Related: Abuse, Assertiveness, Authority, Boundaries, Bureaucracy, Confidence, Conflict, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Doctors, Fear, Handmaidens, Hostility, Management, New Nurse, Nurse Relationships, Power, Professionalism Sabotage, Scapegoat, Seasoned Nurses, Stress, Support, Teamwork, Truth

The new nurse was doing the best she could. But it wasn’t fast enough for the emergency room doctor. As the doctor struggled to triage the patient, he became more and more agitated. Finally, he yelled and threw a bloody sponge at the nurse—right in the middle of a procedure.

When physical and verbal abuse takes place in the workplace, immediate action should be taken. But [...]

Related: Assertiveness, Bureaucracy, Communication, Complaints, Confidence, Conflict, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Doctors, Management, Mindset, Mistake, Nurse Relationships, Nurse Support, Patient Advocate, Power, Professionalism, Stereotypes, Teamwork

Doctors and nurses have been trained to be suspicious of each other.

So writes Suzanne Gordon, author of Nursing Against the Odds (Cornell UP, 2006). And while this has historical roots, it is particularly dysfunctional today. In this RealityRN interview, Gordon describes the complicated relationship between nurses and doctors—and gives practical advice for nurses to help remedy the situation.

RealityRN:  Describe the history of nurse/doctor relationships.

Suzanne [...]

Related: Assertiveness, Communication, Confidence, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Doctors, Expectations, New Nurse, Nurse Relationships, Patient Advocate, Patients, Professionalism, Respect, Stereotypes, Success

Suzanne Gordon, author of Nursing Against the Odds (Cornell UP, 2006), says new nurses need to train others for respect. Here are four tips to do just that:

1. Introduce yourself in a professional manner.
When you introduce yourself to doctors, don’t say, “Hi, I’m Susie.” If you want to be respected as a nurse, you shouldn’t be “Susie in the angora sweater” or “Cheerful, smiley Susie.” [...]

Related: Career, Confidence, Education, Feedback, Leadership, Management, New Grad, New Nurse, Nurse Educator, Nursing Associations, Professionalism

“What do you want to be doing in five years?”

It’s a question that 33-year veteran nurse Patti Ludwig-Beymer hates. It never helped her focus on what she really wanted to do. In fact, new nurses who are able to articulate a five-year plan are the minority. Most nurses just hope to make it through another day.

But goal setting is essential to developing as a nurse [...]

Related: Authority, Confidence, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Fear, Mistake, New Nurse

So he went to medical school, and you didn't. Plus, you are fresh out of nursing school. So who are you to question a doc?

Here's a common dilemma that many new nurses face: "I was put in a compromising situation last week. A young doctor gave me an order that I didn’t question—I just ran with it. After thinking more about his order, [...]

Related: Assertiveness, Authority, Communication, Confidence, Conflict, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Doctors, Emotions, Fear, Management, New Nurse, Nurse Relationships, Patient Advocate, Patients, Professionalism

It was the ninth hour of a 12-hour night on Labor & Delivery when my fourth patient presented with complaints of vaginal bleeding.  Exhausted, I told myself this had to be another worst-case scenario—probably placenta previa or abruption.

I initially performed a comprehensive review of symptoms and thorough patient history, which I presented to the resident. He was a cocky first-year resident, just starting his first [...]

Related: Communication, Confidence, Delegation, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Fear, Leadership, Learning, New Grad, New Nurse, New Nurse Tips, Nurse Support, Patient Advocate, Problem Solving

“No, these results are not normal. We know what’s normal.”
The words of Tommy’s parents dripped with condescension.
A second-year nurse on the peds floor, Anna was gaining confidence every day. But this was a blow. Her patient Tommy, who suffered from Nephrotic Syndrome, had been tested. Anna assessed that the results fell within a normal range. Years of dealing with the chronic illness, however, had made [...]

Related: Career, Confidence, Education, Feedback, Leadership, Management, New Grad, New Nurse Tips, Nurse Educator, Nursing Organizations, Seasoned Nurses

The thought of being a leader when you first become an RN may be unimaginable. But leadership is learned, even if at first you don't feel all that confident.

Choose Your Leadership Style
You can learn a lot about the leader you want to become by watching how people work. In your unit, there are positive and negative leaders. Positive leaders are those who are patient advocates, [...]