I had an interesting discussion with my husband this evening about the differences between nursing and other professions. My husband is a contractor and has had a lot of experience with "bad employees". I was talking about how HARD it is for someone to get fired in the nursing profession.
I love that nursing has a sort-of unwritten policy regarding education vs. discipline. For example, if a med error is made, most of the time it is the job of management to re-educate and determine what happened rather than discipline the nurse; I mean, we are all human and make mistakes...our mistakes just tend to have an impact on peoples' lives and health!
What I have a huge problem with is the tendency for this to extend to issues with work ethic! I have worked with many nurses who have:
1. horrible attitudes and tend to display these attitudes in public spaces (i.e. the nurse's station)
2. attendance issues (calling in repeatedly or just not showing at all!)
3. refusal to comply with policy or changes in policy
When speaking with my husband, who manages people, these are all fireable offenses in his line of work, or at least disciplinable (is that a word??). Yet, in nursing this just seems to be par for the course! I am all for the educational approach with nurses who make honest mistakes...I completely disagree, however, with how much some get away with in other areas! I can't believe that in an office setting, an employee would get away with yelling at another one in front of customers without at least getting a stern talking-to! I mean, are we really that desperate for nurses!
Being someone with a good work ethic, I find that those with bad work ethic negatively affect my job. When I first started nursing, I thought that this was a problem with my nurse manager on that unit, but I have seen it time and time again with other managers in other departments. Just wanted to vent!
I work someone now that has a pretty poor professional work ethic that has fed up most of my other coworkers. We have brought this nurse's comments and actions, or lack thereof at times, to the attention of the manager. Nothing seems to really be done about it. But then again, maybe there was a discussion, but from our end it seems the same. When it is allowed to happen over and over again, it gets pretty discouraging that we work so hard and others can coast and get away with it.
The work ethic where I currently am is not unlike other types of industry in which I've worked. Some employees are by-the-book, totally reliable. Others you hope just show up on time. Difference seems to be that the shortage of nurses has allowed the lesser employees to get away with it more frequently than any other industry, or even in nursing (but in a time of more plenty).
Those who are good workers probably always will be, regardless of consequences (good moral consciousness). Those who are lousy, same thing (poor moral consciousness).
One comes in 30 minutes late daily. No excuse, no kids, no reason other than laziness.
So that is where she is working now LOL.
The whole tardy thing is one of my biggest pet peeves. With only the exception of one nurse and a couple of Techs, our entire day shift was late, every day. EVERY SINGLE DAY. :angryfire
Not only would they saunter in 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes late, but then they would have to socialize with each other, grab their coffee and donuts, etc., before sitting down to get report. Oh, and these were the people who would practically jump us as we got off the elevator (coming in on time) so they could report and get out of there.
It was beyond infuriating.
My manager did NOTHING, so we tried everything we could think of to get them to come in on time. Nothing worked, except what I did once to one nurse...
She showed up 20 minutes late one day; no excuse, no apologies. Not only was she getting most of my patients, but she also had to get charge report from me on the entire floor. But of course, she socialized, got her coffee, etc. (she was one of the worst for demanding to get out on time too)
So that night, before I left the house, I called the floor and she answered. I asked whose group I'd be picking up and she said "mine". So I said "well I'm going to be 20 minutes late". She asked if anything was wrong; I said "nope' and drove on in to work. I got there at my usual time (about 15 minutes early) and sat outside on the deck, enjoying the cool evening breeze and just chilling out until I was 20 minutes past due to start my shift. Went up to the floor, clocked in and got me a drink. Casually walked over and grabbed my assignment. Chatted up some of my co-workers...
The entire time she was practically jumping out of her skin. Finally, she couldn't contain herself and started whining about how she had to hurry to pick up her son from the babysitter, make dinner, whatever... blah blah blah.
I looked her dead in the eye and said, "Now YOU know how it feels."
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
So that is where she is working now LOL.
The whole tardy thing is one of my biggest pet peeves. With only the exception of one nurse and a couple of Techs, our entire day shift was late, every day. EVERY SINGLE DAY. :angryfire
Not only would they saunter in 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes late, but then they would have to socialize with each other, grab their coffee and donuts, etc., before sitting down to get report. Oh, and these were the people who would practically jump us as we got off the elevator (coming in on time) so they could report and get out of there.
It was beyond infuriating.
My manager did NOTHING, so we tried everything we could think of to get them to come in on time. Nothing worked, except what I did once to one nurse...
She showed up 20 minutes late one day; no excuse, no apologies. Not only was she getting most of my patients, but she also had to get charge report from me on the entire floor. But of course, she socialized, got her coffee, etc. (she was one of the worst for demanding to get out on time too)
So that night, before I left the house, I called the floor and she answered. I asked whose group I'd be picking up and she said "mine". So I said "well I'm going to be 20 minutes late". She asked if anything was wrong; I said "nope' and drove on in to work. I got there at my usual time (about 15 minutes early) and sat outside on the deck, enjoying the cool evening breeze and just chilling out until I was 20 minutes past due to start my shift. Went up to the floor, clocked in and got me a drink. Casually walked over and grabbed my assignment. Chatted up some of my co-workers...
The entire time she was practically jumping out of her skin. Finally, she couldn't contain herself and started whining about how she had to hurry to pick up her son from the babysitter, make dinner, whatever... blah blah blah.
I looked her dead in the eye and said, "Now YOU know how it feels."
It largely depends on the individual nurse's values and self-respect, God-respect, and other-respect.
It also depends largely on whether or not your manager is strong, willing, reasonable, and capable. Or is he or she just an "I've got mine" person who does not care too much about the patients, the staff, the organization, the profession, or the God to whom he or she will one day give an accounting?
I totally agree that most of us are VERY hard-working and I am sorry if it came off that way that I was putting down the rest of us hard workers, but don't you find that the few that are not seem to have a very poor influence over the rest of the team, causing lower morale and frustration?
It infuriates me that there are a few people I work with getting away with things they shouldn't have. Fortunately they aren't lowering our morale that much where I work.
Don't mind me, but I just don't like generalizations like "it's par for the course that nurses don't have a work ethic", "nurses eat their young", "nurses are backstabbing and catty", etc. when it's really only a few. I'm very bothered those few cause such generations, but I try to look at the big picture.
I was promoted to charge nurse and am going to do evaluations this year. A few of the people that I mentioned above, that have been working here for years are going to be a bit surprised.
I agree with daytonite, rules are for all of us, not just the few who try to follow them. I don't always like them, but try to respect them. Just like those who think a misdemeanor is nothing, so don't mind breaking that law. I have tried to instill these opinions in my children, but they seem to think I am an idiot. I was talking to a group of my son's friends, all capable of straight A's, but many just barely getting by, yet scoring almost perfect on all standardized tests. One of them actually said to me about their diploma "IT is just a piece of paper, E's( a straight A student) doesn't mean any more than mine. THEY are the same thing. I wasted my breath explaining about transcripts, college admittance,etc, as their ACT scores guaranteed them placement. It seems everybody just wants to get by. IT is my pet peeve for somebody to do something so totally inept that I always have to spend more time redoing it, then if I had done it in the first place. HIS answer is at least I did it. IT has to be better. WRONG>
I don't always agree, but I do try to follow rules > INCLUDING, not calling in, not being tardy, not taking advantage on breaks of being gone forever. ESP smokers who take too any too long,as they have to go so far to the smoke shack.
CSHRN
27 Posts
I work someone now that has a pretty poor professional work ethic that has fed up most of my other coworkers. We have brought this nurse's comments and actions, or lack thereof at times, to the attention of the manager. Nothing seems to really be done about it. But then again, maybe there was a discussion, but from our end it seems the same. When it is allowed to happen over and over again, it gets pretty discouraging that we work so hard and others can coast and get away with it.