Things you would love to tell your management and get away with

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Feb 18, 2009

Oh oh. You started the thread of my dreams. Management bothers me more than patients by a thousand miles more.

I dont know where to even begin.

"No, I cant go to the inservice on that new form you and administration created. I know its important to you, but the fact that I have two patients who have been ordered STAT transfer to the cariac unit because of things I found in their assessment should grab your attention a little bit. Once I am confident neither of my people are going to DIE on me before I get them to the unit they should have been on days ago, I'll have a much easier time pretending that I plan on filling out your new form that is (cough, gag) going to save the hospital from lawsuits for years to come."

onyx77 · Feb 18, 2009

1. No, you can do your OWN work! Quit putting it off on me!

2. Instead of sitting in your office talking about your vacations - try offering a helping hand!

3. Do you think you could help with the admission? Or did you forget how?

4. You get paid HOW much to sit on your butt?

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Feb 18, 2009

1. No, you can do your OWN work! Quit putting it off on me!
2. Instead of sitting in your office talking about your vacations - try offering a helping hand!
3. Do you think you could help with the admission? Or did you forget how?
4. You get paid HOW much to sit on your butt?

My first manager was the best at hiding in "meetings" during the rough times at the hospital. If there were more than 2 admits pending for the unit or if there was a large number of complaints by patients, presto-changeo.........a meeting that she JUST ABSOLUTELY HAD TO BE AT came out of nowhere.

She fired a transporter because he was "taking too many smoke breaks". Little did she know he was good friends with a lot of the RNs and CNAs outside of work, so we saw him post termination. This is what really happened:

The unit was buzzing like a mad house. We had an unusually high number of drug seekers who were very aggressive about getting as many drugs as humanly possible and calling administration if they didnt get it. That, mixed in with patients who truly needed nursing assistance because they were too acute for a M/S floor made for a volatile environment.

Presto-changeo..........manager had to go to a meeting. It was of dire importance.

The transporter took his lunch break. Our hospital had just changed to being non-smoking. So, he spent his 30 mins. off hospital property feeding the nicotine beast. He walked a couple blocks away and light one up.

His draw dropped as he glanced up from his ciggarette and saw..........guess who........our manager in a diner WITH AN RN FROM A DIFFERENT UNIT WHO WAS TRYING TO GET A MANAGER JOB. This RN and our manager were "buddies" because our manager did not like the current manager on the unit this RN was from. She was pushing for the RN to get the position, have the one she didnt like replaced.

So, while the unit turned into absolute chaos and our PG scores bottomed out, this was the DIRE meeting she had to be at. An office politics lunch with her new friend RN/manager to be.

She spotted the transporter, they made eye contact. He never said anything, but was fired before his next shift.

And managers cant understand why staff doesnt respect them.

LilyBlue · Feb 18, 2009

The only thing I'd like to really tell mine is that the vast majority of us are working as hard as we can, and I realize senior management is up her ass about "customer service", but sometimes a little positive feedback would be welcome along with the negative (or worse, the none at all).

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Feb 18, 2009

The only thing I'd like to really tell mine is that the vast majority of us are working as hard as we can, and I realize senior management is up her ass about "customer service", but sometimes a little positive feedback would be welcome along with the negative (or worse, the none at all).

I like my approach more.

"I understand customer service is what you say you care about, but thats not what I see. When you give me 7 patients on daylight, 3 of which are too acute for our unit, I can not take from this the impression that customer service is anywhere on your radar. See, problem is, a handfull of what you do outweighs a truckload of what you say. Your actions......giving me very poor pt. ratios......says to me money is your primary concern, not pt. satisfaction. So you can tell me we are a pt. satisfaction driven hospital until you are blue in the face, but unitl you START ACTING like we are, its pointless. Improve ratios, satisfaction will improve. Leave ratios as is, PG will reamin as is. There is no way to dance around this."

Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Feb 18, 2009

Something strange has happened at my ICU stepdown job - we got a new critical care director recently and get ready for this......he's wonderful! He listens to our input, is working hard to get the previous system changed because it didn't work, and is working hard to get more nurses and especially techs.

Whenever I work, I see him running about, helping other nurses - never with the butt-in-chair syndrome. When we have been very short, he fills in as a nurse or as charge.

I'm flabbergasted and pleasantly surprised.....

As far as upper, upper management, let me say:

+ Let this new manager do his work and turn this critical care department around - there's a reason why we are so short - let him fix it!!!

+ Please do not expect us (nurses) to make YOUR job easier by filling out additional paperwork for your statistics. I know it only "takes a minute", but times a minute by the number of times you expect me to perform this and it's too much time. Perhaps give us the number of techs we are suppose to have and I'll have those extra minutes to do YOUR work.

gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN · Feb 18, 2009

I LOVE THIS TOPIC!!!

Did you ever think (ha, ha) that the reason I can't complete my charting before the end of my shift is due to all the new (& complicated) forms you decided were necessary? Even tho the forms have absolutely nothing to do with Nursing!

Hey! Taking care of 42 patients with 2 LPN's & 2 CNA's (working short again) will mean that all those little 1/2 second jobs you want me to do add up to pt neglect!

How is it that you are gone before my shift starts, yet, you seem to know exactly what's going on and how to correct it, without looking at the 100's of forms you want me to complete??

You know that sweet LOL your always saying is such a joy to be around, that doesn't need any interventions?? Try being here when she Sun-Downs!

What do you mean I have to stop being selfish and give more time to the company??

I've worked the last 16 hours, I have to come in for another 16 hours tonight, and you want me to attend a "manditory" meeting you set up for 10AM because that time was perfect for your schedule!?

Yes, I know this new pt is your bestfriend's neighbor's 3rd cousin twice removed. That doesn't mean that I will ignore the other 20 pt's I have to take "special" care of her!

I can go on but will give others a turn.

rph3664 · Feb 18, 2009

My first manager was the best at hiding in "meetings" during the rough times at the hospital. If there were more than 2 admits pending for the unit or if there was a large number of complaints by patients, presto-changeo.........a meeting that she JUST ABSOLUTELY HAD TO BE AT came out of nowhere.
She fired a transporter because he was "taking too many smoke breaks". Little did she know he was good friends with a lot of the RNs and CNAs outside of work, so we saw him post termination. This is what really happened:
The unit was buzzing like a mad house. We had an unusually high number of drug seekers who were very aggressive about getting as many drugs as humanly possible and calling administration if they didnt get it. That, mixed in with patients who truly needed nursing assistance because they were too acute for a M/S floor made for a volatile environment.
Presto-changeo..........manager had to go to a meeting. It was of dire importance.
The transporter took his lunch break. Our hospital had just changed to being non-smoking. So, he spent his 30 mins. off hospital property feeding the nicotine beast. He walked a couple blocks away and light one up.
His draw dropped as he glanced up from his ciggarette and saw..........guess who........our manager in a diner WITH AN RN FROM A DIFFERENT UNIT WHO WAS TRYING TO GET A MANAGER JOB. This RN and our manager were "buddies" because our manager did not like the current manager on the unit this RN was from. She was pushing for the RN to get the position, have the one she didnt like replaced.
So, while the unit turned into absolute chaos and our PG scores bottomed out, this was the DIRE meeting she had to be at. An office politics lunch with her new friend RN/manager to be.
She spotted the transporter, they made eye contact. He never said anything, but was fired before his next shift.
And managers cant understand why staff doesnt respect them.

Did he fight this, or was it in the days before people did things like that?

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Feb 18, 2009

It was in PA. They dont have to give you a reason for letting you go. He was not happy there anyway. Guess it came down to..........he didnt feel the job was worth fighting for. He went back to his former job, which paid more BTW, as a midnight shift auto glass repair man. He left that job cause he hated night shift, but in the end realized he'd rather have disturbed sleeping than deal with the politics of a hospital.

Shame too, he was a very affectionate/personable transport. He wasnt just a taxi service guy, running around mad at eveyone cause "I have too many deliveries to make". Patients loved him.

tencat · Feb 18, 2009

Your lack of planning for when staff take vacations or leave (ie: No extra nurses available to cover) is YOUR problem, not MINE, especially when I've given you FOUR MONTHS' notice that I need leave to have a baby!

My employer is expecting my coworker to take on a huge case management load while I'm gone 'just temporarily'. URGH. I wish she'd stand up and say "No way!" I've already told them that's not acceptable, but she's not fighting it. What can I say???? I've tried.

Zookeeper3 · Feb 18, 2009

1. I know my filling out these 4 extra forms makes you think you look better to upper management. But the time I spent turning patients, doing oral care and teaching decreased our bedsores, nosocomial infections and repeat admits. Yet I come up lacking on eval day and you praise the slacker that has yet to turn a patient but has filled out every useless form.

2. You nit pick and write up staff for minor infractions with the flick of a pen (like clocking in or out a minute late) which causes poor morale, poor retention, high turnover and short staffing! Worse yet you deny my vacation time because we are short staffed, then call me the same week to come in extra and "threaten" me for not being a "TEAM PLAYER", join the team BOSS and take a patient load.

3. The next time you grant X amount of family the "hilton honors" of rooming in all night long in a cramped ICU room, I will next send them to your roomy office to share space with you to gawk at you while you try to fill out your "important reports for your boss". PS. they are bringing pizza but none of it is for you either.

4. Finally, when you jack up my schedule, because I am the most "valued senior staff" (denied vacation mind you), don't come to me with that fake smile and fake sweet voice asking me to switch a day because you screwed the schedule up and there is no senior staff on the days I wanted to work!!!!!!! I'M BUSY:yeah:

whooot, that felt good, thanks a bunch... :yeah:smooch.