Has anyone ever been reprimanded for performing too well at your job and being too thorough and complete?

Yes. I worked as a night med-surg nurse, and I needed to administer PRBCs. It was a busy night with high acuity patients, and I couldn’t remember the vital sign frequency while administering PRBCs (I was a new employee, but worked in progressive care before). No excuse but it’s better to be safe. Therefore, as a precaution to remain in compliance with documentation, I charted obtained vital signs every 5 minutes. This worked well, as it allowed me to check on a patient experiencing acute pain next door.

The next morning (while I was asleep), I woke up to 3 missed calls and 2 voicemails from my nurse manager. I didn’t answer because I worked the night before, and I sleep during the day. I was told that I obtained the vital signs way too frequently and I should have obtained them less frequently. Nevertheless, I was required to administer PRBCs for all nurses who had patients that needed it, and all of my charts where audited by the charge nurse. Even the charge nurse became overwhelmed from not being able to help other nurses on the unit. I received a written warning and was required to check vitals less frequently during blood products administration.

Not really but if you do that make sure you’re discreet. If you get called out for doing the right thing it’s time to find a new work environment or start a new business.

Yes. Some managers are intimidated when their direct reports know and do more than they do. That is not a good manager. They should encourage building other leaders and learning from their subordinates.

As far back as I can remember, no one has ever mentioned being reprimanded for performing too well. But if you think about it, taking the time to do things correctly and document details might get you reprimanded for taking too long to discharge/admit a patient . Or just taking the extra time in general to teach or help a patient or even just comfort them might get you reprimanded for not getting things done fast enough for administration. Time is money. So, if you look at it that way it’s not mentioned, but it definitely is an issue.

Yes. But not how you might think. Others will ostracized you and look for thing to tattle tale.

It is shocking how so many nurses have not matured passed the high school trials for cheer leader or prom queen.

In the spring of 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, I was one of the first nurses to begin wearing a mask at my facility in California. I was actually reprimanded by the director of nurses, who took me aside and told me I should NOT wear a mask because it would “Incite fear into the patients and your coworkers”. I respectfully asked if she was saying I was not allowed to follow CDC guidelines and wear a mask. She said masking “wasn’t necessary”, but I could mask if I was “worried about Covid”. I continued to wear a mask.
Within two weeks, there was a mask mandate in place at my facility.
We all know the rest of the pandemic and PPE horror story.

At my current workplace, absolutely not, but in the past, it's been turned into a negative by a very few who labeled it as inefficiency. My head to toe assessments are extremely thorough, so I spend quite a bit of time with each patients. I get all my work done while not comprising the quality of my assessments but I not infrequently am told by patients, "you're the only one who does this..." when I listen to apical HR for a full minute, perform full mobility assessments, listen to lung sounds anteriorly, posteriorly, thoroughly inspect skin, etc. But I will never ever stop doing what I do. If you do a detailed assessment at the start of your shift, you will be astute in detecting very subtle changes that could signal clinical deterioration. I have been a hospital nurse for 26 years and I consistently perform full assessments within two hours of receiving care for every assigned patient. It's what I teach my preceptees as well. There have been instances over my career when having done that made all the difference in averting a code.

Yes multiple times

Of course, that is the nature of our profession. More often, colleagues feel threatened when you are outperforming them. Especially now with the newer nurses being pumped out at an alarming rate without an excellent clinical and theoretical framework. Suppose you are a nurse from the olden days. Never compromise your standards despite what others say or do. We are disservice to our profession by allowing these practices to persist.

Nope! We strive for excellence so we are braggers about our staff!!

Yes , I was told not to “peel laters off an orange” when they have a problem with you doing the right thing, it means that they possibly dnt want old habits being mended. It might be a good opportunity for you to find a better job with that kind of management

Yes, actually let go because of age and knowing too much

My sister worked at UH in Chardon and her department manager wrote on her evaluation that she cleaned too much. Right before COVID-19 started. Can you even imagine a hospital worker who cleans too much? Who knew? She never over-cleaned but just cleaned daily the equipment she used and the counters and items patients came in touch with. Even more so how can HR and the person signing it off even approve something like that for a hospital?

A doctor complained to my Supervisor one time stating “you know she always walks the straight and narrow”; !

Yes! It has happened to me several times in my career.

Yes actually my last year I worked I was told my handwriting was too good. It cost me a raise. They had nothing else they could chastise me about and they did not want to give raises that year to anyone.

in a way yes, my nursing assessment diagnostic summaries were very thorough and took me a while to complete, scheduled for multiple each day, they always complained i took too long to complete my documentation, and was not done in a “timely” pace

I guess it has happened to all nurses who really mean well. I'm an info - junky. Just try and be respectful when you have to explain. Sometimes all the info is not needed. Just enough to help a physician or manager make up their minds.

Only if it meant that I did not clock out on time. Overtime was not allowed unless preapproved.

Big yes!! 😄

I frequently run into nurses being recognized for the quantity of work over quality of work.
They completed their in box work duties regardless if it was handled appropriately.
As a triage nurse I see nurses push work off “their plate” to providers or other specialties and essentially pass the buck.

I have also been questioned about call volumes and call duration with triage calls. It is quantity over the quantity again.

The healthcare industry is only in the mindset time is money..

Remember that time management is of the essence in nursing. Sometimes staffing levels. Do not allow you to do as much as you would like to do.

I was removed as the head of our Robotics team for being “too concerned about patient safety”. A certain doctor complained because I insisted on appropriately padding the patients before putting them in trendelenberg. This added a minute to the case and he went to my manager and complained.

Only a secure manager is going to acknowledge what you have to offer, put you in a position where you can bring your best to the table and ultimately learn from you hence making them a better manager. I learned that time and time again. My knowledge base and enthusiasm has rarely been appreciated throughout my career. So, when I became a manager and then Director, I was sure to learn all the players on the chess board and place them where they could play best and that makes for happy and dedicated staff!!!

I also had a doctor complain to my manager that I didn’t have his prep kit open, however it was a task that I deemed lower priority because I was assisting anesthesia in intubation of the patient since he positions the bed and patient differently than the norm and they hadn’t worked with this doctor before!!

Yes, I work in the OR and for awhile, circulating nurses were interviewing the patients once that got into the operating room because the traffic patterns of the new pavilion located the preop area a distance away from the OR. I found this practice unsafe and impersonal because by this time patients were premedicated and consents were signed. Because I was returning to the OR from another area, I never adopted this as my practice. This came up on my evaluation as a negative comment from a peer review stating that I was not helping to turnover the room. I wasn’t available because I was in the preop area interviewing the patient!! I believe that this complaint was because many of my colleagues didn’t want to walk the extra mile to directly interview the patient and or family. However, later on they incorporated the way that I practiced because the patient satisfaction scores were lower.

I was. I was teaching a patient who had refused ALL her meds over the last 5 shifts(for breast cancer and recovery from surgery)to be sure she really understood why she was taking them. In the end she accepted about 2/3 of them. The assistant head nurse had been listening outside the door and snapped at me when I came out "If she refuses, just mark them refused and keep moving. She's been told what they are for. We don't have time for that, and now you're late giving out the rest of your medications! I can write you up for this." I replied, "Go ahead. I will not give nursing care that is incomplete. She needed to re-learn her meds." I proceeded to finish the shift, and went to the head nurse and explained why I was resigning on the spot. I also told her I expected my paycheck to be ready the next day, since I'd be by to get it. The assistant HN had had run-ins with almost everyone on staff over things like tand the manager was aware of this, and quite understanding about why I was leaving abruptly. Most of our staff stayed in touch and within 6months, almost all of us had left because we refused to do our jobs in an unsafe and uncaring manner. To b fair, the HN gave us all reasonable references.

Of course. Others will always be jealous of stars. Don't let that stop you ever.

I work here in the ER, CA for 15 yrs and I never heard that managers will reprimand you for doing well and being thorough and complete. Actually, they would commend and acknowledge your hard work, In response to Alexis Gerwin, actually there is a protocol how to check VS during a blood transfusion. Doing too much and not following a protocol, of course you will get reprimanded, because this is a TJC requirement and the hospital will get audited because of this.
VS should be taken 30 mins before a blood transfusion, then 15 mins post transfusion, 30 mins x2 then q hourly and depends upon your hospital facility. You work in a MS unit, if you happen to be checking VS q5 mins and patient has an abnormal VS, you should have called a rapid response and that pt should had been in the ICU level of care, I hope this make sense!

No.

Yes. She was a darn good nurse too, the best nurse ever....but the company warned her about her overtime to complete her nurse's notes, which were impeccable and they fired her right out from under my supervision. We both cried on her last day.

Yes. Had a colleague so good that she wrote the procedures for the unit (CVICU). Problem was it went to her head and would never stop reminding us .

I would certainly hope not. If my work was requiring me to do less than what satisfactory as to patient care would certainly be my last day there.

This sounds like a trick question or a joke thrown in.

Absolutely not. It may make co-workers a little wary of you but you're to do your best every time. The patient deserves the best!

Yes. Just recently left a work environment where it was expected for me to lower my standards of 20+ years of care. 2 week later from that one on one with the practice manager I was working somewhere else. Not compromising my practice at this stage of my career. Sayonara.

Yes, I have been told to downscale my nursing assessment skills and actions for less acute patients.

What was said to you? What was going on at the moment? Not undermining your thoughts and feelings; just trying to get an idea of what was happening…

W

yes. because I Was more thorough than the nursing manager. And now, she has to get involved rather than ignoring the problem which she wanted to do. Now, she has to explain why the problem was not dealt with sooner. And shoot...guess now she looks bad. SO, she reprimands me. It goes on my record. Guess I didn't get my whopping cost of living raise that year.

I Waved goodbye

I don't think there's such a thing. Experience makes you better and practice makes you great.

yes

Not reprimanded but just a comment

No

no

Yes.

Yes. Was told I was making other staff uncomfortable and that I was coming off as a "know it all"

Not that I’m aware of.