Difficult Nurses

[CAdamsPAC]

On 8/9/2021 at 9:17 PM, Cideous said:

Here is some truth.  Nurses rule the roost.  Go against them and you will loose.....bigly.  I swallowed more pride, ate more crow and choked down more curses than you could ever imagine by acknowledging these facts.  In the end?  The nurses loved me, came to my defense in the face of an asshole ER doc and formed a literal barrier around me that no admin could touch. The simple truth?  It was worth it.

I recall many  foolish calls to the call room from malignant nurses in the middle of the night. My responses were what do they think the problem is and how do they want the issue addressed or  put them to work, if no BM for 3 days was important at 2am; serial  tap water enemas  STAT until clear is ordered.  Asking to reduce  PCA in a immediate post op patient who" is sleeping a lot" with stable  VS demands an inquiry into their  thought process. 

[cinntsp]

On the  inpatient side, I recommend being the provider that physically goes to assess the patient when they call with concerns.  If it seems overblown, educate them on what to look for.  Defend staff from patients with bad behavior.  Take responsibility as the care team leader when a patient has complaints.  Be willing to teach new nurses.  Ultimately, it's the little things that count to nurses.  They are often feeling insecure about something and want someone to have their back.

I have never really dealt with truly malignant nurses fortunately.

[greenmood]

On 8/31/2021 at 5:24 PM, cinntsp said:

On the  inpatient side, I recommend being the provider that physically goes to assess the patient when they call with concerns.  If it seems overblown, educate them on what to look for.  Defend staff from patients with bad behavior.  Take responsibility as the care team leader when a patient has complaints.  Be willing to teach new nurses.  Ultimately, it's the little things that count to nurses.  They are often feeling insecure about something and want someone to have their back.

I have never really dealt with truly malignant nurses fortunately.

On 8/13/2021 at 6:09 PM, LT_Oneal_PAC said:

Essentially I kill them with kindness. I jump in to defend them, never throw them under the bus and sometimes even take the hit for mistakes as the “leader,” spending time with a difficult patient so they can have a break or try to minimize the complaints they have to hear, buying them lunch every so often, asking if there is anything I could do better for them, tell them good job after a sick patient, and being really responsive to pages.

I always encourage them to question my orders. I rather take an extra second to think about it than make a mistake…but there is no quibbling after I order it a second time. I am happy to teach and explain it right then if there is time or later if it’s emergent, I’m happy to see any evidence they have, but it will be done when I ask it to be done.

 

This. 

You need to earn their trust and respect without being subservient or a pushover. The way to do that is be being a genuinely solid person and treating their concerns as valid. The new nurses who panic page every half an hour will eventually be seasoned nurses, and they will remember how you treated them when they were scared and new.

[Reality Check 2]

At the rate things are going - I am SO HAPPY to work with an RN and LPN who still work with me and haven't quit or run for the hills.

Neither has been detailed away from me for now for our umpteenth COVID surge in the hospital.

When they show up everyday - I am grateful beyond words.

They haven't left for higher paying gigs - yet.

Employer just put out a COVID retention bonus for all. 

We have stuck together as a team and that makes my life easier - abundantly.

We stick together or it all falls apart.

[sas5814]

^^ This.  I have a great Team. 1 clerk, 1 LVN, and 1 RN. I wouldn't be able to do anything without them. We have developed a great work flow and we enjoy working together. They keep all the minutia off my desk and I defend them fiercely from bad actors.

 

I've had my share of bad nurses and they can drag the whole operation down. Thankfully they have been rare.

 

 

[Jean16]

I hated interacting with some of them on the floors when I was deployed at the start of the pandemic . Now that I work solely on consultant team inpatient it’s such an improvement in my morale to not deal with them at all