New Grad LPN causing problems

[Lovely_RN, MSN]

This is pretty long because I've got some things on my chest and I've had a very rough shift today. I tried to talk to my spouse but of course he isn't a nurse and just doesn't get it so I am venting here.

We have a former CNA who is a newly graduated LPN working days at our facility. I really liked this young lady and I even encouraged her to apply for the position when she graduated from school rather than go elsewhere. The problem is that in the three months she has been working her floor she has done some unorthodox things and has turned into a conniving wench. Some of the things that she does cause problems for me when I work after her or relieve her on her days off and it seems like she tries to make other people look bad on purpose.

A few examples and these are things that have all happened this week.

Tuesday it's doctors day and the doc is at the nurses station signing orders and writing out triplicates. I'm coming on for 3-11pm and the new nurse is finishing up her paperwork. The doc asks her about something that didn't get done on the weekend and she simpers at him. Oh Dr. ______ I didn't work this weekend and you know how it is when I don't work the weekends. When I come in on Monday this place is upside down and it takes me until the middle of the week to get it back to normal. Uh she is such a little liar because she did work that weekend from 7-3pm and way to go for throwing the 3-11pm and 11-7am nurses under the bus.

On Wednesday I'm not working "her floor" so she comes to visit me and pi**es me off again. She starts in on how disorganized this particular floor is compared to her floor and she criticized the two day shift regular nurses pretty badly. She really ****** me off. One of these nurses has been working at the facility since 1986 and the other one has been there for 30+ years! First as a CNA, then LPN, and finally as the RN floor manager. I told her that while I think they are pretty mean (and they are tough ol birds who take no crap) that they have been doing this since she was a baby and that I do have respect for them. I also told her not to worry about them because they run that floor and will be there long after we youngsters move on! I didn't say much else to her and she left a minute later.

On Thursday I worked 3-11pm (after her 7-3pm) and while hanging a feeding the resident gets mad with me because I don't have bottled water for her feeding!? The new nurse told the resident that we have bottled water for her enteral feeding so the resident became annoyed with me and demanded that I provide her with bottled water when she saw me running the tap. We don't have any bottled water for enteral feedings at our facility! I don't understand why this LPN even gave her that impression but when I asked her about it she told me that when she works 3-11pm she just takes the bag and fills it up at the sink at the nurses station. So she is being deceptive with the woman and of course this lady thinks she is wonderful and that I suck.

Now lets move on to my Saturday (today) shift.

She leaves medication for a psych patient who is notorious for being non-compliant with her meds at the bedside so you know what happened to me today when I didn't do the same? Again, I had an annoyed resident who told me "but the other nurse does it what's your problem? and so on and so on"

She allows the CNAs to order Chinese food for an uncontrolled diabetic with a recent Hab1c of 9.4% who is non-compliant with taking her medication or following any sort of diet. Now I know I can't stop the resident's family from bringing outside food for her but I'm not going to be the one to push her into her grave. The residents blood sugar was 325 before lunch today and she refused to eat the lunch the facility provided for her. The resident gives a CNA $10 and tells her to order a bunch of junk from the local Chinese take out. The CNA comes to me and I said no you can't do that. First of all our facility has a strict policy about handling the resident's money. We are NOT supposed to take money from residents to buy them things from the outside. Second this woman's blood sugar was already 325 before lunch (and this is with skipping breakfast!) I'm not going to participate in ordering her a bunch of greasy Chinese food and letting her wash it all down with a Coke. Of course the new LPN lets this happen on a regular basis so once again I am the b*tch.

The icing on the cake today was a resident wanted to go out on a pass with a responsible party. Ok so the person calls when they arrive and says they can't find parking (this is typical where my facility is...there is very little parking) so could I be nice enough to bring the pass downstairs for her? So I agree because it was after 3pm and I was leaving anyway. Little did I know that it a common practice of the new LPN to sign the pass and give it to the resident to take downstairs w/o laying eyes on the responsible party or having them fill out the pass or sign it in her presence. So I go downstairs and this resident and her responsible party are waiting for me fuming mad because I didn't just sign the pass and give it to the resident. The responsible party is talking trash with the resident saying how I must not trust her and the resident tells her that the other nurse does it for her but "this one" (that would be me) is a pain in the ass. I got so mad I wanted to explode and I know I shouldn't have said anything but enough is enough. I told them that I was doing them a favor because my shift ended over 20 minutes ago and that I should really let them go upstairs to deal with the 3-11pm nurse who is not obligated to leave the unit. Yeah I know I shouldn't have said anything but by this time I was completely feed up.

I don't see why I should be put in a position of being told off multiple times during one shift for simply doing my job the way it's supposed to be done and the new nurse who is not doing things properly looks like an angel. It sucks that you can get away with not giving good care and people don't have enough sense to know the difference.

I really use to like this young woman and I think that maybe she is under a lot of stress in her new role and is trying to compensate for it in some way. I can't tell maybe she is just showing her true colors and is really a b*tch who can tell for sure?

[amjowens]

I am a new grad LPN and used to work periodically as an aide at my facility. I am surprised that it is the nurses who are giving me a hard time, rather than the aides! The aides are generally so happy for me, and more than willing to assist me because they understand that I respect what they do and am willing to help them when I can. They are a support for me, but I am clear when it comes to the residents and their care/safety...professionalism comes first. I wouldn't let the need to have "friends" override my decisions, and I must say that sometimes it is tempting, with aides AND residents...so, I think this new LPN is probably very needy and is giving in to demands because she thinks she'll be liked. Pretty stupid, and very unprofessional, but, like I said, in the moment it's tempting.

It could be that this new LPN has a personality disorder (!), as she seems to be needing to elevate herself at any expense to others. I'd like to say that others will catch on and see her for who she is, but unfortunately this doesn't always happen. Anyway, the new LPN has traits that if she keeps them up, are sure to catch up with her. Until then, you'd be wise to do an extra cover of yourself when you're around her and keep focusing on what you do. She doesn't sound to be a real safe person to be hanging around, so I'd just kind of cut her out of my network if I were you...you don't have to be mean, just clear, and if she asks, you'd do her a favor by being honest about why you have shut down with her.

I know what you mean about your frustration, though...it's really difficult when people disappoint.

[libbyjeanne]

Wow! She is definently causing you some havoc, isn't she?!?! Well, what I would do is keep a diary of everything she does and show it to your DON. I mean, what else can you do?...unless you talk to her yourself. I guess trying to talk to her first can be done and if that doesn't work, then the DON. Are other nurses going through this? If so, then maybe all of you can go talk to your DON?

[mizfradd, CNA]

Like Libbyjeanne said...WOW is right!!

You already have a list here of examples, just keep documenting more as they happen. You are the RN and usurp the LPN's authority, have a little talk with her and let her know if situations don't change that you'll have no recourse but to go to the DON.

All of the examples you stated are pretty dangerous, but the one about the pass to a responsible party reminds me of what was all over the news recently that happened to Brooke Shields mother (who suffers from Alzheimer's), getting out on a pass to a so-called friend that wasn't checked out appropriately! She was taken out by a gossip rag reporter and pumped for information about Brooke and her husband.

[nina4nursing]

This is a classic example of "by the book" which is what you are doing. And it's ok your doing the right

thing for you and your patients/residents. However, others that do not follow "by the book" will make

your job much more difficult. So make sure you cover your a** and eventually she will take the fall on

her own.

Nina

[ubk707]

its sounds to me that what you need to do is report these incidents to your nurse supervisor-

some of the issues you posted are dangerous for the patients- do not forget we are the advocate-

do you have the authority to write her up and have the facility begin an investigation for some of the actual patient safety issues you spoke on?

other then that continue to do your job the right way and explain to the patients that you are not this other nurse and you will work your shift in a way that provides them with the safest manner of care possible

[Midwest4me]

wow! she is definently causing you some havoc, isn't she?!?! well, what i would do is keep a diary of everything she does and show it to your don. i mean, what else can you do?...unless you talk to her yourself. i guess trying to talk to her first can be done and if that doesn't work, then the don. are other nurses going through this? if so, then maybe all of you can go talk to your don?

i agree with the above but would add this: if you talk to the new grad lpn, take along a witness(preferrably another nurse). better yet--just go to the don with your concerns.

[Lovely_RN, MSN]

I feel better now I just really needed to vent. I'm just going to continue to do what I have always done and leave it at that. Trust me this is just the tip of the iceberg and when she first started I would try to give her a little advice but I'm done with that. Her attitude pretty much stinks and she thinks she knows everything so I guess she can find out the hard way eventually when things blow up in her face.

Experience is the best teacher and I had to learn some hard lessons during my first year. During my first year I wondered why the more experienced nurses let me fall on my face at times but now I think I understand a little bit more. Sometimes you try to guide a person, you get burned, and it makes you not want to be bothered in the future. Not to say that I won't help a new co-worker in the future but if they think they know everything already then I'm not going to waste my time.

I think the thing that bothered me the most is that is that I have worked that floor for a long time and never had any real problems with the residents until she came. I work with some pretty tough customers and when I say they are annoyed with me I mean that they have cussed me out...dropped the f bomb and call me a b and it's really upsetting when the same people used to like me just fine. Anyway, hopefully today's shift will go a bit more smoothly than yesterday's.

Thanks again. :)

[LEN-RN]

Sounds like she doesn't understand her role. Or. She is just a real slimeball.

The doc won't listen to her for long, they don't have time for that nonsense. He won't respect her.

She will continue to wreck havoc until she does herself in, unless she gets promoted. I have seen that happen.

Get your ducks in a row, go to your boss, and suggest this young thing gets some extra teachin on rules of the facility. Then if your boss asks for examples, you have em.

[nkara, CNA]

I would absolutely report her to the DON. Especially if she is endangering the residents with the blood sugar levels and such.

[tngranny]

In our facility, unless the resident has a ' may self administer' order, it is a BIG NO NO to leave meds at the bedside. I would have had to report her smart little butt for that one alone.If not to the DON,then to at least my unit manager. Just continue to "cya" . She'll shoot herself in the foot soon enough!

[1RRRN]

Consider addressing the new Lpn directly as teachable moments. She is new and needs mentoring. Since you found things you liked about her before, mix in some positives too. But, there are Safety concerns that need to be discussed. Explain the policies or guidelines, rationales and importance for consistency within the staff. Also, the issue of teamwork and cooperation vs staff splitting. Help her to realize the difficult position she putting you in...that leads to aggravation and frustration for you. Gently framing it in broader discussions of Diabetic management or med admin safety for example, may make it easier for her to accept and feel more secure.