I feel extremely insulted and degraded by a situation that has come up at work. On our unit, there appeared a table with a poster on it called "Standards of Behaviour." This poster is right where the elevators are so all people visiting patients and etc can see. When I first read the poster I thought ohh here we go again oh well. Along side the poster were regular letter size copies. We're supposed to sign the poster and then sign a copy for the manager to put in our employ record. The walls surrounding the poster had little things like almost like "come join the party" etc etc, making it look like it was something exciting and new. All a show for visitors.
Now for the ugly, which I just heard about from a fellow coworker. There are several of us that disagree with the whole thing and decided we're not playing their game well .... One of my coworkers was approached by one of our clinical managers, the manager asked her how she felt about the poster and the coworker said she thought it was inappropriate and didnt agree with it and wasnt signing it for that reason. The clinical manager then promptly told her that she could go look for another job and tell the rest of us that felt the same way that they could start looking for new jobs too. She said anyone that doesnt sign will be "weeded" out.
I feel this is absolutely wrong on so many levels. IF we dont adhere to the rules mandated on this "standards of behaviour" we will be fired. We werent told any of this before some of us signed the paper. One is addressing everyone as mr, mrs, or ms... If I have a patient that is setting of the bed alarm or anything that requires immediate attention, I will address my patient with whatever works best.. if that is my patients first name then so be it!!! I wish I could make a copy and print everything here. It is absurd
First section out of eight... Integrity
I will be honest and open in all relationships and interactions and in providing care
ensure appropriate use of all @@@ resources
Not engage in inappropriate behaviours such as bullying, aggressiveness intimidation, gossip, profanity or harassment.
promptly report any known or suspected violation, misuse or improper conduct.
concern
I will Make time for everyone. now one is an interruption, each person is my reason for being at @@@@@@@
I will value our patients and co workers time and provide prompt service
etc etc etc and it goes on front and back
I see this as a contract, if we miss something or its a crazy night we can get fired for not adhering to the "standards of behavior"
It goes on as to say how and when we should answer our phones 1 I would love to throw my damn phone out the window sometimes.
one of the rules is we must answer our phones by the 3rd ring... excuse me but if I am in the middle of doing a sterile procedure and my phone rings, I am NOT racing to tear off my gloves, risking my sterile field for a damn phone call. but hey I can be fired if I dont answer that phone by the 3rd ring!!!!!! If I am in an isolation room I am NOT answering my phone sorry but YUK!!!!
NOW for even more ugly.... There are some nurses on our floor that dont like the situation so much they are investigating the possibility of having us join a union. I'm not in favor of a union either. I am so upset I see this causing and creating chaos on our unit. I feel this is something we should already be doing. We dont need babysat or treated like children.
Tonight I even heard some visitors that were looking at the poster making fun of the whole thing. I am feeling like since there is no longer a nursing shortage in our area the facility can bully and push us around anyway they feel they can. I also feel like if a manager decides they dont like certain employees for whatever reason, they can use this to fire them.
Have any of you ever had to sign something like this?
How would you react if you were in this situation?
Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.
now for the ugly, which i just heard about from a fellow coworker. there are several of us that disagree with the whole thing and decided we're not playing their game well .... one of my coworkers was approached by one of our clinical managers, the manager asked her how she felt about the poster and the coworker said she thought it was inappropriate and didnt agree with it and wasnt signing it for that reason. the clinical manager then promptly told her that she could go look for another job and tell the rest of us that felt the same way that they could start looking for new jobs too. she said anyone that doesnt sign will be "weeded" out.
i feel this is absolutely wrong on so many levels. if we dont adhere to the rules mandated on this "standards of behaviour" we will be fired. we werent told any of this before some of us signed the paper. one is addressing everyone as mr, mrs, or ms... if i have a patient that is setting of the bed alarm or anything that requires immediate attention, i will address my patient with whatever works best.. if that is my patients first name then so be it!!!
the first post in this thread s an example of why health care organizations have felt the need to create and maintain a code of conduct/code of behaviour: to create standards within their organization so that everyone from board of directors to housekeeper/parking attendant including contractors, students and volunteers must agree to and follow as condition of employment/working/volunteering within facility. it also gives the public notice of what they can expect when they use organizations services. it is a performance measure that employees will be held accountable for their actions, counseled when not meeting standards and terminated when standards not met.
when you go to mcdonalds, product you order is basically the same every time you order item.... sloppiness of assembly associated with being rushed or not caring. as mgr, rushed you can tolerate periodically; not caring ---employee will lose job as food item not meeting standards expected by public/customer.
if everyone did it "their way", business would soon fold as customer expectations not met:that food item be same on each visit, and goes elsewhere.
won't told???? publicly posted for you to read before signing the line on individual form provided to you.
managers should be available to ask questions and discuss concerns. your signature is attestation that
a. read document
b. agree to follow code of behaviour
c. don't follow code, employment will end.
all accrediting organizations for healthcare facilities from state dept of health to jcaho and insurance companies paying for care require organization to have policies procedures and codes of conduct and meet those standards in order to stay open or get paid.
a healthcare system may include both licensed healthcare professionals and unlicensed professional staff. regardless of licensure status, a certain code of conduct is expected of all team members.
fair treatment
each person on the healthcare team must extend courtesy and respect to all persons in the system, including patients, medical personnel, colleagues, vendors and suppliers. courtesy and respect must be given regardless of race, [color=#6fa602]religion, gender, socioeconomic standing, sexual orientation or position.
right to privacy
all members of the healthcare system must comply with hipaa and all other federal and state regulations protecting a patient's right to privacy. patients deserve to know their medical and financial information will be protected and that they will be notified if that privacy is breached.
informed consent and refusal
healthcare team members must respect the rights of the patient to consent or refuse treatment or a treatment option. patients should be treated with compassion and sensitivity. staff members must be aware of and honor all written directives, such as a living wills and power of attorney documents.
caregiver rights
in some instances, a caregiver may recuse himself from patient care. circumstances may include conflicts of interest, professional bias or [color=#6fa602]relationship, or other issues that could compromise the care of the patient. caregivers may also relinquish care if the continued care would violate the ethics or philosophical beliefs of the caregiver.
standard of care
all healthcare staff must comply with and respect the policies and guidelines of the healthcare organization. team members are expected to maintain competent, ethical, honest and quality care practices, adhering to evidence-based care standards and maintaining accurate and clear patient records.
personal responsibility
team members assume personal responsibility for all actions and behaviors. each team member should acknowledge the responsibilities and contributions of others, giving credit where it is due.
these were taught in nursing program as part of professionalism. now being reinforced in workplace.
as home care manager, i've used standards of behaviour:
1. placed 2 employees involved in verbal shouting match in middle of office on final expectation warning.
2. employee selling socks during work hours while on phones received expectations counseling.
3. employee who slept while in middle of typing home care referral for 3rd time, not meeting minimal productivity standards, sent to employee health and found with + drug screen: terminated.
4. employee 1/2 to 1hr late to work for 3 months, sent sexually suggestive emails and final straw did not complete sign off 1,200 home care orders: terminated.
If your nurse manager did say that non signers of this poster would be "weeded out" then you and the other nurses that have been threatened by this nurse manager need to report the nurse manager to your senior management and demand that this managers behaviour/threats be addresses. The nurse manager should be removed from their postition and if the hospital does not address your concerns then begin legal action against the hospital for not addressing the issue. Obviously the more nurses that witness the threatening behaviour the better. Bottom line is no one can force you to sign anything. Threatening you for not signing is illegal and renders what you sign invalid. I would like to say that the nurses union would be an ally in this situation but I have witnessed first hand repeated inaction by the nursing union to complaints over work conditions and treatment of nurses.
You can't really be saying that an employer does not have the right to institute a new policy and expect employees to abide by it or be fired? Everywhere I've ever worked, in and out of nursing, when there is a new policy the employees are required to sign that they have received and reviewed it. If they choose not to, they can seek employment elsewhere. There is absolutely nothing illegal about this! It is not a threat, it is a condition of employment and employers have the right to require whatever ridiculous behavior standards they want to!
So by refusing to sign the form and by telling the manager that she won't sign it, the employee was telling the employer, in the person of the manager, that she is refusing to agree to follow the Standards of Behaviour. I can't think of a better reason for a facility to fire an employee. I agree that the poster on the wall is stupid, but losing your job over making that point seems really stupid to me.
So all these things you listed are where patients and family can see it ..is that right?? Wow. It makes the staff look like a kindergarten class. When I was a patient or a visiting family member in the past, I looked at the nurses as an authority figure. I dont know, if I read that poster with all those items you listed I would be thinking to myself, "hey, I'm the one calling the shots! Im paying good money to be here and the service better be to my liking!".
Our hospital has also Standards of Behavior which are based on our Core Values and put together by representatives of the nurses and Union! They look a lot like yours. Nobody has a problem with them. Every employee signs one when they are hired and at their annual evaluation. Discipline can be based on not adhering to them. It is a good thing in our hospital, be positive.
Seems to me some of you are making a major mountain out of a molehill. I didn't see anything in the standard of behavior that seemed particularly out of line. Having integrity, honesty, showing respect to your patients, etc. is not asking too much.
If your nurse manager did say that non signers of this poster would be "weeded out" then you and the other nurses that have been threatened by this nurse manager need to report the nurse manager to your senior management and demand that this managers behaviour/threats be addresses. The nurse manager should be removed from their postition and if the hospital does not address your concerns then begin legal action against the hospital for not addressing the issue. Obviously the more nurses that witness the threatening behaviour the better. Bottom line is no one can force you to sign anything. Threatening you for not signing is illegal and renders what you sign invalid. I would like to say that the nurses union would be an ally in this situation but I have witnessed first hand repeated inaction by the nursing union to complaints over work conditions and treatment of nurses.
systoly
1,756 Posts
I'd love to sign this, right below management's signatures.