Tips on sucking up!

z's playa · Jun 12, 2005

Why don't you share your tips first ? Just to get an idea as to what you're talking about.

Z :balloons:

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Jun 12, 2005

Yeah maybe share your ideas/examples with us first, so we can get an idea of what exactly you're talking about.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2005

Students are often able to spoil the patients a bit much and the patients love it. So don't change. Often though it makes the rest of us look bad when we can't provide that kind of care, so perhaps that's why you are teased. :)

Tell them you're not sucking up, that you're providing sincere compassionate care with empathy. :)

The key word is sincrerity. If you're sincere, it's not sucking up.

Best wishes.

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Jun 13, 2005

Students are often able to spoil the patients a bit much and the patients love it. So don't change. Often though it makes the rest of us look bad when we can't provide that kind of care, so perhaps that's why you are teased. :)
Tell them you're not sucking up, that you're providing sincere compassionate care with empathy. :)
The key word is sincrerity. If you're sincere, it's not sucking up.
Best wishes.

There ya go ! Tweeters has it right ! Don't change if it is as described above. And yes.. we ALL wish we were able to do more of that ourselves !

evans_c1 · Jun 13, 2005

i guess i am just anal and thorough. maybe a little over board..we are supposed to promote independence i guess.

SC RN, RN · Jun 13, 2005

i guess i am just anal and thorough. maybe a little over board..we are supposed to promote independence i guess.

You are anal and thorough only because you have the time. You stated that you will be beginning your second year this fall .. how many patients have you had for a full shift during your first year? Three? Are you taking care of ALL of the aspects of care for each patient? ALL? Really?

That is why you are capable of being anal and thorough. Let us know how you do once you have a full med-surg load with admits and discharges, treatments, blood transfusions, calls to the physicians, new orders, collaboration with PT and RT, medications (and the refusals, reactions and all that comes with med admin including meds that aren't there when you need them), and everything else a RN does in a shift. All nurses wish they had the time to be anal and thorough, but, unfortunately those shifts are few and far between these days.

And, although this is only my opinion, I do not feel that "sucking up" to the patient is a priority of the RN. Good, safe, competent patient care is the goal. Or at least I thought that was why I became a nurse.

Just my two cents.

evans_c1 · Jun 13, 2005

I think you took my comment the wrong way. I am not saying that RN's are unsafe or whatever. I am saying that I hope I can strive to be anal even when I finish school. No one is perfect! I know exactly what being an RN entails just from working with all these great people every day. Its a lot of stress I am sure!

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Jun 13, 2005

I personally think "sucking up" is a terrible phrase. When I hear that word I think of someone being fake about what they're doing, how they're acting, etc. I think of the students in school that "suck up" to the instructors by giving them presents or always agreeing with them or going out of their way to be noticed .... and not in a genuine way, but only for the mere purpose of getting better grades or for whatever other ulterior motive(s) they have.

Did I suck up to my patients during clinicals? Hell no. Did I stay in their rooms and talk with them, give them the best care I could, spend as much quality time with them as I could, etc? Yes. And I did it because I sincerely wanted to and I enjoyed talking with and taking care of them.

1. suck-up

(Noun). One who acts affectionately toward another so as to excel, usually because he cannot do so on his own merits.

(Verb). To be a suck-up. To suck-up. Sucking-up.

Jo Dirt · Jun 13, 2005

I think you took my comment the wrong way. I am not saying that RN's are unsafe or whatever. I am saying that I hope I can strive to be anal even when I finish school. No one is perfect! I know exactly what being an RN entails just from working with all these great people every day. Its a lot of stress I am sure!

I know an RN who lost her desk job after 14 yrs. and was pushed out into the "real" world as a nurse on the floor. She was very anal and precise. You should have seen her after she was put in charge of 40 patients on a hall of a LTC facility. The shift ended at 11pm but the night nurse reported she would still be there at 2am. I know that when I left at 11pm she was in tears and her hair was a mess from sweating. This is the honest truth, and she is still talked about to this day, though she is no longer with the facility, her legacy will live on forever. I kind of developed a friendship with her, and we kept in touch for awhile after she left. She finally found another desk job and vowed if it came down to it she would work at Mcdonald's before floor nursing again.

No one wants to admit they do a half-a$$ed job, but when it gets down to it that is what you have to do just to survive out on the floor. You must must learn to prioritize, and that means some things won't get done that day, maybe not ever. So enjoy playing Mary Poppins while you can, because it won't last.

kadokin, ASN, RN · Jun 13, 2005

I am currently a second year nursing student (come fall), and work on a med. surg unit. I am working as an intern and my co-workers constantly make fun of me for "sucking up to the patients." But it so works for me! Anyone have any tips for sucking up or not crossing the line per se? Thanks!

Take a good hard look at who is telling you that you are "sucking up". Burned out cna's, lpn's or rn's? Do they do the job they are getting paid to do or do they prefer to gather wool on company time? Unfortunately, I have had to work w/people like this(lazy) and if others make an effort, it makes them look bad. Stick to your guns. If you have the time, spend it w/your patients. After all, that is what you are being paid to do. I can not understand why the same people who complain of being overworked are satisfied to read the paper; make personal phone calls and gossip about their co-workers when they have "down time". This would not be tolerated in the industry sector. If you are a professional and liscenced by the state, spend this extra time doing the following for example: Researching your pt's pathophysiology; Reviewing pt charts(something might have been missed!); Talking w/your pt about: anything at all, if they are well enough, the attention will do them good. If you are a cna/pct, Clean something; Spend some time getting to know your pt. And, of course, these are interchangeable suggestions, RNS can clean things, CNAS can spend time researching pathology. Here is the bottom line, when people who do the hiring/firing(not to mention pt's and their families) find you filing your nails on company time, what will be your justification for saying you are short-staffed. Think about it.

An RN for>12 yrs and one who has seen too much entitlement in this sector.

SmilingBluEyes · Jun 13, 2005

I feel no need to suck up...I do my job, very well. That is all I need do. That is what you need to do to graduate and be good nurse later on. Good luck.