DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have been an active practicing RN for 37 years, from hospitals to home health. It never fails that at some point, my employer wants me to act like someone I am not.
Granted that I have toned it down substantially over the years, but I have never been a sweet, demure, public relations-type person. I am more of a down-to-earth, tell-it-like-it-is, realistic, logical-type person. I am not going to promise something that I personally cannot deliver, and I am not going to lie to a person just to appease them.
I am not brutal, but I do tend to be blunt if that is the only way to get the message across after softer attempts do not seem to be getting through. I say that people cannot claim they did not understand what I was trying to tell or teach them (whether they accept it or not is not the issue).
How do I get my employer to understand that I think it is unrealistic to expect me to appeal to all the people, all the time?
GENTLE READER: It does not appear to Miss Manners that your problem is making your employer understand your position, but rather convincing him that it is acceptable. This will be easier to do if you are being blunt about insisting that patients take their medication rather than about telling them that you are too busy to bring it.