last saturday was one of the weirdest shifts i have ever worked. i wish i had written about it then. my blood was boiling. but after working 12.5 hours, i went to bumbershoot until 11:30PM, stayed up until 12:45AM, and went back to work on sunday at 7AM. the remainder of the week has flown by. so here i am, home alone on a saturday night, ready to re-hash just a small part of the drama.
are you ready for this?
on friday, saturday, and sunday of last week, i was precepting a new grad. she was completing her last three shifts of a six week orientation. and although some new nurses still requires lots of hand holding and are, what i would consider, scary nurses, this new nurse ROCKS! she is timely, can multi-task, asks appropriate questions, and time manages well. she was a dream to precept. hence, my three shifts with her were a piece of cake for me. i did NOTHING. literally. i played on the internet, made lists, did some personal planning and made phone calls.
until 4:45PM on saturday when i had to step in and stand up to my assistant nurse manager who wanted to give my new orientee a FIFTH patient.
i feel like, unless you are a nurse on my unit, most people wouldn't understand the ridiculousness of this suggestion. there are too many reasons to list why this is a horrible idea. i will note just a few:
- no nurse on my unit EVER cares for five patients in one day
- the assistant nurse manager was not in charge on saturday and had NO clue what was going on
- my orientee had already discharged two patients in the day and still had two others
- new orientees NEVER have more than two patients per shift (unless your preceptor thinks you're a rockstar and asks for a harder assignment - but NOT five patients)
when asked if she could handle it, the new grad looked at me, and said rather hesitantly, "i guess so." but she doesn't understand how the floor works. she doesn't know that five patients in one day is inappropriate, especially for a new nurse. she didn't know that there were other nurses on the floor who were less busy and had only had 2 patients ALL day long. she didn't know (or feel comfortable) standing up for herself and saying she would rather NOT get an admit at 5:30PM.
so i did. i told the assistant nurse manager that new grad girl would not take an admit. that she couldn't. that she was asking too much of her. that as her preceptor, i was looking out for her. but the nurse manager wouldn't listen to me. she kept saying, "christa, i didn't ask you. i asked a_ _ _ _ _ ." she spoke to me in a condescending tone. and despite my rebuttals, kept demanding that new grad girl take the admit. after awkward discussion in the hall, the nurse manager left me fuming and headed to tell the charge nurse that my new orientee would indeed take a FIFTH patient.
i can't describe how disrespected i felt. how demeaned. and belittled. and i couldn't stand for it. so, i resumed the conversation at the nurse's station, in front of the secretary, the charge nurse, and my colleagues. we started duking it out, in public, until it was suggested that we take our "conversation" elsewhere, to somewhere more private.
i won't describe the 20 minute conversation we had. but suffice it to say, i stood up for myself and what i believe in with all my strength. i am stubborn ALWAYS; but when i know i am right, i won't budge. and i didn't.
my assistance nurse manager knew i was angry, upset, frustrated, irate... and so, for some weird reason, she asked me if i wanted to tell her to F&%# off! i am not joking. my assistance nurse manager, an elder, and person in leadership on my unit, asked if i would feel better if i told her to F&@! off. she was trying to bully me, to get me to act unprofessional, because up until then, i hadn't. but instead of caving and doing what she wanted me to do (so she could get me in trouble), i laughed at her. told her i had some professionalism. and would never do such a thing. at work. or in my person life. i may swear. but i don't tell people to F?%! off.
period.
end of story.
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