I desperately need some advice

mtdnk · Sep 9, 2011

2 questions:

1. Did you?

2. Do you?

jbluehorseh · Sep 9, 2011

It is hard to say with the limited information given, but it sound like management is setting you up to be fired. I have seen this in other places where supervisors/ management will bring up petty issues and make a mounting out of a mole hill to get a person fired. Did the supervisor make you sign anything? The issues that you brought up are pretty weak at best, are there any other problems. If you have a union, get ahold of your rep, look at your policies and procedures and see if they are following it. In most places there are steps before one is fired. Is there an in house advocate for staff? Now you said this is a supervisor that is talking to you, does your manger know about these issues? At this point I would respectfully ask for a written plan of action for improvement, and a time line to improve these issues. (Wrong or right). I would also ask myself is there anybody there that has animosity towards myself and who this person hangs out with. I would also look at my HR record to see if there is anything that does not belong. With the information given it seems to be a training issue.

ms_orion · Sep 9, 2011

Are you working at a VA Hospital? I have never met so-o many physicians that accuse nurses of "diagnosing" as I have at the VA. Yes....the post above..."respectfully ask for a written plan of improvement". Geeze! I have had better learning opportunities and teamwork in clinics; hospital nurses---act like Jr High Students with their BS.

BOOYARN · Sep 9, 2011

MSorion is correct!!!

most nurses are *******!!!! :uhoh3: can i say that????

specially old chunky ones lol

most managers dont redirect the staff to help and teach.... they feed off the coworkers to pound on others staff members and point fingers i have found that alot in nursing.... too many women in my opinion!!!

goodluck its hard to find a good team playing floor... i been lucky 2 times in 8 hospitals ... i am at one of the two now! great manager yes she is a woman and we all help each other

goodlcuk

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Sep 9, 2011

i started a job 3 months ago at a local hospital. i thought that everything was going really well until yesterday when i was brought into the office by our supervisors. i was basically told that i was in major trouble and that things were not working out for me. they were upset because i charted something that they felt was a diagnosis. they also felt that i don't give good reports. i have been crying all day. i worked so hard to get to this point and it is hard to be rejected by my peers. they are complaining about me to these supervisors trying to get me fired. not everyone feels that way but some apparently do. if they sincerely cared about me, they would come to me and tell me what problems they had.
does anyone know of a resource where i can learn more about these two topics so that i can understand why these things are a problem and how to avoid them in the future? thanks so much!

please understand that you are at work. people are not going to "sincerely care about you" at work, at least in the time frame you have been there. many nurses maintain professional boundaries with coworkers always. others take a while before they accept, much less "sincerely care" about their coworkers. while i agree that your coworkers should have approached you first about their concerns, they should have done so not out of affection, but because they are professionals and that is how professionals behave in the workplace before taking problems up the chain of command.

if you are a new nurse, take note of how the nurses who you respect give report. giving a good report often takes time to master, so ask your supervisor if she has guidelines to give you regarding what exactly you are doing wrong and what specific things you can add or subtract from your reports which will improve your ability to communicate the important information the oncoming nurse needs in order to properly care for her patient.

good luck.

Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN · Sep 9, 2011

I really don't see where anyone is trying to get you fired.

You were given feedback about areas that you need to improve on. Did you really think you were going to do a perfect job right out of the gate?

Ask for more feedback - what are your reports lacking? What can you do to make them better.

As for why your co-workers didn't come to you, there could be many reasons. How do you accept critism? You said you "crying all day" - maybe that is why your co-workers aren't coming to you directly because you start crying and then they feel upset too. Or do you get defensive as soon as someone makes a suggestion to you? We have one nurse that the minute you tell her something she did wrong, or something she could do better gets all snarly and defensive and turns it into an attack against her rather than the friendly advice it is intended to be.

Just some things to think about.

NocturneNrse · Sep 9, 2011

I'm sorry you're going through this. I've been there too.

Ask your supervisor to give you specific examples, and ways that you can improve. I find that when supervisors DON'T give you help in improving.. they are trying to get you outa there.

If your super's aren't willing to help..ask one of the nurses there who you respect and trust to help you improve.

Hospital work is tough! Hang in there... I feel your pain. Truly!

Isabelle49 · Sep 9, 2011

What is it that you documented that was considered a 'diagnosis'?

rita359 · Sep 9, 2011

This needs to be taken in a different spirit. Your suppervisors are saying there are areas in which you need to improve. We can all use improvement even after many years in nursing. Diagnosis- make them nursing and not medical terms. Report- start with patient info(name, age, reason for admit, allergies,dnr etc) then your assessment, significant changes (status, orders) family issues, discharge plan to name a few. I have a paper called my "brain" where these things can be written so I have a template to go by. Listen to how someone who gives a good report goes about it and adapt your report. Its all a learning process and it will not stop your whole carreer.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 9, 2011

here's an opportunity for you to comport yourself as a professional. every professional gets negative feedback at one time or another -- learn how to accept it an learn from it and you'll find that your co-workers will go to you rather than straight to your manager. if you get angry, upset, defensive or teary with negative feedback, they'll avoid giving it to you. if they're not giving it to you, they're giving it to your manager because no one -- absolutely no one -- is perfect.

when someone gives you negative feedback, react calmly and professionally. ask for examples or details so you're sure you understand exactly what you're doing wrong. if appropriate, ask for help or suggestions in how to improve. do not get angry or defensive and do not argue with them about whether or not what you did was wrong. at three months, i'm betting you're doing a lot wrong. trust me -- employers expect that. the person who cannot take negative feedback is not someone they're going to want to keep around.

after you've ensured that you understand exactly what you've done wrong and that you have some idea how to go about fixing it, thank the person for the feedback and ask them to let you know how you're doing (or not) in overcoming the problem. the key is to be someone whom everyone feels comfortable talking to about the bad stuff. if you're not, you're going to spend an awful lot of time in the manager's office.

i just spent the afternoon in my manager's office -- there was a complaint about me for refusing to co-sign a narcotic waste. i was on vacation and out of state on the day in question. i've also spent time in the manager's office because of various other things i've done wrong -- or not as the case may be. i know my manager has a lot of respect for me, but it's still difficult to be professional sometimes. i'm a work in progress. we all are.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 9, 2011

i just spent the afternoon in my manager's office -- there was a complaint about me for refusing to co-sign a narcotic waste. i was on vacation and out of state on the day in question. i've also spent time in the manager's office because of various other things i've done wrong -- or not as the case may be. i know my manager has a lot of respect for me, but it's still difficult to be professional sometimes. i'm a work in progress. we all are.

:eek: someone actually had a reason they thought was 'good' for this?