Related: Authority, Management, Morale, New Grad, New Nurse, Nurse Relationships, Nurse Support, Power, Professionalism, Sabotage, Scapegoat, Stress, Truth

When I first graduated nursing school 25 years ago I started out on an adult Med/Surg unit. Because I worked as a nurse aide during school in the float pool, I knew many of the nurses on that floor to begin with. However, by the time I started there was a different nurse manager (back then "head nurse") and some newer faces.

The head nurse was [...]

Related: Assertiveness, Attitude, Caring, Conflict, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Patient Advocate, Patients, Power, Prioritizing, Respect

As Doctor Pru stood there reading the file her mouth turned down into a frown.

"Who triaged this patient?" She called out across the room to anyone who would pay her attention. Everyone ignored her except me. I knew whose file she had and I knew she'd make a fuss, not because there was a problem, but because she loved to pick faults and seemed to [...]

Related: Assertiveness, Authority, Boundaries, Communication, Confidence, Conflict, Feelings, Hostility, New Grad, New Nurse, Patients, PCT, Power, Professionalism, Respect, Stress

I am a brand-new nurse--just two weeks off orientation. I am 20 years old but look a few years younger. I have had issues with two PCTs who are probably in their 50s, and have worked together on my floor for about 30 years. I haven't had issues with any of the other PCTs.

One issue: They feel insulted if I ask them if they did [...]

Related: Abuse, Authority, Boundaries, Communication, Conflict, Fear, Feelings, Gossip, Hostility, Morale, New Nurse, Non-Verbal Language, Nurse Relationships, Power, Professionalism, Respect, Sabotage, Seasoned Nurses, Support, Teamwork, Violence

A man walked past a few kids with a bucket of sea crabs. One of the crabs was crawling to the top of the bucket, so the man told the boys to get a lid. “Mister, you don’t know anything about crabs,” the boys said. “As soon as that crab gets to the top, the others will pull him right back down. Never fails.”

The expression [...]

Related: Anxiety, Authority, Doctor-Nurse Relationships, Doctors, Power, Respect

As a new nurse, you find out quickly the doctors who are approachable and willing to offer you suggestions and those whom you should try and avoid.

Eight weeks into my nursing job, I had a run-in with one of the “unapproachables.” He actually caused me to break into hives.

It happened when I had to call an orthopedic surgeon for a consult. He wanted to know [...]

Related: Male Nurse, Patient Advocate, Patients, Power, Professionalism, Seasoned Nurses, Stereotypes

You’re about to begin your first shift as an RN.

Your gut tells you that the moment you walk through those doors in uniform, people will judge you. Why? Because you’re a man.

In training, you may have been exposed to the modern stereotypes of the male nurse. According to Jerry R. Lucas, RN, and owner and publisher of Male Nurse Magazine (http://www.malenursemagazine.com/), “Either you are a [...]

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 [...]