Step away from the rumor mill.

The DON at my facility seems to be still firmly ensconced in her office. Although the next inservice should prove interesting.

I received two really good lessons on not playing in the rumor mill yesterday.

The first was when I heard story A from one of my third shift co-workers. She made it sound like the third shift charge nurse and the CMA from that shift got in an argument over dress code and the CMA was being belligerent. When I got the rest of the story, it turned out the CMA was not arguing with the charge nurse, but asking a question about the dress code. (My third shift co-worker does not like the CMA on that shift.)

The second was when I was told that the DON got rude with a resident's family and that it resulted in them moving the resident out. Turns out what really happened was that the family was just waiting for the doctor to write the discharge order and the DON helped facilitate that. Unfortunately, the resident's family wasn't entirely ready for the resident to be discharged, but they were complaining that they were waiting for the discharge order so they could take their family member home. (From the "be careful what you complain about to whom" file.)

Most of the time, things are not what they seem. Perception is reality and it's amplified tenfold in the rumor mill. You have to choose between plugging your ears or listening harder for what else is being said.