Your Attitude Is Showing: A Primer of Human Relations, Tenth Edition

Case 4: Bounce Back

Counseling a highly sensitive individual on any facet of attitude is a difficult challenge. That Frank is a male nurse shouldn’t make it more difficult, but the fact that Frank is one of her supervisors and an authority figure might. Frank will need all of his counseling skills. Once Sue Ellen relaxes and senses that Frank really wants to help, progress is a possibility. Frank should try to reach these goals: (1) Convince Sue Ellen that there is probably nothing personal about people stepping on her attitude—it is simply a characteristic of the work environment. Patients can be unreasonable. Doctors, under pressure, also can be unreasonable. She should endeavor to not take such verbal abuse personally. (2) Illustrate that ...