Should I worry, or let it go? Please help.

[nursynew7879]

hello everyone! i am a new nurse, so i'm not sure how i should go about this concern i have. my concern is basically whether or not i should say something to a private nurse working at a home, about how unprofessional she is. i currently work in home care helping out other team nurses with their mbrs (guess you could call me a float), so i don't know much about every mbr i see, as i am asked to see them the day before. i was helping one nurse, and was forewarned about the anger issues this family has with the company i work for. this family is going through a hard time, and ultimatly they're going to lose their child, so their anger is expected.

the problem i have, is the private nurse (pn, i don't want to type it) that our company has hired (she worked at the home 4hrs a wk, prior to us taking on the case). after we took on the case we hired her for 60hrs a wk. when i arrived at this home, the parents were very rude to me, so rude that i thought it was almost inappropriate. as i continued the visit i noticed the pn talking about things with the family she shouldn't be talking about. she basically encouraged the family to be mad, example; the family, and her all made fun of this company, rolled their eyes, said, "yea right" a lot.

this family is really upset about equipment that hasn't arrived yet. the problem with that is, my company also hired another company (we sort of work side by side), and when any kind of expensive equipment is ordered, my company and this other company have endless battles about whose going to pay for this. it's not the nurses who decide, it's the ppl in the back working with money all day. the pn is completely clueless on how this works, which is where i get mad. she hasn't took the intiative to find out what is going on... instead, she pops in a movie, sits on the couch, and basically yells with the family. she hasn't taken any intiative to call either company and find out what is going on, and why this is taking so long. these kind of things could be helpful to know, so when a family member gets upset, she can calm them down, or figure it out. is this not a role a pn should take?

basically, i sat in my car and figured out the entire problem, which was miss communication between both companies, and now the equipment has been ordered. this isn't my role, but i did take the intiative, and the rn i was helping cannot get a word in with this family d/t anger (which is why i was asked to go out there)! this is just one thing that has gone wrong, there are more, that she never took intiative to figure out. this was just the biggest problem the family had. and a serious one at that!

so!!! should i talk to the pn about how important it is to know your facts before encouraging an already angry family to be angry? that part of pn is destressing a family? to learn how to problem solve!!!?? i've been thinking about this for a wk, and i can't sleep. she is a brand new pn, is there any advice i can give her on how to act around the family she's helping?

thanks everyone for your help.

[caliotter3]

Unless you are asked by this nurse to provide job coaching you should mind your own business. She will not be receptive. All you will accomplish is to create friction for yourself. I can assure you that if anything comes to a head, this family will defend her all day long and you will be made out to be the troublemaker. Do your job to the best of your ability and let the other nurses worry about their own job performance. If the behavior is enough of a problem, it will surface to the supervisor at the agency on its own.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

What Caliotter said.

[Magsulfate, BSN, RN]

Unless you are asked by this nurse to provide job coaching you should mind your own business. She will not be receptive. All you will accomplish is to create friction for yourself. I can assure you that if anything comes to a head, this family will defend her all day long and you will be made out to be the troublemaker. Do your job to the best of your ability and let the other nurses worry about their own job performance. If the behavior is enough of a problem, it will surface to the supervisor at the agency on its own.

I agree with this. But I would also like to add something.

Is she employed by the same company as you? From what you have written, I take that she is. You need to immediately go to your supervisor and tell her what is going on. This is VERY unprofessional. What does she talk with them about when you're not there? The possibilities are endless, and this sort of person makes nurses look very bad.

Probably what has happened here is this private duty nurse tried to form a bond with this family and she did it the wrong way. She is probably already very unprofessional to begin with and when placed in a situation like this, it can turn into a huge firestorm. This family will get all kinds of crazy ideas from this nurse and may end up suing the company in the end.

So, the very best thing to do is go to your supervisor, NOW. And try to stay away from this case. Stay far far away from it, you don't want to be involved in something like this. REally!

[JBudd, MSN]

I agree with EastTexas: go to your supervisor. Handling this is not your job, its hers. She does need to know about this. Be very professional in what you say, report only what you saw; don't make any conclusions such as "she should have called about the equipment"; just tell spvr. that you heard her talking with the family about it. You can say what you did, but not what she didn't do.

Good luck. That poor family.

[nursynew7879]

Thank you, thank you, thank you... this is great advice! I appreciate it.

[nursynew7879]

No, she isn't employed with my company, she is employed through us by the State.

I did tell the RN that I was helping out, that I was concerned with the private nurse being unprofessional. But she said that she new all about it. I bascially nodding through that entire visit, then tried my best to order equipment.

Thanks for your advice, I have a tendency to overreact, which is why I learned to ask for advice before leaping.

[Magsulfate, BSN, RN]

I agree with EastTexas: go to your supervisor. Handling this is not your job, its hers. She does need to know about this. Be very professional in what you say, report only what you saw; don't make any conclusions such as "she should have called about the equipment"; just tell spvr. that you heard her talking with the family about it. You can say what you did, but not what she didn't do.

Good luck. That poor family.

I love your signature. I just love it. We need a whole new topic on this. And it would be heated for sure.

[Magsulfate, BSN, RN]

No, she isn't employed with my company, she is employed through us by the State.

I did tell the RN that I was helping out, that I was concerned with the private nurse being unprofessional. But she said that she new all about it. I bascially nodding through that entire visit, then tried my best to order equipment.

Thanks for your advice, I have a tendency to overreact, which is why I learned to ask for advice before leaping.

It is then time to think about and write down every action that you saw this nurse do that you thought was unprofessional. And then report it to your state to be investigated. This is your duty as a licensed nurse, it says so in the rules of practicing nursing.

[eriksoln, BSN, RN]

I am a HUGE advocat of dealing with personal issues one on one. People showing up late, making you stay etc..........go to the source but be professional.

With that said, this is not a personal matter. Its really not your place to decide if her behavior is professional or not (it obviously is not, but........you dont have the administrative title so, still not your place).

What it comes down to, in my eyes, is advocating for the pt. This behavior can become harmfull in the long run. When important information is shared with the family, if they are too bussy being passive aggressive when they should be paying attention, something can be missed. Also, the PN is encouraging them not to trust the people who are charged with their care. When something comes up, you want them to feel they can ask for help from the company. The PN's behavior is definately dangerous.

So, to make a long story short, the people telling you to make sure this is brought to the attention of a supervisor are right. That is the best avenue, as I see it, for advocating for this pt.

Trying to confront her face to face will only put her on the defensive, and she will surely cover for herself by trying to create some dirt on you. Since the family seems to like her and is clueless as to how harmfull her behaviors are, she may even build a case with them. Avoid this, put it in the hands of administration.