HI, I am a new graduate nurse finishing my preceptorship. I recently encountered a situation in which I was humiliated by a peer in front of a patient and another staff member. I was working in the ER in a hospital I am not familiar with and with staff that I am not familiar with. My patient was having cardiac issues. The RT came in to do an EKG and I did not know who she was so I asked if she was there to do the EKG and she yelled, "Well, of course I am, who did you think I was, a fairy godmother?" Then she proceeded to chew me out for not having the patient's bra off yet so she could get started on the EKG right away. I was flabbergasted. I felt humiliated. I felt like it took credibility away from me. After the RT belittled me, my patient wouldn't let me do her IV anymore. She told the nurse she didn't want the student doing it. I wasn't sure if I should let it go or say something. I ended up telling my preceptor and she let the nursing manager know. I went through the proper chain of command and the incident was dealt with appropriately. I just wonder--should unprofessionalism be allowed. Should we just let things go and not bother with it, or should we deal with it so it doesn't continue to happen?:confused:
Should unprofessionalism be allowed?
The RT was definitely out of line and no, it shouldn't be tolerated, so in your case I believe you handled the matter exactly the right way. You weren't confrontational, you didn't allow the situation to escalate in front of the patient, but kept calm and went through the right channels.
The RT was completely unprofessional. First of all, did the RT have here name badge in view? Did she introduce herself to the patient and state the reason she was in the room? I have a good idea that the answer to both questions will be "no". You were correct in reporting this behavior to your preceptor and reporting this incident following your chain of command. Not only did this RT speak to you and act inappropriately she did this in front of a patient and she potentially comprised the care this patient received. I would follow up on this incident with my unit manager to see if this RT was given either a verbal or written warning. This type of behavior would not be tolerated where I work and more than likely would result in suspension or termination.