Nurses that are late for report

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jun 1, 2009

part of the problem when this happens continually is management who does not address it with the employee and discipline them. even if the nursing staff doesn't alert the supervisors or manager that this happening, the manager will catch it on the employee's time card when they are checking them before submitting them to payroll.

from a more practical point of view, when i was a staff nurse, we started to tape reports if someone was late. we had our manager's permission to do this. another strategy was to call a supervisor, have them come up to the unit and give report to the supervisor who would then take and give report to the late employee. when the employee came in late causing a scene and wanting report they were assertively told that they had to wait since report had started and they were late. it puts them really behind and punishes them which is fair to you, allows you to complete your work, and punishes them for being late. you have to not engage in arguments but continue with how the report is to be carried on. the idea is that the late person is shut out of the decision process of how report is going to be done and have no say in it--as it should be. they will either not be late again or, unfortunately, it will become a habit, in which case it is a management problem where the boss is not disciplining the late employee.

another thing we did at another facility was leave a written report for the late person and let the supervisor know if there was anything really important that they needed to follow-up on and we went off and did our thing.

put your head together with your shift supervisor and manager and see if you can't come up with a solution similar to the above ideas.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jun 1, 2009

when i worked in seattle, many of my co-workers relied on the washington state ferry system to get them to and from work. one guy in particular decided that he didn't want to get up an hour earlier every morning to make it to the ferry that would get him to work on time; he just decided he'd be 15-30 minutes late every day. he asked management, and they'd pick a nurse to stay late for him every day. the first time they asked me to stay late for pete because "the ferry is late," i said "sure, no problem." and then i found out that pete had no intentions of staying late for me -- in fact, he wanted to get off early, too. so i worked an hour extra for pete -- i put in for overtime. it was refused.

when i went to management, i said "do you realize that this guy is coming in late and leaving early every single day, and he's getting paid for 30 minutes to an hour he's not working every single day?" the assistant nurse manager didn't see the problem. but then, she was the one who was coming in 20-30 minutes late every single day due to "child care emergencies" and they promoted her anyway.

sometimes you just want to shake your head . . . .

ddecker2502 · Jun 1, 2009

Supervisors are well aware of this. This has been going on since she started. No amount of yelling, pleading, bargaining, threatening does any good. If she does come in early after being asked she thinks she's doing you a favor by being "early". We just pretty much give her the report sheet and the keys and tell her to read. :angryfire

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Jun 1, 2009

1. Write Report.

2. When she/he shows up tell him/her report is written and to call you for any clarification.

3. Leave on time.

Assert yourself. If she/he has an issue with it (make sure your report is thorough) tell her to take it up with management. Doubtful.

Vito Andolini · Jun 5, 2009

I totally agree with you. If I have to get up early so I am on time, Darn it so should all the other nurses. These nurses who are ALWAYS late need to get written up and tossed out of there. There is no excuse for this. Heck, they should just leave labs, tests, vitals, any important info written out on a paper. Many times the report is given in Tagalog anyways. I kid you NOT...I walked into report and was appalled to hear it being given in Tagalog...I was the Supervisor and believe me that was the LAST time it was done on my watch. There were 2 nurses in report who spoke only English. The Fillipina nurses said they were giving each other report and that when it came to the two english speaking nurses they would speak english. This was horrible. I told them that ALL the nurses on the floor need to be aware of ALL the patients. And we wonder why the American nurses are leaving the hospitals in droves. Hospitals have to go to other countries to get help.

Hospitals do not have to go to other countries to get nurses. We just need more managers like you - courageous, willing to correct problems quickly, sensible.

Vito Andolini · Jun 5, 2009

I like the lipgloss thing, funny and so true.
I recently had two new hires that did this consistently (diff. shifts too). One defended herself by saying she stayed 7, 9 or whatever minutes over at the end of her shift. She did not get it. The other used the traffic defense (because no one else deals with traffic of course). If the people who did this realized the impact it had on how their colleagues related to them they might think twice. Of course their colleagues never said anything to them but to me (that's OK it is part of my job).
Being late, regularly puts one at odds with their colleagues even if it is 1 minute. When 6 or 7 nurses can manage their lives and get into work on time and 1 cannot it is disrespectful. It sets the late person apart and puts them at a disadvantage when relating to, and working with, their colleagues. Separately, at best they won't advance in their career, at worst they will lose their job.
One of these new hires lost her job within a week of her last warning. A pity because it seemed to me she was excellent in ALL other areas except those impacted by being regularly late. There are no shortage of jobs in my area but there is healthy competition.

I have to disagree that those with poor work ethic won't advance in their careers. I have seen so often where people who advance should really have been shown the door long before. We all fall short of perfection, God knows, but some are just so darned inconsiderate, lazy, whatever else. They're technically good nurses, their patients and family members love them, but they are rude or insensitive to coworkers, they're tardy, they take a million extra breaks, they're always on the phone with their kids (yes, I do understand - we all have to talk to the kids sometimes while we're working), they won't ever call a doctor for a PRN order, they don't clear their trash off of the med cart or restock the dressing cart, they always get their meals and breaks and they never have time to help their aides or fellow nurses or do the extras - like answer the phone or the door when the secretary and receptionist leave for the day. I have seen one nurse who was the most wretched human being just mistreat her coworkers in a most egregious manner. Yet, she was beloved of the patients. She did not advance, being an LPN, but she did not get the counseling and firing she so richly deserved. Another nurse, RN, was also just wretched to fellow staff but the doctors and families/pts loved her, so she is still there, long after she literally drove about 5 of us away.

nicurn001 · Jun 5, 2009

Actually some of the nurses who are regularly tardy , are great time keepers , they are regularly late by x minutes . So if they can be consistently late by x minutes they could actually be respectful of their fellow nurses and be on time .

Castymiss · Jun 5, 2009

Sorry to say, I have left the hospital setting never never to return. When American nurses start working in hospitals again, maybe I will return. Who wants to work with foreign nurses who REFUSE to speak English, Talk Tagalog non-stop in patient care areas and are rude and disrepectful to patients. I hope American hospitals STOP hiring these foreign born nurses, especially ones from the Phillipines who REFUSE to speak English. We do not have that big of a nursing shortage....Just is that the American nurses and the seasoned ones are leaving the hospital setting forever.

2BSure · Jun 6, 2009

Sorry to say, I have left the hospital setting never never to return. When American nurses start working in hospitals again, maybe I will return. Who wants to work with foreign nurses who REFUSE to speak English, Talk Tagalog non-stop in patient care areas and are rude and disrepectful to patients. I hope American hospitals STOP hiring these foreign born nurses, especially ones from the Phillipines who REFUSE to speak English. We do not have that big of a nursing shortage....Just is that the American nurses and the seasoned ones are leaving the hospital setting forever.

Wow! I have noticed that, more than once, you extrapolated the behavior of two nurses at your facility to cover all hospitals in the USA. Such a pity. Do you realize you sound racist?

What exactly do you mean by "American"? If you ran around my hospital spouting that rubbish you probably would have found yourself on the other end of a pink slip one way or another.

I am sorry your experience with these two nurses wasn't good but I doubt that is the full story of why you are abandoning nursing.

2BSure · Jun 6, 2009

I have to disagree that those with poor work ethic won't advance in their careers. I have seen so often where people who advance should really have been shown the door long before. We all fall short of perfection, God knows, but some are just so darned inconsiderate, lazy, whatever else. They're technically good nurses, their patients and family members love them, but they are rude or insensitive to coworkers, they're tardy, they take a million extra breaks, they're always on the phone with their kids (yes, I do understand - we all have to talk to the kids sometimes while we're working), they won't ever call a doctor for a PRN order, they don't clear their trash off of the med cart or restock the dressing cart, they always get their meals and breaks and they never have time to help their aides or fellow nurses or do the extras - like answer the phone or the door when the secretary and receptionist leave for the day. I have seen one nurse who was the most wretched human being just mistreat her coworkers in a most egregious manner. Yet, she was beloved of the patients. She did not advance, being an LPN, but she did not get the counseling and firing she so richly deserved. Another nurse, RN, was also just wretched to fellow staff but the doctors and families/pts loved her, so she is still there, long after she literally drove about 5 of us away.

I can tell you that at my hospital a poor work ethic DOES affect a career.

SunnyAndrsn · Jun 6, 2009

I'm in a LTC/TCU, working mainly TCU now, and I have ONE nurse I work with like this, after months of complaining to my DON, the nurse managers, etc...FINALLY she's ONLY typically 10-15 minutes late. She used to be 30-45 minutes late, never called, no excuses, and then would be totally shocked when I would chew her out. First time it happened, I asked her if everything was okay, that I was worried, etc...she looked at me surprised and just said "yes". Second time it happened, I taped report, counted my narcs with another nurse and walked out the door the second she punched in. I also left her a note telling her she needed to be a lot more respectful of her co-workers and arrive on time, so we could leave on time.

She flipped out, ripped up the note, and informed the other PM nurse she was working with that SHE did NOT have to be at work until 3pm (her shift starts at 2pm). The other PM nurse told management what happened.

The next time it happened, I had management call her at 10 after 2. She acted like she didn't know she had to work and "would get there ASAP." Yeah, right. Manager took report, counted my narcs, and then had a little talk with her. I was assured it wouldn't happen again.

The next time it happened with me, I went postal on her. She couldn't believe I was so mad and commented on it to a CNA...who has worked with me since I've started, is a fabulous CNA, and she told Miss Late RN "I'd be mad too, I wouldn't want to stay late just because you can't get to work on time."

My DON has assured me it won't happen again...this nurse is now "on-call", and she told me she doesn't plan on calling her for shifts.

On the other hand, we have to main NOC nurses. One manages to tape report and all of the day nurses (four of us) manage to count our narcs with her by 6:30. She rarely has to stay past 6:30-7 to finish her charting. The other one, well...we have asked, and asked, and asked her to tape report for us, as we are supposed to start at 6am. Usually I come in, get my report sheet ready, stock my med cart, check what my treatments are, get those supplies ready, and figure out what VS I need. That takes oh, maybe 10-15 minutes. I finally started my treatments, VS, etc...and then got report. The day nurses have started counting the narcs with each other instead of waiting for this nurse. She just can't seem to time manage and it's making our job a lot harder. At least one of us is asking her what she needs us to do so she can start report, she tells us she doesn't need anything, UGH! I've worked NOC there so I KNOW what it's like and don't get what the issue is.

Whew! I guess I had a vent of my own!

**vent thread**
Our hospital just put up a note that they would not be paying any overtime beyond 7:30 pm, and there are a few nurses on night shift that typically show up 10-15 minutes late for report. Last night, one of them even got snippy when I tried to hurry her along for report because she showed up 15 minutes late. (For clarity, I am not complaining about the person who is usually on time.)
You know, I always show up at at least 10 minutes early so I can print my labs, etc. before I take report, because I don't want anyone to have to stay late because I'm not ready, and I really don't understand why some people have no problem making ME stay late. It's so inconsiderate! Even if I were getting paid, I don't WANT to stay late. By the end of a shift, I am tired.
I hear so much complaining about the way doctors treat nurses, but honestly - I only interact with them for 5 minutes out of my day. It's the NURSES who tend to get under my skin! :angryfire

caliotter3 · Jun 6, 2009

Sorry to say, I have left the hospital setting never never to return. When American nurses start working in hospitals again, maybe I will return.

Errrr Don't hold your breath.