Your thoughts on being "written up".

[RNSuzq1, RN]

I'd like others thoughts on being "written-up" at work. Before becoming an RN, I spent 6yrs in the Navy & 10yrs in Business. In all those yrs, not once was I written-up for anything. I've been working on the same floor for quite a few yrs & have never seen anything like the write-ups people get, for the most ridiculous reasons. I only know a few people who rec'd warnings for med-errors or patient care (it's rare). Most of the what you're written up for, are minor clerical errors, things that could & should be handled with a quick discussion with Mgmt, if at all.

These are actual notes: You were observed on the video tape with a drink at the Nurses Station - this is not permitted, please make an appt. to discuss this. (The Mgr. walks around the floor all day guzzling coffee, go figure). You clocked in 1 minute late last week, please see me to be re-educated about the importance of being on time. Really? That was the 1 time I was late in all these yrs & I get drug into the office about it. I was late because a lost old man in the lobby, asked me to show him where the ICU was, so he could see his Wife. They didn't care - I got a write-up, that'll teach me not to be nice again.

We recently had a pt that should have been in the ICU, not on our floor. She needed constant care, left little time for our other patients. I work nights & my co-worker who works days, had this same group of pt's all weekend. It was such a heavy load, she ended up having to stay late each night, to get all her charting done. What does she get for staying late to get it all done? A nasty-gram in her box - See the Mgr. about unapproved overtime. If she hadn't done all her charting, she would have been written up for that - you can't win.

It's just so insulting, to be constantly treated like a bunch of Toddlers who need constant supervision. We're a group of conscientious Professionals, that take patient care seriously. My group on nights, keeps the floor running & handles any problem that comes our way, just fine, without the help of any Manager breathing down our necks - but would they ever say Thanks, you did a great job - NEVER!!! All you hear is negative - you forgot to cross a T or dot an i - from someone who hasn't touched a patient in years, if ever.

Recently had a talk with my Brother, a long-time Trauma Nurse in another State. He said he's never heard of so much ridiculous, nit-picking and there were too many hospitals out there that appreciate and value their Nurses, to keep putting up with this. He works for a Union, so I'm wondering if that's why him & his fellow Nurses are treated decently or is it just my place?

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

It really does depend on the culture of where you work - or the floor you work on.

On my floor, we don't write each other up. We will write incident reports when patients are endangered. But we never try to "get" each other.

On other floors of my hospital, I have heard the RNs go after each other through write ups.

[PeepnBiscuitsRN]

I haven't heard of write ups in our hospital- however, I've only worked on one floor, and am just starting orientation on my new unit, so I don't know. I know there's verbal warnings, written warnings etc. But those don't come until the issues and mistakes reach a certain point.

It sounds like a power trip tool, really. Someone can't make a formal disciplinary action for whatever reason (no authority to do so, no actual grounds for disciplinary action) so they write you up. I agree, I hear a lot about write ups on this forum and am glad we don't do that...far as I know...

[Morainey, BSN, RN]

We must work at the same place!!

[champagnesupeRNova]

I think it is belittling, unprofessional, kills morale, and makes workers feel dispensable and unappreciated. I can't understand how a manager could run a unit like that. Whatever happened to "A happy worker is a good worker" ?

[RNSuzq1, RN]

You hit the nail on the head. It's totally belittling. I work with the same group weekend nights. 1st thing we do Friday night is check our mail-boxes in the break-room. OMG, Talk about killing morale. We're always left with some cryptic message from the Mgr. Call me to schedule an appt. about X, Y or Z. It could be about something as stupid as - your badge didn't clock in right last week or something serious & we're left to stew about it all weekend. Seriously - not good for my BP....

[sauconyrunner]

I'm the Infection prevention Nurse at our hospital. I try NEVER to write anyone up. I feel it is a morale killer and I also feel that it is often a cowardly thing to do. I mean, sending you a confrontational email...how about a chat face to face. It kills me to come round a corner and see a staff member eating at the nurses station. It is totally against policy, but I KNOW exactly why she is doing it, it's not because she could have had a break, and she just wants to eat and chart at the same time. So, If I start seeing a lot of nurses eating on a floor in the wrong place, I usually send an email to their manager, "Hey whats going on? How come your nurses aren't getting lunch?" It supports the nurses, and usually gets them a lunch break and stops the eating in the station, which is sadly against policy.

I see things every day that are "write Up worthy" but I find that talking to the person face to face tends to correct the behavior better than any write up. most people really want to do the right thing, it's just some other things sometimes get in the way.

I worked for a unit like that once. Got written up for not bathing a fresh trauma pt- who bit the tube every time he was touched. I made a decision to get him as clean as possible, but not to move him. After that write up, I moved on. Luckily we don't do the write up thing often in our hospital...and we are not union.

[PrimaFacie]

How horrible for you!

I agree that some units are just awful and the manager usually sets the tone for how the rest of the staff treats stuff like that.....but if you are all (or several) in disagreement with how she manages the unit, why not discuss it with her? It sounds like a staff meeting with some brave voices is called for. It is probably protocol to go to her supervisor if you don't get satisfaction talking to her, but realistically, hospital corporate types love managers like that, and probably wont see any fault in it.

When you say write ups, do you mean something goes in your HR file, or just that she sends an annoying email?

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

These are Prue curiosity questions...how old is your boss and what is here educational background? How much bedside experience do they have? I have a private theory.

Write ups have their place.....but this is an out of control power crazed individual.

There is a new managerial culture out there and it's an adversarial one. But your boss is quite the piece of work. The descriptive words that come to mind. Arrogant, lazy, elitist, petty, power crazed, insecure, bully, "mean girl"......

"You were observed on videotape with a drink in the nurses station??? Really? How petty, ridiculous, lazy can one be? One minute late? It saddens me for I believe you but I have seen your boss or their identical clone.

This is the culture brings Union's.

There was once a time, about 20 years ago, that I wasn't so sure Union's were the path to be taken by nurses. Since that time, however, hospital administrations lost their honesty, morality, and integrity. Since the market has become saturated with nurses , both homegrown and imported (my conspiracy theory is that it was done on purpose for this very reason by the corporate greed), to "Save healthcare and the patients from a dangerous shortage"........the behavior has worsened to epic proportions and I now believe A Union maybe our only saving Grace.

The Police have done it. Firefighters have done it and so have teachers. I am beginning (more that beginning) to think we need to as well.

This manager seems to have a particular predatory nature. It is probably in direct correlation to her own self-esteem issues and insecurities. I am always saddened by these people as they slowly suck the life out of the staff.

Is this the culture of the manager? Or the facility.

I'd start looking for a transfer of another job....and keep that I am looking on the down low.

I wish you the best! :loveya:

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

Where I work for nearly 18 months I would talk to staff, ask them to follow policy and procedure all the time.

Did they do it NO they continue to not play happily in the sand box.

The state inspection doesn't care if the staff member they see not following P&P is a great member of staff or not.

Only when I started giving the culprits a negative written warning did I see an improvement in all staff's performance.

Unfortunately once you start along that road, you have to be fair across the board, so even if you have an excellent member of staff who slips up, you have to treat them the same as you would the staff members who never perform professionally.

[Cat_RN, ASN, BSN, RN]

Hydrating oneself at the nurse's station? That negatively affects patient care 'how', again?

Please.

If these managers have so much time to write up for such menial things, that tells me there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians. Typical top-heavy nursing unit! No wonder morale is so low.

[CrufflerJJ, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

It's BS write-ups like this that (as you pointed out) kill morale and prevent any sense of teamwork between staff nurses & leadership. Like you, I had significant (multiple decades of) experience in a prior career before going into nursing. Never did I have any sort of formal discipline brought forth against me. I successfully recruited, trained, and managed employee teams. I hired/fired/developed employees in my group. That being said, it's been my experience (3 whole years!) as a nurse, you are expendable. You are a nobody....a drone...a peon in the overall scheme of things. Get ready to look at the underside of the bus.

I just love the capricious, "out of the blue" write-ups that hit you between the eyes. There's nothing quite so satisfying as busting your rear end to keep your pts alive, their demanding families happy, while helping your coworkers, only to get a nastygram from management for failing to document oral care at 1600 on such & such a date for a ventilator pt. In this case, the nurse learns that pt care does not really matter. All that really matters is "pretty" documentation.

Yes, the random write-ups serve to show you your real place in the scheme of things. Despite all the warm fuzzy propaganda spouted by the higher-ups (and your direct management), about you being a valued member of the team, blahblahblah, you are a number. You are merely a person filling a slot. You are not respected or valued enough to have an open face-to-face conversation regarding the "issue" in question without resorting to BS write-ups that will end up on your record.

Oh, by the way, would you like to volunteer for an (unpaid) community effort sponsored by your employer to "wave the flag" about the glories of your hospital network?

Yeah Team!!!! :barf01: