OzzieNurse

I had a shift from hell last night...It was my second super numery shift and I am still learning as I go about the different routines and paperwork in Oz. I was severley chastised and brought to tears by a angry theatre nurse who wanted to speak to me regarding a patients care. There are better ways to talk to someone than to shout them down and make them feel like crap on their second day!
All she kept saying was that it was a training issue and the ward was badly staffed. If theatre nurses talk like this to new members of staff is it any wonder the new staff leave?

She was aggressive, threatening and out of order. I will be taking it further with my manager. I thought that we were all on each others side here? She was from the UK too so thought she would sympathise.

I am so tempted to go back into the community now...I am on my own today and if it is anything like yesterday my resignation letter will be on my managers desk by monday.

leannelo

Hi,

That is bang out of order!! Did you stand up to her? Get your letter of complaint in to your manager as soon as poss, she should not be aloud to talk to you like that, Good luck with your next shift, dont let her get to you, your better than that.

Good luck Leanne

LouB

Being a theatre nurse myself I would say that she is probably one naggy, bad tempered individual amongst many reasonable people! There are always going to be some unpleasant members of the team out there much the same as here!
Are you actually working in theatres now or are you still on the wards? Either way, just try and let it go over your head and enjoy the rest of your week. Don't ask too many questions just yet but perhaps you will find out from other members of your team that this person is always like this or that it is very out of character and you were in the wrong place / wrong time. If you've just started theatres call anytime for a chat and i'd love to reassure youthat we are generally a good bunch,
Have a better week next week and don.t let this get you down, Lou

penky

Hi

try to stay positive and not let her get you down, its obviously that shes got a problem and not you,
your doing the right thing reporting her because its bullying.
It probably also feels worse because you would think that she would be more sympathetic to you coz she has obviously emigrated herself and should know what it feels like in a new job and country. Stay strong and try not to let morons like her get to you.

OzzieNurse

Thanks guys! I am over it now. If however she speaks to me or my colleagues like that again I will be making a formal complaint. I really didn't need that kind of crapola on my second supernumery shift in Oz...I have been in the community for 2-3 years and medical ward before that. The person who recruited me put me on a surgical ward. As far as I am concerned it is down to her to select the right area for the right nurse regardless of where the staff are needed. I am learning as I go and hopefully I will be more assertive next time and tell her not to speak to me in that way.....
I just need to get my confidence in the area.

hedgehog-girl

I can honestly tell you, hand on heart that this rarely happens in theatres and I have worked in a lot of them both here and in the UK. What you got was one nasty piece of work which you get on every ward in every hospital (there is always one) who is always eager to shot newbies down....Don't take it to heart luvvie and in fact I would telling your Manager as this sort of behaviour is just not on. Did this happen on a ward or in theatre, as its a little confusing. I would be telling someone, your mentor/preceptor or your manager as she needs to be brought into touch. We are lovely with our students/new grads in theatre and they all want to come back so hopefully you just got the rare one....

Couple of years from now you will have much more confidence to be able to tell someone like this to stop and not talk to you in such a manner...I know because I did the same...

Margaret3

I agree i am an agency theatre nurse and have came across some lovely theatre nurses now, however i started in an orrible hosp, and was treated very badly by my theatre colleagues, really got me down the buggers, best thing i did was leave
I think talking back/reporting depends on you personality, i am a big softie and get very nervous when people start to carry on in above mentioned manner, one of the things i am hoping to get our of working agency is the confidence to stand up for myself a bit more (i am 43 years old and have been nursing since i was 17, lol, but, i cant help me personality am too nice,). I really cannot understand what people, in any walk of life get, out of ridiculing other people and colleagues

hedgehog-girl

I think people do it because they aren't that confident themselves, even though they may appear to be confident. We have a girl who works with us at the moment who speaks to some people in a chronic way and when I first started I was so meek and mild I took it but then one day when she was telling me what to do (not in a nice way) I just said back "I'll do it my way thank you very much" and just ignored her and then I actually informed my boss about it and apparently a couple of people had complained so she was hauled into the office and spoken to....not that it changed much but at least we felt that the boss had done something....

I don't know how these people sleep and what really gets me is that nursing is all about caring...If you can't care for your colleagues whom you work with 12 hours a day every day how can you properly care for a complete stranger?

dubstar

Hi all

I agree totally, there seems to be a bad un on each ward. I am currently about to finish my bach of Nursing degree in New Zealand and I am a "mature" student. I recently had a clinical placement and had a preceptor who, like me, was from the UK and I though it was going to be great. However she was a complete pycho and she was one of those people who would be there 2 hours early and would not leave not because she was conciencious but a control freak. I left that ward after a week of her crap

Fejaouk

I always say take no shit! I certainly dont take it from abusive patients so I wont take it from staff. If I encounter a really rude staff member I either walk away and tell them to phone me when they can speak civil or my party piece is to hand them a 20 pence. When they ask what its for I tell them to go and phone someone who gives a f**k lol, it normally shuts them up!

However I would say if I have done something wrong that is my fault then yes I will take the flack, but only appropriate flack. I wont take rude, abusive or excessive telling-off, we are all human and despite the NMC thinking nurses should be 100% perfect all the time, sorry but we are not!

Scottie

dubstar

I have learned to toughen up, but when the preceptors have the power to pass or fail you, and they are unbalanced it scary

Fejaouk

Yeh being a student nurse is different, but you do have the option of reporting the person to the university and/or writing a letter to the head of the directorate or head of nursing, there is more than one way to skin a cat. As for passing or failing you, if its never highlighted to you prior to an assessment then its something that you should take all the way! Thats what midterm assessments are for and ongoing communication.

NHS policy is a great thing too! Quote NHS scripture and howling scary managers turn into lovely pussy cats hehe!

Scottie