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.
how funny - i was driving just the other day behind a BAD driver and the person behind me was following my every move and i was thinking, "i really am a good driver" and then i was thinking, "everyone thinks they're a good driver - this idiot in front of me thinks they're a good driver."
Eh, you stole my thunder. I was going to say I notice the same trend with driving.
Guess you can say both could be viewed/judged the same way: The crashes/recks. I believe the person who does not wreck over the one who does with regards to driving, with tickets and other violations playing a role in your ranking also. Although some would say "You can be a great driver and be involved in a wreck", I'd counter that great drivers are defensive drivers and would avoid almost any collision.
Same with nursing I guess, with poor outcomes replacing "wrecks". If you frequently have extended stays because of this/that mistake and are the "rapid response" queen/king of your unit.........don't tell me you're "a good nurse". lol
Specializes in Med Surg, Perinatal, Endoscopy, IVF Lab.
I'll just say, my skills are adequate for the job at hand.
Good thought.
My thoughts: some days I feel like I am a great nurse, some days I feel like a complete failure. I just try to remember, it's all about my attitude. Is it good? am I giving 100%? Am I being teachable? Am I cutting corners at the pt's expense? My best days as a nurse are when I am giving 100% and trying to learn as much as possible while being sensitive to my pt's unspoken needs. When I am positive and giving myself "a break" when I fail.
I've long thought that organizations should move toward a peer-review model of feedback. The people best able to judge the quality of my care are those who work with me and who follow after me. It is their feedback which would be most valuable in helping to guide my continuing development as a nurse.
I've long thought that organizations should move toward a peer-review model of feedback. The people best able to judge the quality of my care are those who work with me and who follow after me. It is their feedback which would be most valuable in helping to guide my continuing development as a nurse.
I think that would be great, because honestly my boss has no idea what I do! My boss manages several teams, and I know the only thing she focuses on are crisis! My peers know how it roles and how I handle it.
ALSO, peer review might force certain people to act more professionally... I think it ought to be random selection though, Something about healthcare seems to foster nepotism...
You know my Health System actually has the nurses and staff CHANTING the equivilent of "WE ARE EXCEPTIONAL" before each shift... Do you know what everyone says in private? "How can EVERYONE be EXCEPTIONAL?" It is bizare, and I think it makes good employees feel like they've been downgraded, and it doesn't matter if they do a great job because every slacker in the building is "EXCEPTIONAL."
This stuff started when they began push hard for Magnet status, so everyone thinks Magnet status is BS, too.
I think what makes a good nurse, is a nurse who is knowledgable and compassionate and understanding. One who is willing to learn more and help thier co workers as a team. A good nurse is one who helps to build the self-confidence of a new grad nurse right out of school. One that will not eat thier young and wants to see them succeed.
The real question is, what makes a bad nurse? The one who graduated at the bottom of her class and knows there is room for improvement and continues to try harder, or the one who is so burnout they just don't care anymore?
I think every nurse has the potential to be a great nurse. Just as every nurse has the potential to be lazy. It' s the choice the individual makes. If you believe you are a good nurse, you will be a good nurse.
My thoughts: some days I feel like I am a great nurse, some days I feel like a complete failure. I just try to remember, it's all about my attitude. Is it good? am I giving 100%? Am I being teachable? Am I cutting corners at the pt's expense? My best days as a nurse are when I am giving 100% and trying to learn as much as possible while being sensitive to my pt's unspoken needs. When I am positive and giving myself "a break" when I fail.
I love these thoughts..I'm a fairly new nurse and I make mistakes. I feel so horrible when i do, even more so because most of the time I know I could have prevented it, so I learn from them and they never happen again. I try to do my best for my patient at all times, but I realize knowledge is a great big part of it. My biggest fear is causing harm to my patients and I feel like even though we learned a lot in school, the nursing world is a different ball game. so I try to "study" on my days off and sometimes after work, I don't do it every day like i would like to but i feel like I'm a better nurse than I was 3 months ago when I started. I'm not a good nurse yet but I hope to become one (after many many years lol)
Hmmm - wouldn't it just make the most sense that, as nurses, we can best be judged by how well (or badly) our patients do?
I know, you're all moaning that isn't fair, some people just aren't going to do well, and "it isn't my fault". Actually, I think that's just the question we need to ask ourselves - if our patients aren't doing well . . . "is it my fault?"
Do I need to update my knowledge base? take some CEUs? read a text book? listen to the new doc (who might actually have a good idea or two)?
Or do I just need (as a member of the "caring" profession) to show some compassion? offer some "presence"?
how funny - i was driving just the other day behind a BAD driver and the person behind me was following my every move and i was thinking, "i really am a good driver" and then i was thinking, "everyone thinks they're a good driver - this idiot in front of me thinks they're a good driver."
you're so right.
It's just funny how just yesturday i was behind a bad driver and someone was following my every move and I thought I am a really good driver today then I thought how self absorbed am i that i think this guy if following me? He/she's probably listening to his radio not even realizing he's been copying my actions, maybe he's reacting to the "bad driver" too lol.
Hmmm - wouldn't it just make the most sense that, as nurses, we can best be judged by how well (or badly) our patients do?
I know, you're all moaning that isn't fair, some people just aren't going to do well, and "it isn't my fault". Actually, I think that's just the question we need to ask ourselves - if our patients aren't doing well . . . "is it my fault?"
Do I need to update my knowledge base? take some CEUs? read a text book? listen to the new doc (who might actually have a good idea or two)?
Or do I just need (as a member of the "caring" profession) to show some compassion? offer some "presence"?
Maybe my patient will do better!!!
The problem is, how do we define "how well our patients do"? That's such a subjective, individual, and changing parameter that I'm skeptical that it can be sufficiently defined to be used as a criteria for evaluating nurses.
Some nurses are obsessed with that RN title and once they get it feel a sense of entitlement. You can't tell them anything because for some reason two years of nursing school= I know it all. But to be honest nursing school has nothing to do with it their behavior. It was always there RN or not.
Is it really 2 years for an RN education where you are? Here in Canada, its 4 years full-time for a RN, and 2 years full time for a RPN. Where are you located?? :)
(after many many years lol)
backatit2
368 Posts
how funny - i was driving just the other day behind a BAD driver and the person behind me was following my every move and i was thinking, "i really am a good driver" and then i was thinking, "everyone thinks they're a good driver - this idiot in front of me thinks they're a good driver."
you're so right.