Underperforming Employees

If management doesn't support you, there really isn't anything you can do but find a new job. Good luck to you.

There's an aide like that on my unit (but thankfully not on my shift). I would say 99% of the aides I work with are awesome and amazing at their jobs, but this one makes even the small amount of time I'm around her during shift change uncomfortable with her negative attitude and holier-than-thou demeanor.

We reported to each other when I was an aide, and I ended up just taking my patient census list and thanking her without spending any more time with her.

She's run off several nurses with her attitude, and the NM on my unit doesn't do confrontation. At all. So complaints, of which there have been many, just get a nod and a smile. I'll be moving to days soon, and she's a large part of the reason I'm trying to get off this unit before my schedule changes. I can't stomach the thought of working with her for 12 hours.

There is power in numbers. If everyone goes to the HN and you get no results, go to HR. Starting completing incident reports for her behavior. They will have to pay attention if you start a legal paper trail.

There is power in numbers. If everyone goes to the HN and you get no results, go to HR. Starting completing incident reports for her behavior. They will have to pay attention if you start a legal paper trail.

Sometimes this is what you have to do to start the papertrail. If there's a union, this is esp CRITICAL.

I found that quickly starting disciplinary paperwork in a timely fashion with all the supporting data (dates, times, staff involved, inapprop behavior/SPECIFIC DETAILS (accdg to the employee handbook)etc made it very hard for the higher-upper person to avoid. It's usually the investigatory details that make write-ups so hard for a third-party person to complete. Now, all it only needs is a mgr signature.

The only downfall was that it did require that you sign-off on the report - no way getting past that fact that anonymity is really not possible. But there'll be NO refuting the facts.

You state that the CNA documented hourly rounding on a patient while they were actually in the OR.

The CNA falsified a legal document when s/he did that. It would be pretty easy for a lawyer to prove falsification of the medical record, since the chart would also indicate the patient was in the OR at that time.

I imagine risk management would be very interested in knowing about that.

You state that the CNA documented hourly rounding on a patient while they were actually in the OR.

The CNA falsified a legal document when s/he did that. It would be pretty easy for a lawyer to prove falsification of the medical record, since the chart would also indicate the patient was in the OR at that time.

I imagine risk management would be very interested in knowing about that.

Exactly...the falsifying information ALONE is enough to spark an investigation.

We do have one or two of these who seem to keep their jobs no matter what. I've found that they have connections (indirectly) to management. For instance, one is best friends with the bosses secretary. Complaints fall on deaf ears. I've given up trying to change things.

Basic rule of thumb in most organizations is to follow the chain of command. So, if reporting it to your immediate supervisor did not work - go up the ladder to her supervisor, etc. Keep accurate records and report the objective data without interjecting your own feelings. Submit incident report(s) because this is a huge patient safety issue/incident. Call the integrity/compliance line - falsification of documentation represents a very serious liability for your organization. Don't try to involve any co-workers, as you can only speak for yourself and protect your own license. They need to do the same.

As licensed health care professionals, we have a duty to act if we know that patient safety/care is being compromised. If you fail to act and turn a blind eye instead, it is the same as being complicit with the 'bad' actions.