Fed up with terrible "middos" of other nurses

[psyched]

I'm a soft type of person. I don't argue, stand up for myself in a big way, make a big deal out of things. Yesterday a nurse made a mistake and tried to misconstrue things so that it looked like it was my fault. I complained to the nursing supervisor but I'm aghast at this nurse's behavior. Ppl will do anything to avoid being "written up."
It's terrible.

Just venting.

[Rivka P]

I'm proud of you for going to your supervisor. A lot of people would just complain about her actions to other people but not formally complain. Hopefully your supervisor will intervene and your situation will improve.

[Rivka P]

Does anyone know if there is a distinction in Jewish law regardin lashon harah about Jews and about non-Jews?

[chanab]

I have heard in the past that according to the letter of the law -loshon hora applies only to other Jews. Learned that in high school when it was *okay* to talk about our secular teachers, but not the Judaic teachers . BUT - like singing and tznius in front of non-Jews - probably not necessarily within the spirit of the law.

[achot]

EXCUSE ME but there is an inyan of Pikuach Nefesh here!!! You must report problems in a nonjudgmental way- objectively etc. Make copies of any report or written documentation if you have it available etc. As a pt I would shudder to think that a problem exists and it is covered up under the auspices of Lashon Hara.
Let the focus be on forgiveness and fixin the problem not pn punishing the nurse. We are all human , a nurse who never made a mistake is a nurse who never worked!!!
OTOH Please don't post halachot if you are not a Rav and an expert in the halachot.
If you have a question or need advice on how to report a real problem ( and not because u r setting scores or bear a grudge) Seek the advice of your LOR.
Oh Boy,, I am sure I will get kicked out of this forum but I feel strongly about this.

[chanab]

Point taken achot. Halacha should not be used as an excuse to put pt care at risk. It seemed like the issue was dealt with in the most pt safe manner by psyched.
I apologize if I seemed like I was quoting halacha - just passing along what I have heard in the past and if anyone knows the actual halacha in this matter - please pass it back along to me.

[achot]

try this :
[e-mail]
It is a daily shmirat halashom study by email. They will send you each day a set of halachot on shmirat halashon
Its in english, easy to read and takes only a minute
To answer your question, speak to a rav

[Rivka P]

achot, when I asked about lashon harah, I had in mind the gossip that tends to go on between nurses. I didn't even consider that some one might think it lashon harah to speak to the supervisor. As you can see above, I said I was proud of her for taking the situation to the higher ups.
I won't kick you out of the forum ;-)

[achot]

Gossip is a horse of another color- ( sorry --didn't understand you)
DON'T ever lower yourself to the Gossip - its all too easy-Please rise above it and I promise you will be respected for your professionalism. It will also be a Kiddush Hashem
Even Gossips hate other gossips and will turn on them on a dime.
You will notice that nurses in management rarely gossip and don't pay any attention to it.
Just focus on doing a good job,
You aren;'t there to win any popularity contests, your social life shouldn't depend on your coworkers, and besides:
Nobody likes a tattletale either so pick your battles. I don't report a nurse unless she did something to hurt a pt and is covering it up- but simple mistakes- we all make 'em.
For example- our blood glucose meters were old and I fought with the powers that be to bring in new ones ( we get em for free so it wasn't a money issue). I distributed them with an inservice on how to use em
I later found out that one of my unit managers keeps hers locked away and only has the old ones out under the excuse that the new one will get stolen. I was furious. Not only are the old ones unreliable, if she was scared of thieves, there are better ways to deal with it.
I put the meter in a locked cabinet that only the nurses have key for and got them to sign each shift that it is on the unit and functioning.
We should not compromise pt care because we are afraid of equipment being stolen.
the nurses are now upset at having to sign for this when the other units dont have to and lo and behold their machines are fine (not stolen). My answer is for them to speak to their unit manager.
Good luck with these ethical questions- when to report and when not.

[chanab]

So... what would you do about a nurse that you knew was seriously slacking in their work, conducting personal business on work computers and personal phone calls while clocked in? While not a direct threat to pt care, it does create an environment where there is more work put on other nurses shoulders and risks that something important re pt care could be missed because the other nurses are rushing to get their work and this nurses work done. The nurse supervisor does already appear to be somewhat aware of this person falling behind on their work.

[achot]

If the work is falling on other nurses I would complain about that to the supervisor. Unless I can prove that the nurse was doing personal business etc, I wouldn't say it. Be objective about your complaint for example :"Yesterday nurse X left the unit for half an hour not during break time...or This morning Nurse X was on her cellphone for 45 minutes ignoring callbells and our requests for help"
Most facilities that I have worked allow personal phone calls that are short (a couple of minutes).