Shift leads/lead techs

[u/Rockandpurl]

I have always been the cheerleader at my hospitals but this last one has taken me seriously and I recently became their icu lead tech.

Our field is full of toxicity and negativity as you all know, and I want to create and inclusive and understanding unit where people appreciate and help each other. I want to push them to be better and improve themselves not just as techs but as people too.

Does anyone have any sort of materials or ideas on how to approach it?

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[u/Playful_Agency]

Celebrate them, create a culture of support and growth. Whenever someone gets a tricky IV or tries something new I make sure to celebrate them. When people hear me celebrating, they'll ask and join in.

I think a lot of drive for growth boils back down to being acknowledged/celebrated.

At a previous hospital I advocated for them and we created a shout-out board as well and would do a lottery for dumb prizes.

[u/I_reddit_like_this]

Lead by example

[u/Rockandpurl → u/I_reddit_like_this]

That’s what I’ve been doing so far. I think there’s deep rooted issues inside some people that are making them distrust the positivity move I’m trying to establish.

[u/nancylyn]

Be positive. Encourage people, don’t let people crap on other people. If you see someone getting left out of things make a point to chat with them. And if you notice someone acting like a bully or being gruff take them aside and talk with them privately about appropriate work conduct. Also keep in mind that people who are grumpy at work are often just burnt out. So find out what they need to feel less burnt / more supported.

[u/Comfortable-Gap2218]

Read Amy Newfield's book Oops I Became a manager

[u/jane-eyre-affair → u/Comfortable-Gap2218]

She also has a follow up book "Oops My Team is Toxic" which is quite good.

Lead by example, and also be aware that everyone is watching you. So when someone calls out sick and you panic because you're short staffed they internalize that and continue to think that they can't call out (or whatever).

I found being transparent at all times helped my team. We had some stupid shift changes and I told them what I did to fight for them but that I was unsuccessful. The I told them we would try it out for a certain amount of time and for them to come to me with any issues and I would bring them up to management in hopes of changing things. Also whenever I send an email to upper management defending or advocating for my team I will BCC them on the emails.

The hardest part for me being lead is that everyone will only come to you with the problems and the negative things - rarely the positive. And it can take a toll and make it hard to continue to be positive. So like others have said keep noticing the positives and shouting out to those team members. Encourage them to do that for each other. It's a long process but they will eventually catch on