Christina Purpora, PhD, RN, is an assistant professor at the University of San Francisco School of Nursing and Health Professions. She has 30 years of hospital nursing experience.

by Steve Robbins/Flickr Creative Commons

I wonder whether any of my nurse colleagues can recall having said or done something less than kind to a peer at work. Looking back over 30 years of nursing, I am aware of times that I could have been kinder. Not too long ago, the way that Emily—a less experienced nurse who was new to our unit—conducted herself in response to my reaction to her request for help taught me that I ought to consider a better way to act.

Request for Help
I was walking out of a patient’s room when Emily greeted me by name, then said, “Ms. S has one of the new IV pumps and the alarm keeps going off. I can’t figure out what’s wrong. Can you please help me?”

I felt annoyed at her for making one more demand on my time when I could barely keep up with my current assignment. Rolling my eyes, I curtly replied, “Emily, I think you can handle it. You had the in-service like everybody else.”

Seemingly unrattled by my terse retort, Emily stood her ground. “Yes,” she told me, “I used the […]