Secretaries who believe they rule the unit or hospital

[DesiDani]

Or unit secretaries who believe they literally run a unit. These people have no medical training at times and are not certified or licensed, yet they feel they have the authority to tell the RNs what to do.

I don't get it, why????

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

If you are new to the unit, I believe some unit secretaries like to eat the young just like the RNs. They are really tough and know a lot more the some new grad RNs at least at the unit level and day to day activities.

Don't piss them off, they can make your day a living hell

Well at least you have a somewhat different angle on "young eating."

Nurses don't eat their young and neither do Unit Clerks, although they do know a whole lot more than any new grad nurse who ever walked the unit.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

We call ours "ward clerks" and so far, I haven't worked with one who wasn't a great asset.

And yeah Ruby . . . I was going to comment about that "eating their young" comment but you beat me to it.

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

I once worked with a unit secretary who referred to the nurses as, "MY nurses." That drove me crazy! I wanted so badly to say, "I am not YOUR nurse!" but decided to let it go. It wouldn't have been so irritating except that she did this numerous times thru-out the day.

[OCRN3]

What is the connotation with eating their young? In the hospital I grew up in, it took a long time to earn respect and I wasn't taken seriously for a long time. Nurses and clerks were all very rude and mean until I stood up for myself and knew a little more about nursing then a new grad. That's how i mean eating the young. Please advise me on what it really means?

[RNdynamic]

Yea.. can definitely relate to the OP here. Where I've worked, secretaries think that they have the lay of the land on a given unit. It's especially bad when the secretary has a lot of seniority. They think they're some sort of proxy for the managers because they pass out newsletters or answer the phone for the unit. Like they're some sort of communication hub. They also control the stationary and office supplies for the unit which emboldens them furthers.

I think part of this phenomenon is due to secretaries and unit clerks being from the lower socioeconomic strata of American women. They're on par with waitresses, cashiers, babysitters and act as low class as the group they originate from.

[RNperdiem, RN]

I miss unit secretaries. These days CNA's are cross-trained to do the unit secretary job. Since CNA's don't have a lot of time to sit around the nursing station when patient care keeps them busy, the phone rings a lot.

I have a specific fear of work phones with their multiple lines and overhead paging, but sometimes I can't avoid answering the phones or letting visitors into the unit.

Early on in nursing, I did have some unit clerks who were territorial about their work space. Even if every chair is filled, I still do not sit in the secretary's chair, even now.

[Cat365]

I guess this is just one of those things that depend on how you look at it. I am guilty of using the phrases "my techs" or "my secratary", but in the same thought I am "their *****" (unusual position, so I don't want to identify). To me the statement just refers to a position on the team. Not a statement of possession/ownership or superiority. I'm not better but they are mine as I'm theirs.

This was intended to be a response to Applewhitern

[Farawyn]

Early on in nursing, I did have some unit clerks who were territorial about their work space. Even if every chair is filled, I still do not sit in the secretary's chair, even now.

YES!!!

[Gem1984]

Yea.. can definitely relate to the OP here. Where I've worked, secretaries think that they have the lay of the land on a given unit. It's especially bad when the secretary has a lot of seniority. They think they're some sort of proxy for the managers because they pass out newsletters or answer the phone for the unit. Like they're some sort of communication hub. They also control the stationary and office supplies for the unit which emboldens them furthers.

I think part of this phenomenon is due to secretaries and unit clerks being from the lower socioeconomic strata of American women. They're on par with waitresses, cashiers, babysitters and act as low class as the group they originate from.

Wow that's quite harsh. I have worked as a unit secretary/clerk/HUC or whatever the hospital chooses to call them and I never behaved like I knew more than the nurse or as if I were their boss. Some secretaries have bad attitudes, but so do some nurses and many other employees! But considering that I have been in many "low level" positions, CNA,transporter, UC, and now LPN, I know from my own personal encounters with a lot of RNs that unless, one is an RN, they are viewed as know-nothing employees. Its nurses like you that I would leave high and dry when they needed help, because hey, I was just a dumb secretary what do I know!!

[Gem1984]

I miss unit secretaries. These days CNA's are cross-trained to do the unit secretary job. Since CNA's don't have a lot of time to sit around the nursing station when patient care keeps them busy, the phone rings a lot.

I have a specific fear of work phones with their multiple lines and overhead paging, but sometimes I can't avoid answering the phones or letting visitors into the unit.

Early on in nursing, I did have some unit clerks who were territorial about their work space. Even if every chair is filled, I still do not sit in the secretary's chair, even now.

That can make things hard. I worked in a unit that used CNAs as secretaries but our primary role was as a secretary and the nurses and secretaries worked together on patient care tasks.

[Farawyn]

Wow that's quite harsh. I have worked as a unit secretary/clerk/HUC or whatever the hospital chooses to call them and I never behaved like I knew more than the nurse or as if I were their boss. Some secretaries have bad attitudes, but so do some nurses and many other employees! But considering that I have been in many "low level" positions, CNA,transporter, UC, and now LPN, I know from my own personal encounters with a lot of RNs that unless, one is an RN, they are viewed as know-nothing employees. Its nurses like you that I would leave high and dry when they needed help, because hey, I was just a dumb secretary what do I know!!

Consider the source. He's trying to poke. It's his MO.

Most know a good unit secretary is worth their weight in gold.

[la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN]

They also control the stationary and office supplies for the unit which emboldens them furthers.

I'm sorry but this freakin cracks me up for some reason.