Problem with scrub techs!

ShariDCST · May 7, 2008

sounds like it might be time for a "showdown" of sorts. i don't mean an animosity-laden shout-fest. but a gathering and meeting of the minds, so that each side can air their issues and get appropriate feedback, and clear up some apparent misconceptions. it also sounds like this is a long-festering situation, and those tend to feed upon themselves and grow exponentially until someone comes in to interrupt that process. the defensiveness you describe is common unfortunately, and it comes from an undercurrent of mistrust between the two groups - techs feel threatened, even though they won't admit it most of the time, because nursing has had a long-standing mistrust of them and also fear that their own jobs are in jeopardy from "unlicensed assistive personnel." what both sides frequently fail to consider is that each group is specifically educated to perform their roles in different ways, and that they could complement rather than threaten each other if each side would be willing to let the process work. techs who overstep their boundaries are no better than nurses who constantly carry around a superior attitude (i'm an rn and you are "just a tech" and therefore not worthy of my notice or consideration) and don't take into account that we can be very helpful when given the proper chance. as a tech, i have been made to feel very important to the team and helpful to the process on one hand and lower than the dirt on the bottoms of their shoes another time by nurses who simply won't give us the chance we need to function as the educated professionals we are.

i have said this before, and i'll stick by it until i die - there are good and bad examples of every profession everywhere - and sometimes you have to get rid of the bad ones to get through to the best of the bunch. it takes both sides to make a team work - and you need to have the cooperation of both sides for that to happen.

try having a talk with your supervisors or managers, and take it as high as you have to go to get results. hr might even be able to help you get something going too - they do diversity training and other forms of education to help people understand better how to get along with those who are different from themselves - this would be a great example of getting two different levels of professionals to cooperate and remember why you are all there - for the patient.

ShariDCST · May 7, 2008

just to clarify, before anyone gets the wrong idea, nothing i said above is intended to single out any one particular individual or specific situation - it's a general statement of my own personal knowledge, opinions and experience. i tried to edit the post to include that, but apparently my "five minutes" was up before i got back to do that, so here it is instead.

justjenny · May 7, 2008

..try having a talk with your supervisors or managers, and take it as high as you have to go to get results.

update: i had a 1 1/2 hr talk with my manager today. she was supportive and offered to do anything needed to help, but stood by the techs (in a way) she tried to stay as neutral as possible (i was alone with her in the room) but she (like many of my coworkers) have never worked anywhere but the or and my background is icu. i have a different perspective on the techs point of view now and will be very careful to watch myself so as not to offend without being fake or wimpy, but i don't get the impression that she will back me up unless there is an incident that cannot be resolved.

the general opinion is that i am new to the or and don't even know what i don't know yet. i argued that the or is not as difficult and hard to learn as everyone says...and that was an offensive statement to her (and she told me to not repeat that where anyone else would hear!) yes, our job is important, yes the techs are important and work hard- we all do. but honestly, once i know the specialties, i already have the basics down and for some docs i already know their preferences after only 3 months on the job. am i perfect? heck no...but there are nurses that have worked or for decades who sometimes need help or forget where we keep some obscure instrument that only dr "such and such" uses.

i cried in the bathroom at work this morning...i just dont feel like dealing with bad attitudes some days, you know?

jenny

ShariDCST · May 8, 2008

i'm glad you had that talk with your manager. at least now you both have some idea of where each of you stands on the matter - you know what kind of backup you can expect or not expect from her.

and yes, i do know about the morning cry in the bathroom - been there, done that.........frustration needs some kind of controlled outlet, or it will come out in an uncontrolled and counterproductive fashion when it's least appropriate!

since you are still fairly new on the job, it's possible that some of the other staff - be it techs or fellow rns - are sort of testing their limits with you and finding out what they can expect out of you as well. it's sort of like what children do when a "new" adult is in their midst in any sort of authority type role. do be firm about your position, but be open to learn too - and you may learn things that you didn't expect to about the people you work with, and the why's and wherefores of how things are done in this department.

i sort of agree with your manager on one point though - pointing out that learning the ropes of a whole new department simply isn't "as difficult and hard to learn as everyone says" can be a double-edged sword. it can put others on the defensive immediately when they take it to mean that their struggles to learn their way around a totally new environment are not valid, and nobody wants to be told that. some folks could take it to be an expression of "smart aleck" behavior too - even if it's not intended that way. everyone's learning curve is a bit different, and as one who also possesses a fairly short one in most circumstances, i can tell you that keeping that secret to yourself is one way to make it easier to find your way successfully into the society that you have recently chosen to join.

best wishes as you find your way through each day, and let others help you do that - it makes them feel important and needed, and we all can use that from time to time. stand your ground when you need to and don't let people walk all over you. when you've demonstrated that you are not a doormat, and you know your stuff, then the respect you are looking for will come. but it's how you go about it that is more important than the fact that you do it at all.

NabiRN, BSN, RN · May 8, 2008

I am a new nurse grad who is going through Peri-Op 101 with several veteran nurses from med-surg and ICU. Our facility has 25 operating rooms. I also have 4 years of experience as a certified surgical technologist at a different hospital.

The operating room is different from other units in many ways. The nurse here only has one patient. In that sense, the job is easier in comparison to those who have 5 to 7 patients on the floor. I say to myself ... how lucky am I to land a job in the OR!

I choose to work in the operating room because it is a fun and exciting place to work and I get to work side by side with some of the most influential and revenue-generating physicians in the hospital. The technology is always changing. We definitely save lives with surgical interventions everyday.

If you really do love the OR, you need to get over the fact that you are a veteran nurse from the ICU. This is not to say that your ICU experience is not useful. Otherwise, you will not survive in a team enviroment such as the OR. The scrubs as well as other nurses will eat you up. Perhaps, your nurse manager is trying to convey this message.