2 issues:
I work transporting patients on beds from the ER to whatever ward or department they need to be brought to for their explorations. While I was moving a senile patient on a bed to radiology, a doctor approached me telling me I need to find a bed because they’re out of beds and an emergency was coming. I told her that’s not my job and that I’ve already brought in beds to the ER, even though that’s not my job. She kept pestering me with it, I told her my job is to transport patients and to contact my manager if she has complains. I also told her I had 3 patients to transport after the senile one and asked her if I should stop those assignments and look for beds for her first. She started accusing me of disrespecting her and asked if I know who she is. I told her I have things to do and proceeded to work.
Where I work this happens quite often: there are 2 doctors who believe everyone around her is their servant and must stop at once doing his job to assist them. Looking for beds is not in my job description.
The other issue is with some ER nurses. I’m a RN, worked in this same ER as a nurse but no longer work bedside (and will never work bedside again). Sometimes my job moving patients is quiet, meaning 40 minutes with not a single patient to be brought anywhere but suddenly I can get 4 assignments at once (and somehow doctors expect me to do them all simultaneously). Some nurses seem to believe those 40 minutes waiting for an assignment should count as my pause, because I was sitting. 2 are particularly vocal about it, painting me as a lazy person and they talk a lot with the other nurses.
When I have nothing to do I have a seat, read, learn, drink coffee, sometimes I write haikus or eat, telling the charge to inform me if she needs me to transport anyone. I also do my pauses, 30 min straight, something several nurses seem to resent: When I worked the ER as a nurse I never had a 30 minute pause, but several 3 to 7 minute breaks that summed together counted as your complete pause, the smokers would get longer pauses. I no longer want to do that shit and want my 30 minute pause, a stipulated in the contract.
If I cannot leave the workplace, if I cannot listen to music or sleep, if I have to stay in the ER waiting for my next assignment, I’m not on my break, am I?
I believe no matter what to many of my coworkers I’m gonna be the asshole: by establishing these boundaries (I want my daily 30 minute pause, I want to do ONLY my job) I’m the only one in the ER doing something the rest don’t do: establish boundaries. And that’s very noticeable. It won’t matter what’s in the contract: these 2 people have already decided I’m lazy, don’t waste time badmouthing me and I’ve decided they are happy to be exploited and I’m not gonna go the extra mile for any job.
Do I escalate?
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Doctors are criminally insane be careful
Next time you want to say “that’s not my job”, change what you’re saying to “I don’t have the authority to do what you’re asking and you have more authority in asking the admins to do it than I do”.
That way, you’re not communicating that you won’t help, but that you can’t help. It also comes off that you’re trying to help with the situation rather that being a road block.
“I don’t have the authority to do what you’re asking and you have more authority in asking the admins to do it than I do”
I can see this working with the medical side of nursing like setting lines up, administering medicines, explaining basic anatomy to patients, explaining what happens afterwards, things I’ve done in emergencies (not my job but will do it anyway because it’s an emergency).
Does this also work with the grunt, demanding physical work nobody wants to do? Several times the ER nurses want me to clean rooms or to go to a ward 900 yards away to find an empty bed (not my job and don’t want to do it). It’s not that’s difficult to do, it’s simply very tiring because I already walk 9 miles per day and having to walk more makes my legs ache, some beds are old and heavy, a growing number of patients are heavier as well, it’s not simply transporting patients, but mobilizing them to their new bed or placing them on the CT or MRT table, some of them can’t walk on their own, others fight you, others are scared and you have to talk to them like they were 5 year olds…
What Im not doing, like pseudonym here suggest, is doing 2 jobs being paid just for 1, being a full fledged RN when I have nothing to do and transporting patients when somebody needs to be transported. How entitled I am, aren’t I?
yours is a great answer btw.
For physical labor no one wants to do, you can finesse your response to be less “not my job” and more “I have other tasks I need to do now as part of my job”. It may sound similar, but one is making it so that you are determining what is and isn’t your responsibility and the other is pushing that decision on someone else.
Someone else hired you to push people around. You can’t override your boss, so you need to focus on the work they give you and take the breaks you can on their time table. A nurse may have deserved status, but unless the chain of command runs through them, you got to follow the chain.
Doctors being jerks are sometimes required to do professional coaching to improve attitude and communication. Having less hierarchical communication actually improves patient safety, because people are braver to speak up. So feedbacking to someone about the haughty doc might actually be in everyone’s best interest.
(Source doctor who actually had to do that coaching myself at one point and found it helpful)
PS would love to see some haiku
Two things. Number one, get a different job. Also many job requirements include things not specified. For instance cleaning my workspace isn’t specified in my job description but I’m pretty sure it would be bad manners if I just didn’t and one of my workmates got stuck cleaning my workspace.
Secondly as others have pointed out, it may not be what you’re saying but how you’re saying it. Human psychology plays a huge role in everyday life. Same as the brakes in-between patients situation. Personally I would go to the stairwell or bathroom or something. Out of sight, out of mind. Sitting around in eyeshot of people who are on their feet too much will naturally foster resentment even if it’s legitimate.
Final thing, just out of curiosity who’s job is it? Because it sounds like you and them need a better working relationship and communication with one another to avoid these scenarios all together.
Doctors are famously arrogant assholes.
Having an arrogant person assign work to you when you are are already busy and it’s not your job is incredibly frustrating.
So is watching entitled unmotivated people sit around at work when they have a few minutes and could lend a hand instead of writing haikus.
you should always voice your pain points to your manager. its your manager you gives you the authority to enforce your boundaries, and then you will have to continue to broadcast them (your boundaries) in those environments. having worked with medical staff, i understand they are challenging personalities. doctors are sometimes the worst people.
what you let happen to you becomes expected of you.
ask your manager if you can leave the immediate area ( or some other mitigation) for achieving your 30 minute break.
You have nothing to gain by escalating. Just keep ignoring them, collect a paycheck, and look for another job.
If you feel like what they’re doing is impacting your ability to do your assigned responsibilities, tell your manager. If you feel like they are going to bad mouth you to your manager, you can CYA and give your manager a heads-up. If you’re feeling personally harassed, that goes to HR, evidence is helpful. Otherwise, just continue to enforce your boundaries, you don’t need to explain the why to anyone not on your direct team or management chain, simple answers are fine: “Sorry, I can’t help with that.”, “I’m waiting for my next patient to assist”, “I’m taking my pause now and will be back in 30.”
