Hey all, again asking for advice, but this time not for something that is specifically my prob.
I have been working in a community hospital L/D for about 8 months now, love the job, and the co-workers are culturally diverse. Now one culture does override the other, but this is just how it is at this hospital, doesn't mean that they don't hire people from other cultures as I and another co-worker are both ouselves different, culutrally that is. Here's the thing my co-worker is hell bent on accusing our co-workers and now I find myself included in discrimination. She states that we pick on her, make her do more work than others and get the harder assignments. Well to be honest, she doesn't always get the harder assignments, I usually end up w/ them, which is ok as I prefere to be busy and we both just graduated last year, and you can only learn from doing in my opinion. She claims that she got shotty orientation, which she acutally had a little longer orientation than I did and overall wasn't too bad, frustrating at times, yes, and we used to talk about these frustrations, but that goes hand in hand w/ orientation I have now come to that realization. The thing is she is extreemly defensive, you try and help and either she gets offended or does nothing at all. She doesn't try and make it better by atleast appearing interested, she just gets defensive.
This has been perpetuating more and more lately and it is becoming a big problem. Now she is accusing everyone of discrimination. Well, guess what, everyone is getting tired of it. She is always behind on charting, has found to be falsifying charting (ie BPs charted are not those off of the dynomap), doesn't act in a situation when it is necessary, doesn't chart meds, charting is usually incomplete and blatently becoming more and more dangerous. Now all my co-workers, those that are a different culture from myself as well, are becoming more and more upset by the situation. This culture is based on respect for your elders and for your fellow humans, and have NOT been picking on her specifically. They give her assignments so that she can learn and become more comfortable w/ these types of pts.
She is now to the point of having tantrums, swearing, crying, lies, yelling at everyone, physicians included. She is becoming more and more unable to make a decision and blames everyone else when she ends up making the wrong decision. She outright accused us of being discrimanatory, states that "you are going to pay" for this, and I believe has become threatening.
Sufficit to say no one wants to work w/ her, no one wants to be in charge of her and at the same time no one wants to fire her because, she is a single mom w/ three kids and our boss is on vacation (she was very aware of this and has been more than fair w/ her before she left.)
This is of course causing BIG problems, physicians are asking for her not to take care of their pts, she is minipulative and just down right irritating. Two nurses are ready to quit. She calls out when she is pissed at us, causing staffing problems. She has involved the nursing supervisors and the nursing director as well. Nothing is outwardly being done. It is out of hand really.
I have alot of empathy for her, as I know what it is like to be under alot of stress, and it does change your personality and behavior. But at the same time I DO NOT agree w/ what she is doing. I think she need help and even though this has been offered, she down right refuses it. Its sad really. No body wants to fire a single mom, but they are also afraid because of the discrimination accusation hanging over them. Some of them look to me becuase like here I am the only one of my culture/race on the unit & shift, as is she. I have no problems, and infact find everyone very caring and nurturing to me, as they were to her as well, until this started, now nobody knows what to do. And they talk about it to me because we went through orientation together and used to talk. But the more she became angry the more I stayed away and disassociated myself from her, kinda feel bad but I didn't know what to say or do. Not to mention it is not my place to be the one to make any decision or to be smooting things out, that should be left to the managers.
Have any ideas or thoughts?
