Repsect for new nurses?!!

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Okay, I worked 8 years as an aide, 4 years as a LPN and just recently started working at my areas busiest hospital as a RN. I work on a busy med/surge floor with many different personalities including 4 other brand new nurses. We seldom have hospital aides but rather LPNs to help out, many of them older and have been at that hospital for awhile. The problem is most of these LPNs have much difficulty listening to the new RN delegating. They feel as if they dont have to listen to ya, just cause they think they may know more and some do no more. The fact of the matter is I'm the RN they are the LPN, I do the delegating! I do not walk around work acting like a know it all, but These LPNs are driving me crazy:banghead:, if you ask them to do something that is priority to what they are currently doing, they give me "the look" and say "I'm busy right now." I'm being nice as possible with everyone, its not working, if I get more aggressive, then my words are misunderstood as me being a *****:argue:! I'v been there 5 months and as much as I love it, I hate it! Why cant we all just get along:loveya:?????

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The way RNs and LPNs relate where I work, they're coequal--the charge gives us our patient assignments, and everyone helps everyone out after that. So whereas we delegate to aides, we don't delegate to each other. Assignment of work to nurses is only done by the charge nurse. Everyone's responsible for their own pts. Can you explain what delegation is involved at your job?

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Specializes in ccu cardiovascular.

There really is an art to delegating. You see yourself as someone with experience and deserve respect. There was a joke years ago saying "you need to earn it" Honestly it's true you have to earn respect or say pay your dues. You do, but sometimes it takes time for them to trust you and honor you with respect. I find the best way is to work as a team. I treat my aides, secretaries, lpns as a team. If they were not around to help me lord knows if I would see my patients at all. I always thank them after the fact and at the end of the day. Don't approach as to "I need you to put in this catheter in patient A.now!" Instead say "Jane(lpn) I'm trying to get the new admission done, could you give me a hand and put a catheter in patient a when you get time or would you rather do the paper work and I can do the foley catheter with our cna."

Or say "jane I really am drowning here could you be a dear and give me a hand with the foley catheter with patient a" "I would be so grateful"

Of course don't let them take you for granted because they are lazy and they are trying to take advantage of you. Remember sometimes it make take a while for them to give you respect.

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Specializes in Woundcare.

Speaking as a new RN who works at a facility that uses team nursing with lots of very experienced LPNs, my first thought is that maybe you need to take a step back and reevaluate these situations. Also, what specifically are you delegating? I don't know how your facility is setup with RN and LPN roles, but in my experience with team nursing with experienced LPNs, my delegating is usually just a conversation with me and the LPN about how to get A,B and C done with the understanding that I have to do my specific RN things which means the LPN may need to cover some of the stuff for "my" patients. It sounds like perhaps the LPNs you're working with resent your approach so regardless of who's in the right, you need to evaluate that and make some changes.

Good luck!

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Specializes in EMS, ER, GI, PCU/Telemetry.

if i read your post correctly, you don't have CNA's, but LPN's to work as aides instead? if this is the case, and since you are a former LPN, think about how crappy they must feel having been a nurse for many years and being made to work as an aide instead of a nurse and get delegated to "help out".

if i read your post wrong, i'm sorry.

we work as equals on my floor, LPN and RN, we all have our own patient assignment as the previous poster said, and we delegate to the CNA to help us. i have NO problem helping out and changing a diaper, moving a patient, taking out trash, giving a bath, etc, etc, but i am a nurse too and i have my own patients.

maybe this is where the hostility is coming from? or perhaps it's your approach?

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I am writing an informative paper on nursing for my writing exposator 101 class and cannot get anywhere with it! I know alot about nursing and have a great passion for it, but for some reason i cannot write about it! Any suggestions?

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if i read your post correctly, you don't have CNA's, but LPN's to work as aides instead? if this is the case, and since you are a former LPN, think about how crappy they must feel having been a nurse for many years and being made to work as an aide instead of a nurse and get delegated to "help out".

if i read your post wrong, i'm sorry.

we work as equals on my floor, LPN and RN, we all have our own patient assignment as the previous poster said, and we delegate to the CNA to help us. i have NO problem helping out and changing a diaper, moving a patient, taking out trash, giving a bath, etc, etc, but i am a nurse too and i have my own patients.

maybe this is where the hostility is coming from? or perhaps it's your approach?

We seldom have aides on our floor, but yet LPN's to help out do aide work and help RN with misc. things. I do know what its like to be an aide and a LPN, thats why I give much gratitude and respect to them, but I'm not getting it back. I'm a good and efficient nurse but need the help whan I get slammed with RN things. LPNs do some bedbaths, vitals, fingersticks and afternoon med pass that is really light and then help out with miscelanious stuff. RNs do walking rounds, go through cardex, red line previous MD orders, take off all new orders, tele check in, code cart and other monitor check in, run out pt's tele strips, pass all morning meds, assessments, lots of charting, help with bed baths (at least 1-2 a day), many many phone calls (i'm at a teaching hospital so many doctors writing orders all day long), and everything else we do. It would suck to be an LPN and do aide work, but thats the way the floor is and nothing I can do about that.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
T Honestly it's true you have to earn respect or say pay your dues. You do, but sometimes it takes time for them to trust you and honor you with respect. I find the best way is to work as a team. I treat my aides, secretaries, lpns as a team.

:yeah:

Well said.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
I am writing an informative paper on nursing for my writing exposator 101 class and cannot get anywhere with it! I know alot about nursing and have a great passion for it, but for some reason i cannot write about it! Any suggestions?

This thread it is a totally unrelated topic, why are you posting your ??s here?

You should post your questions on a new thread

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Specializes in Peds Hem, Onc, Med/Surg.
There really is an art to delegating. You see yourself as someone with experience and deserve respect. There was a joke years ago saying "you need to earn it" Honestly it's true you have to earn respect or say pay your dues. You do, but sometimes it takes time for them to trust you and honor you with respect. I find the best way is to work as a team. I treat my aides, secretaries, lpns as a team. If they were not around to help me lord knows if I would see my patients at all. I always thank them after the fact and at the end of the day. Don't approach as to "I need you to put in this catheter in patient A.now!" Instead say "Jane(lpn) I'm trying to get the new admission done, could you give me a hand and put a catheter in patient a when you get time or would you rather do the paper work and I can do the foley catheter with our cna."

Or say "jane I really am drowning here could you be a dear and give me a hand with the foley catheter with patient a" "I would be so grateful"

Of course don't let them take you for granted because they are lazy and they are trying to take advantage of you. Remember sometimes it make take a while for them to give you respect.

I 100% agree. When I started no one would listen to me or when I delegated no one would do it. I had to earn that respect. every time they asked me to do something it was done quickly without complaint. Then after a while I noticed that when I felt overwhelmed one would step in and now i do the same if I see one running around and I am not I ask do you need help? When they see that you are a team player then they will help you out. it took a good 6 months though. Unless they are complete and total jerks then there is nothing you can do. :D

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That being said, I am a new nurse too.And truth be told, some LPN can be downright *****. But then life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of your attitude and how u react. Be warned though, that they are watching and gauging ur every move. It'll be okay. Just perfect your work skills too.

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