I have been a CNA for a little over a year now as I am transitioning into the health care field. During this time, I have observed the nurses I work with, who happen to be all female so far.
I have noticed nearly every female nurse I have worked with puts up with things that would shock someone not in healthcare. Things that would get you arrested if you tried them outside of a facility. Things that I personally can't tolerate.
What I want to know is, if you are a nurse that puts up with these actions, why do you do it? Is it for job security? Are you a submissive person? Do you feel that you deserve the things that people do to you? Do you think it's lack of education about what is and isn't appropriate behavior? Or maybe it's due to the accepted culture of a workplace?
This isn't for a class or anything, I just really would like to know what the motivation is.
I put up with a lot worse conduct in a school district than I ever did working strictly in health care. Why do I do it? I need a job. Better yet, who do those who inflict unprofessional behavior on others do it?
I personally have been a waitress, a graphic designer, and a roofer, along with a few other odd jobs. The waitress job came the closest to the kind of degradation I see in nursing, but not nearly as bad.
Wow. I always suspected this, though, but after so many years in nursing, there is little else one is qualified to do skill-wise, so you're kind of trapped. Sucks.
Patients are exempt from this because they are sick and nobody is their best when they are sick. Family members are also exempt because they are concerned about their loved ones. Most co-workers are cut some slack because they are working right by your side
I am tied of these same old excuses! I think people in general have become more disrespectful of each other and we not only take the brunt of it, but management tells us that we MUST take it to improve our customer service scores!!!
Thanks, GW! That is exactly what I was looking for.
In elaboration, I have seen nurses put up with physical and sexual assault (minor, but still...), verbal abuse, all kinds of bullying (I don't know the current buzzword - lateral violence?), lies from management, completely and scarily unsafe patient assignments, etc. You know, all the things vented about on allnurses, pretty much, is what I've seen.
For specifics, I've seen a few nurses have their behind grabbed by an A&Ox3, not to mention all the boob grabs. I've seen nurses hit by LOLs several times. I've seen nurses struck by all kinds of things, from call lights to bedpans. I've witnessed threats against a pregnant nurse's unborn baby. I've seen poo flung at a nurse and the patient had d**n good aim. I've seen all kinds of management manipulation, including threats of write-ups and termination, to prevent refusing unsafe assignments. I've overhead all kinds of verbal abuse from management, patient's families, and even a few patients.
There are some things that shouldn't be tolerated, some things that are to be expected. To answer your specific examples:
1. behind grab by A & O...best I can do is state "that is inappropriate" and make sure my behind doesn't face that way again, anything else risks my job [at the least]. Same goes for boob grabs, unless they are from a little old lady using them for leverage during a transfer [believe me it happens]!
2. Being hit, having things thrown at you including feces can be part of the territory if your patient load includes dementia or psych patients. Learning to duck is a great survival skill! However having an unborn child threatened requires reporting no matter the circumstances.
3. Management manipulation...happens all the time and probably in most jobs. All there is to do there is decide how badly you want to keep your job before speaking up.
4. Patient, family verbal abuse...there again decide how badly you want to keep your job. In rare cases if the situation/verbal abuse is bad enough management may back you up, but more often than not the attitude is "the customer is always right" and the patient/family is the customer.
One false move by a nurse and you are defending your license.
I was called out of the bathroom by a state inspector once to be reviewed for my noon med pass. It was a joke to everyone (including me at the time) but think about it.
I feel your pain. My job called me while I was on vacation to answer some questions for state. Those people hold WAY too much power when they can interrupt a vacation, or a bathroom break!
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
If a doctor treats me disrespectfully or walks away, I just don't let it bother me because he/she is the one that is in the wrong, not me. I've seen people run to the bosses if DR So-So did XYZ with the result of completely losing the MD's respect. It was more important to me to earn their respect by doing my job irregardless of even their behavior.
Any doctor who hollers, yells, berates, degrades people in front of an audience, treats the nurse disrespectfully, or walks away in the middle of a conversation is not worth the effort of my attempts to earn his/her respect.
Sorry, but the doc behaves like a dribble-nosed child because he/she knows that he/she can get away with it. If the janitor, housekeeper, or floor tech attempted the same behaviors, management would fire them.
I occasionally look beyond the words a patient says when they are abusive. It's sometimes important not just to hear what the words mean but what they really are trying to say.
For example, "Help me you *******," really meant, "I'm dehydrated," and I found this out by looking at this patient and trying a few different things.
Why would I put up with it? Well, sometimes, the patients are confused and so they think you're neglecting them on purpose. I would rather help them get comfortable if this is the real issue instead of focusing on the idea that I'm being abused.
As far as abuse from staff members, families and some others, on some days, I've had it up to my neck.
Specializes in med surg, cardiac step down, rehab, geri.
we all took an oath to do no harm very few upheld that not by harming a patient
but by doing harm to others many nurses have left the staff nurse role secondary to the back biting violent behaviors of other nurses who have hit another nurse and nothing was done, violent patients
or the mandatory ot
to list just a few.
I have been hit and went to the don who dragged me through HR process making it look like it was MY fault she hit me not one thing happened to her but I know karma will bite her
what I should have done was filed a police report and taken her to court by the way apparently I was in her way looking for a chart when she hit me
I have seen so much in nursing integrety is gone
I have had patients families take things ( non meds) off a med cart and when told not to , reported that nurse to administration as unfriendly and administration only cares about customer service the fact that it is a board of nursing rule that no one else touch a cart that nurse has full responsibility for said cart
and there you have families and others taking cups pens fluids etc off a med cart I would love to see then do that to an MD!!! never happen
and about unsafe patient loads how about 20 patients to one nurse and sometimes 10 patients to a cna
do you really think anyone cares? they only care when a patient falls and fractures and it is reportable to dph
in the real world of nursing your rights as an american citizen and employee are violated daily
until all nurses speak up as a group it'll continue
administrators and owners will never change until there is a national white out
until that day when the majority of cnas and nurses walk out stating hell no we aren't going to take it anymore
Violence against nurses by patients and family is well documented but truthfully little is done by the Upper staff to stop it. In MA, there is a bill that will allow nurses to charge people for assault and the fines will be the same as law enforcement it was signed by Govenor Duvall and now goes to the senate so hopefully things will change with it. At this time if the patient or visitor is A&ox3 and hits a nurse or other staff member, they are arrested. It is up to the staff member to do the charging not th hospital though. It does not matter whether it is in a nursing home or not, it is your right if you are physically hurt why people don't is still a mystery to me. People who are "not of sound mind" however the story is very different still and we seriously need to do something about it but the laws have yet to change. Except if a place is truly unsafe for nurses do to dangerous patients where the brass is not doing anything a little call to OSHA will change there tune but someone needs to make the call. As for nurse to nurse or MD to nurse or any employee disrespecting or harassing each other. In our facility sexual harassment is not tolerated at all and 3 nurses including the Nurse manager have been fired for it. Now Disrespect is not tolerated and we have a policy saying it and it is being enforced. Case in point, I had a doctor who in front of everyone including patients, said who charge nurse knowing full well I was charging when I answered he said "your not a very good one" He is one who is known to punish anyone who stands up to him by ignoring them to a point that it threatens patient care so instead of confronting him I reported the incident to my boss who in turn contacted his boss, I He is now having to answer himself in front of the Director. Not sure what will happen but my boss is Livid.
So you see not every nurse sits back and takes it. But it is true I have seen Dr's snap at nurses and they do nothing. I have interceded for them though to let them know there behavior in unacceptable and they owe the nurse an apoligy and yes they have done just that. I also know that at least in our hospital is the our duty to report sexual harassment even if it was only witnessed. Many people it is not in their nature to speak up for fear of reprisal. those of us who have no such fear should stand up as they witness the harassment. Bullys Bully as long as they can but Bullys stop when they are confronted, sometimes it only takes a few well placed comments other times it takes going up the chain of command.
My question is this, please tell me you are not witnessing sexual harrassment of staff or violence against staff by other staff members and doing nothing about. If you are then you are part of the problem.
so instead of confronting him I reported the incident to my boss who in turn contacted his boss, I He is now having to answer himself in front of the Director
As I have always said, you are faced with two choices, a confrontational or a non-confrontational approach. The latter leads to escalation and no lessons learned by the perpetrator. The former, disarms, diffuses and ultimately leaves you in the drivers seat.
Wishinonastar, BSN
1 Article; 1,000 Posts
I put up with a lot worse conduct in a school district than I ever did working strictly in health care. Why do I do it? I need a job. Better yet, who do those who inflict unprofessional behavior on others do it?