Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, AJN interim editor-in-chief
I spend a lot of time checking various web sites for news or new information nurses need to know, for interesting items for blog posts or articles, or for trends that may be coming down the pike. Here’s some “food-for-thought” items I found in my recent web crawls:
On nursingworld.org, the American Nurses Association, in a recent poll, asked site visitors if they had been “a target of unprofessional behavior” in the workplace. A startling 82% of respondents said yes. While “unprofessional behavior” was not defined (when you think about it, it could be any number of things, ranging from gossip and practical jokes to bullying and unwanted sexual advances), the fact that so many people feel this way deserves further exploration. What about you? What have you seen on your unit that might fit this category of “unprofessional behavior”?
Vindy.com, an Ohio news outlet, reports that advanced practice nurses (APNs) in the state want more recognition and freedom to practice. According to the article, the Ohio Association of Advanced Practice Nurses (OAAPN) is seeking legislators to remove restrictions that prevent them from heading the medical home models of primary care. Currently, physicians must be the designated head of the medical home. (See our article on this.) Jacalyn Golden of OAAPN said APNs “have proved themselves since they began providing primary care in 1965.” Amen.
Remember the “Sentosa Nurses,” the nurses from the Philippines who became embroiled in prosecution after they quit en masse from New York nursing homes in 2007? (We reported on it then and in a follow-up last April when the criminal charges against them were dropped, as well as here on the blog.) A Filipino Web site reports that the nurses have filed a civil suit against the nursing home company (which still has a civil suit against the nurses) and the Suffolk County, New York, district attorneys.
The Texas nurses who filed charges against a physician for unsafe practice weren’t as lucky – they face a criminal trial in February. Go to the Texas Nurses Association Web site for updates and to contribute to their defense fund.
I thank-you for your quick reply and will keep you posted. Lois
Lois and Steve, thanks for sharing your experiences in the comments. One resource might be Cheryl Dellasega’s Bullying among Nurses (http://bit.ly/cQ7Rh1), which ran our January 2009 issue (I edited the article). A year later it’s still one of AJN’s top reads.
Dellasega, a nurse researcher, has studied this form of inappropriate behavior in depth. She asks, “Why, in a profession founded on caring and collaboration, is bullying a problem?” She describes several common types of “relational aggression,” pointing out that even those who witness bullying are adversely affected. She offers several suggestions for nurse managers and “every nurse.” So the article might give you a starting place.
One suggestion Dellasega has is to poll unit staff anonymously (she provides a sample questionnaire) to raise awareness of the problem — an essential first step to change. Your comments here help raise awareness too. Please let us know how it goes!
We also have a bad situation on the night shift where I work and management is aware. There are a few nurses on the night shift who seem to run the place and are making life miserable for the rest of us. They talk about everyone and decide who is a good nurse and who is not. When in charge they pick and choose who they will work with. I am amazed at what they get away with. From what I have heard they have been approached by management but to no avail and now management feels that the nurses should approach them. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I totally agree with inappropriateness in the workplace. I work third shift which means nurses may have a little more down time plus the fact that there are fewer visitors and doctors around at 3 am, but I’m amazed at some of the conversations that go on at the nurses station. Being treated like a professional begins with acting like one yourself.