So okay, we got a bunch of snow overnight. About 0600 one of the other staff RNs mentions to me that there were NINE sick/weather calls already. That's almost a full third of our staff. So I figure, hey, I'm only here one night before I'm off ten days, so why don't I offer to help out? So I call my charge nurse and let her know that if they need people I'll be happy to stay late. I see her at about 0630 and ask if she thinks she'll need me. She proceeds to go OFF at me about how she's going to find out who told everyone about the sick calls and "rip her a new one". Apparently this nurse told everyone on the floor about the sick calls and a bunch of people called her asking if they were going to be mandated to stay. She continues on in this vein for some time, ranting about how if she needs that kind of help she'll ask for it, and she was in the bathroom when I called, etc, etc, etc.
Um, I'm sorry. I believe I offered to help so there would be one fewer grievance filed if they mandated people. Our union contract says they can mandate when necessary but that we have the right/responsibility to file a grievance if we are made to stay. And you're going to yell at me?
After that performance, I certainly hope you didn't have to stay. I can only hope she was having an incredibly bad day. No excuse for going off on you like that. Good grief.
This is why I do my job, and I try to do it well, but there are very few people I will go above and beyond for-actually just my present boss at this point. My years in the OR have taught me a few things. 1) No one respects a martyr. and 2) if you try to bend over backwards for many people, they start to expect it ALL the time. Then the one time you don't do it or can't, all hell breaks loose.
Cynical of me, yes, but I firmly believe you have to look out for your own best interests. No one else will do this for you. I agree with you-I would not do favors for this charge nurse again. So what if she was having a bad day? We all do, and most of us don't take it out on other people. She probably figured she was safe venting at you because you are young and a relatively new nurse. I know, because people try this nonsense on me frequently. But, I'm tougher than I look and I usually set them straight.
I don't know what it is about the snow, but there seem to be a lot of people on edge. My car does not do well at all in the weather and there was no way I would've made it the 40 miles to work yesterday in it - I made arrangements to have someone take me to work (since they had a 4 wheel drive vehicle that does move forward in this slush). It was an extra shift for me, so since I was in OT, I would've been one of the first ones cancelled if they did cancel. They are suppose to notify us by 5pm if they are going to cancel us, but it is usually 5:15 at least. Well, in order for me to get there with my arranged ride, I would have to leave home by 4:30, so I called the Supervisor to ask if I could find out for sure if I was working or not. If my ride took me to the hospital and then I was cancelled, I was stuck there til 8 in the morning whether I worked or not. I had NO intention of calling in, but needed to make sure I was going to be working. The supervisor was VERY rude to me. More of a 'You'd better be coming' attitude. I don't get it. It was a simple question with no intention of leaving them short.
... So I call my charge nurse and let her know that if they need people I'll be happy to stay late. I see her at about 0630 and ask if she thinks she'll need me. She proceeds to go OFF at me about how she's going to find out who told everyone about the sick calls and "rip her a new one".
What a bunch of poppycock! :angryfire You should have said to her:"Whoa! I was kind enough to offer my help.You could have KINDLY said 'no thank you' to me instead of being unprofessional." there's no need for her to have behaved that way---perhaps a report to her manager would be in order.
When I worked as a CNA and we were going to be short staffed during my shift and someone offered to either come in on their day/night off or stay past their shift and work ours too. The majority of the CNA's who were scheduled to work would offer up the easiest assignment to the person coming in or staying late. Sort of a big ol' THANK YOU for helping us out of a jam. Then people who were asked to work would be more willing to do so knowing we would offer/give the easiest assignment even if the charge nurse had been a PITA to the worker in the past. That way she/he didn't leave us short because of a beef with the charge :)
Sorry you had been chewed a new one just for trying to help out! That is SO wrong of your charge to be up one side of you and down the other because she's upset with someone else!
That's a much better outcome than retaliating or "punishing" the unit by not helping out in the future because of this incident. That won't help anybody. That only adds more problems to an already stressed unit.
I absolutely hear what you're saying, llg, and I did think at the time that I should give her some credit for getting stressed out by the situation. However, she continued to rant at me after I apologized for bothering her. That's when I stopped being sorry.
In terms of the "revenge" issue, here's where I'm coming from: I come in every time I'm asked unless I have plans with my recently widowed grandmother. I missed my cousin's birthday party because we were short and they needed me. I come in early, I stay late. I pulled a double once so another nurse could go to the Director of Pediatrics' farewell party. I take assignments the charge nurses admit are unfair. I let them talk me out of filing Protest forms for those assignments. I never, ever complain. And when my uncle died and I begged to take a personal day to go to the funeral? I got told no. So I hope you can understand why I'm getting a little tired of being taken advantage of.
Enjoy your 10 days off. Just work your shifts for a while after that and do nice things for yourself. That hospital will be up and running when you are long gone.
In my previous job, I would only stay if my NM asked me directly. She only asked directly if there was dire need, otherwise it was staffing calling last minute. If she called my house because of an emergency, I would go in.
A friend of mine became charge, and when she did I told her if she asked me to stay late, or called me at home to come in then I would do it.
So I hope you can understand why I'm getting a little tired of being taken advantage of.
I do. ... And I agree that you should NOT let yourself be taken advantage of. Say "No" when you feel it is appropriate and don't feel guilty about it.
However, all that other information wasn't in your original post. My response was in to your OP for this thread only. While I think your Charge Nurse was totally wrong to take her stress out on you, I know what it is like to be dealing with a weather emergency and a busy unit and be constantly interrupted by questions that could wait. Just as you deserve our sympathy and support for your situation, so do all those Charge Nurses and managers who are struggling with their stresses, too.
We all need to stop continuing to fight each other -- even when the other person is wrong sometimes. We need to lower the overall stress level in our units by taking a big breath and counting to 10 before we spread the stress by continuing to fight with each other.
Take care of yourself. Say "No" when appropriate. Eat right. Exercise. And let the stress you are given by others end with you. Don't pass it on. That's what we all need to do.
Specializes in ICU, SDU, OR, RR, Ortho, Hospice RN.
So okay, we got a bunch of snow overnight. About 0600 one of the other staff RNs mentions to me that there were NINE sick/weather calls already. That's almost a full third of our staff. So I figure, hey, I'm only here one night before I'm off ten days, so why don't I offer to help out? So I call my charge nurse and let her know that if they need people I'll be happy to stay late. I see her at about 0630 and ask if she thinks she'll need me. She proceeds to go OFF at me about how she's going to find out who told everyone about the sick calls and "rip her a new one". Apparently this nurse told everyone on the floor about the sick calls and a bunch of people called her asking if they were going to be mandated to stay. She continues on in this vein for some time, ranting about how if she needs that kind of help she'll ask for it, and she was in the bathroom when I called, etc, etc, etc.
Um, I'm sorry. I believe I offered to help so there would be one fewer grievance filed if they mandated people. Our union contract says they can mandate when necessary but that we have the right/responsibility to file a grievance if we are made to stay. And you're going to yell at me?
What. The. Hell.
Wow is it 'that' time of the month or is she going through the 'pause' LOL:nono:
Bless your heart you did not deserved to be yelled at...*Hugs*
:bow:
MzMouse
295 Posts
After that performance, I certainly hope you didn't have to stay. I can only hope she was having an incredibly bad day. No excuse for going off on you like that. Good grief.
Enjoy your ten days off.