NurseRatchett

Wow, you're very active to say the least! I like the "Walk Off The Pounds" series by Leslie Sansone. It's very easy to do, and you can take it up a notch by adding 5 lbs hand or ankle weights. Another good series in the "Slim in 6" series. Good luck!

I would have to say without a doubt YES! It doesn't matter what your education is, RN or LVN, nurses can be and are very mean to each other. The backstabbing, backbiting, jealousy, insecurities, power plays, the whole thing....I could go on and on, but it's all there. Everyday.

Hmmm, I don't think you overreacted or underreacted in this sticky situation. You want to keep your porfessionalism, but at the same time let this jackass know that what he said wasn't acceptable or funny. Very hard thing to do. Another poster was very right in that you don't want to engage racist or sexist %&holes. They really aren't worth the massive time and effort it takes to educate and correct this type of person. I would definitely talk with your NM. He or she needs to know in case this happens again...maybe with the same patient or completely different one. Having the support of your mgmt team should help you. Bringing the co-worker while delivering care was also a very smart move.

Try searching the net for leadership courses and speak with HR about any trainings they might offer. In the meantime look at these: http://www.leadershipiq.com http://www.amanet.org http://www.wordwidelearn.com

This is a late post, but hopefully you have moved on to something better. The others are right. Her treatment of you shows blatant disrespect and disregard to you, your schedule and your competency. I know you'd like to prove to her that you're worthy of her time, but why waste more time trying to prove that to someone who doesn't care? You are worthy of a better position somewhere else. Good luck and keep me posted.

:yeahthat: this advice is absolutely head on (just like that stupid commercial) I had a nurse assistant who was the EXACT same way as the person you described. Classical passive-aggressive, very manipulative and bossy on top of all that! I inherited this person and was very put off from her when we were co-workers. I saw how she interacted with other staff and patients and she made me cringe. The whole time she was an employee no one had taken the time to give her honest feedback and stick with it until I came along. Whenever they tried, she would turn on the waterworks, cry her eyes out, promise to change and the very next day she continued the same patterns. Instead of enforcing the CAP, they tried to be her friend, which only made things worse. You're not there to be friends, but to manage...and it's lonely at the top! Before I became a manager I had worked with people like this before and I never understood why management kept them around. They damage morale, they create a hostile work environment, therefore creating high turnover rates. Work is hard enough without having co-workers and employees making things more difficult. Nobody likes being the ogre, but somebody has to do it. If you don't, this poison will spread throughout your team. Kudos to you and don't feel bad! You did the right thing. The sucky part is that you had to do it, and it should have been done years ago.

Excellent advice. If you continue to be his personal complaint person, he'll always seek you out to dump and you, and who needs that?

I have had a brush with this as well. The nurse was diagnosed with a life changing disease. Naturally, her focus was on her health, and lots of mistakes were being made that she normally wouldn't have made. There were frequent written warnings and at the time of her resignation I was about to report her to the board. It was very hard confronting and keeping her in line during this time. I wanted to be empathetic but I also had to watch out for the patients she cared for. She was very good about bringing M.D. notes and I always referred her to HR and EAP for extra support.

Also try: The One Minute Manager The Girls Guide To Being The Boss Without Being A ***** 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 48 Laws of Power They certainly helped me when I first started! Good luck to you and congratulations :balloons:

I agree. I have a job offer from another facility for 20k more than what I make now at my current job. I've done more for my department in the past 18 months than the previous nurse who had been there for 10 years. Former HR reps from my job have moved on, but remembered my work and mentioned me to their new employers. It's worth a shot if you think you can do the job. As others have said, the hours are longer, the responsibilities greater, and the pressures to make everything better are higher. The experience in management makes you that much more marketable in any future job.

My basic responsibilities include managing medications and departmental supplies, staff scheduling, teaching staff, supervising/counseling staff, writing policies and procedures (!!!) trainings, maintain positive relationships with outside providers, and a whole bunch of other things. Plus i'm on the safety commitee and they're thinking about starting an infection control commitee. I'm in SA rehab and my biggest stressors are my clients and co-workers. 1. Manipulation is the name of the game played on the daily basis 2. Enablers who don't hold clients accountable 3. Staff who put all of their hope in psychotropic meds as being a "magical cure" As a nurse manager you need: A sense of humor (if not, you'll be both very bitter and angry) An excellent support system both within your work setting and outside of work A sense of fairness and professionalism at all times. To be knowledgeable and creative To be a fast thinker and able to work with everyone (not just the nurses on your floor or unit) Able to go that extra mile to get the goal accomplished Hope this helps you :balloons:

I have to take this again! I can't believe the results..........

MsPiggy's post (hey hey I like the sound of that!), sounds so much like what I'm going through. I too work in SA recovery. A lot of my co-workers from MGMT ON DOWN are in recovery. Not that that makes a difference, but on some levels it does: 1. The therapists are just as neurotic as our clients 2. The outrageous and unpredictable demands that management dishes out is driving GOOD people right out of the door 3. The teachers antagonize our clients 4. The directors and therapists get too emotionally attached, therefore losing their ability to see the situation as they should. I could go on and on, and on and on. Virtually all of our clients are dual diagnosis now, and I long for the days when our patient population wasn't as complex as what we have walking through the door now. If the psych issues aren't enough, they have medical problems on top of that. Chronic and acute...... My job description changes daily. On any given day I am the nursing department manager, infection control specialist, therapist, instructor/trainer, case manager, lawyer, consultant, doctor, botanist, allergist, publicist, eating disorder expert, police detective, customer service rep, writer of policies and procedures, editor, behavior modifier, safety monitor and did I forget rain maker? Or am I Supernurse? Managing the various day to day crisis (that aren't really crisis situations) take up the majority of my day, leaving very little time to do the things that I need to (prepare reports, finish projects). I too have had (and on occasion continue to have) sleepless nights, depression, headaches and nightmares about my job. I've had to spent extra time (weekends, holidays, overtime) away from my family. There have even been times where I've thought about taking my clients SSRI meds! Never have though, but you can see what the stress does to you after a while. One of the biggest occupational hazards of my job is thinking you have the same dx as the patients. Being that my patients are young, I look for their patterns in my kids and wonder of they will end up in rehab too. Horrible thought I know, but you can't help it. Every parent worries that they don't love or do enough for their children. My patients come from all kinds of backgrounds, whether they were loved or unloved. Sucky part is, I like what I do there. When you see a client complete their treatment program, it's very rewarding to know you helped them get through that. I appreciate my co-workers who are just as passionate about the job as I am, but are just as burned out. They share my frustration, so i'm not crazy in my thinking, nor am I alone in this burned out world. I've recently been presented with a job offer at a totally different facility making 20k more than what I make now. I've decided to see what this other job is about. The commute will be shorter, the increase in pay is an added plus, but my peace of mind and overall health is more important to me than any amount of money. I'm a nurse and I'm marketable, and that means I can go where I want and do what I want to do. So I say to you MsPiggy, don't be afraid to take that next step. Step and out on faith and he will catch you everytime. Your healthcare benefits will be there. I wish you much luck, strength and determination in your next nursing adventure!:balloons:

Guilty..... I've also called on my off days just to make sure everything is okay. I guess when you really care you do those types of things.

My favorite trick is to keep them distracted and get the needle in quickly. It takes some practice, but it's worth it. But like the other poster said, some will still complain, regardless of what you do.