Why is it that nurses always report other nurses?

Asystole RN · Jul 21, 2016

I am sorry for your issues but introspection and self-regulation have helped make the profession of registered nursing the most ethical and trusted profession in the world. As registered nurses our main goal is to be the patient's advocate, note I did not say to be registered nursing's advocate.

If a nurse makes a mistake, if they are simply perceived to make a mistake, you will see no group jump on them more vigorously than their fellow nurses. The public knows we are not perfect but they trust us to be honest and harder on ourselves than anyone else.

To contrast this, I firmly believe many of the issues that we see today with the backlash against law enforcement is because they moved away from the model of protect and serve (roughly the advocate model) towards an officer safety model. Understandable but the results are evident.

Instead of finding fault from without attempt to look inward to see if there are any career development goals you can set. Sometimes workplaces can simply be hostile for a number of reasons but try to see it as a challenge and use their seemingly malicious complaints as a guide for improvement.

macawake, MSN · Jul 21, 2016

Why is it that nurses are always reporting other nurses.

Honestly, using the word always sounds like a bit of an exaggeration and slightly inflammatory as well.

I myself got fired because of nurses reporting on me and telling lies on me.

I had the don from hell at my first job. She would yell at me and humiliate me in front of others.

The other nurses would say things about me that was not true.

Okay, I don't know you and we only have your side of the story. The way I see it there are two possible explanations. Either you through no fault of your own have been very unlucky and worked in two separate dysfunctional workplaces or you aren't being completely honest with yourself and need to do some serious introspection. Since I don't know you I have no way of knowing which of the two possibilities is the correct one.

You say that you were let go from one of the positions due to problems with your documentation. Is there any truth to that at all? Only you can answer that.

My personal experience is that nurses don't spend a lot of time and energy reporting other nurses. Most incidents reports that nurses submit deal with their own errors or close calls. Granted, I work in another country where nurses are actively encouraged to self-report errors or near-misses, the goal is to identify systems errors and various risks in the work environment, scheduling, staffing levels etc. The attitude is non-punitive and most feel safe in reporting.

Any advice on how to handle backstabbing nurses.

Same way as you'd handle a backstabbing librarian or concert pianist

Do your job well. Keep your contacts at work professional. Think long and hard before getting involved in personal dramas and gossip. Better yet, just avoid it altogether. Be helpful to your coworkers, i.e. a team player. Don't give people ammunition to hurt you with.

Some workplaces are toxic. If the culture is deeply ingrained it won't be easily changed. In those cases I think it's best to look elsewhere for employment. In most workplaces where most employees are decent with only a few troublemakers, I've always found that just keeping my head down and focusing on doing my job well will often suffice.

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Jul 21, 2016

Three sides to every story. We're hearing one. Sorry, but multiple firings with no ownership speaks volumes...

Why is it that nurses are always reporting other nurses. Nurses have gotten fired over it. I myself got fired because of nurses reporting on me and telling lies on me. I had the don from hell at my first job. She would yell at me and humiliate me in front of others. The other nurses would say things about me that was not true. The DON would always believe them .i ended being fired because she claimed my documentation was a problem. At another job, my supervisor refused to back me up when a patient refused assessment upon admission. I was terminated from that job too. There is so much backstabbing in nursing. I can't understand why. Any advice on how to handle backstabbing nurses.
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JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Jul 21, 2016

Honestly, using the word always sounds like a bit of an exaggeration and slightly inflammatory as well.
Okay, I don't know you and we only have your side of the story. The way I see it there are two possible explanations. Either you through no fault of your own have been very unlucky and worked in two separate dysfunctional workplaces or you aren't being completely honest with yourself and need to do some serious introspection. Since I don't know you I have no way of knowing which of the two possibilities is the correct one.
You say that you were let go from one of the positions due to problems with your documentation. Is there any truth to that at all? Only you can answer that.
My personal experience is that nurses don't spend a lot of time and energy reporting other nurses. Most incidents reports that nurses submit deal with their own errors or close calls. Granted, I work in another country where nurses are actively encouraged to self-report errors or near-misses, the goal is to identify systems errors and various risks in the work environment, scheduling, staffing levels etc. The attitude is non-punitive and most feel safe in reporting.
Same way as you'd handle a backstabbing librarian or concert pianist
Do your job well. Keep your contacts at work professional. Think long and hard before getting involved in personal dramas and gossip. Better yet, just avoid it altogether. Be helpful to your coworkers, i.e. a team player. Don't give people ammunition to hurt you with.
Some workplaces are toxic. If the culture is deeply ingrained it won't be easily changed. In those cases I think it's best to look elsewhere for employment. In most workplaces where most employees are decent with only a few troublemakers, I've always found that just keeping my head down and focusing on doing my job well will often suffice.

excellent advice. Make certain your documentation is flawless and to company policy & standards. If this happened at one employee it could be the work environment. More than one, do some introspection as you may be blinded to the full story. Most of us are its easier to feel persecuted rather than self assess our own character flaws and challenges

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 22, 2016

Not all nurses report their colleagues for the purpose of intentional sabotage. In addition, the 'tattletale' phenomenon is not unique to nursing. It can be found in a myriad of different professions and occupations.

Remy Ox · Jul 22, 2016

It seems unlikely that you have two termination and no fault. But I do not know you. Learn from mistakes and avoid toxic environment

Springdaisy04 · Jul 22, 2016

As a new nurse starting out of course you are going to make mistakes. The DON had the habit of correcting me in front of others and yelling at me for every mistake I made. I remember crying often. She made feel like I was a complete failure. One manger I worked with said everything I did was wrong and my documentation was wrong. The other manager always said good things about my performance and that my documentation was flawless. What does that tell you? I know what I am talking. No other management has ever complained about my documentation or skills as a nurse. It is foolish to expect nurses to be perfect. I've seen other nurses sabotaged too. It happens very often. Stop turning a blinds eye to it.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Jul 22, 2016

As a new nurse starting out of course you are going to make mistakes. The DON had the habit of correcting me in front of others and yelling at me for every mistake I made. I remember crying often. She made feel like I was a complete failure. One manger I worked with said everything I did was wrong and my documentation was wrong. The other manager always said good things about my performance and that my documentation was flawless. What does that tell you? I know what I am talking. No other management has ever complained about my documentation or skills as a nurse. It is foolish to expect nurses to be perfect. I've seen other nurses sabotaged too. It happens very often. Stop turning a blinds eye to it.

A few things:

As far as possibly having a documentation flaw, then at the other job, your documentation was fine for the next job-either you improved based in your previous experience (no matter how stressful or perhaps traumatizing to you) or you are comparing two different leadership styles, facilities, or specialties; if you were in LTC (because you used DON) it is going to be vastly different than say a hospital or a home care setting (because you said manager), so it's comparing apples to oranges; not sharing it's right, but that should give you clarity as far as that question.

The next issues is this overwhelming idea that "it happens all the time" and to "stop tuning a blinds (spelling?) eye to it."

Well.

In my years of nursing, I have worked alongside nurse who are sloppy, dangerous, insubordinate, lazy in their practice and STILL remained employed, so, either we were protecting them or work around their work and attempt to prevent errors and the like.

I know of one nurse who exemplified all that and it took them YEARS to be fired...there was a HUGE binder of their offenses in the office and it took a new supervisor to write them up and eventually ending up being fired because this person eventually caused so much toxicity amongst the rest of the staff that this person deserved to be fired.

Another nurse I work with acts like they are a new nurse DESPITE being a nurse for 12 years; they allowed a pt with a positive airborne illness to go to the cafeteria without a mask, when I, along with the physician informed the nurse, they said it was negative; I clicked open the chart and pointed out that it was positive. Were they written up? Perhaps, but I didn't run to report it, and the nurse STILL works there, mainly because management likes the nurse. This nurse also tried to transfer to another unit and FAILED orientation, and as a result came back to us.

So, two instances and two results; in my statistical anecdotal pool, it is low, maybe for yours not so much, or the information being conveyed makes it probable that people are analyzing what you have told and are suggesting self reflection.

You say "It is foolish to expect nurses to be perfect" and you are correct in some way; however, the theory for our employers is WE MUST be PERFECT; as unfair as it is to you, some employers weigh it heavily, especially in the climate of decrease reimbursement , there is no room for error no matter what the setting.

Springdaisy04 · Jul 23, 2016

It was in a longterm care facility. I was talking about 2 managers from the same workplace not two different workplaces.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Jul 23, 2016

It was in a longterm care facility. I was talking about 2 managers from the same workplace not two different workplaces.

So, to reiterate-different leadership styles...my response remains the same. :yes:

macawake, MSN · Jul 23, 2016

It was in a longterm care facility. I was talking about 2 managers from the same workplace not two different workplaces.

That wasn't exactly crystal clear from your original post.

I myself got fired because of nurses reporting on me and telling lies on me. I had the don from hell at my first job. She would yell at me and humiliate me in front of others. The other nurses would say things about me that was not true. The DON would always believe them .i ended being fired because she claimed my documentation was a problem.

At another job, my supervisor refused to back me up when a patient refused assessment upon admission. I was terminated from that job too.

We can only respond to the information that you provide. Anyway, I hope that you find the advice you've been given useful.

Best wishes!