face is suddenly 'in charge.' She also may be the type 'my way or the highway'...I've worked with more than a few managers and DON's who have a style like this. Ain't fun but we adjust or look at our options, charge and staff alike.

The quizzing of the CNA's is abusive...who would expect a CNA to know a drug??? It's outside their scope of practice and unacceptable to treat a coworker this way,IMO. She may be a bully type....document.

Are these written policies or just 'through the grapevine' type things? I try to give a new charge nurse a chance...perhaps they are unsure, overwhelmed and trying to find their 'fit'. Hope it works out for you guys and she becomes easier to work with.

As a former charge nurse, (who now avoids it like the plague) I found it impossible to make everybody happy...and also found that some staff loved to manipulate me...when bottom line, it was my license on the line and I had to make decisions I was comfortable with.

Hope things get better Cotjockey.