Professional Misconduct

[bertita]

Hi,

I am a clerk in a public hospital.

I am the one who keeps the roster prepare the scheduling of nursing staff for in service classes and mandatory classes. Our policy is that anyone who needs it has to make a copy of it.

A nurse educator took my roster and refused to give it back to me for 3 days. In the meantime I had to accomplish a deadline by using the roster.

This nurse knows that sometimes I can have a bad temper due to emotional conditions (take medicine for that). I asked for the roster to make a copy of it for myselt. She refused to give it to me again.

We had an argument over this and I get upset and she even had the nerve to call hospital police as if I was the one at fault. Hospital police and my immediate supervisor supported her because of her status of Nurse Educator. Does this constitutes professional misconduct? Please let me know what you think. I was very aggravated by the presence of hospital police to watch me. I appreciate your comments/suggestions. Because I am clerk I should be abused? Thank you.

[ZASHAGALKA, RN]

Hi,

I am a clerk in a public hospital.

I keep and use a roster to prepare the scheduling of nursing staff for in service classes and mandatory classes.

A nurse educator took my roster and refuse to give it back to me for 3 days.

This nurse knows that sometimes I can have a bad temper due to emotional conditions (take medicine for that).

We had an argument over this and I get upset and she even had the nerve to call hospital police as if I was the one at fault. Hospital police and my immediate supervisor supported her because of her status of Nurse Educator. Does this constitutes professional misconduct? Please let me know what you think. I was very aggravated by the presence of hospital police to watch me. I appreciate your comments/suggestions. Thank you.

My first take: you work for her, yes? You are preparing nursing education material and she is the nurse educator. Or at least, the roster in question falls under her domain.

She has a right to the roster, and while you have the right to object or request its return, you don't have the right to 'argue' with your superiors. (Even if she is not your direct superior, she is in charge of nursing education material - or a supervisor of such material.)

You state she knows you have a history (with bad temper) to infer that she was keeping the schedule on purpose just to make you angry. Either that, or, she should have known not to mess with you.

But probably, she called hospital police because she 'knows you have a history'.

Finally, you say that it's 'her fault'. But then hint that it's 'her fault' because she knows you have a temper and SHE should have acted differently so that YOU wouldn't have acted the way you did.

I'm of the opinion that 'being on meds' is not an excuse for behavior. You are accountable for your behavior.

And so, the resolution is not to justify yourself, but to make amends.

~faith,

Timothy.

[SFCardiacRN]

Sounds like one thing less for you to worry about if someone else has the roster. And you can always keep a copy. I would apologize. IMHO

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Professional misconduct? Yes.

It sounds like you were out of control. It would have been appropriate to call for help, in this case the police. I'm surprised you weren't officially disciplined, or worse, fired over this. If there is even a hint that you might have posed a physical threat to another employee by something you might have said or your physical actions, you put yourself in a position to be terminated from employment. If your facility has an employee assistance program I would recommend that you ask for help for your control issues through them. These programs are confidential. You cannot be "loosing it" at work like that. Particularly with someone who works in your same department.

[clee1]

Hi,

I am a clerk in a public hospital.

I keep and use a roster to prepare the scheduling of nursing staff for in service classes and mandatory classes.

A nurse educator took my roster and refuse to give it back to me for 3 days.

This nurse knows that sometimes I can have a bad temper due to emotional conditions (take medicine for that).

We had an argument over this and I get upset and she even had the nerve to call hospital police as if I was the one at fault. Hospital police and my immediate supervisor supported her because of her status of Nurse Educator. Does this constitutes professional misconduct? Please let me know what you think. I was very aggravated by the presence of hospital police to watch me. I appreciate your comments/suggestions. Thank you.

You are out of line, IMHO.

Keep a copy if it is that important to you.

There are already too many prima donnas in the hospital, and a clerk with temper issues ranks at the bottom of the totem pole.

[kukukajoo, LPN]

Let me share something with you that I hope will sink in. I tell it to my children all the time and top level execs and very successful people live by this rule.

NOBODY CAN MAKE YOU ANGRY. YOU MAKE YOURSELF ANGRY. You are the ONLY one in control of your emotions and nobody can make you hurt, sad, happy, angry or any other feeling without you letting them- or in other words you choosing how you will feel.

Until you learn this you will never go very far in life because those that let their emotions rule them, and not master their emotions, then you never have total control of yourself or any situation for that matter. People will learn that they can manipulate and control you and some will use this to their advantage.

Another thing that I will throw out there for thought- if you do let someone hurt you with their words or control your emotions, you have let them win and they really do control you in every sense of the word.

Think of this- in an alzheimers ward a woman used to call me and my kids filthy names all the time. I had taught my children she did not mean what she was saying and we all were able to keep smiling and let it roll off our backs instead of thinking she was insulting us and getting angy. The results can be applied in any situation- getting cut off driving, getting yelled at by a co-worker, etc.

When things are getting crazy, just try to think of whatever is bugging you from another point of view and see how quickly things can change. It is really amazing honestly!

[LoriAlabamaRN]

I agree with the other posters- I think you are very lucky not to have lost your job over this. I would have fired you. I doubt very seriously that this incident is over- you would do well to be on your toes, because something might very well be in the works over this incident. In the professional world we are expected to control ourselves. If we cannot control ourselves, we should expect to be removed.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

What Timothy said - I thought he said it very well.

[kukukajoo, LPN]

Insubordination

[sanctuary, BSN, MSN, RN]

:yeahthat:

[bertita]

Insubordination

Abuse.

[bertita]

I agree with the other posters- I think you are very lucky not to have lost your job over this. I would have fired you. I doubt very seriously that this incident is over- you would do well to be on your toes, because something might very well be in the works over this incident. In the professional world we are expected to control ourselves. If we cannot control ourselves, we should expect to be removed.

I also would have fired you for being bias.

In the professional world we are still human beings. You should know better.