Should Supervisor help??

Anywhere I have worked, if we had call-outs or were overloaded with admits, the supervisor would help out.

The last 3 Supervisors that we have had always helped on the floor if we were short.

daytonite, both of these statements from aloe's opening post, are valid reasons why she and her supporters, thought our 'criticisms' were appropriate.

and no, it certainly is not arrogant.

leslie

Not all Supervisor positions are alike....I was not condemning all supervisors.....But in our particular small, private psych hospital I am aware of the duties of the Supervisor.....and as I stated, all 3 of the past Sups. have worked the floor when needed....

That was my beef.....It is part of her job description to "assist staff with clinical and administrative duties as needed"......

I don't know why above post became so defensive when obviously her duties entailed far more than our Supervisor's...If she had read all of the posts she would have been aware of this.

Have you been a supervisor?

i most certainly have.

but i'm not understanding your comment about "how arrogant".

there was no need for that.

when the previous 3 supervisors had helped out, it's quite normal to anticipate the present one to do as well.

that's why aloe needs to confirm job duties/expectations w/supervisor's boss.

it's even more unreasonable to think 1 nurse could handle this load alone.

now, that is arrogant.

leslie

i most certainly have.

but i'm not understanding your comment about "how arrogant".

there was no need for that.

when the previous 3 supervisors had helped out, it's quite normal to anticipate the present one to do as well.

that's why aloe needs to confirm job duties/expectations w/supervisor's boss.

it's even more unreasonable to think 1 nurse could handle this load alone.

now, that is arrogant.

leslie

Exactly.

A supervisor is usually responsible for several different units and must assure that all units run smoothly. However, a big part of the job is maintaining safe staffing levels. 1 RN to 42 DD clients seems to be much, much too high.

Does your facility have mandatory overtime? Refuse all overtime?

A staff nurse always needs to -well, cover her own tush. A quick note faxed to the supervisor stating that the needs of the clients are such that one RN does not permit safe pt care at the BEGINNING (that is before the last shift gets out the door) of a tour usually gets a prompt response...if it doesn't the RN is on record as identifying the problem when something does go wrong.

From the other side, a supervisor may need to be in so many places/may need to leave emergently that she can't start clinical duties. The facility may dictate what a supervisor should/should not do.

But always, always keep good documentation

Simmer down kids. This is the age old nursing debate...i.e. "Nobody else works as hard as I do". I realize that the OP was put in a dangerous position, there is no denying that. From my own experience, I have often found that when staffing is bad, it's due to poor planning on the part of the unit management, not the supervisor. By the time I get to work at 7pm, most of the staffing decisions have been made already. I in turn make the decisions for the day shift. I think OP needs to focus less on what the supervisor didn't do and more on what could have been done to prevent this situation from happening, and to prepare herself if it happens again (as was previously mentioned, not accepting the assignment is a perfectly good alternative.). Maybe the supervisor is lazy, maybe she could have helped, but the important thing to remember is that you never should have been put in that position to begin with. And if the supervisor did help you, and you got through the night (or day, I forget which) unscathed, and no complaints were voiced, then your manager was just given carte blanche to do it again. I try really hard not to enable the staff. I will work tirelessly with them to figure out solutions to their problems, but I think that by jumping in and doing patient care, the supervisor may have done more harm than good in the long run.

Just my humble opinion.

Please stop fighting, y'all.

i know most of this talk here is about hospitals but i wanted to throw this in. i work in a skilled facility and work sat and sun... so sat i was minding my own business doing my treatments down my hall unaware that 2 cna's failed to show up ( cause we have 2 other nurses who love to deal with staffing) . next thing i know here she comes .... the don and i am thinking ." lord have mercy what have i done now" but she was there to be my cna....she ended up raping my hall but we had a great day...

FYI----I am the OP....to all those who gave me input, I do appreciate it...

I found out today that there were so many complaints from other staff and pts. to administration about the weekend....I talked to CNO and yes, the supervisor's No. 1 concern is adequate staffing for the unit...if she is unable to call in help...she should have assisted me in any way possible...

He told me that this will NOT happen again...to anyone...and that I should have called him, when she refused to help me....!!!!

(she had told me she called everyone to try to get help !!) she is still in her 90 day probationary period so I expect to see some changes...in her work ethic or in Sups...:loveya:

txaspadequeen921----I love your call sign...how can I get one????

Seriously, I can imagine your surprise to see DON...but that is wonderful...that is how it should be....you are in a great work environment...