Well.......Gina & I were called into a meeting with our unit manager last night during shift change (nice timing, huh)? Our manager basically apologized about 5 times to us for the treatment we received while he was out of town. I want to believe he was sincere about it & that it wasn't just done as an effort to keep us from quitting, but I just don't know. Seems he had a few excuses for those that were out of line, but on the upside, he had nothing but positive things to say about us. He launched into a lecture about the saying "nurses who eat their young" & how he doesn't understand why they do it. Then he said something like "Surely this isn't the first time you've encountered it." Ummm...yes, it is. Well, other than when we were students & the nurses didn't really want to give us the time of day - but even that wasn't as bad as the rude behavior we received last week. I interrupted him during that lecture & told him rather than asking us why we think it happens, perhaps he should go to the source ("S") & ask her why she resorts to this behavior. Basically we've been getting the same b.s. excuse - that she has a rough home life & takes her stress out at work. Sorry, that's not acceptable & it should not be tolerated. And it's not just us she treats rudely - she is downright rude to the patients. We keep hearing that no one likes her, that they've all just learned to ignore her - why is she still employed there?
We basically allowed him to say what he had to say & then we asked about our patient load & why we get such a guilt trip from the others when we won't go over our assigned patient load. He said it was cause he was out of town & it wouldn't happen again. We're up to 5 patients each now. Well, last night - not more than 3 hours after this conversation took place, I got a call from the charge nurse trying to assign me a 6th patient. Ummm...no, I will not accept a 6th patient. Once again, I got the guilt trip - I finally had to say "CALL THE UNIT MANAGER &/OR THE NURSING SUPERVISOR - DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO - I AM NOT TAKING A 6TH PATIENT TONIGHT." This is so unlike me...I'm usually easy-going, a team player...but I have my limits & it seems like this hospital continuously pushes the boundaries & somehow I end up looking like the bad guy. Not only that, but there were regularstaff nurses who only had 5 patients - they should be the next in line to move up to 6 patients since they've been there for years. It seems like they think they can push the "new nurses" (that's our nickname) around. Uh, uh...it's not happening. I'll quit before I let them take advantage of me.
It's discouraging - to have a conversation directly with the unit manager saying one thing & the reality being something totally different. It's not a good sign. At least at the other hospital - there are no broken promises - they tell you exactly what to expect...even if it's not the best news. It's the way I prefer it - straight up & to the point, no surprises........besides, I only like good surprises. :)
Who knows if "S" will be reprimanded or not. We told our unit manager how she is throwing out verbal warnings, threatening us with written warnings & still harassing us. He says it will be dealt with. We also found out that "S" is lying about us (big surprise). She told him that we leave the floor without telling anyone & that we're gone for over an hour at a time. Yeah...right....that would be abandonment & you can be immediately fired for that. Besides, I would never do that to my patients. I'm definitely not perfect, but I don't put my patients in danger.
With that being said, my week was rather uneventful. I worked one day at the first hospital & one day at the second hospital. I have a 12-lead EKG class on Thursday. I might pick up a shift or two this weekend - not sure yet. I know it's going to be a busy Nov, Dec & Jan - so I'm leaning towards the free time I have now before dedicating most of my time to work. It will be a lot easier to start working on Sunday nights once Nascar is over - go Tony Stewart go!
I'm watching Martha Stewart (I am so NOT a home improvement type person), but she has pets up for adoption & they are sooooooo cute. It's giving me the itch to get a new puppy. I can't do it though - it's not fair to keep a puppy/dog cooped up for 14 hours a day while I'm working. I have a 12 yr old dog who is pretty content with sleeping the entire time I am gone, but I know a puppy isn't going to tolerate that. There is a puppy on this show who looks exactly like my dog did as a puppy - sooooo cute. I wish there was a way to have one, but not with my work hours. :( Maybe I'll get a kitten...but it's just not the same as having a dog.
Thanks to those of you that wrote with support of the harassment Gina & I received. It's nice knowing we have those that understand. Take care!
No comments:
Post a Comment