I know this has been discussed adnauseum here, but this is a slightly different twist on the issue.
Tell me, what would you think in this situation? You go for a job interview and within 20 minutes of starting the interview the unit manager starts talking about the problem she's having with her nurses eating their young. She then proceeds to say that she doesn't tolerate it and talks to rude nurses about it.
This is raising dozens of red flags in my mind. I keep wondering if I will be walking into an abusive situation....after all, it has to be pretty bad if she mentions it in the first interview, right? Hubby thinks I'm over-reacting, but I'm not so sure.
Reminds me of an orientation I had at a local hospital. We were having the usual orientation classes, going from one dept to another. I kept hearing phrases such as: "You know how doctors are, so be sure you have such-and-such info before you call..."
"You don't want to pizz-off the doctor..."
"You know how doctors can be...(rolling eyes)"..
All these comments raised a red flag. So, I asked if there was a problem with disruptive physician behavior at this hospital. The suits who were talking to us in the orientation got very defensive over my question. I gave notice and did not complete the orientation. Since that time, I've heard story after story about docs there yelling, making sexist and racist remarks, ignoring nurses' pages and calls, then blaiming nurses when the pt goes bad.
You are perceptive, and correct. The manager should not be raising that issue with you. Remember, this is an interview. If she has problems with her staff she should be addressing these problems with them, not you. Most of the problems that nurses have on nursing units are with problems that result from inexperienced or poor leadership. She should be telling you about what a great unit and staff she has! If that is not the case than she will ultimately be involved in more and more interviews--until the problem is fixed. Look for employment elsewhere!
Interesting replies.I prefer honesty over a BS job myself. And being a seasoned nurse, I prefer my manager to let me know upfront what her goals are so we can ascertain if we will be a good 'fit'. I guess the take on this interview imight have to do with whether one is a leader or a follower. A newer less experienced non charge person might want to run from this....not every nurse however.
To the OP: make YOUR OWN decisions and follow your OWN instincts is my advice.
I agree with everyone who says follow your instincts. I have done a good number of interviews in my short career and have learned the hard way to listen to my gut.
I would appreciate the honesty shown by the manager, but I wouldn't want to work there either. I just don't have the energy to take a job knowing it's going to involve a lot of cranky coworkers. It's hard enough to deal with the patients and the families and the support staff and the docs.... I am not knowingly putting myself in the middle of a group cat fight. But, just because a manager raves about how great her staff is, doesn't mean it's true. Talk to an actual staff nurse before taking any position.
It sounds like a red flag to me.Instead of stewing this over in your mind why dont you call her up and ask if she has a continuing problem or has ever had a problem with nurses at this job "eating their young".Nursing is very fast paced......and it is a sad fact that the nsg shortage results in little time to thoroughly orient new nurses to their new found job.So ask some other pertinent questions like will the nurses orienting you have the same nurse to pt ratio during your orientation...and exactly what the nurse to pt ratio is on this unit.This may not be the job for you.And with such an extensive nsg shortage out there you should have the ability to kinda pick and choose the RIGHT job for you.Do NOT settle.If you are getting bad vibes move on.
ShelleyERgirl, LPN
436 Posts
I agree with Deb, I think you made a wise decision also. Did you even go to the second interview or did you just go with your instincts?