Poor RN professional conduct

[Omgseriously]

I am new to this site. I am hoping to get some insight. I am an RN with 15 years experience. I have seen a serious decline in professional behavior at the hospital I work at. We have a no eating or drinking policy which stayed in place with little incident for years. Now, nurses who know better are blatantly doing it. Those of us who are respectful of the rules are not. Guess what? We are hungry and thirsty too. One nurse actually told me that now that I know where the snack drawer is....I have to eat from it...that way, they be sure that I won't tell on them. Yes, that is what an educated adult said to me. So guess what, the snack drawer got emptied today. The whining started. So, I told them I gave them up and if they want their stuff back they can go get it from the managers. The spineless creatures got so quiet. What is up with these people these days. Anyone else work with selfish inconsiderate "professionals"? How do you deal with the immaturity and sense of entitlement?

[KRVRN, BSN, RN]

I see it mentioned in a few different places that this doesn't affect or endanger pts. If snacks are at bedsides it's an infection control issue. There's a reason food isn't allowed inside the NICU. Sure, it's bad manners and tattletale-ish to rat out your coworkers, but completely justified. Frankly I'm surprised at these reactions.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I see it mentioned in a few different places that this doesn't affect or endanger pts. If snacks are at bedsides it's an infection control issue. There's a reason food isn't allowed inside the NICU. Sure, it's bad manners and tattletale-ish to rat out your coworkers, but completely justified. Frankly I'm surprised at these reactions.

I completely agree -- and think the responses are just one more sign of the type of professional deterioration that the OP was writing about. Yes, the OP's interactions with her teammates could use some improvement ... but that doesn't excuse the generally bad bahavior that she was writing about.

[babyNP., APRN]

I think no water allowed in the unit is a bit much; do you also not allow breastfeeding mothers to bring any water?

The no eating thing is very appropriate in a NICU, although I would mention that there is food allowed routinely in other ICU settings, like a PICU or pediatric cardiac ICU where they have newborns up to teenagers (and older) for patients.

I think that you are coming off as very abrasive to your co-workers. Remember the OB in the 19th century who (accurately) told OBs that they needed to wash their hands to prevent spread of infection ("childbed fever")? Well, he told them that they were killing mothers and were terrible, horrible people. Do you think anyone listened to him? It's all in how you deliver in order to effect change. Unnecessary abrasiveness usually only leads to people having knee-jerk defensive reactions. Best of luck in effecting change for the future.

[HappyWife77, BSN, RN]

Like management didn't already know a snack drawer existed....

As nurses we don't always get a lunch break and most definitely I know I never get my allotted 2 -"15 minute" breaks per shift.

So what if someone can grab a snack while on the run.

The managers are ultimately responsible. I work with some diabetic nurses who need access to quick snacks.

[iluvgusgus]

Who are you to remove their property and who are you to enforce the rules? You are not the manager and you sound bitter. It is not like they are walking into pt rooms with a bag of chips in hand, wiping their greasy crumby fingers on their scrubs, licking their fingers, not washing their hands, and then touching a pt.

[RNdynamic]

Honestly OP, I think you're childish and jealous. What is it to you, if others want to eat and drink? Yea, it's against the rules. So what... let management figure it out for themselves. No one likes a tattle tale or a brown noser. You're not going to make your job any easier by proudly announcing to your peers that you gave them up. All that signifies to them is that you cannot be trusted -- and your managers know it now too.

[ATBStudent]

This is silly. You've essentially created a divide in your unit. Experienced nurses vs new grads. There is literally nothing good that can come of this. The new grads will feel you are unapproachable, they won't ask questions, and then you'll get mad if they make a mistake. And the cycle will repeat over and over. Sometimes you have to meet people half way and realize that at the end of the day...we're all the same. I think you need to take a really hard look at yourself and realize what it means when you start deciding that you are BETTER than those around you. Maybe use your professional communication skills next time to strengthen your team as a whole rather than tear them down.

[hayloftbham]

The NICU I work at each family has a private room with their baby. The families are allowed to keep snacks in the baby's room. There are nights when the staff does not get to take a lunch. Having an occasional snack is not going to kill the baby. Having one nurse rage at the staff and create a hostile environment, will definitely impact patient safety when everyone quits.

[KRVRN, BSN, RN]

Where I work, food in the pt care areas is an absolute no-no. Management should be told. The folks responsible have no reason to be perturbed...they should (and do) know better than to have food in a NICU. Oh but the new grads are mad because the experienced nurses told on them? Tough. This isn't high school, it's a professional job, with standards of cleanliness that exist for a reason.

Now, if we're talking about a drawer of candy over yonder, away from the pts, then wash your hands and eat up.

[hayloftbham]

Oh no. I told them straight to their faces. I don't pull punches.

I would hate working with you. There is a fine line between being honest and confrontational. You just need to chill out. I've seen this kind of behavior when the patient acuity decreases and there aren't as many sick sick babys. The staff just gets easily agitated. I remember praying for a 22 weeker so we could all just refocus on what actually matters.

[ATBStudent]

Where I work, food in the pt care areas is an absolute no-no. Management should be told. The folks responsible have no reason to be perturbed...they should (and do) know better than to have food in a NICU. Oh but the new grads are mad because the experienced nurses told on them? Tough. This isn't high school, it's a professional job, with standards of cleanliness that exist for a reason.

Now, if we're talking about a drawer of candy over yonder, away from the pts, then wash your hands and eat up.

Tattling sounds pretty high school to me.

How about "I appreciate you letting me in on the secret, but we've had this no eating and drinking rule for years and I don't think that it is appropriate to break that rule given the risk to patient safety. Out of respect for me and our patients could you please empty out the drawer".

After said PROFESSIONAL conversation, if the matter is not resolved then get management involved. After all, we all have bad days - creating enemies that will turn right back around to report YOU for every little thing is needless. Talk first. =]

[CantDecideUsername]

I see it mentioned in a few different places that this doesn't affect or endanger pts. If snacks are at bedsides it's an infection control issue. There's a reason food isn't allowed inside the NICU. Sure, it's bad manners and tattletale-ish to rat out your coworkers, but completely justified. Frankly I'm surprised at these reactions.

Who ever said they were eating at the bedside??

I get that it would unprofessional and unwise (safety wise) to do so, but from what I understand the nurses are drinking water and grabbing quick snacks at the nurses station not while tending to patients.

I've seen this done a lot and never thought of it being so bad...