cuppa_tea

Correct. I am talking about a disciplinary action where it goes into your record; a black mark on your file, if you will. I am not talking about incident reports. Of course everyone under the sun can file claims against just about anyone. I'm not questioning that. I'm talking about actual demerits. I don't know what others call that kind of discipline. I'm talking about this: a verbal warning, first written notice, second written notice, third written notice or termination. I guess I'm not expressing myself very clearly. At any rate, our hand full of CNA problem children are hell-bent on writing up their supervisor if anyone DARES to tell them what to do or reprimand them (properly and privately) or if they perceive any kind of insult. It's ridiculous and it makes for a very toxic work environment. The nurses on the floor don't dare to ask them to do bed check...omg....the backlash is immediate and we pay for it for weeks. Sighs. It's apparent that no one has heard of such a beast, so I'm to assume our mean girls (CNAs) are just being silly and don't understand what their actual authority is: to report an incident of abuse, or other violation, not actual punishment. I think I need a new job. High school is over and bullying makes me angry. Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I hope none of you are being bullied or threatened. It makes me not enjoy a role I love. I just want to take care of my patients. I don't want this other BS.

Hmmm. I didn't thnk about that---misdirection. Interesting.

I'm not talking about alerting upper management to blatant violations of HIPPA or abuse or anything like that. I'm not suggesting that we are gods either. I am asking whether or not CNAs may disicipline nurses with an "in-your-file" type punishment for perceived violations or conduct. I believe I made it clear that the CNAs voicing this are using it as a threat. Think..."Well I'll show you!"...that kind of attitude. It's very vindictive and childish. And yes, they have already falsified reports to managers trying to get nurses they don't like or ones that "have a backbone" in trouble. But it's a game of he said/she said. As I said, a few colleagues have nearly lost their jobs because they stood up to these very nasty people and paid the price for it. They use this turning people in as a weapon. I guess I just wanted to know how much weight these claims carry or if they are even disciplinary in nature.

Sadly, I am their supervisor and I am to do write ups if necessary. Can I fire? Nope. Can I walk them to the time clock and off the premises? Yup. Beyond that unwanted authority, I have never heard of a nurse's assistant writing up a nurse, their supervisor. A write up being a disciplinary action, I mean.

Rule of thumb for me: ALWAYS give a 2 week notice. You never know who will be your next boss or if you need to fall back on a former job. It's the professional thing to do. It's considerate of your co-workers and it shows maturity. I agree with the others. Talk with job #2 and they should understand the 2 weeks rule. It's the right thing to do. You need to guard your reputation as a dependable nurse. Jumping ship without notice is not the way to build a solid reputation. Just my thoughts.

We have some pretty amazing CNAs and then we have some vindictive little....well, you know what I'm saying there. These handful of CNAs are indeed very good at their job, but are so incredibly arrogant and manipulative. They chase off new CNAs, they are disrespectful to the nurses (their supervisors) and have even sabotaged a few fellow colleagues and those nurses nearly lost their jobs. NOT nice women, these malcontent CNAs. They announce loudly that they too can write people up (nurses) and I've never heard of such a thing. Is this true? Immature, condescending know-it-alls can write up nurses? Are you kidding me? I can't find evidence of this nonsense anywhere. Has anyone heard about this or are they just blowing smoke up our scrubs? I used to value our CNAs, but these childish drama queens are getting right up my nose. Thoughts? Suggestions?

I can't tell you how many times the LPNs at our facility hear from family members: "Oh, you're just an LPN. Aren't there any real nurses around? You know, an RN?" So many times I have seen the look on my co-workers faces of that of a whipped dog, the hurt in their eyes. I have experienced that rudeness myself from family members. I have been trained to do every thing an RN can do, with the exception of hanging blood. I passed the PNCLEX, I have a degree in Science and I am a certified pharmacy technician. I do not understand where people get off treating us like that. No, I did not take the last semester. No, I did not specialize, as RNs do. No, I do not have RN after my name. BUT, I did graduate. I did pass the exam. I did clinicals. I continue to learn, and yet, somehow that makes me NOT a "real nurse". My education is lesser than their Google medical degree. Would I like to become an RN? YES! (but maybe for the wrong reasons). I don't want to be treated like crap anymore. I don't want to be belittled by RN bullies for being "less qualified" to take care of people. I don't want people to treat me like a glorified CNA anymore. Sometimes I am ashamed to admit that I am an LPN. Apparently people view us as something less than a nurse. I worked very hard for my LPN degree and license. But we are made to feel that we don't matter and that we aren't good enough to be nurses. What a horrible way to treat the men and women taking care of your loved one. Why do people have that view about LPNs? I don't understand.

"during the meeting the teacher gave me the line about "i'd better learn to deal with the real world and not be so sensitive"...." yeah, i've heard that a few times or the "this is how doctors and senior nurses will treat you. we are trying to prepare you for it." seriously??? she is going to call her abuse preparing us for the real world?? i'm with you; the is a learning environment and not the real world. i'm sure we will get enough abuse in the real world without her beginning it now under the guise of preparing us. what a load of depends! "i'm still nervous, she could keep me from graduating. i'll be getting my lpn. i'm going to try to keep quiet from now on and just get the hell out of there and look somewhere else for my rn." i am right there with you. we graduate in a few weeks and at this stage, i'm not even sure i'm going to make it. i just want to graduate and get the heck out of this insane college. i am already looking at doing my rn somewhere else, but i would like to work for a while as an lpn. i have been bullied this semester like never before. i've never been treated badly in any of my other classes except for the nursing program. i hope you graduate. i'll pray for you and that you get out alive to find a better program. good luck sophie!!:grad: (graduate!!! go for it!!)

Yes, I agree this paper is a learning tool (NOT the cost part, though). I want to see another insulin pen injection one more time. If my instructors are not going to teach me, then I will ask a nurse on the floor to show me. The look on my pt's face is still bothering me. I hurt her. I've been telling everyone that will listen how excited I am to be on the med/surg floor. I can get back up on the horse and try again because I have been waiting for this since last semester. I think at our level we still need safety nets. Our class is kinda cut-throat, so it's gonna have to be all on me. I am just going to use the nurse's at the hospital as an education source. They didn't seem to mind our questions. And thank you for your encouragement. I was feeling pretty crappy and very discouraged. Thanks! :tku:

Thanks for the positive advice. I want this so badly and I'm afraid I'm going to end up shooting myself in the foot, if you know what I mean. Thanks for the good wishes!

I meant trend...not tread...although that still may be appropriate...

I don't mind hearing the stories of people's families or their experiences with whatever disease, as long as it doesn't run on and on. Students don't know everything, so relaying a personal anecdote helps the learning process. It initiates questions from others. It personalizes the experience for me. Nursing doesn't have to be all cut and dried and adding a human face to suffering and disease makes us better nurses, I think. Yes, we have a few people in our class that "over share", but our instructors will sometimes move on quickly after the initial "oh really? that's too bad"....and back to lecture. :grn:

I'm scared, actually.

I am going through something very similar. What is this tread in instructor bullying? My tormentor also has power over whether we pass or not. In fact, we are not allowed to see our final exam and I think they take it upon themselves to do suspect things there. I have become this instructor's whipping boy (girl). She never says anything positive to me. She is always nagging at me like I'm her daughter and she treats me with complete contempt. She must be a very miserable person. I wonder if your instructor is like that? I feel badly for you. It strips your self-esteem and your confidence and it sounds like she likes to cut off your head to make herself seem bigger. Going above her head will only stir the hornet's nest, sadly. BUT....I would document EVERYTHING. She is in a position of authority and she is abusing you. She's a bully. You have heard that sad statement, "Nurses eat their young."??? It's true. My heart goes out to you. You are in a very difficult place...rock and a hard place. I wouldn't let her make you quit and if you can manage to graduate...that's when I'd make my appointment with the dean of the college/university and tell him/her what you endured. Good Luck to you!:hug:

Okay. I'm excited about our first med/surg clinical day! I am asked to give a pt their insulin with insulin pens. The pt's nurse had already set them up, primed and all, I guess. I didn't see her do it. I asked my instructor AND my team leader to watch me do this injection because I've never done it on a live person. I've done it once on one of those squishy pads. ONCE! The dose is already dialed up. They won't let me do it in the belly, so I decide the back of the arms. I gather up the skin and push the needle in and push the injection button and it stops mid-injection. I push and pushed and pushed and yes, the needle was still engaged. I couldn't deliver the rest of her units. I looked around at my instructor and pulled the pen away. She went and got me another needle and I tried again. I pushed the button and it stopped, like before, but was mostly done. The next injection of a different insulin I got most of the insulin in and the freaking button jammed on me AGAIN! There were 2 units left and my instructor just stood there, along with my team leader and just looked at me. Neither of them offered assistance. I was very upset that I was hurting my pt. and I said so to my instructor. She told me to throw them away in the sharps container, which I did. I walked out to the nurse's computer and she asked me where the pens were and I told her, "I threw them away, like you told me to". She said, "JUST THE NEEDLES!!!!" (in my fluster, I forgot that only the needles were to be disposed of). She was upset, to say the least. She was going to make me call down to the pharmacy and tell them what I did and order up 2 new pens for my pt. I was was so disheartened. It wrecked the rest of my day on the floor. I had to admit what happened at post-clinicals to my classmates. I felt like an idiot and I was ashamed. I felt like my instructor and my team leader failed me. I asked for help and received none. Now for the second shoe drop: a few days after that clinical, I was pulled into my instructor's office and I was told that the nursing school dept. head decided I needed to write a paper about insulin types and means of administration and costs of them to the hospital. Seriously? I'm already kicking myself for what happened and very upset still about hurting my pt and my instructor and leader did nothing when I asked for help. I was given the weekend to accomplish this paper, this on top of a bib card and studying and working. I'm a student, right? I'm supposed to be evolving my skills and advancing my pt care skills, right? It's supposed to be a learning situation, I thought. I know it's only a paper, but I feel like I'm being punished. The dept. head and I have been butting heads since day one and I've become her whipping boy (girl), as of late. It's not that I didn't give my pt. her exact dose of insulin...it's about throwing away 2 injector pens that still had doses in them. No mention of my pt., just the cost to the hospital for those 2 pens. Really? Am I the only one that's ever made a mistake on her first day of clinicals? If I had overdosed my pt, THEN I would expect a reprimand, even dismissal. I'm dreading my next clinical, which I was once very excited about (to watch a surgery). I feel absolutely wretched about the whole incident. Shown once really isn't what I would call "trained". I feel like an idiot in front of my classmates now. What am I supposed to be learning here? I'm not receiving any more training with the injector pens and I would have thought that to be more effective! I am very, very discouraged at this point.