I have been a nurse for over 5 years and have run into some bad trouble that I am doing my best to prepare for. I have never been in trouble before but about a year ago I worked at a local hospital that I thought would be a good opportunity for me to learn some new skills, I quickly realized that this was not the case. I was shunned by a majority of the nurses, I was almost bullied by others. I rarely could find help when I needed it as I was working in a facility with new equipment, technology, and computer system. Going to work became very stressful and I became depressed, confused and upset. I wasn't taking care of myself and stopped eating, sleeping, and taking fluids. I thought that if I just worked hard and proved that I belonged there that things would get better, but they got worse. I admit that I made mistakes. 4 actually and 3 of them were minor, the last one was more of a major mistake but the individual in the case was not hurt and I learned a valuable lesson. One week I was brought into the manager's office and was given papers that had every mistake that I had made from my time at orientation until that day when I decided once and for good to quit. She told me that I was being reported to the board for my mistakes and that I was "toxic" to the rest of the workers and that they had consistently reported to her that I was standoffish, sullen, and withdrawn when it came to interacting with the rest of staff. She also stated that I was "messy" with my nursing skills and that I didn't fit in with everyone else. I was devastated, I was shocked, and I was upset, to say the least. I put in my notice that day but of course, the damage was already done. I am currently looking for employment as I have hired a lawyer to represent me on my behalf with the board. I was told that I needed to find employment where I can be "supervised" as in a worst-case scenario I may have restrictions placed on me by the board. I currently work in home health and I know this is not a supervised position so I am now scrambling to find a job before I lose the one that I have. I am fighting depression and anxiety and I am in a master program that I am not even sure I should continue. You need a nursing license in order to use this degree anyway. Does anyone know of anyone else, or have you yourself gone through a situation like this and have any words of wisdom or encouragement? I am trying to be strong and pray and rely on my friends for support, those who know. I feel so embarrassed, and forlorn, and cry constantly so haven't shared this with many people. I'm hoping that maybe someone out there can offer me some comfort, in the least and may help me through this difficult time. Thanks in advance! You are appreciated more than you know!
I'm glad you have a lawyer and you're following their instructions. I'm really glad that you have someone to talk to who is supportive of your feelings.
I don't know you, and I don't know your practice. Not checking a blood sugar within 15 minutes (unless you failed to check it for several hours) is a "so what?" sort of mistake. On an insulin drip, it would be a big deal, but not TPN. Wrong fluids -- also probably not a big deal if you caught it within 20 minutes. The insulin pump -- not sure I understand what the problem was there, if you overlooked that she HAD an insulin pump or what. But it doesn't really matter to my point.
My point is that more new nurse and nurses new to a particular job fail in their orientation because the established staff doesn't LIKE them than for any other reason. Often times it's just because the new person is anxious and too focused on the tasks to take time to be LIKABLE. I know this because I was that new grad who was nearly run out of my job and my career.
If people LIKE you, they will cut you some slack, even when the errors are huge. If they don't like you, you will wind up in all kinds of trouble even for minor errors. The takeaway is that you want people to like you. So, while you are at work, you pretend to be an extrovert; you act as if you like everyone you encounter and are thrilled to see them. You smile and say hi to everyone, every single time. You take 30-60 seconds to ask them about their commute or their garden or their dog or their kid every single day, even if you don't really give a crap. You introduce yourself to everyone until you are positive they know your name. That's hard work, but it is part of the work of starting a new job.
Trust me, I don't like this either, but it's the reality.
Seems we have to make friends with everyone, especially the manager to make sure manager back you up; do u think so?
You did have a previously successful nursing job, so this sounds to me like standard nursing railroading, gaslighting, bullying, or whatever we call it these days.
I had a similar problem years ago, and was greatly helped by taking medicine for anxiety. All of a sudden I was able to make the necessary positive impression on people.
It's amazing what people do to each other in our profession, isn't it? Why do you want to drive people away, do you enjoy working short when they ultimately quit? That has never made sense to me. I am like, bring on all the help!
I'm glad you have a lawyer and you're following their instructions. I'm really glad that you have someone to talk to who is supportive of your feelings.
I don't know you, and I don't know your practice. Not checking a blood sugar within 15 minutes (unless you failed to check it for several hours) is a "so what?" sort of mistake. On an insulin drip, it would be a big deal, but not TPN. Wrong fluids -- also probably not a big deal if you caught it within 20 minutes. The insulin pump -- not sure I understand what the problem was there, if you overlooked that she HAD an insulin pump or what. But it doesn't really matter to my point.
My point is that more new nurse and nurses new to a particular job fail in their orientation because the established staff doesn't LIKE them than for any other reason. Often times it's just because the new person is anxious and too focused on the tasks to take time to be LIKABLE. I know this because I was that new grad who was nearly run out of my job and my career.
If people LIKE you, they will cut you some slack, even when the errors are huge. If they don't like you, you will wind up in all kinds of trouble even for minor errors. The takeaway is that you want people to like you. So, while you are at work, you pretend to be an extrovert; you act as if you like everyone you encounter and are thrilled to see them. You smile and say hi to everyone, every single time. You take 30-60 seconds to ask them about their commute or their garden or their dog or their kid every single day, even if you don't really give a crap. You introduce yourself to everyone until you are positive they know your name. That's hard work, but it is part of the work of starting a new job.
Trust me, I don't like this either, but it's the reality.
You are absolutely right!
Nursing is a second career for me, and NEVER have I experienced the hazing, and general hatefulness, that I have in nursing.
Some coworkers are kind and caring.
But many others, are vipers, unless you suck up to them constantly.
The job requires team effort, but it is hard to find a good team.
I'm glad you have a lawyer and you're following their instructions. I'm really glad that you have someone to talk to who is supportive of your feelings.
I don't know you, and I don't know your practice. Not checking a blood sugar within 15 minutes (unless you failed to check it for several hours) is a "so what?" sort of mistake. On an insulin drip, it would be a big deal, but not TPN. Wrong fluids -- also probably not a big deal if you caught it within 20 minutes. The insulin pump -- not sure I understand what the problem was there, if you overlooked that she HAD an insulin pump or what. But it doesn't really matter to my point.
My point is that more new nurse and nurses new to a particular job fail in their orientation because the established staff doesn't LIKE them than for any other reason. Often times it's just because the new person is anxious and too focused on the tasks to take time to be LIKABLE. I know this because I was that new grad who was nearly run out of my job and my career.
If people LIKE you, they will cut you some slack, even when the errors are huge. If they don't like you, you will wind up in all kinds of trouble even for minor errors. The takeaway is that you want people to like you. So, while you are at work, you pretend to be an extrovert; you act as if you like everyone you encounter and are thrilled to see them. You smile and say hi to everyone, every single time. You take 30-60 seconds to ask them about their commute or their garden or their dog or their kid every single day, even if you don't really give a crap. You introduce yourself to everyone until you are positive they know your name. That's hard work, but it is part of the work of starting a new job.
Trust me, I don't like this either, but it's the reality.
^^Excellent advice^^. I long ago discovered that there is almost always at least one very difficult personality in every workplace. I, too, have found that this approach, in addition to acting in earnest and being humble, usually disarms this person and they will no longer see you as a threat. Often too, it's and ego thing and even just deferring to their 'knowledge' or clinical judgement can go a long way-Jedi Mind Trick.
Thank you all for responding and your support. I did my best to “play nice” and smile and change shifts and help out as much as I could. However I was a bit of an outcast. They went out to parties together, and hung out after work together and there was a lot of inappropriate relationships. Such as the night shift manager and one of the staff nurses had a video posted on Snapchat of them laying on a bed together, one on top of the other. So... I kept my distance as much as I could. It seems they would talk to me and then to back and tell my manager what I said. Which is why I became withdrawn. I was afraid to talk. So I would say hello and keep walking but then I got in trouble for being standoffish. My fiancée told me that I should quilt because he felt they were out to get me. I thought that if I worked hard and kept to myself that I would be ok. And I was very wrong. I was going into a completely new work environment a switch from oncology to neurology with new equipment, policies, Procedures, and software. It was difficult to take it all in especially since I was used to having the strength of my coworkers to lean on when I was unsure or just flat out didn’t know. They were a great group and I took for granted the amount of support and teamwork we had when we were together. As far as the blood sugar recheck. I had the labs drawn within the 15 min but the lab results themselves did not show up until later. About 2 hours. (And enter shame and guilt). I do not mean to make excuses for my actions. I did it and there are no excuses for it but it was shift change with 5 patients with lab results calling back and morning meds to pass and pain meds to give and doctor calls to make and after that I remembered my blood sugar recheck and it was normal. I had that patient all week and saw her blood sugar rise and crash. She was type 1 and they were giving her insulin and glucose like she was a type 2. So I talked to her, watched her and figured out a pattern for her and by the end of the week her blood sugar was consistently stable and she was able to discharge days earlier than expected. I know this is a team effort and it wasn’t just me. I talked a lot with the day shift nurse and we came up with a plan and followed through and she got better. So for me to get busy and not check. I feel a lot of guilt even though because she had been so consistent she was able to discharge that same day as my mistake. It doesn’t matter how well I did or how many people I helped while I was there. That my patients constantly called and sent letters and cards and flowers to thank me for what I had done for them while I was there. I was still the nurse who made those 4 mistakes and was reported to the BON for violating nursing practice. It’s been very hard. And I have considered leaving nursing all together but I’m not sure what else I would do. Again thank you all for your hugs, shared experiences, and words of wisdom. You are appreciated
Keep your head up. Start by taking care of yourself do things that make you happy and regain the strength and courage you once had to get through nursing school. Try applying at a local community clinic. They have supervision or a private doctor's office.
Aliceywl
2 Posts
Seems we have to make friends with everyone, especially the manager to make sure manager back you up; do u think so?