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Dear Donna

Donna Cardillo, RN, well-known career guru and president of Cardillo & Associates, is a speaker, entrepreneur, humorist, and master of the career universe. She uses her expertise to help you polish your rough edges and shine in your career.

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Why do healthcare workers treat each other so poorly?
Thursday November 13, 2008
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Question:

Dear Donna,

I have been a nurse for 30 years. My first 12 years were in Florida, and now I work in Nevada. I have very high standards and treat patients, peers, and doctors as I would like to be treated. I’m perplexed by how many healthcare workers treat one another. They set up others for failure and have blame-placing behavior. I do not and never will. Why don’t we support each other? I don’t get the head games.

Leslie



Dear Donna replies:

Dear Leslie,

It sounds like you have worked in some toxic environments. The truth is that nurses are human and have varying personalities, stressors, and personal issues. Fortunately, the type of behavior you mention does not exist in every workplace on every unit. Believe it or not, many nurses love and support their coworkers and develop a sense of “family” in their workplace.

You cannot control the behavior of others; you can only control your own. Be a role model. Continue to treat others as you wish to be treated, and look for the good in others. Work on your own stress management, and encourage others to do the same. You may want to print and post this article on the bulletin board in your department: “Foster Horizontal Respect” <http://include.nurse.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080905/DD01/309050022>.

Best wishes,
Donna



Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, well-known career guru, is Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek’s “Dear Donna” and author of Your First Year as a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional and The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career. Information about the books is available at www.nurse.com/CE/7010 and www.nurse.com/CE/7250, respectively. To ask Donna your question, go to www.nurse.com/asktheexperts/deardonna. Find a “Dear Donna” seminar near you: Call (800) 866-0919 or visit http://events.nursingspectrum.com/Seminar.



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