Situation at work-Need words of wisdom

[TNViking]

Hello all, from my previous posts its no secret I've been unhappy at work for some time now. Due to all this stress, I feel it has taken a serious toll on my health. In recent months I seem to get every virus that comes by (102+ fever, N/V/D, etc.), I at random get these moments where my heart rate will skyrocket to 160, I'm not eating or sleeping well, etc. Because of this my attendance has been rather poor (only call out when I'm febrile and have a legit virus). Due to the poor attendance I'm in a bit of trouble with my management and have to meet with them in a few days.

Furthermore, for several months theres been a particular person at work who is particularly nasty towards me, when I first started working there I was weak in a particular skill set (IV starts) and it seemed every corner I turned I would hear this person saying something bad about me due to this weakness. It got to a point that for some time I was afraid to ask for help if I couldn't get an IV on somebody. I've gotten stronger in that skill since then, but every now and then I still catch this person saying something demeaning about me to someone else. Recently, however, I've been getting the feeling that this person may be trying to set me up to get in trouble; when this person is in charge it seems that I have been getting rougher assignments with less help, but that could just all be in my head. Theres no way for me to prove anything. I'm also fairly certain this person reported me on a "patient safety incident" where there was no complication with the patient, no adverse outcome, and no complaint from the patient or physician.

Its because of all of this I am seeking other employment, but for the time being I have no choice but to stay here. I'm scared to go into another shift. I'm scared for my health and my safety as a nurse. What do I do? I have no idea how to handle this situation!

[Emergent, RN]

I hope you have been evaluated by a doctor. You need to get documentation regarding your health problems. It's not out of the question to get FMLA for chronic problems where you'll be sporadically missing work more than average.

As far as relating how your coworker's hostile behavior is affecting you, that's very individual, depending on her standing with management and their attitude and philosophy. If this is part of a pattern, then there's a chance they'll take a complaint seriously. More than likely they'll look at you as a liability who can't handle the job and requires too much hand-holding.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

Get outta there. Your only one life worths more than opinion of some jerk. Two weeks note and medical leave till that day.

Get seen by your doctor and ask for relief note due to extreme stress.

Later on, let everybody know where NOT to work and NOT to seek care.