Dragon of Life (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dragonoflife) wrote2007-05-05 12:17 pm
dragonoflife) wrote2007-05-05 12:17 pm
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I assure you, there is absolutely nothing I love more than getting bitched out for following established policy.
Policy for the ER is that we don't give out wait times. We can't. There is no way we can get it right, because at any moment someone could roll in the door in cardiac arrest or something similar. If we estimate low, people scream because they're waiting longer than we "promised." If we estimate high, people scream because we "lied" to "keep them away." So we simply tell them that we are not able to give an estimate. If necessary, we explain WHY and that it is hospital policy.
Makes sense, neh?
But like most things, this was spoiled from the inside by a whiny employee and a nurse who believes whiners instead of those she works with.
I gave the above answer to a nurse who called down wanting to know how busy we were because she'd hurt her foot. She didn't like that answer. She called the nursing supervisor and whined, the nursing supervisor called my charge nurse and bitched, and the charge nurse reamed me out for being "very inappropriate" in my answer on the phone.
Well, let's see. I'm not allowed to give an answer... I'm not allowed to NOT give an answer... that pretty much leaves the option of freezing and going silent whenever the question is asked. Or better yet, give the call to the charge nurse every time the question is asked... which is what said charge nurse actually suggested. Now every charge nurse will suffer because of this one's stupidity and eagerness to believe the worst of the nonclinical staff!
I get mad *and* even. Though to be honest, I'm so stressed out and overworked right now I was briefly close to tears. (I hope this actually provides some small measure of comfort to people I know have felt bad about their own emotional breakdowns at work, recently.)
Policy for the ER is that we don't give out wait times. We can't. There is no way we can get it right, because at any moment someone could roll in the door in cardiac arrest or something similar. If we estimate low, people scream because they're waiting longer than we "promised." If we estimate high, people scream because we "lied" to "keep them away." So we simply tell them that we are not able to give an estimate. If necessary, we explain WHY and that it is hospital policy.
Makes sense, neh?
But like most things, this was spoiled from the inside by a whiny employee and a nurse who believes whiners instead of those she works with.
I gave the above answer to a nurse who called down wanting to know how busy we were because she'd hurt her foot. She didn't like that answer. She called the nursing supervisor and whined, the nursing supervisor called my charge nurse and bitched, and the charge nurse reamed me out for being "very inappropriate" in my answer on the phone.
Well, let's see. I'm not allowed to give an answer... I'm not allowed to NOT give an answer... that pretty much leaves the option of freezing and going silent whenever the question is asked. Or better yet, give the call to the charge nurse every time the question is asked... which is what said charge nurse actually suggested. Now every charge nurse will suffer because of this one's stupidity and eagerness to believe the worst of the nonclinical staff!
I get mad *and* even. Though to be honest, I'm so stressed out and overworked right now I was briefly close to tears. (I hope this actually provides some small measure of comfort to people I know have felt bad about their own emotional breakdowns at work, recently.)