NotMyProblem MSN

Your initial question to her was actually addressed to ALL of them. The 3-way meeting was probably to make sure there was no retaliation against you, considering the legalities that are involved. Keep your eyes open for an employee ‘guide to reporting ethical concerns’ type email. Trust me, it’s coming and will be addressed to the entire clinic as soon as HR has time to get it together...if they haven’t already. Your manager was wrong, end of story. Should any type of incident happen in the future, though, utilize the chain of command, notifying the appropriate individuals one at a time instead of all at once. You basically said, hey y’all, look what she did!?? Kudos for nipping it in the bud, though.? Just be sure to follow policies and established guidelines for reporting concerns, if you really want to drive home your professionalism.

Harassment takes on many forms, direct and indirect. If the OP witnessed the slapping and was offended by it, it is considered harassment. It is no different than overhearing a heavy sexually over-toned joke between colleagues that one finds offensive. This indirect harassment is highlighted in our onboarding and annual trainings.

@londonflo, in my 35-yr nursing career, I’ve never had an issue with a lab tech/MT/phlebotomist. I’ve even made a point (as a 20+ year night shifter) to collect my own 0600 PTTs and troughs just so it wouldn’t fall through the cracks of shift change. I’ve witnessed far too many nurses being chewed out by physicians or bullied by oncoming nurses when the lab results are not in or even collected. In my response to the OP, nowhere do I imply a reason for labs not collected. I’m all too familiar with skeleton crews on nightshift, and not just in the lab (which I don’t believe the OP realizes). Just because he or she sees more than one nurse doesn’t mean that, given the responsibilities nurses have, we’re not extremely short-staffed and overwhelmed equally as well. Points to consider before convicting “80% of RNs”, (after such a short time in the field).

Smart plan! Not only are you building a resume, you also have your foot in the door, which should make it easier to secure a licensed position.

I didn’t say the OP needed to know any of what we do. My point was that an assumption was made and 80% of the RNs were tried and found guilty by the OP based on that assumption. As busy as acute care nurses are, any number of things could have been going on. And if you reread my post, the “Not my problem” comment was directed at the sentence in which it was stated and nothing else.

So you’re not a phlebotomist, but a MT. We are not phlebotomist, either, and blood collection was not and is not part of any nursing program. But this is a task that is expected of us should whomever from the lab fails to perform this task. But does that make you an expert on what nurses do, so much so that you can come an insult 80% of the RNs? Is there a website where MTs are being insulted by RNs? I’ll just bet that you’ve said nothing to those who’ve actually offended you. If your facility is so small that you run the show single-handed, it should be easy to address and identify the nurse(s) causing you so much grief. For what it’s worth, not that you care and not that I care if you care, (as my handle suggests, that’s not my problem), I did not belittle you. It was You who came here and belittled “80% of RNs” and then you take offense when I actually clarified several key points in what nurses actually do, stated that “talking down to anyone by even ONE nurse is unacceptable”, and suggest that you find another job or report this behavior???? Supposedly, we are nurses talking amongst nurses, yet here you are with you disdain for the majority of us. As for the PICC, for all you know, it was a new nurse who had no experience with collecting blood from lines or an experienced one who was tied up with something else. Did you ask the assigned nurse why you were called for a peripheral collection or did you go to the first nurse you saw to point out the presence of the PICC? But you deduced that the nurse just didn’t want to. Some of these lines can be positional and have had unsuccessful attempts by several nurses at sampling. What evidence do you have to support your negative claims about the performance of 80% of the RNs that you’ve encountered? You have a lot to learn, my dear, because you COMPLETELY missed the point. I said nothing about your level of education, only your limited amount of experience to even be aware of ALL that we do, including taking the heat when labs are not drawn. You never have to answer to ANYTHING that nurses forget or just have no time to do. Yet you feel compelled to come here and straighten us out. That is truly laughable. I’ll say again here what I said to a nursing student a few days ago about cheating students. If you’re not going to report the unacceptable behavior where a change can be made, then let it go and distance yourself from them. This student, however, claimed to have physical evidence that was sent to him or her and followed up with the decision to report the undesirable behavior. What is your course of action?

It would be interesting to know how you would know this as I’m pretty sure phlebotomist are not allowed to touch PICC lines. Could it be that your viewpoint is as it is because you are overworked and you resent having to come to the floors to do some of the many tasks of your job? Are you considering becoming a nurse since you’re on a nursing discussion board? Or are you here with your year of experience to educate “80% of RNs” on how to be RNs? I actually respect the work of phlebotomists, lab techs, or whatever titles they may hold; and actually enjoyed working in the facilities where RNs had to collect their own labs because blood collection and starting IVs had me as the go-to person for those hard-stick individuals. My question to you is, how many nursing duties have you had to perform in our absence? If there is such a rampant lack of professionalism and personal disrespect to you from the majority of nurses iwhere you work, have you considered employment elsewhere...where you’d have other phlebotomist to help rotate your assignment to the floors? Have you reported this behavior that is unacceptable if even ONE nurse, let alone 80% of RNs talk down to you? Are you aware that nurses do not order bloodwork without the direction of the physician or approved hospital policy? And if they are put in, it is your job to “cater” to those orders, although the smile is optional. If you miss a lab draw, who do you think the doctors are upset with? How many times have you had to try to explain to a physician why lab tests/results are not in the system? One of the things nurses can do without consent of a physician is make nursing diagnoses. Did you know that? And the one most applicable to your post is a lack of knowledge related to RN responsibilities as evidenced by your entire post.?

I would just move on to a program that has the proper accreditation if I were you...even if it means having to repeat a couple of courses. If you’re having this much grief on the front end, imagine what you’re going to go through on the back end of this program. Don’t send them a dime. Go elsewhere. As one poster already said, one red flag is already waving.

This is relatively minor. However, other lab results may require immediate attention, so try to get in the habit of calling the physician/provider as soon as you take the call to get that off you. Another thing to consider as a brand new nurse: even though this was minor, you don’t want to create a running tab of minor incidents, as they may add up to the ‘not-a-good-fit’ conclusion and a trip to the front door before something major happens. So be sure to give this minor incident the respect it deserves and proceed with caution in the future.

It took me 35 years and I can honestly say that I love my job and it is more of the team that I work with, including the doctor, than the area. It’s DEFINITELY NOT the patients or leadership, although I’ve experienced more rewarding moments in this past eighteen months than I’ve had in my entire career. I contribute my ‘good fit’ because of an extensive acute care background that allows me to give my patients a very vivid glimpse of what they can look forward to should they continue to ignore their medical conditions. I’ve actually brought some patients to tears with gratitude because, in their words, “nobody ever broke it down to me like that”. Seeing just one patient make changes based on something I said has made the 35 years of pure h*** worthwhile....almost.?

Former traveler here. What they said!! Let me just add that as a traveler you’re almost guaranteed to get THE worst of the worst patients on the unit. Either stay where you are, or apply for a fulltime position at a facility where there is higher acuity so that you will get what you need in exposure and experience to hold your own as is what’s expected in a traveler. Based on your own assessment of your current job, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

This idiot fired himself! As I was reading this, I was thinking he was gonna be found somewhere with at least a half-a**-believable lie. But the dumb*** told the truth!! He must have been one of the ones who cheated his way through nursing school and failed to read the legalities and ethics chapter...only memorized the answers from the test banks with reading the wherewithal. One down, how many to go??

I’m pretty sure ‘they’ already know. But yes, it should be reported...without fear of retaliation...or flat tires.

It was an HCA. And since I regifted it within the same year (every single penny), they could not legally report it as income given to me. Believe me, I was definitely waiting on the W-2, with an attorney on speed dial. Of course the bonus was taxed before I received it, but it showed an overpayment in taxes when I filed, and I was issued a refund. I’m guessing that the taxes would be applied as a credit to any amount owed, based on your filing status. I also want to add that I didn’t realize that the position came with a bonus until I received my pay. That was probably the one and only red flag in my life that I actually did not ignore. So I immediately separated it from my expected income. Needless to say, the facility did not disappoint...things went exactly as I suspected, unfortunately.

I wish there was a way of alerting new nurses that if they are offered sign-on bonuses for nurses with ZERO experience, it is most likely a place they’d want to avoid! It isn’t like they were so impressed with the grades that they just had to have YOU (like the Uncle Sam commercial). They are desperate for any individual that possesses a valid nursing license. I posted a comment to a thread that if a bonus is accepted, put it off to the side because more than likely, you will be needing to give it back. I did just that in October 2018...of course, I’ve been around long enough to know the game.?