I have been a nurse for 12 years with critical care and tele/med surg experience who changed career paths a couple of years ago and started working at a prestigious children's hospital in 08. Lately, things have been getting really annoying with one nurse in particular. She is a new grad (I say new grad meaning less than a year experience as an RN and this is her first job).
Anyhow, this girl is always signing up to be a super user of some sort, brown nosing, etc. etc....we have ALL worked with those types of nurses and generally I tend to ignore them, then laugh to myself when they eventually "lose" it.
The last couple of weeks I have noticed her following me into my patient rooms, like watching me perform care and attempting to "correct me". The thing is, I'm not doing anything that she should be correcting me on in the first place. I am a great nurse with excellent skills, I earned the right to say that by breaking my back since 1996!
This got out of hand the other day when she "took over" suctioning my patient d/t his sats being low, then cautioning me on what meds to give him. I almost bit my tongue in half from keeping my mouth shut on the matter. BTW the meds were discussed with the NP and MD....I just mentioned that if he did not calm down after what I was giving him what the plan was.
Apparently, I am not the only one who is noticing this behavior change she is exhibiting....people have started talking and we all know how that goes.
Any advice on how to handle this?? I really want to pull her aside and say something to her, but I don't know exactly what to say. She may think she's "super nurse" right now, but dang when her assignment gets tough she gets frustrated and says she's gonna quit. I think she is a smart girl with decent skills for a new nurse-and I do care enough to not have her get a rep for being a know it all brwon noser type-although she seems to be getting there on her own.
Just to add a bit of theory here: (I know, just what you want, theory.)
Some new nurses go through the know-it-all stage as they move from the advanced beginner stage to the competent stage of development (as in Benner's "novice to expert" model). They get to that point where they know the common things they see on a regular basis and think they have now mastered it all. If feels so good to not be a complete beginner that they mistake basic competence for true expertise. What is really unfortunate is that some people never do recognize the difference and stage in that basic competent stage forever. To move to true expertise, you need to recognize that there is more than one OK way to do things and become flexible -- and recognize that you don't know-it-all and never will.
Maybe it will help the OP and her co-workers to think of this as a similar to an adolescent or teen-age stage of professional development. Yes it's obnoxious -- just like adolescents can be obnoxious. But it is something people can grow out of if given a little mentoring.
Personally, when people try to tell me how to do my job (inappropriately), I calmly thank them for their suggestions and tell them I don't need their help right now. I assure them that I know how to do my job -- and will ask for their help if I need it.
If it continues, you may have to have a real sit-down meeting with her to give her some friendly advice about working productively with the other members of the staff.
I'm heading into my first acute care position in two weeks, and I REALLY hope that if I do something offensive or rude that someone will take me aside and explain it to me.
In my clinicals, we student RNs were always jumping in and helping each other with patient care--it was part of the "teamwork" that my clinical instructors encouraged. If we had down time we'd tag along with another classmate to see what was going on with their patients and see what we could learn. We were always bouncing ideas off of each other, too.
I wonder if maybe this new grad is still in "clinical mode" and doesn't understand the boundaries she needs to keep now that she is an RN? Her eagerness and enthusiasm to sign up for new things are probably what got her high grades in school (and possibly the job on your unit). She may have no clue how the way she's acting is being perceived now that she is in the real nursing world, and would be very greatful for the advice of a more experienced nurse.
I am a nursing instructor and these were my thoughts exactly. This would be the positive outcome, at least!
Specializes in acute care med/surg, LTC, orthopedics.
Personally, when people try to tell me how to do my job (inappropriately), I calmly thank them for their suggestions and tell them I don't need their help right now. I assure them that I know how to do my job -- and will ask for their help if I need it.
I admit I don't have that kind of patience with know-it-alls. If they follow me into a room, I'm more likely to say "hey, since you seem to have so much time on your hands, you could change that patient's brief for me."
See how fast they leave you alone. Sarcasm works well in appropriate quantities.
As someone with the occasional know-it-all impulse, I tend to agree with dtrmnd2sccd's notion that this individual may still be in a sort of clinical/school mode. Students are often applauded for taking the lead (a la "Teacher, teacher, I know the answer!"), so if she's relatively young and has basically taken the straight shot through school and college, she's probably had that habit reinforced steadily for a number of years. Minor psych digression: if she's been rewarded regularly with grades, positive comments, or extra attention for showing off her knowledge to those in authority, her behavior follows a twisted sort of logic, even though it's totally inappropriate.
I agree with the firm but kind response suggestions: When she oversteps her bounds, tell her you appreciate her enthusiasm, but that you don't need her assistance at this time. It might also be nice (if you're willing to invest a little extra time in trying to salvage this person) to take her aside and explain that her behavior is provoking a negative response among the staff. She may genuinely have no idea that what she's doing is rude and inappropriate.
Whatever you do, do not beat her down or do that whole nurse eating their young thing.
Wow! Right out of the box an "eating their young" comment.
Just because someone is "young" doesn't mean that they don't need a bit of "eating" if we're going to insist on using the phrase.
If anything, we've got a case here of the young eating the old!
She needs some tougher assignments. If she's busy with her own patients, she won't have time to correct everyone else. And if she's ready to start correcting others, then she's ready for those tougher assignments. There's no better teacher than experience. Give her some.
I wonder if maybe this new grad is still in "clinical mode" and doesn't understand the boundaries she needs to keep now that she is an RN? Her eagerness and enthusiasm to sign up for new things are probably what got her high grades in school (and possibly the job on your unit). She may have no clue how the way she's acting is being perceived now that she is in the real nursing world, and would be very greatful for the advice of a more experienced nurse.
I have a question about the bolded part...and this question is also directed to the OP and anyone else who has participated in this thread.
Preamble: Yeah, I would be ticked, too, if someone came in and just took over my work. You don't do that in any workplace, let alone nursing.
However, the bolded part: what's the threat in a co-worker volunteering for departmental/unit projects? In the world outside of nursing, that's the way to get raises and promotions. I did it all the way through my previous career, and I got promotions and pay raises much faster than many of my colleagues who didn't lift a finger to do anything beyond their managerial-assigned projects. Sounds a little bit like, "You're working too hard and making the rest of us look bad."
Someone mentioned "brown-nosing." In nursing, what does that look like?
ETA: Brown-nosing in my previous job looked like sleeping with the boss (one woman did) and putting up books in your cube that just so happened to be of the same genre that her artsy-fartsy boss liked (another girl just-out-of-college hire did that). The book girl had an engaging personality and did good work, though, so her minor attempts at brown-nosing were excusable.
WOW-I am surprised that this thread has so many thoughtful responses!
There are a few people talking, and I know for a fact that I cannot trust her anymore. A couple of weeks a go I made a comment to her in a joking manner about all the things she has been signing up for.....I think it may just be her personality. I do like her, she SEEMS like a nice girl, so I may take her aside if I see her "super nurse" behavior coming out again. As far as that day goes, I am not sure why she did what she did....maybe she thought she was helping, and she did. What irked me the most about the situation was the comment she made about my plan for MY patient. If he didn't settle down after the meds I was giving him, I planned on giving him a stronger pain med. The little dude was in a lot of pain.....her response was that I better be careful not to "bottom him out"....
I have to say I don't think she knows that if a patient is in less pain, they breathe better, heal faster, and rest well. No matter if they are 10 weeks old or 99 years old!
I am definitely AWARE of her behavior now, and will be on guard....it is a shame I have to feel this way at work. Honestly, there are a lot of people I work with who THINK they know it all, they know everything....from RT's to housekeeping staff, to the unit clerk. I definitely work with some strong personalities.
When super-nurse's patient coded a while back, she was shaking like a leaf, unsure what to do! I started compressions, yadda yadda yadda, and all was well, the kid did great.
When I started there and since I have had a lot of praise from the management, docs, and the director. She was so happy that she hired me (out of many other candidates) and I moved into a full time position quickly.......maybe there is some jealously there?? I just want to go to work, take care of my patients they very best I can, then go home. I hate drama, but for some reason I am a magnet for it!
Altra, BSN, RN
6,255 Posts
I have worked in a unit full of these ... 