write ups

perhaps it has become the name of the game...i would always talk with a cna before i would write up unless it was a very serous situation

I'll rant right along with you. I got written up in my nursing program for asking too many questions (huh?) Instead of talking to me, they give me a page-long memo. "They want us to put it all in writing," my clinical instructor said. If I didn't care about graduating on time, I would have asked whatever happened to talking to an individual first? I'd like to hear from nurses what this is all about. I come from 20+ years in another field, where we tried to talk things out first, and this perflexes me, too.

Oh this is a daily thing. People will write you up just because they dont like you.

At my current facility we are encouraged to speak with the person face to face. Our manager does not want to/doesn't have time for petty arguments amongst staff. She will cut you down quick as anything if you go to her with a complaint, however valid; so, personal write-ups don't exist (to my knowledge).

I WILL write up serious med errors no matter who is at fault (pharmacy, nurse, physician). Stuff you can let go, I let go, just pass on to the offender (nurse, tech, pharmacy) that hey, I caught this, keep your eye out next time!

Some people are really into writing up at my facility. I've gotten 3 ridiculous write ups in my 6 years where I work, but I think others have gotten more. Last hospital I worked at I never heard about people writing up, it was a busier place.

It's true, people do it to people they don't like. One of my write ups was because a pt requested her nicotine patch cut in half, so I documented that and did it. I guess you're not supposed to cut them in half. I don't know why she didn't just leave me a note. It was a big med error, I guess. Then there was the A&O pt who got left on a bedpan that she requested at shiftchange, that the CNA provided for her. Then there was the 3 page write up by a nurse I called at home to discuss our working relationship, and she became upset. Management had been encouraging us to work things out with our co-workers. So she wrote up every detail of the conversation, lol.

Where do these things end up -- in your HR file?

I have been presented with a paper to sign indicating I had been counseled (missed that) because of my attendance ( I had a TAH). BTW I STILL have more time accrued than my supervisor. I agree this never happened in my previous 17 years of non nursing employment. At least I knew not to sign it. I think some people consider that supervision.

I think so. I think women nurses are more into it, none of the men I work with are into it. I think it's infantile. It's a shift war type activity, I believe.

Where do these things end up -- in your HR file?

In my employer's case, yes. That is why I would not sign their form. It ended up not going anywhere but of course caused some bad blood for me and my boss. I know when I have hired people in this organization one of the first things I did was see if they had ever been employed with us and review their file. It should have previous applications, job descriptions, evaluations, pay increase records, etc. as well as any complaints or complements. I also checked references. It is amazing to me how many people choose to just "go with their instincts". Give me research AND instincts and I can show you a better choice. I used to do public speaking for our lab and had several nice letters that my director forwarded to HR. Of course, that was a different director than I have now. :uhoh21:

I have to say, I've seen more writing-up in nursing than in any other job I've ever had and I had "real jobs" (you know, you get to eat, pee, sleep, that kinda real job) before nursing, for 20 years!

That said, my ER has an amazing team and I see very little in the way of picking-on, picking-up and writing up! Thank Goodness! If I had to worry every time I opened my mouth that someone was going to write me up or go whine to the boss, I'd go loony toons!

Maybe this is a rant more than anything, but I started thinking today, before I worked in hospitals, I had never seen so much "writing up" people. In all the jobs I'd had before, all the people I know in other lines of work, there doesn't seem to be the need to write up every little thing. Is it because hospitals are so into documentation? What's the deal?

It's called passive aggression, is completely nonproductive and a prime example of poor communication. In every facility I have worked, an incident report was made in the event a patient, visitor or employee was affected. Med errors go on a different form. I have yet to meet anyone who goes into work with the intent to make a mistake. Research has shown that errors that occur in the workplace, any workplace, are very likely system errors. In order to correct system errors, there must be a plan in place to eliminate blame, find the source of the problem and solve it. So, if a co-worker has made an error it should be investigated that an error actually occurred; they should be told in a private location in a professional manner so it doesn't happen again and the system should be changed so no one else makes the same mistake. "Write-ups" mean nothing and accomplish nothing.