passive aggressive nurses

I know maybe the best way is to ignore this type of passive aggressive nurse. They make the work place like hell.

Your coworker is not passive-aggressive in any way whatsoever, based on your description. She is downright aggressive! She is rude, always in a nasty mood and tells you exactly what she thinks of you, whereas the typical passive-aggressive nurse would smile in your presence and pretend to be in a pleasant mood while secretly plotting to sabotage you.

Passive-aggressive nurses indirectly express their hard feelings instead of addressing them out in the open. Passive-aggressive coworkers retaliate using subtle, roundabout, sneaky techniques rather than speaking their minds. These people:

• Purposely forget to complete tasks
  
• Blame others for their personal issues
  
• Constantly whine and sulk
  
• Purposely procrastinate when asked to so something
  
• Complain all their coworkers are 'out to get them'
  
• Approach their work inefficiently and sloppily
  
• Secretly resent those with authority over them
  
• Sabotage other peoples' hard work
  
• Lose important papers on purpose
  
• Insist they are overworked
  

Always remember that passive-aggressive nurses never openly disagree or express their displeasure with you. In fact, they're going to to lie and insist everything is going beautifully. However, they express their dislike of certain people through manipulative actions.

I worked 7a to 7p yesterday and three of my five patients are discharged. The ED usually hold their patients till shift change time so they don't need to get new patients, it happens all the time. Two of my three new admissions all came in at 7:15pm during the shift report and the night shift nurse was upset that she has to do the admission stuff. I tried to give her report and help with the new admission as much as possible.

The night shift nurse has a foul mood and is so nasty. She questions every single thing I said in report. She starts to assess her pt during the report so I have to stay. I asked her that she seems upset, did I do something wrong. She said "oh no, it's not your fault. They give me so many damn admissions at the same time". I don't understand why she is giving me hard time.

I know maybe the best way is to ignore this type of passive aggressive nurse. They make the work place like hell.

I know everyone this the ED nurses hold patients to avoid more patient but that simply isn't true. The mass exodus in the ED at shift change is physician driven. Their peers are coming in to relieve them and they don't want them to have to do another assessment H&P and deal with the oncoming MD. So they finally get the lead out and make deposition on the patients all at one time.

I think you are taking it too personally....she told you it isn't you....

"oh no, it's not your fault. They give me so many damn admissions at the same time".

I worked 7a to 7p yesterday and three of my five patients are discharged. The ED usually hold their patients till shift change time so they don't need to get new patients, it happens all the time. Two of my three new admissions all came in at 7:15pm during the shift report and the night shift nurse was upset that she has to do the admission stuff. I tried to give her report and help with the new admission as much as possible.

The night shift nurse has a foul mood and is so nasty. She questions every single thing I said in report. She starts to assess her pt during the report so I have to stay. I asked her that she seems upset, did I do something wrong. She said "oh no, it's not your fault. They give me so many damn admissions at the same time". I don't understand why she is giving me hard time.

I know maybe the best way is to ignore this type of passive aggressive nurse. They make the work place like hell.

Based on your description, I'm not convinced the nurse is nasty. I don't think she was upset at you at all. If, as you say, many admissions come in at shift change from days to nights, she was probably annoyed that it happened again to her, as she pointed out to you when you asked her if you did something wrong. Coming onto shift already behind is not fun.

As for questioning what you say in report, sometimes those questions come rapid fire because she is not receiving report with the same organization as she expects it. I have given report to certain nurses who keep interrupting me and asking questions because my way of organizing it isn't the way they want it organized. I give a big picture report; they want a task-based report. When I get a task-based report, I also ask questions to get a big picture report. It goes both ways, and we both just need to deal with it. Nothing personal about it.

As for assessing when getting report, I too find that frustrating because I just wanna get the hell outta there. Checking lines and set ups (IVs, drains, chest tubes, etc.) is one thing, but whipping out the steth to check lung, heart, and abdomen sounds when the patient is in no distress is another. You just have to be firm and say, "Let's finish with report so that we both can continue with our evening."

All this is to say that, based on the minimal information you've given, what you're experiencing is not unusual; however, the way you are perceiving it may be the issue.

Second, med-surg floor is such a fast paced floor where patient turn over is one or two days. I do not understand why it is justified to be upset that you get two admissions when you come on shifts.

That depends. Does every nurse on her shift have at least one admission when they come on shift? If so, someone needs to talk to the ED about their patient flow. If not, and she is getting two admissions while other nurses have none, she needs to talk to your shift's charge about more equitable patient assignments.

Do you want to work with someone who is upset and hostile?

Again, you haven't said anything to show this nurse is hostile. You've just said she asks questions during your report. She is upset about the admissions, but you haven't given a bigger picture about admission assignment on your floor.

I think it could be an expectation issue. so Just curious, your coworker is supposed to leave at 730 and the admissions come at 715, do you expect the coworker to stay and do the admission stuff?

Oh, absolutely not. At 7:15 is during report time! If I knew the patient was coming prior to the other shift clocking in, the only thing I would do is put toiletries in the room, grab a VS machine, and move furniture so that the patient can get settled. Question to you: does she ask you to stay and do the admission or do you do it because you feel you "have to" because she's annoyed? I had to learn to put my foot down on very late-in-shift orders that take considerable time to do, although I usually try to gather supplies and educate the patient on them.

our ED does this all the time! They get travel orders to the floor by 9 pm and then send EVERYONE up at 10:30 pm. Then the nurses that have these patients send them to the floor (2 and 3 at a time - its not uncommon to get 4-5 admissions at shift change) and then the ED nurses walk out at 11 pm without having to assess or report off.

I think you don't understand the process. I wish that we as nurses would just stop laying blame and come up with solutions or try to understand the process may be out of the ED nurses control.

I have done many process research projects on this very subject. The solutions are simple but require cooperation. The process begins with the physicians and making them behave...to work up and disposition the patient as quickly as possible. I have worked with many physicians who have perfected the process of extended work ups and delayed dispositions on the patients to an art form. They process these patients with agonizing precision only to officially dispo them at the end of THEIR shift. Once dispositioned the bed can be called for, the bed them needs to be assigned.

New "regulations" and watchdog time keepers don't time the physicians timing delaying the process but they do measure the nurses...the clock begins to tick and these patients have a specific time frame now to reach their destination. Hence the mass exodus...the nurses have little control over this.

Any good ER nurse KNOWS which of his/her patients are going to be admitted and so does the MD who painstakingly, agonizingly, works up a hang nail for it might change the orders. They KNOW that at the end of their shift these patients need dispo and final evaluations or the oncoming MD starst essentially from scratch (not really) by ER "regulations" and this NEVER makes the oncoming MD happy. The on coming MD also has to deal with the angry patients that have been kept waiting so suddenly the present MD gets a fire under tier behind and dispos a group all at once that everyone knew, including the MD that the patient will be admitted.

Now you need to get the cooperation from the hospitalist who will only come and evaluate the "group" at one time because they are "busy and not going to keep running down to the ED" to admit patients.

The cycle begins again...and in the end nurses are blamed once again, even by their fellow nurses, for being responsible for it all...when in fact it the physician driven.