problem with coworker

Regardless of how many friends this co-worker has, abuse of a patient, either physical or verbal IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!!! This needs to be brought to the attention of your superior. Explain your concerns about the others on your unit. Maybe your could arrange to meet with her during off hours, or away from your unit.Patient abuse aside, the two of you have some serious conflicts that are not only making your work life extremely difficult, but will in the end be detrimental to the well-being of your patients. Your head nurse may be able to help you in this area, also, to help you find a way to work together. I realize that you are in a very difficult situation, but you cannot ignore improper treatment of a patient, and you do not have to tolerate such treatment of yourself, either.

Sometimes problems with co-workers are not easy to deal with. You have two problems one is that if you let the abuse go on and don't so something about it you are not upholding your responsibility. As a professional you are obligated to act as a patient advocate and report any cases of abuse, it needs to be documented and dealt with. If you get now where, you must go up the chain of command. The second thing is you don't have to be friends with all the people that you work with, but you do have to have a working relationship. If this person refuses to relieve you, take the problem to the person in charge and if it is that person, then go to the supervisor above her. You are entitled to a break and people like the one you described are the ones that I wonder how they make it through nursing. Good luck, only you can make the decision what to do, but you have to work there. I would be interested to hear how you make out.

Linda,

Friends or not, YOU need to speak up for the Alzheimer patients. It is you civil duty to protect another individual never mind someone who cannot speak for themselves. Your facility should have a suggestion box, if you don't feel comfortable speaking in person. 2) Your facility or state should have an ombudsman, someone to whom the public can complain to if they are afraid to speak up to a member of the facility. If there is non of the above YOU need to do it yourself. It will probably be the biggest step you will ever have to take, but it is worth it. Good Luck

------------------

As a Director of Nursing in a long term care facility not only is it your obligation and responsibility to be a advocate for the resident, but by federal regulation it is your responsibility to report it to your supervisor and then to make sure that the person or persons causing abuse be reported to the office of long term care the police and the administrator etc... this can cause the facility to be out of compliance and be closed by the office of long term care if they find out and it hasnt been reported and investigated, hope that this will help

I am one of these nurses that is having a problem with a coworker. She is a wonderful person so don't get me wrong by any means. We are both LVN's and work on the skilled nursing unit on the 11-7 shift. She just graduated from school a little over a year ago and we are having a problem with her thinking she is what we call a charge nurse. on the night shift the only "charge nurse" per say is our house supervisor. We have tried to talk to this coworker but to no avail, she just gets mad at us and keeps on. Plus she is working a 2nd full-time job since her husband had a stroke and is in a wheelchair, and she also hurt her back and is on all this medication....one minute she's feeling great and real talkative and the next she might be depressed. Any suggestions on how to handle this coworker. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.