Posts Tagged ‘Globe Mail’

Beware the office bully: she's baring her claws

Monday, May 18th, 2009

by SARAH BOESVELD . The Globe and Mail May 18, 2009

She threw scissors across the room and barked at Cheryl to pick them up. She framed the young nurse for an egregious medical error involving a patient in their maternity ward. For an entire year – Cheryl’s first out of school – she verbally abused her in front of patients, who themselves feared this woman’s wrath.

“I actually had no confidence left, I thought I would have to try another job. On my last day of work, I didn’t even think I could take a blood pressure. [She] questioned everything I did.”

This senior nurse was Cheryl’s workplace bully and a recurring nightmare for the Calgarian, who did not want her last name used for fear of reprisal. While that was 36 years ago, the experience is seared in her mind as a reminder to refuse to be pushed around. But even recently, a colleague yelled at Cheryl in the hallway after she disagreed with how she was handling an issue.

“I said, ‘I don’t receive this. We have to agree to disagree. This is how I see it, this is how you see it.’ She ended the conversation, but she’s left me alone.”

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