Tips for Nurses: Dealing With Annoying Coworkers

One thing they don't teach you in nursing school is how to deal with annoying coworkers. If you work in a hospital, you probably work 12-hour shifts. Those 12 hours can zip right by or drag on FOREVER depending on many factors, one of which is the type of nurses that you work with.

For me, the hardest type of nurse to deal with is a "free" charge who sits at the desk, reading, talking or knitting while her co-workers run around like chickens with their heads cut off. Not only are they not helping out, but they are also getting "charge pay" to sit there and do nothing.

In my years of nursing, I have worked with many nurses like this. It will not do any good to address this issue with your floor manager.

She is the one who schedules this nurse as charge nurse and she is fully aware of how she behaves. To complain about her will only make you look like a troublemaker. The way that I now deal with this issue is to simply do my job, ignoring the fact that the charge nurse is not helping out.

If something happens during the shift that warrants notifying the charge nurse, let her know what the problem is and what you are going to do about it. Then document in your notes that the charge nurse has been made aware of the situation.

If the situation escalates without the charge nurse giving you some guidance, then let the house supervisor know what is going on, and document that as well. Avoid complaining to the house supervisor about the charge nurse. Just inform him/her that the charge nurse is aware of the situation.

It can be very frustrating, but as long as you keep your cool, document well and continue to care for your patients, you will have the upper hand. If you end up overwhelmed and there are too many things going on at one time, nicely ask your coworkers for their assistance. Most of them are more than willing to help you out if they are caught up, knowing that you would do the same for them.

Another annoying coworker is the nurse who talks constantly.

She will tell you her whole life history, share personal information that you would rather not hear and disrupt your train of thought. If you must move to another area to gather your thoughts, document in your nurse's notes or call doctors. If you cannot do that, continue to do your charting and answer her with "Uh-huh" without making eye contact. Hopefully, she will see that you are busy and eventually stop talking.

Another tactic I have used is to look up, and sweetly ask, "Are you already done with your charting? You must really be on the ball!". Most of the time, they have not started their charting and that snaps them back to reality.

Lastly, we have all worked with "The Complainer".

Every unit has one. They complain about their assignment, the nurse aides, the weather and anything else that comes to mind. Another trait that "The Complainer" has is chronic grumpiness. I usually try to distract them with humor or jokes. When that does not work, I distance myself from them as much as possible. Negativity is catching. It can sneak right up on you before you know it. Never join them in their complaint tirades because it will reflect poorly on you. If you think that they are generally unhappy, you might ask them if there is something that you can do to help them out. But beware, sometimes these types of people use these complaints to solicit sympathy so that they can borrow money, or ask for inappropriate favors. Usually, the best way to deal with this coworker is to keep to yourself, avoid excessive conversation with them and stay positive.

None of us are perfect, but in order to stay on good terms with your fellow coworkers, here are some tips: