why is it that everyone seems to believe they're a good nurse despite evidence to the contrary? the nurse who "oozes compassion from every pore" and who has a "calling" thinks she's an excellent nurse even though her patient is bleeding because she didn't understand the relationship between pt/inr and coumadin. the nurse with the awesome skill set and knowledge base will tell you he's the best nurse in the unit and almost everyone else is stupid -- but he's well known for spending his entire shift in the break room while someone else fetches the ice chips and the bedpan.
why is it that nurses who are having difficulty with their co-workers will not entertain the possibility that they've contributed to the difficulties. "i'm a good nurse," they'll say. "alphonse is just picking on me!" or my personal favorite -- complaining about the tired, nasty, fat and ugly old nurses who "ought to just retire and get out of my way" and are only unpleasant to her because they're jealous of her great pulchritude. and veronica, who was fired for gross incompetence insists that she was "fired for no reason" because "they're just out to get me."
nobody thinks they're a bad driver; no one thinks they're a poor nurse. it boggles the mind.
-- ruby, who works with some excellent nurses and some really bad ones and herself falls somewhere in between.
Everyone has their own opinion as to what a "good" nurse is. We all have weaknesses and strengths in different areas that is why there is something called teamwork.
All you gotta do is read about half the posts on AN to realize that some people spend more time whining about their coworkers than they do learning and practicing the art of nursing. There's room for every one of us to be good nurses; in fact, that should be our goal.
...i am an rn who works the floor by choice in a nursing home. surrounded by lpns, cnas and skirts with clipboards. i've done all that and am now doing exactly what i want, direct patient care. i try to just focus on balancing between knowing the patient and caring for the patient and meeting the documenting (necessary for follow through and payment) i don't work unmindful of the monetary compensation. i add in the motivating and guiding the staff that i supervise. i have this system that i call CKI (continuous kathy improvement), and truly try to learn something every shift, as well as teach something every shift. the other day, after working with a long term patient for months trying to help her understand why elevating her feet would help manage her fluid/edema problems--i was crouched down by her wheelchair with a ziplock baggie with water in it, showing her how flat and even it was when the bag was flat, and how the water all collected at the bottom when the bag was raised--our ADON (an LPN with about a year of experience and delusions of grandeur) walked in the room and said "Kathy don't you have work to do, meds to pass?" and proceeded to 'report' this to the DON. my patient was just about to 'get it' and i finished my conversation with her, and got on about my shift. i guess my point being some people are just so within the box that they think and act like they are necessary and everyone around them is in their way. i cannot abide laziness, gossiping, or micro criticizing other staff in front of everybody. but it's never gonna change. i try to appreciate each staff members strengths and work around their limitations. a wise cna once told me 'keep it real and keep it moving'. i think a good nurse remembers that they're getting paid for the shift, that bottom line-it's a job, and truly works (that is moves her ***) most of the shift, and focuses on the patients, not the staff around her and their inadequacies. and then she clocks out, goes home, comes back and does it all again the next shift she's on the schedule for. i also think a good nurse realizes that she needs to continuously self check her attitude and work ethic and make changes as needed. she realizes that all she can really change is herself and doesn't waste energy on the negative staff members that she supervises, or the endless skirts with clipboards or other department heads that constantly tell her how to do her job. a good nurse? wow, i've been doing this for 19 years next month and am still trying to figure out how to be one.
It's weird because I'm just the opposite; I don't think I'm good enough and even when people tell me that I'm a "good nurse" I just blow it off as flattery and keep it moving. My personal motto is "you're/I'm never good enough"...meaning there is always room for improvement. I always keep my eyes and ears open for different ways of doing things and arriving at favorable outcomes. I've worked with people that are just the opposite; come to you for advice/help and when you give to them they are too busy talking over you and telling you how your theory/action won't help and all the while their pt continues to make a decline...SMH.
In terms of nursing, it means that when my coworkers mess up, they're incompetent, but when I mess up, it's because I'm a great nurse/CNA/tech with a hard job:lol2:
I don't think I would ever feel comfortable giving myself that kind of I'm-A-Good-Nurse/Student credit. Seems to me whenever someone has that sort of confidence, something terrible happens to them.
You know Ruby, I always love your posts.But this one, I'm struggling with. I understand where you're coming from, I call them "legends in their own minds". They clearly don't get what they should be doing and have no interest in learning more. And if something happens due to their lack of willingness to do their job, the attitude frequently is "oh, well".
But balancing that attitude with something I've been dealing with recently. I've gotten a few years under my belt now, am starting to transition to the ranks of an older nurse...(or so I'm told! :-) ). I used to always minimze if someone told me I was a good nurse, feeling I wasn't worthy of that title, all the while struggling to take the hardest patients so I could learn the most to do the best for my NEXT patient. Was that way for a long time.
Now, I realize I AM a good nurse. I bring something important to the table...a particular skill set and level of dedication that should be recognized as valuable. I SHOULD be able to call myself a good nurse and shouldn't feel guilty in doing it. I work hard at my chosen profession, I have a tendency to call myself the "uber geek nurse", as I'm always all over new experiences and learning new things I can apply. Yes, I am that crazy RN who subscribes to about 5 nursing journals not counting online subscriptions and read all articles relevant to my practice. I am always on the look out for teachable moments for myself and my coworkers. I realize now, without bragging, my skill set is such that I can walk into any room on my unit and can handle whatever is thrown at me. I'm not saying I know it all, far from it. But I realize with the base of skills I bring, if I'm not familiar with it, I'm looking it up so I can understand what I need to do here. I keep learning a high priority and try to apply it every day.
I think as a profession we need to learn to stand up for ourselves, make other disciplines realize we should be INCLUDED in the discussion, not having to watch from outside. And for that to happen, we have to start recognizing are skill sets and not be ashamed to say they are "good". I have NO DOUBT, based upon the discussions you've posted and the IM's I have had with you that you are not a GOOD nurse but an AWESOME nurse and one I wish I could work with.
Sorry for the ramble, didn't sleep much today after I got off work last night. My brain is suffering from "neural afib" I think...LOL. Anyway, I"m done before I embarrass myself further.
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leslie :-D
11,191 Posts
once upon a time, i too, considered myself....not a "good" nurse but a great nurse.
i rarely met a nurse who aspired to the (high) standards of care that i possessed.
i took much pride in being one of the best.
then reality visited. :-l
if i felt i was all that, then couldn't others see me as self-righteous, condescending, arrogant, cavalier, and egotistical?
ok, so i no longer consider myself a "great" nurse.
and above anything else, i am humble.
and that's a good thing...
(unless ruby tells me differently.
)
leslie