Читать книгу Toxic Nursing, 2nd Ed - Cheryl Dellasega - Страница 53

Most of us played the game “telephone” as kids, where a message begins with one person and is slowly—and reliably—distorted as it makes its way from one person to the next. As the nurse manager, what can you do when this type of thing happens on your unit? If gossip is just part of human nature—and we won’t be able to eliminate it—what can we do to constructively manage it?

In the case above, Liandra makes a mistake. When errors occur on your unit, how does the staff react? Does the person who made the error feel free to report it? Are others in the unit emotionally supportive of the nurse who made the error? In short, what type of environment has been cultivated on your unit? Are you satisfied with it?

4.3 Secrets

scenario

For several months, Maggie has been trying to get pregnant. She and her husband, a resident in the same hospital where she works, have gone through several special treatments to try and have a child. When she finally conceives, she tells only Alice, another nurse supervisor with whom she is close.

“Please keep it to yourself,” Maggie says. “I’m worried something might go wrong, and anyway, I’m applying for that new position in nursing education. If they know I’m pregnant, I might not get the job.”

Alice tells Maggie she will keep her secret, but over coffee with Donna, she hints about some big news that is about to break. Donna, who knows Maggie, guesses at the secret, which Alice refuses to confirm with anything more than a smile. Donna then progresses to tell two other people who “promise” not to reveal what they know, and so on. Eventually, Maggie learns about Alice’s betrayal and confronts her—so angry that the relationship is permanently damaged.