chain of command
By Trace86
@Trace86 (5030)
United States
February 4, 2008 8:23pm CST
This may sound a bit convoluted, but I need to explain before I get to the question.
I am an RN in a nursing home. My Assistant Director took a leave to have back surgery. I was brought into the office to take up some of the slack in her absence. Another RN asked me what I was doing in there. I said I was so-and-so's assistant while the ADON was gone. The lady I was being assistant to is an LPN. The RN asked me why am I her assistant as I "outrank" her. I tried to explain that I didn't feel that way because the LPN has way more experience than I do and has been with the company 20 years to my 3.
Why do people get so hung up on titles and hierarchy rather than experience and knowledge? I am not ashamed to ask a so-called subordinate for their opinion about something. I need all the input I can get to make an informed decision. I have even asked my aide's input.
1 person likes this
6 responses
@maxsee212 (799)
• United States
6 Feb 08
experience and knowledge go hand in hand. since u have them both, i think, u are doing the right thing replacing the place of ur superior in his/her absence. if somebody has a problem with that, then he/she could just ask u and u would intelligently explain it to him/her what made u the right person for the job. even though u don't have to explain it to them, it would be nice to explain confusions to ur subbordinates. if he/she still does not approve, he/she can't really do anything about it rather than complain to himself/herself. that's just the way it is.
2 people like this
@jhl930 (3601)
• United States
6 Feb 08
I dont know why some people feel that way...I think that some people feel that no matter how long someone is somewhere(like if i were to get a job at a company down the street and I was there for two weeks and I had a college degree and the guy that has worked there for five years didn't that I was better and more experienced than he was just because I had a degree in the same thing that he had been doing for five years perfectly fine...)I don't feel this way and I don't know why others do..its stupid to me!
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
11 Feb 08
Oh Trace, you have touched on one of my biggest nerves and pet peeves! I remember graduating from my RN program and almost immediately being placed on the 3-11 shift as charge nurse on a busy orthopedic surgery unit. As you have described, my most valuable resource was an LPN with many years of experience. He had worked as a traction tech before becoming an LPN, so he knew much about the traction and other things about which I was barely knowledgeable! Even the unit clerk seemed to know more than me at times!! LIke you, I learned quickly that experience is the best teacher, not a title! I teach that to my nursing students now, and relate many stories to them about my early experiences!
1 person likes this
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
5 Feb 08
I am more like you in this regard, as I consider everyone an expert in something and prefer an expert opinion to the opinion of a stuffed shirt. However, many workplaces are built on a hierarchy of fear and conformity so rock solid that any deviation threatens to shake people out of their beloved complacency. Some people get rattled over that. I'm glad you don't.
2 people like this
@Sillychick (3275)
• United States
5 Feb 08
I don't know why people are more concerned with titles, I guess because they make you sound better, all high and mighty. To me they mean nothing. A person with 20 years more experience knows a lot more about the practical applications of the work than a new person. Every type of nursing situation is different, so even if you had been a surgical nurse, for example, for a long time, you are still relatively new to the environment in a nursing home. I wish more people had the attitude that you have, because in my opinion experience is the best teacher, no matter how much formal education you have.
2 people like this
@cifirretsbol (160)
• United States
5 Feb 08
i've found that people can get very territorial in the work place and it's best not to get involved in any of that drama. i'm sorry that the other RN made you feel badly about the work you were doing. especially in a job like yours where patients are concerned - it's so important not to get too caught up in hierarchy and status.
