New nurse or just plain stuipd?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

First I want to say we all have been new nurses, But no one can ever say I was a STUPID nurse.:no: I am an LPN we do buddie nursing on my job. That is not a problem because we are to work together and assist if the other needs it. I work with this Nurse who has been an RN for a little over a year now. The LORD him self is my wittiness along with everybody I work with, this is the stupidest nurse I have Ever seen in my life. The only thing she can do on her own is pass medication. If the Dr. write an order she wants to know who to take it off. One of the cna came to her at about 12:45 and told her a patient had not voided all day. The first thing she says is well charge nurse what shall I do. I said what do you think RN. Her replies was well I guess we should do her vitals first. I told her to call the Dr. and see if he would give an order to st.cath after the vitals were done. First of all she says I don't know how to do that. Will you help me? of course I said yes, after I asked her if she ever tried. I told her let me know when you are ready. @ 3:15 after I thought about the fact she never came back. I went to her and asked did you call the Dr. yet. No the supv. told me to do something else. I asked what was it. She tells me write a note,I told her she should have call the Dr first. Of course she got mad. The supv did not know she needed to call the Dr. The straw that broke the camels back was this when she call the supv. and asked how what position the bed needs to be in when the patient is in it.:banghead: Their are many other examples but I can't take any more:bluecry1:

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I had no idea an RN had to be "IV certified". I am a nursing student and I can start IV's...where are you located that a nurse has to be "IV certified". I think your information is wrong on that one.

It may be that each state functions differently. In my area, both, LPNs and RNs have to be IV certified and had at least one day clinical to be able to initiate a med-lock. I hear so many variations from different states that nothing surprizes me anymore.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i would be careful in the words you use to describe her.

she doesn't sound "stupid", rather, highly insecure.

and if you're feeling exasperated with her, i'm sure she's sensing it.

and, this really has nothing to do with her being an rn or lpn.

rather, it has more to do with you buddying with a nurse who seems to be struggling.

time for the staff developer to get involved?

for the record, i am soooo sure that God doesn't see her as stupid either.

but He does know that she needs help.

now who will that be?

leslie

Up Vote Up Vote ×

linda9681 THANK YOU! For your words of wisdom. earle 58 you are right stupid is a strong word. And I have to agree because of the way you said it. God doesn't see her as stupid. I know that I am not the only one on this site that have ever felt this way, But open confession is good for the soul even when it is followed by rebuking.:trc:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ER/EHR Trainer.
LOL I'm in Florida. And if you were to even touch a IV in FL and someone reported you to the FBON you will not be able to site boards. You will be fined for practicing with a license. Fl is one of the strictest states about every little thing. I don't know why that is, but we had to go to a board hearing when I was in school. That was one of the scariest things I had ever seen NO compassion what so ever.

NJ is the same way. You must be an licensed nurse prior to inserting IV catheters, in addition in my facility you must be certified.

Personally, I wonder if OP is really being harsh....this nurse has been an RN for one year....sometimes booksmart does not equal ability to do a job. It just sounds like no common sense to me. That is a very dangerous thing.

JM:twocents:

Maisy

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

It is also hard on the ego (for some) when the person with the higher title is the one that has to come to the subordinate. Maybe she is experiencing this herself.

I remember when I did my two day orientation on med-surg and one of the CNAs walked me through straight catherization of a patient. This girl knew her stuff! I had to hug her with tears in my eyes, because that was a defining moment to me-I knew that we have to work together as a team. Essentially, this girl was showing me how to do my job and that was a great thing. She wasn't condescending or insulting me. And, for that, I remain grateful. But, I can understand your frustration if she has to call the office to know how to position a bed. Just do what you can, and eventually, she will be off orientation and will have to function independently, and that will mean that she will be delegating to you. Hopefully, she will be grateful and remember that you were patient with her.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

it's not nice to call someone stupid. furthermore, it's a bit shady for you to be calling her stupid behind her back!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
it's not nice to call someone stupid. furthermore, it's a bit shady for you to be calling her stupid behind her back!

He admited he was wrong cut him a little slack.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

It would be good for us all to develop a more encouraging and accepting culture. This nurse might have some problems that won't be solved with more experience, but reading your post brings to mind the phrase "nurses eat their young". It makes me wonder if this new nurse is being mentored at all, or is she just being left on her own to sink or swim?

And really, you ought to write very carefully if you're going to call someone "stupid" in a post.

That said, I think we've all worked with people who caused us to question their intelligence or judgment. I'd start trying to resolve the issue by offering guidance and support. If the situation didn't improve, I'd start documenting issues and discuss them with the person directly. If that didn't work, or if some issue of patient safety arose, I'd use the chain of command.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i agree with previous posters about being patient and accepting.. im fairly new, been a nurse for a little over 2 years now and still appreciate my more senior coworkers (both RN and NA) answering my questions or providing input.

the example about the new nurse's question about what position the bed should be in reminds of an incident from nursing school - we were in clinicals on a neuro unit, and had been assigned patients and were providing AM care. one patient had a shunt that and drained according to gravity (sorry forgot what it's called) and either the student forgot or the primary nurse hadn't mentioned it, but the student raised the bed to wash the patient. of course patient started complaining of a headache and the primary nurse rushed in to put the bed back down. i don't think the primary nurse would've thought that was a stupid question. and if the student asked the same question in the next clinical area, that primary nurse may think the student is dumb but a 'stupid' question is better than no question. tangent, but bed position isn't to be taken for granted either - HOB elevated for aspiration precautions, lowered for pt with perineal sutures, etc.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Wow! So many things to say...

First of all, you are absolutely correct that the letters behind a name mean absolutely nothing. You have some RNs that are newer nurses and still only know "text-book", while an LPN who has been a nurse for many years has an advantage due to clinical experience. But, as an RN they do have college degrees while most LPNs (myself included) completed a less than 2-year training program, with little or no official college education. Does that make me an incompetent nurse? Most definitely not.

Second of all, you have stated in one post your concern regarding those nurses who are "STUCK" on the letters, yet you seem to be the one who is stuck here. ('I said what do you think RN'). Enough said.

And last, but not least - I know that my grammar is not always perfect, but it makes my skin crawl to read some of your posts. I know that if I heard a nurse speaking the way that you write, I would doubt their intelligence... and competency.

Just some food for thought - Each individual in the medical field should know their own role and acknowledge the importancy of all others. MDs should recognize the importance of their nursing staff, nursing staff beginning with the RN should then give that same courtesy to the LPN and the LPN should do the same with the CNA. Realizing that you and your co-workers are a TEAM will definitely help. Not one of us could care completely for a patient/resident ALONE!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I started my first nursing job a year ago. My first 2 weeks on orientation was passing meds while supervised, doing CBG's etc. When I went to second shift (which I had to work) I was off orientation but I had a new supervisor. She is an LPN, I'm an RN. Let me tell you something, even as of yesterday she teaches me something new EVERYDAY. She forgot more yesterday than I'll probably ever know. She never lost patience with me, and I know I pushed her more than once. I had, luckily in nursing school had a lot of hands on pt care, so I was able to do a strait cath and some of that other stuff. But I think as an RN, I think more zebras instead of horses sometimes. Maybe a back pain is just that. Not a AAA. A tachy pulse is just that, not an MI. If she hadn't had patience with me and shown me, as opposed to getting frustrated with me I'd be lost. So, to the OP: take a breath, remember you were new once, insecure and unsure of yourself. Her age doesn't mean that she isn't new at this, and take pride in the fact that YOU have taught someone something, there is joy in that!:nurse:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospice.

I tend to agree with those who advise tolerance and an attempt to keep a helpful and supportive attitude with this new nurse. If she gets too angry when corrected or suggestions are offered, then a mediated meeting with your manager or staff developer might help calm things down.

On the other hand, every once in a while, we run into nurses who are truly not able, for whatever reason, to develop the critical thinking skills necessary on the job or who seem to have never taken Nursing Skills 101 ... and who refuse to learn.

I posted on another thread about a situation I was in recently in which a new hire was scarily unprepared to care for pts. My advice here is the same:

Check yourself ... is there a clash of personality styles that might be feeding into your feelings about her? Is she being criticized or written up for things everyone else gets away with? If you're spending more time talking about her than talking to her, there may be a problem.

If she is truly a dangerous worker, document specific incidents with specific violations of P&P or standards of care, including failure to address problems in a timely manner.

Keep your manager informed about your struggle. If she shuts you down, go to the DON or risk manager. This may be more of a struggle than actually dealing with the new nurse ... losing a warm body with an RN license attached can be a costly problem for them.

Meanwhile, CYA and do your best on your own assignment. The sad truth is that, if she is TRULY inadequate to the job, she may have to cause major harm - or a lawsuit - before the problems are addressed.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment