The "bully" nurse

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Hi, I was wondering if people could help me with a project that I was working on for one of my classes. We have heard nurses complaining about being "bullied" but I'm not sure what that means to different nurses. So, in your oppion, what makes a "bully nurse?"

Specializes in M/S, OB, Ortho, ICU, Diabetes, QA/PI.
Sorry I didn't understand; where did the physician write what he wrote, and where did the unit secretary write what she wrote?

the physician wrote the order in the chart and then it got transcribed onto a sheet that keeps track of IV fluids and their rates and also PRN IV/IV med orders which should be obsolete now that we have the capability to keep track of those things in our computerized MAR program (just happened recently) - I pointed this out to my manager and she agreed so I'm writing up a plan to eliminate the need for transcription............it's really sad - I've had conversations with co-workers about how much power our clerks wield and how intimidated most of the staff is by them (day shift - afternoons aren't like that)

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Specializes in OR.
As a new nurse, I got a job on an SICU and felt fortunate to be there. However, the hospital policy was that all new hire nurses were to make their first attempt at the NCLEX within 90 days. My supervisor told me she wanted me to have my NCLEX scheduled within 2 weeks and wanted me to have taken it within 30 days, even though the hospital allowed me 90. She came up to me about a week later and asked me if I had scheduled to take it and I said no. She started yelling and screaming at me. That was the first of several bad experiences. Needless to say, that job did not last long. I passed my NCLEX with flying colors, but did not seek employment for about a month after my "bad" experience. I then got a job with an Emergency Dept. in Monroe, Michigan. I got the flu, had a temp of 103 something for about 3 days, had a chest x-ray, a levequin pack, Dr's office reciept, but had to call in sick on a weekend I was scheduled to work. Keep in mind I was new there and had a preceptor. But when I came back to work, the supervisor called me a liar for calling in sick, and ranted and raved for a while. The topic also came up that I am in the Ohio Air National Guard. (We go to war and help hurricane victims, etc.), but an employer is required by federal law to allow a guard member to be off for their once a month guard drills. Well, she informed me that if the schedule called for me to work on my guard drill weekend, that I would just have to find my own coverage so I could serve my country and state. Forget the federal law.I thought about contacting my senator, but two days later I decided to quit that job. That was this last spring, I have not been back to work as a nurse since and think that I made a bad choice in selecting nursing. I think the way some nurse managers get selected is that a person might be a very good nurse, work very hard, and when a management position comes open, they say that what's its name is a good nurse, let's make them the new manager. Well, a good nurse does not necessarily make a good manager and I think this is where frustration and bullying and intimidation come in. Just as new nurses need precepting and mentoring, new nurse managers should also be given guidance, preceptoring, and mentoring to become good managers. They just don't become one overnight. Another thing...it seems that nurses have long wanted to be treated more professionaly than they have been. If we are always cat fighting, bitching, whining, and moaning, eating our young, and generally acting like children, and other professionals see this behavior, then how can we ever expect to be treated and recognized as professionals? Others just laugh at us! We are not just butt wipers, and the ones who bring the soda or a snack, and even though we care about and for our patients, others (patients and the public) should know (like we do) that nursing has a very math and science based foundation.

I don't know if part of my experiences happened because I am a red-headed 53 y/o male and a big guy. I know some nurses want males in the workplace and I think others don't. I think I may have intimidated some of the nurse managers and they just jumped on me to show me who was the boss? I know I am frustrated about all of this and I may not seek employment as a nurse again. I graduated near the top of my class in May of 2004, but I feel I am starting to lose what I have learned because I have not worked as a nurse for about 6 months. I guess I am starting to ramble, but would appreciate any feedback one might have to offer. Feel free to send comments to PM box.

I think you might really like the OR-there are a lot more male nurses and the female nurses tend not to have that prissy, catty cliquish behavior that occurs all too often on the floors. I hate to slam my own gender, but I think that we need more male nurses to offset some of the cattiness that goes on! I'm fortunate, I work 3-11 as a CST in the OR and I'm the only female. This is generalizing, but when guys have an issue, it is usually dealt with in a upfront manner wheras I find that women backstab each other a lot. I blame society for this though. Women tend to be an oppressed poulation so problems tend to get taken out on those they perceive as weaker than themselves. My only worry is that when I finish nursing school, I have to orient on days and I'll miss the guys on evenings-they are awesome about teaching new people.
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To me what describes a "bully" nurse is one that loves to correct you or go over your head to supervisors. I have a good example of a bully nurse. I currently work in a nursing home and there is this one particular nurse that really thinks she knows it all. She walks around being loud and rude to everyone. She's never on time, but is so close with the bosses of the building. She can get anyone into trouble, but is never in trouble herself. She talks down to you like you don't know what your talking about and complains that no one does their job like they are supposed to when in return she never charts, leaves orders for others to do, refuses to be a team player, and will be nice to your face and as soon as your turn your back she's ready to talk ugly and rude about you. To get off of my soap box. But I fully understand those nurses who have bully nurses in their lives.

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Specializes in M/S, OB, Ortho, ICU, Diabetes, QA/PI.
I think you might really like the OR-there are a lot more male nurses and the female nurses tend not to have that prissy, catty cliquish behavior that occurs all too often on the floors. I hate to slam my own gender, but I think that we need more male nurses to offset some of the cattiness that goes on! I'm fortunate, I work 3-11 as a CST in the OR and I'm the only female. This is generalizing, but when guys have an issue, it is usually dealt with in a upfront manner wheras I find that women backstab each other a lot. I blame society for this though. Women tend to be an oppressed poulation so problems tend to get taken out on those they perceive as weaker than themselves. My only worry is that when I finish nursing school, I have to orient on days and I'll miss the guys on evenings-they are awesome about teaching new people.

wow - you must work in an OR from another dimension - I've had interactions with OR's in 3 different hospitals and I've witnessed some of the worst bullying that I have ever seen!! there always seems to be 1) an alpha dog and 2) their team of co-bullies and/or snivelling followers who make your life a nightmare if you don't follow their rules - at one of the hospitals, they managed to always be represented in interviews for new staff and no matter what the manager decided, THEY decided who got hired..........and one of their "crew" was male although I do agree with you that males generally don't participate in catty behaviour...............

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Specializes in OR.
wow - you must work in an OR from another dimension - I've had interactions with OR's in 3 different hospitals and I've witnessed some of the worst bullying that I have ever seen!! there always seems to be 1) an alpha dog and 2) their team of co-bullies and/or snivelling followers who make your life a nightmare if you don't follow their rules - at one of the hospitals, they managed to always be represented in interviews for new staff and no matter what the manager decided, THEY decided who got hired..........and one of their "crew" was male although I do agree with you that males generally don't participate in catty behaviour...............
I have to admit, I'm very happy with my OR and my hospital. Also, I think the OR tends to attract people who are not overly sensitive and who are good in a crisis. You can't worry about your feelings being hurt when your patient is bleeding out. I also have no problem with staff being involved in the hiring of a new member. The OR is extremely team oriented and a new hire who is incompetent or has an attitude affects the dynamic adversely. Managers are not necessarily the ones in the trenches. When you say you've had interactions with the OR, do you mean you've worked in the operating room? To those on the outside, the OR can be very intimidating. One of my classmates observed in the OR last semester and came back with her prissy little nose out of joint because the doctor was "teasing" people:rolleyes: -I know this doctor, have scrubbed with him on numerous occasions and he is great with students. Most Or staff and surgeons love to teach-but one has to be interested in what's going on and not there to have an easy clinical day. Granted, we have bullies too but the OR makes you stronger, hones your critical thinking skills, and you're never bored. Also, the patient nurse ratio at any given time is 1:1. :D
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Specializes in M/S, OB, Ortho, ICU, Diabetes, QA/PI.

sounds like you are in an awesome OR - good for you! In terms of OR work experience, I have to admit that I have never worked as a circulator but I used to be a First Assist and when I worked OB, we had to go to the OR for c-sections to bring the baby back and you are right about the setting being intimidating to an outsider - it is a specialty unit and anyone who has worked in a specialty unit knows, for good or bad, docs act differently with the staff than with med-surg staff - the docs I worked with let their hair down a little in the OR (when it was appropriate - when it was time to work, we worked) so if you were a nursing student still trying to get used to the idea of the "mighty physician", it might freak you out a little to hear some of the conversations and teasing and whatever that goes on to pass the time in the OR - maybe I'm a freak, but the teasing would not have bothered me, it would have made me want to work in a setting where staff & physicians were comfortable enough to tease!! are you guys looking for anyone to First Assist? :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

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To me what describes a "bully" nurse is one that loves to

correct you or go over your head to supervisors. I have a good example of a

bully nurse. I currently work in a nursing home and there is this one particular

nurse that really thinks she knows it all. She walks around being loud and rude

to everyone. She's never on time, but is so close with the bosses of the

building. She can get anyone into trouble, but is never in trouble herself. She

talks down to you like you don't know what your talking about and complains

that no one does their job like they are supposed to when in return she never

charts, leaves orders for others to do, refuses to be a team player, will be

nice to your face and as soon as your turn your back she's ready to talk ugly

and rude about you, and when she works night shift she can never be found

by the staff because she's usually off somewhere asleep. She recently had

one of my Cnas fired just because, she had been out to get her for awhile

and finally suceeded. To get off of my soap box. But I fully understand those

nurses who have bully nurses in their lives.

THE BULLY NURSE:

B is for the belittling you do to others.

U is for the unprofessional attitude you have to you peers and co-workers.

L is for the lack of appreciation you have for others.

L is for the loss of motivation to be a team player.

Y is for yelling that occurs almost everyday when your around.

To those "bully" nurses who may be reading this, you really should take a good hard look at yourself, because one day one of the nurses that you've been so hard on could be one of the people that could save your life one day.

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Specializes in M/S, OB, Ortho, ICU, Diabetes, QA/PI.
THE BULLY NURSE:

B is for the belittling you do to others.

U is for the unprofessional attitude you have to you peers and co-workers.

L is for the lack of appreciation you have for others.

L is for the loss of motivation to be a team player.

Y is for yelling that occurs almost everyday when your around.

To those "bully" nurses who may be reading this, you really should take a good hard look at yourself, because one day one of the nurses that you've been so hard on could be one of the people that could save your life one day.

that's cool - it really sums it up nicely!!!

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Specializes in OR.
sounds like you are in an awesome OR - good for you! In terms of OR work experience, I have to admit that I have never worked as a circulator but I used to be a First Assist and when I worked OB, we had to go to the OR for c-sections to bring the baby back and you are right about the setting being intimidating to an outsider - it is a specialty unit and anyone who has worked in a specialty unit knows, for good or bad, docs act differently with the staff than with med-surg staff - the docs I worked with let their hair down a little in the OR (when it was appropriate - when it was time to work, we worked) so if you were a nursing student still trying to get used to the idea of the "mighty physician", it might freak you out a little to hear some of the conversations and teasing and whatever that goes on to pass the time in the OR - maybe I'm a freak, but the teasing would not have bothered me, it would have made me want to work in a setting where staff & physicians were comfortable enough to tease!! are you guys looking for anyone to First Assist? :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:
First Assisting is awesome-I think I might like to shoot for that in the long term. LOL, you're right about many students viewing docs with reverence. Boy, does that viewpoint disappear fast! I think this girl had no prior medical exoerience so that probably contributed to the issue. She is awfully uptight though:lol2:
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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
in our unit, we get bullied by the HUC's (unit clerks) -

the physician wrote: Nitroprusside drip to keep systolic BP

Neosynephrine drip to keep systolic BP >110

one of our snottiest HUC's who is taking all sorts of hormones in preparation for in vitro pregnancy transcribed the order as such: Nitro drip to keep systolic BP

Neo drip to keep systolic BP >110

I know this is off topic of this thread, but aren't RNs supposed to verify those orders before signing off the unit secretary's transcription? If I was instituting a new order and wasn't the one who signed it off, I ALWAYS double checked it in the chart (sounds like that is exactly what you did).

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Specializes in M/S, OB, Ortho, ICU, Diabetes, QA/PI.
I know this is off topic of this thread, but aren't RNs supposed to verify those orders before signing off the unit secretary's transcription? If I was instituting a new order and wasn't the one who signed it off, I ALWAYS double checked it in the chart (sounds like that is exactly what you did).

yup, that's how I found it - when I was noting the orders - I tend to be a stickler when it comes to orders that require some transcription onto another form because even the best clerks that I've worked with didn't realize that making even a slight error can change an order completely and the potential for craziness is great - what really made me mad about the deal was that when she and I discussed it (well, sort of discussed it) she didn't seem to see that it was a problem that she took it upon herself to inappropriately and incorrectly abbreviate an order that was written out in full, never mind that it was a medication and a vasoactive drip at that - I'm even more mad at myself for not having the cajones to tell her what I found before passing it on to the manager but no more - I don't care if she doesn't talk to me or tries to sabotage my orders or what but I refuse to be intimidated anymore - yeah, I'm gonna be tough - and stuff - and - and - and - ok, I'll have to practice a bit before my next shift...................... :smokin:

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
http://www.breakingranks.net/

Hey SmilingBluEyes,

You always provide us with such great resources!

I wondered if you had ever been exposed to the theory of "rankism"? It is an aspect of bullying and I think it is very closely associated to a lot of the problems we see in nursing. Whether it be the difference of "ranks" in degrees/levels of education/training (LPN, ADN, BSN, MSN, PhD, special this or that) or years in experience.

Check out the site when you get a chance and let me know what you think :)

"Dignity is not negotiable" WOW I find that EXCELLENT....It's a great site.

thank you for that. I saved to my favorites.

deb

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