Nurses Stabbing each other

leasnbchs · Dec 6, 2004

Why do nurse managers not support there staff? why are administrators not supporting their managers?

Alas...It is not just Nursing where office politics adversely effect the workplace. Take heart, grow a thicker skin, and try to transfer to a different floor if the back stabbing directly impacts you.

If not, just focus on your patients, and stay out of the way. Battles such as this are never neat and tidy.

They can ruin careers.

leasnbchs

llg, PhD, RN · Dec 6, 2004

For the same reasons that staff nurses do not support their managers -- or each other. Nurses are people, too, and people sometimes act in selfish ways rather than sacrifice some of their own interests for the welfare of others.

"Ask not what your manager can do for you ... ask what you can do to help your manager." Perhaps we should all ask ourselves now and then what we can do to help our units/hospitals, etc. a little more often.

llg

mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 6, 2004

It doesn't just happen in nursing, it happens in every job...

Best advise I can give is to ignore it and do your job to the best of your ability. Gossip is the best way to ruin a great career, nursing or otherwise....I've been a manager (non nursing) for 2 years now and I've seen many people fall (and fall hard) because the got caught up in the inner office gossip and they quit doing their job to the best of their ability.

Pattiecake · Dec 6, 2004

Why do nurse managers not support there staff? why are administrators not supporting their managers?

As a manager, I see it as my job to focus on team building. I do this by recognizing and acknowledging the employees strengths, and assisting them in acknowledging the strengths of their peers. Of course people are going to complain about this one and that one, but I refuse to listen to any complaints unless the complainer starts with something good aobut the person they are complaining about. When you openly compliment a peer, it is much more difficcult to rip her to shreds in the next breath. Another policy I have, is to inform my staff that if they wish to complain about a problem, plan on presenting a feasible solution at the same time. This keeps the staff a part of the process. All decisions about change are made at staff meetings by the staff that attend. If you want to be a part of the decision making, then you need to attend the meetings. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it helps to make the staff feel they have a fair forum to implement change and make decisions.

nursemike, ASN, RN · Dec 6, 2004

As a manager, I see it as my job to focus on team building. I do this by recognizing and acknowledging the employees strengths, and assisting them in acknowledging the strengths of their peers. Of course people are going to complain about this one and that one, but I refuse to listen to any complaints unless the complainer starts with something good aobut the person they are complaining about. When you openly compliment a peer, it is much more difficcult to rip her to shreds in the next breath. Another policy I have, is to inform my staff that if they wish to complain about a problem, plan on presenting a feasible solution at the same time. This keeps the staff a part of the process. All decisions about change are made at staff meetings by the staff that attend. If you want to be a part of the decision making, then you need to attend the meetings. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it helps to make the staff feel they have a fair forum to implement change and make decisions.

My NM takes a similar approach. One of her favorite questions is, "What can you do to improve this situation?"

I generally appreciate this attitude, and recognize that her unwillingness to take at face value my complaints about a co-worker is a virtue, in that she isn't going to accept at face value a co-worker's complaint about me. Actually, I don't go to my manager with complaints about co-workers, but I hear the griping from those who have, and I usually tell them what I said above.

This approach is less satisfying for institutional problems, but it probably is worthwhile to answer her question before I go to her. Once in a blue moon, there is something I can do to improve the situation--and accumulate serious brownie points in the process.

As far as interpersonal conflicts, I find it helps a lot to have the rep as someone who looks for the good in people. If you are consistently the first to see the virtues in someone everyone else dislikes, it makes it a lot harder for them to dislike you. A willingness to help goes a long way, too. And yes, it pays to have a thick skin, to forgive readily, and to apologize promptly when you're wrong. None of which will guarantee peace and happiness, of course. Sometimes you have to know when to get outta Dodge.

flashyrn · Dec 7, 2004

Hmmm.. sometimes administration cant see clearly through the rose colored glasses. They have to acknowledge a problem to address it. And that might take time and energy. I dont think the CNO at my hospital was ever a staff nurse or manager and its hard to relate to what you dont know. It is important that staff RNs develop leadership abilities and solutions to their issues before presenting them to mgrs and CNO. We have the ability to demonstrate our problem solving skills and prove we care about our peers and patients while avoiding politics.