What does your head nurse need to know?

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If you could tell your head nurse one true thing, with the guarantee that you would be believed, and no reprisals, what would it be?

Specializes in oncology, trauma, home health.
Nurseby07...

I know that exact same person, Dansko's and all, I'm sure!!! LOL It's funny to read, but very frustrating to know this person and those like them.

Tell me how you cope, please. (PM if you want)

I have learned to just keep my distance from all because I have known several like this, actually.

Thanks.

Hi Suzi-Q,

On a good day I just say something nice and run on, because we are a severly busy unit. I also reinforce to myself that aside from being immature she is a good nurse and has a wealth of knowledge (even if I have to look at cell phone pics while she answers a question).

On a bad day I ignore her totally and I hate to admit this, but I do make comments and know that everyone feels the same way. My favorite retort to a coworker (and I do this in front of her) is "If you have a question you'll have to do it through your Myspace account"

How do you handle it??

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

This is an interesting thread. In my clinic, we have no head nurse. The RNs rotate their charge duties monthly. But, I do have a few things I wish to say to my ADN...

1. Please do not ask me for money. I am an LPN that makes considerably less than you. I am not obligated to pay for your coffee or soda. (she actually has asked me several times. I bow out gracefully, after giving her 50 cents once, but made the decision that this will not happen again, because I am not responsible for feeding her).

2. When you come into the staff lounge and see me eating my lunch, please do not put your fingers in my food without asking. It is a nasty habit, I worked hard to make this lunch FOR MYSELF, and I get queasy when people dip their hands in my food. Get your own lunch.

3. When we do decide to have a staff party at say 12:00 pm, please do not show up with your friends at 10:00, ask more than once when the food will be ready to serve, or pick in our food before we had a chance to eat ourselves. If we can control ourselves and wait until the planned time, so can you. You didn't pay, your friends were not even invited. Don't you have something else to do? Maybe something administrative...ya think??

4. Please stop having weekly staff meetings mandating that we show up an hour early, on the pretense of asking out input on things. You don't care what we think, you do what you want to do, anyhow and I could have been in bed. Take 20 minutes out, tell us what you want us to do, and let us all move on. And, after the meetings, please don't ask who is going to the store and not give them money when you make your request.

5. I don't respect you, lady. I choose to stay out of your way. I am grateful that you don't notice me much, I went out of my way to make this happen. You make at least $90,000 a year, yet you expect us to damn near feed you and clothe you. You are not my responsibility.

I would probably get fired, so, this was a stress relieving post. Thank you, OP...you made my day. :0)

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Specializes in oncology, trauma, home health.
This is an interesting thread. In my clinic, we have no head nurse. The RNs rotate their charge duties monthly. But, I do have a few things I wish to say to my ADN...

1. Please do not ask me for money. I am an LPN that makes considerably less than you. I am not obligated to pay for your coffee or soda. (she actually has asked me several times. I bow out gracefully, after giving her 50 cents once, but made the decision that this will not happen again, because I am not responsible for feeding her).

2. When you come into the staff lounge and see me eating my lunch, please do not put your fingers in my food without asking. It is a nasty habit, I worked hard to make this lunch FOR MYSELF, and I get queasy when people dip their hands in my food. Get your own lunch.

3. When we do decide to have a staff party at say 12:00 pm, please do not show up with your friends at 10:00, ask more than once when the food will be ready to serve, or pick in our food before we had a chance to eat ourselves. If we can control ourselves and wait until the planned time, so can you. You didn't pay, your friends were not even invited. Don't you have something else to do? Maybe something administrative...ya think??

4. Please stop having weekly staff meetings mandating that we show up an hour early, on the pretense of asking out input on things. You don't care what we think, you do what you want to do, anyhow and I could have been in bed. Take 20 minutes out, tell us what you want us to do, and let us all move on. And, after the meetings, please don't ask who is going to the store and not give them money when you make your request.

5. I don't respect you, lady. I choose to stay out of your way. I am grateful that you don't notice me much, I went out of my way to make this happen. You make at least $90,000 a year, yet you expect us to damn near feed you and clothe you. You are not my responsibility.

I would probably get fired, so, this was a stress relieving post. Thank you, OP...you made my day. :0)

Oh the finger dipping drives me nuts too! Keep yer damn hands out of my food unless I invite you to try some!

I also would request that you not come up behind me and jab my ribs really hard, to scare me. It does scare me, now hands off!

Also, to the male nurses, quit giving everyone back rubs! That is so uncomfortable when I am charting and you come up and start rubbing my back. You are not my husband, everyone is now looking, back off!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

staffing is in your job description, and if you worked as hard at retaining the staff you already have as you do at recruiting new grads, we'd get more work done with fewer bodies around. those six or 8 orientees are getting paid but not producing any work!

your job is to support your staff. so don't stand there and let a family member verbally abuse them. step up and take it down a notch. eject the family member who seems determined to punch someone.

open visitation was your idea. so when the family is making it impossible for the nurse to care for the patient, perhaps you should deal with the family!

open visitation was your idea. if you're going to allow the family at the bedside at all times, you need so have some sort of accomodations for them, and offering them the nurse's chair is not the best of all worlds. 25 year old nurses may be able to stand the whole shift. 50 year old nurses, not so much. remember the part about retaining your staff? think about it.

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Specializes in ER, Infusion therapy, Oncology.

Thank you for going out of your way to help out in a crunch. :cheers:

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Specializes in PACU, ICU,UTIL.REVIEW,INFECT.CONTROL.

She needs to know how her lack of support for staff nurses and favortism is a hindrance to our job performance and encourages disrespect from ancillary staff!:urgycld:

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I know you don't think that you play favorites, but you do. PLEASE stop picking on the wrong people!!!!! You're going to lose the good staff members that you already have!

STAND UP FOR US! When CT sends pts back up for a new IV after they blew the one that we just started, call CT and tell them to start their own stinking IVs! They blew it, they can fix it! Don't let patiens and families mistreat us! Don't let that one coworker who is determined to be miserable bring the rest of us down!!!

Let's talk about SAFETY! Do something about our ratios!

And also, thanks a lot for pitching in. I know you do help the day people a lot, and the second shifters as well if you're still there and they need it. And nights if they had stuff they didn't get done. Despite your faults, I think you are a good boss!

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Specializes in Paediatric Cardic critical care.

To say THANK YOU more often

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Teamwork applies to everyone not just management. That includes me. And part of teamwork is realizing that while its ok to ask, it is absolutely not ok to bully me into working overtime just because I'm new and need experience or the unit needs it. Its also not ok to forget that I'm pregnant when making assignments or such demands.

But I'd also like to say thanks because I am new and working in this unit has taught me a lot about my own limitations and expectations for work. In previous jobs (different career) I think I had a servant mentality where the bosses are the bosses and I should just do what they say. I am now realizing that being this way in this job is a quick road to burn out. So I appreciate how much this job has allowed me to mature in that sense.

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Specializes in ER.

Please don't stand so close to me when you talk to me! The only people who have permission to invade my personal space in such a way either came out of my womb or are currently sleeping with me!

It doesn't matter if you say "I'm not asking this as your manager", you ARE my manager and therefore asking as my manager!! And you don't have a right to question my sexual orientation or ask questions about past relationships of mine. Its none of your business!

If you truly believe the RN that I work with is incompetent, fire her! Don't sit down beside me and tell me how bad she is. I KNOW she will ignore a GI bleed until they are at deaths door and when admissions tells her we have a chest pain, she gets in no hurry to bring them back. I work with her every day. Remember? I've written her up multiple times with specific examples. Shame its easier to get fired for being tardy than it is for pure negligence. So if you aren't going to do anything about it, please don't gossip to me about it.

Don't stand at one end of the ER and holler to a patient you recognize at the other end of the ER. No one else wants to hear about your husband's cousin's mother's baby's rash!! Especially the patients!

And lastly, please don't walk into the ER, each and every single time you come in, and announce to no one in particular: "Its freezing in here." Yes, we do keep it cool on purpose...we're working our butts off and we break a sweat. Stay in here and help and I bet you won't be so cold. In case you haven't noticed, none of the nurses on the floor are walking around with sweaters on either. Its only you!

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