Workaholics - Trouble Delegating

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    Joe V
    Editorial Team / Admin

    Joe V

    7 Articles; 2,555 Posts

Specializes in Programming / Strategist for allnurses.

Bob! You're the patient today not the scrub tech.

Workaholics are everywhere these days. Some people just have a hard time complying with healthy boundaries when it comes to work. Many times that comes from trouble delegating... they'd rather do it themselves than trust someone else to do it. But there are times they just need to lie down, keep their mouth shut, and hand over the reins to someone who truly is skilled enough to handle the job... Do you know anyone like this?

Thank you Sassy-Kat, RN for the winning caption. You won $100!

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Congratulations Sassy-Kat!

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Specializes in ambulant care.

That fits.

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I know I have a hard time delegating tasks, but I force myself to. If I just do everything myself and hold no one accountable, not only am I creating extra work for myself, but other issues/behaviors won't change. I was a workaholic before. I never saw the day I would retire, then I had the opportunity to take time off and just work PRN while finishing my last degree. Now all I want to do is be at home and travel with my family. It's funny how changing circumstances can allow you to see new experiences and change your perspectives. Now I am counting down the days until I can go part time, then PRN, then officially retire.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I'm a terrible patient---want to control everything, including calculating my own I&Os and silencing my IV pump. I know how hard those nurses work and I don't want to be a bother. I'll also try to direct my care ("my only good vein is here" "I'd like lots of anti-emetics since I tend to vomit after surgery"). Even now that I've been out of nursing for some time, I'm still very proactive in the care of not only myself but my family members, and for the most part I get what I want. :-D

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Specializes in School Nursing.

Although I didn't realize it at the time I was probably a workaholic when I worked NICU. I entered NICU as a new grad and worked all. the. time. because I wanted to learn and see as much as I possibly could! The problem was that I had a husband and 2 young kids at home and by the time I'd been in NICU 3 years I was completely burned out and I know my family was suffering. My rotating day/night schedule probably didn't help either. Now I work as a district nurse for a public school district and very part time in NICU through a staffing agency. Although this school nurse job could completely consume me, and sometimes I still put in 40+ hours a week, I try very hard to leave work at work and enjoy my time at home with my family.

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Specializes in Clinical Leadership, Staff Development, Education.

When a peer is having difficulty delegating, I try not to "play into" complaints of being overworked. Instead, I simply ask, "How can I help? Is there a task I can help with?" Great illustration.

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When I was in the hospital after giving birth, I changed my IV bag myself and flushed my own line. The nurse came in and said "did you change your bag?!" I said "yeah I get how busy you guys are." She had to laugh but warned me to not do it again :)

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This is a great article, and one reason why medical staff get burned out so quickly and even injured. The medical field is one of the biggest team centered professions out there, and it's very important to take advantage of such. Sure, you can probably do everything. Is it the best thing for the patient? Is it the best thing for you even? Teamwork needs to be refocused on within the medical field.

I also find in many situations where teamwork turns into constant delegation of tasks. There is a large difference and can destroy working relationships very quickly.

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