Shocked At Nurses Actions Tonight

Nurses General Nursing

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I work part time at a local SNF / rehab faciliety. On PM and NOC shift it is staffed with 3 or 4 LPNs and one RN charge nurse (tonight it was me). One of our LPNs is a sweet young girl from a very small town near by. She is in a BSN program to become an RN as well. She was late to work and I assinged her to care for a new admit who is recovering from a serious MVA. She took report and went to meet her patient. She came back out of the room about 5 min later very upset. She demanded to know why I hadn't told her the patient was a muslim in report. I asked her why it mattered. She said that "those people are all trying to kill us!" and she couldn't understand why the patient was even admited or even given medical care in America! She flatly refused to provide care for this person. Nothing I said to her had any affect on her. She actually got angry at me for trying to explain why this person needs and deserves nurses care.

I ended up sending her home without pay and doing to work myself. I am only part time at this place and while I supervise LPNs and CNAs I am not their boss with the power to hire and fire. I did write a letter to the DON explaining the stuation and recomending that the LPN be fired. I also intend to inform our state board of nursing of her actions. I had another LPN who heard the whole thing write down what she had heard and submit it to the DON as well.

I consider her to have abandoned a patient that she had taken report and accepted responsibiliety for.

I understand that she is from a small, all white town and know from previous conversations with her that she has never so much as had a conversation with an african america person or any other minority except the Amish (many in this area). She aslo claims to be a very devout christian and is very involved in her church but I think her attitude is not compatable with nursing.

Specializes in Critical Care.
I think we all agree that nurses should not be allowed to discriminate against patients because of their religion, but this situation seems to be one very good example of a charge nurse not knowing how to handle an emotional outburst from an employee under her and retaliating against the LPN because the situation made her feel inadequate.

I am really surprised that nobody has suggested that the OP could use some more training in how to handle emotional problems like this to keep them from escalating.

The most depressing fact that I see in this whole situation is the fact that there are so many holier-than-thou thought-police nurses who want to crucify this young LPN just because they think she has a bad attitude and they consider her beyond redemption. Sadly, I think that all too many nurses are all too willing to eat their young.

I'm sorry, this isn't a case of 'eating the young'.

I haven't seen many here suggesting that the OP should be a 'thought' police officer. The event was an ACTION, not a thought. That nurse can have whatever thoughts they want to have, so long as they are tempered by the appropriate actions required of their license.

As far as sending this nurse to a re-education camp. Great, I'm all for it. But let the BON do that because THAT way, there will be a better oversight of such education, and a record to insure that such education is indeed a second chance at nursing, and not merely a local employement decision.

As far as the OP learning to deal with hostile employees, it seems that since she acted appropriately, she DOES know how to deal with the situation. Unless, of course, you are advocating that direct insubordination, on top of patient abandonment and hostile reaction to an attempt to redirect, is behavior that should simply be redirected, again. The OP KEPT the situation from escalating: a hostile worker in violation of board standards of care was removed from the situation. I applaud the OP for her actions, why would I suggest that she needs to better learn to do what she has already shown a capacity to do?

~faith,

Timothy.

Just to let everyone know, I called my DON at home this morning at 5 a.m. ;)

I truly think this situation could well blow up into what others have mentioned - a discrimination suit or wrongful termination. This kind of situation does not come up much. In fact I've never had it come up. It is unusual. And a DON who tore MY head off would have one less employee pretty darn fast. I don't put up with NOT being treated professionally. I'm too old to take that kind of disrespect.

I obviously work in an acute setting (also OB and ER). But our LTC is a doorway away and the last supervisor we had who tore folks heads off was fired by my wonderful understanding and supportive DON.

steph

Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
daytonite ,first off i was never called a slacker, sloppy or stupid, i am referring to a post in which cape cod mermaid used these words.

i'm sorry if my misunderstanding upset you, but many of your posts do come across as having a lot of personal hurt and anger. for that, i truly am sympathetic for whatever you experienced over the years.

i think anyone in the right mind would have called their don/manager because this is such an unusual situation. i don't think anyone could have been "trained" to handle this situation. i think it would have been a challenge for most managers/don's, let alone charge nurses.

not true. supervisors-in-training are taught how to handle situations like this that might arise. this includes when it is appropriate to call one of the bosses at home. like any nurse who has to make a decision as to when to call an md, there are sound principles behind when and why you would call a nurse manager or director of nursing at home.

i am really surprised that nobody has suggested that the op could use some more training in how to handle emotional problems like this to keep them from escalating.

well, i didn't want to get into trouble with the moderators for possibly violating the tos because a lot of people don't like the way i word things, so i specifically didn't address that, but i agree with you. i try to word my posts very carefully to avoid offending as few as possible and still stay out of hot water. that's why i usually hang out on the student forums and help them out. i'm less likely to get into mischief there! :1luvu:

Ah but Daytonite, this is the first time I ever remember disagreeing with you. I usually applaud your posts. :bow:

I don't think making a blanket statement about management styles will work. My DON is always available or has a designee available whenever we supervisors need advice. She will also come in and cover a shift in a pinch if necessary (this morning for example).

Supervisors are taught to handle things but they are also taught that they have a mentor or "go-to" person in their boss. At least here they are.

And as I mentioned, I've never had this particular situation come up. Not taking a patient for religious/ethnic reasons. Refusing a patient for other reasons, yes. (A nurse who was molested not wanting to care for a child molester). But this situation screams "LAWSUIT" to me.

steph

Daytonite , apology accepted. Yes you are right I am personally hurt and angry over the way nurses have been treated for many years and I am posting on this forum not to vent anger over my personal issues but to try to help CHANGE things for the better. I am out of nursing now ,but my daughter is an RN and there are my "sisters and brothers" my fellow nurses out there who still are being hurt by the system that is currently in place.

Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Psych.

Oh boy, this post filled up fast.

Seriously, the LPN is payed to do a job and - if she refuses to do it - she should be fired or suspended. Period. Especially on the basis of religious discrimination.

If there is a specific reason why she can't take care of the pt, reasonable accommodations should be made. This was not the case. If management wants to send her to certain classes or diversity training, that's great. If they don't, that's great too. Bottom line: she is refusing to do her job.

The truth is, all of us belong to some group that a nurse out there hates. How would you feel if you go into the hospital and a nurse refuses to take care of you because you are ___________ (gay, straight, white, black, male, female, pregnant, overweight, underweight, Christian, Mormon, uneducated, Hx of IV drug use, Hep +, disabled, English is your second language, too tall, ex-convict, cheated on your spouse, rape victim, uninsured, a lawyer, cop, work for child protective services, had your children taken away by child protective services, are missing teeth, smell like cheese in the morning, have an irritating personality, like to talk, don't like to talk, have too many family members that call at all hours, know so much about medicine that you question everything, smoke, are vegetarian, are so attractive that everyone is jealous, are ugly, or just pass a lot of gas, etc.)?

If we got to pick and choose the patients that are the best fit, we would call it SHOPPING, not nursing.

My two cents.

CrazyPremed

Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

stevielynn. . .I've got no bone to pick with you. I don't disagree with anything you've just said. What I can say, blanket statement, is that I've seen all too often where DONs of nursing homes fail to properly educate their newly appointed or hired charge nurses or supervisors they leave in charge over off hours and holidays as to how to handle situations that come up. I worked in one LTC where a new twit of a DON would just waltz out on Friday afternoons and never leave any information on who any of us were to contact in the event of an emergency. And, you've been in this long enough to know that staffing issues are only one thing. Let's see, I've had fires break out, residents go missing, the electricity go off for so long that we had to do something about the food in the kitchen refrigerators, no staff show up to prepare Sunday morning breakfast for the residents, a car with a bunch of drunken kids plow into the front glass door of the facility, peritoneal dialysis equipment break down in the middle of the night, and run out of narcotics for pain in the middle of the night and a nasty pharmacist who refused to delivery any to us and the list goes on.

CrazyPremed. . .thanks for making me laugh! Shopping. . .that reminds me. . .

Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
I think we all agree that nurses should not be allowed to discriminate against patients because of their religion, but this situation seems to be one very good example of a charge nurse not knowing how to handle an emotional outburst from an employee under her and retaliating against the LPN because the situation made her feel inadequate.

I am really surprised that nobody has suggested that the OP could use some more training in how to handle emotional problems like this to keep them from escalating.

We are not suggesting that the OP get more training for handling emotional problems, because there is no "emotional problem". Nor is this "eating our young". The OP did nothing wrong. The LPN, though is displaying behavior that is incompatible with professional nursing.

The OP clearly attempted to reason (per the post) with the LPN, but the LPN got upset and did not accept this counsel. As nurses, we know that there are people out there that are not rational and cannot be reasoned with. The LPN has also demonstrated her lack of rationality and unreasonable attitude.

The OP could be a very persuasive motivational speaker, but there will still be those that will reject that counsel. Because there are those that are not rational or reasonable. Thus, blaming the OP is not called for.

stevielynn. . .I've got no bone to pick with you. I don't disagree with anything you've just said. What I can say, blanket statement, is that I've seen all too often where DONs of nursing homes fail to properly educate their newly appointed or hired charge nurses or supervisors they leave in charge over off hours and holidays as to how to handle situations that come up. I worked in one LTC where a new twit of a DON would just waltz out on Friday afternoons and never leave any information on who any of us were to contact in the event of an emergency. And, you've been in this long enough to know that staffing issues are only one thing. Let's see, I've had fires break out, residents go missing, the electricity go off for so long that we had to do something about the food in the kitchen refrigerators, no staff show up to prepare Sunday morning breakfast for the residents, a car with a bunch of drunken kids plow into the front glass door of the facility, peritoneal dialysis equipment break down in the middle of the night, and run out of narcotics for pain in the middle of the night and a nasty pharmacist who refused to delivery any to us and the list goes on.

CrazyPremed. . .thanks for making me laugh! Shopping. . .that reminds me. . .

Oh yes, the man who walked out of the hospital in a post-op anesthesia daze with only his hospital gown on and flapping in the wind showing off his tush . . . that was a fun one when we first noticed him missing and then had to chase him down the highway . . he made it about 1/2 mile. And no, I didn't call the DON with that one.

CrazyPremed - I agree . . that was very funny and an effective way to make a point!

steph:monkeydance:

Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
We are not suggesting that the OP get more training for handling emotional problems, because there is no "emotional problem". Nor is this "eating our young". The OP did nothing wrong.

Some of us disagree with you on that and are discussing this and the role and responsibilities of a supervisor in this situation.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Our DON would want to be alerted to something like this. If i were a DON i'd rather be alerted to it than to come in on Monday and see the poo dripping off of the fan.

Our DON would want to be alerted to something like this. If i were a DON i'd rather be alerrted to it than to come in on Monday and see the poo dripping off of the fan.

Maybe that is the real point here . . . knowing your DON. My DON would also want to be alerted to this and pronto.

I'm basing my judgment on that fact and on the fact that if I was the DON I would also want the info asap.

steph

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