MPKH

I do not make friends at work, and I only go to professional social events. I’ll go to the unit Christmas party but you won’t catch me hanging out with coworkers without a professional reason.

But the OP has explicitly forbidden staff from deleting orders without her consent….?

What’s the point of asking for a raise if you don’t have a plan for what to do if your request is denied? I can see it as leverage point if you have an offer elsewhere, but you don’t. If your plan is to stay regardless of getting a raise, then I don’t see a point in asking. It doesn’t hurt to ask, but you need to have a plan if the answer is no. And oh no, owning an apartment is such a bad thing ?

If you read through the thread, you’ll learn that the OP finds anything but a large, new house to be settling for less. A house (but not one that is small and old) is a symbol to her that she’s “made it”, and anything less than that is settling. On one of her other threads, she fears that she’ll be an apartment owner at the rate she’s going, so while the suggestion of a condo or townhouse is a reasonable one, it’s not one that the OP finds reasonable.

We all worked rotating day and night shifts.

Last unit I worked in had an employee of the month recognition program. There was a box at the front desk and you’d just drop off the name of the person/people you are nominating in the box. The manager decides the winner, with the consideration of the nominations in the box. Typically the person with the most nominations win, unless the manager has decided on a winner whose name isn’t in the box, or did not receive the most nominations. To me it always felt like a popularity contest. The bubbly, outgoing, social butterflies of the unit almost always got the nominations. The manager’s favourites get the award. I provide competent and professional patient care, am a good worker bee, and do my job well. I’ve always received positive feedback on my work and on my annual evaluation. I am friendly, approachable, and always happy to lend a helping hand. I am introverted, and don’t socialize like the social butterflies do. Guess who’s never gotten a nomination or award for employee of the month?

Amen. We should be prioritizing the patient’s needs over administrative tasks, policies, and protocols, as much as we are able to. In this case, the patient’s comfort should be a priority over obtaining an admission weight and mobility assessment. Also, most hospital beds have a built in scale, can the weight not be taken on the bed?

Hopefully they’ll realize soon enough that SilverBells plays the role of a victim with insurmountable problems and that she has zero intentions or interests in changing her situation. These genuine advice from well meaning posters might as well be them talking to a wall.

I’ve pulled meds for my coworkers, and I’ve definitely given meds that were pulled for me. The meds are left in their sealed, original packaging and placed in the patient’s specific bin in the med cart outside the room. The nurse looking after the patient then administers the medication after doing their own safety checks.

Which is why I’ve taken Klone’s lead and just responded with “good luck, take care, all the best!” in this thread. I do believe I’m going to respond the same way for all subsequent threads by SilverBells from now on. It’s quite clear that SilverBells isn’t seeking advice on this site.

Sounds like quite the conundrum you have on your hands. Good luck, take care, all the best!

I will echo the sentiment as well. Good luck and take care!

Nursing school graduates are generalists—they’re not trained to work in any one specialty, but have a basic foundation of the different major areas of nursing. Clinicals will reflect that. They are typically in nursing homes, med/surg units, community health clinics, OBGYN units, psych units, and paediatric units. You cannot choose where you go for clinicals. You can request for specialty placements for your consolidation/preceptorship but they’re limited in the spaces available.

Um no? That wasn’t a push back. That was merely a suggestion from the social worker. You realize you don’t actually have to take everybody’s opinions and suggestions as commands and directives right? You could’ve just as easily reply to the social worker’s suggestion with a “push back” of your own—“I would be happy to help the educator if need be, but for now, let the educator do her thing,”. If this is how you respond to everyone’s opinions and suggestions, no wonder your workplace is dumping everything on you. You internalize other’s casual remarks as directives, and seem to have no spine of your own to establish any sort of boundaries. Are you that conflict averse that you can’t even stand up for yourself? Do you see all opinions opposing of your own as push back? Or do you secretly just enjoy the drama? If you enjoy being a door mat and punching bag to your workplace, then continue with whatever you’re doing. If you don’t, then you need to seriously make a change. How on Earth did you survive as a floor nurse with all your tendencies??

If I had a manager like SilverBells, I too, would expect her to do my job and pick up my slack. Why not? She’s willing, has no boundaries, can’t say no, and all I’d have to do is dangle the fact that patients aren’t doing well and SilverBells would be wrapped around my finger. And when she tells me she can’t do what I ask of her, I’ll just say that she’s a failure because she’s letting someone else troubleshoot. After all, managers ought be successful with all patients. Just looks bad if a nurse can tackle the issues when a manager should be doing that. Not to mention, when I can’t go home on time, I’ll be unhappy and instead of examining my time management skills, I’ll just blame SilverBells. Thus, the onus of actually doing my job falls on SilverBells, not me. Hey, if SilverBells wants to be a martyr, play hero, be a perfectionist super nurse all the while being my manager, I sure as heck am not stopping her. Why would I do that when I get a pretty sweet deal out of enabling SilverBell’s behaviour? She encourages staff to treat her as the proverbial door mat and punching bag, and staff should do what the manager wants, right?

So here’s a suggestion: 1) Empower and teach your staff how to solve their own problems. You shouldn’t solve any of their problems unless it is directly an issue that a manager should handle. 2) Work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Arrive and leave on time. Do not show up early, do not stay late. Post your schedule where staff can easily see it. You are not available outside of those hours. Let your staff know who they can contact for assistance in your absence. Do not do anything work related outside your work hours. 3) Now that you’re working 40 hours a week, you will have free time. Pick up a hobby, take a class, take day trips to areas near you, adopt a pet, get a plant, join a book club, play some video games, meet up with friends, download a dating app and go on dates, learn to cook, sleep in, learn to play an instrument, watch Netflix, relax at home…. The point is, you have nothing in your life because you are making work your life, and you’re actively choosing to make work your life.

Obtain an order for a straight catheter for the purpose of urine sample collection.

If you do not understand something your staff has charted, you should speak to whoever charted the unclear statement and ask for a clarification. If you do not deem the charting to be professional, you, as the manager, can implement changes.You, as the manager, can also set guidelines on the unit’s charting.

You are not God. You cannot control the course of illness in patients. Sending them to the hospital does not equal failure. You are ensuring the patients are receiving the appropriate level of care. Do what you can, to the best of your abilities, for the patients in your care in the allocated time you have with them on your shift. Leave work at work.

You’re the manager, your job is to manage your staff. Part of that is dealing with insubordination and work performance. If it’s your office, lock the door when you’re not there. I’ve worked in three hospitals now, and I’ve seen all my managers do this.

Have you considered the fact that other people simply have different financial status and means than you do? Many young people have financial support from their parents, and it is easier to afford a house in a dual income household than a single income household. It’s not healthy to compare yourself to others. Or use objects as a mean to elevate your self esteem.

As iterated before, you do not know your colleagues’ financial status and spending habits, nor do you know their full financial history. Many homeowners start their homeowner journey with buying something within their budget—apartments, condos, and townhouses are common with first time home buyers. If you chose to look on with envy with the woe is me attitude, then that’s your prerogative. If you think that owning anything but a nice house like your colleagues is damaging to your self esteem, then that’s also something you chose for yourself. Also, what a way to look down on a large group of people.

You need to go talk to a therapist. A different one since the one you currently go to isn’t working. Not looking at pictures of the kid would be a great start.

The only way to get better at something is to do it. I used to shy away from IV starts until I realized that I wasn’t going to get better at them unless I start sticking patients. And that it’s okay if I miss. I now have no qualms about starting IVs—even if I miss, I at least made the effort to try. Right now you’re not trying, and you’re shying away, and the more you do this, the less competent you’ll be at the hands on skills, which makes you shy away from the tasks even more and not try, which furthers weakens your skills...do you see the cycle yet? Are you honestly telling me you can’t give someone someone a shower because the last time you did it was in nursing school?!! Girl, showering someone else isn’t a nursing specific skill. Lay caregivers are able to do it. Teenaged babysitters can do it for the kids they’re watching. Elementary school kids can probably give their younger siblings showers. But you can’t?! Look, as I said, you’re not going to get good at things you don’t work on. We know you’re amazing at paperwork, but if showering a patient makes you uneasy, then perhaps it is time to focus on the skills that you’re not so hot at. I’d have very little respect for a manage who can’t even complete the most basic of hands on tasks. What are you going to do if your staff needs help with hands on skills? Or they need you to demonstrate something?

I’m not a manager and have zero managerial experience, but it just sounds to me that you need to leave work at work. Stop answering your phone when you’re not on call. Ignore texts. Stop catering to everyone and letting yourself be a doormat. People treat you how you let them treat you. Set boundaries. You’re not the only nurse who works there; the place won’t die without you. Quit trying to be a saviour because that’s the vibe you give off. Why can’t nurses enter in their own orders? Why do you have to deal with emergencies involving the other manager’s patients? Why can’t you leave work at a decent time? Learn to leave work at work, and make peace with the fact you won’t get everything perfectly to your standards, and that’s okay.