[jenniferj]

As a student nurse, I have had the privilege of working with some wonderful nurses, who have really helped me to feel confident and supported. My guess is that most nurses are generally nice people who occasionally have bad days. Unfortunately for me, I have also run into the kind who anonymously call one's instructor to report things that never even happened as absolute fact. And they are nurses; why would they lie? So obviously I must be lying. Also had the misfortune of running into an adjunct instructor who had never taught before, hadn't been oriented to the units, didn't know how the computer system worked, couldn't read the pumps, and couldn't explain how to write a care plan. After five weeks of asking her questions, she finally exploded at me "what's your problem!?". I told her I wanted her to teach me the same material the students in the other clinicals were getting, so I would be on the same page they were the next semester. She started personally attacking me, I started crying. We hadn't been assigned patients yet, so I told her I needed to go home. Big mistake. Next day, I was no longer a nursing student. Kicked me out for abandoning my (imaginary) patient. I know I'm not perfect, and I rub people the wrong way sometimes. But they took a 3.95 GPA student, who writes great care plans and has good clinical skills, as well as excellent theraputic communication skills, 40 years old with 6 children, trying to escape an abusive husband, and tossed me in the trash. I didn't get to say a word in my defense, and there is no recourse at my school - the Nursing department can do whatever it wants. So now I am a nursing student in search of a school. I know that most of the nurses who visit this forum are really decent, hard-working, caring individuals. I have been reading your posts for quite a while now. But I do believe that some nurses "eat their young". I have watched my class as they have picked us off one by one - seven out of twenty-seven so far - and only one of them really couldn't wrap her mind around the way a nurse needs to think. It seems to me that nursing is a profession where, if we don't all hang together, we will all hang separately. How do you go about changing the climate so that people will want to and be able to become nurses and stay actively nursing? That is the question that truly needs to be answered.

[nightingale]

quote:

How do you go about changing the climate so that people will want to and be able to become nurses and stay actively nursing? That is the question that truly needs to be answered.

quote:

How do I deal with it? I refuse to be a part of it. One day at a time I embrace my colleagues, nurture where I may be of assitance, and look for ways to keep myself nurtured and positive.

Let it start somewhere... let it begin with you.....

B.

[Jenny P]

For each of you who say that "nurses eat their young", how many of you interfere with it happening and defend the nurse being eaten? How mny of you do stand up to the poisoned tongued nurse who is berating the new/inexperienced/less seasoned nurse? Only by standing up to witches each and every time will our profession lose this identity. We can not tolerate this type of behavior either individually or as a group; it is each and everyone of us' responsibility to do this each and every time it happens.

[cheerfuldoer]

Originally posted by Jenny P
For each of you who say that "nurses eat their young", how many of you interfere with it happening and defend the nurse being eaten? How mny of you do stand up to the poisoned tongued nurse who is berating the new/inexperienced/less seasoned nurse? Only by standing up to witches each and every time will our profession lose this identity. We can not tolerate this type of behavior either individually or as a group; it is each and everyone of us' responsibility to do this each and every time it happens.

Hi Jenny P,

I go to bat for anyone I witness taking a verbal beating from another health care professional as long as the verbal lashing they are receiving is NOT warranted!

[cheerfuldoer]

Originally posted by nightngale1998
quote:

How do you go about changing the climate so that people will want to and be able to become nurses and stay actively nursing? That is the question that truly needs to be answered.

quote:

How do I deal with it? I refuse to be a part of it. One day at a time I embrace my colleagues, nurture where I may be of assitance, and look for ways to keep myself nurtured and positive.

Let it start somewhere... let it begin with you.....

B.

You said it so eloquently and from the heart! My sentiments exactly!

[mario_ragucci]

If nurses eat their young, do loins go to schools to learn how to take care of each other.

"In the hospital, the mighty hospital, the nurse sleeps tonight"

A-ween-ba-weh

[fergus51]

Originally posted by Jenny P
For each of you who say that "nurses eat their young", how many of you interfere with it happening and defend the nurse being eaten? How mny of you do stand up to the poisoned tongued nurse who is berating the new/inexperienced/less seasoned nurse? Only by standing up to witches each and every time will our profession lose this identity. We can not tolerate this type of behavior either individually or as a group; it is each and everyone of us' responsibility to do this each and every time it happens.

I am pretty outspoken in general and don't let that type of BS go on without saying something. I in fact tend to freak out too far the other way and actually left a young-eater crying once. It was a really bad day

[mikelinz]

I have been a Registered Nurse for approximately 4 months. And I am sorry to say that overall I think that Nurses do eat their young. Perhaps it is unintentional, but in acute care situations where everyone is very busy, the arrival of a nurse, fresh from School is not greeted with huge enthusiasm. In the case of our ward, we have 6 new graduates. I have gone from being a student to being a new graduate!! I really thought that this year, finally, i would be part of the team! I can see it both ways. I can see that the staff are stressed and having to take someone new under their wing and help them to get started is not easy. It just adds to the workload for the nurses. But arriving in your first nursing job isnt that easy either. I know that I know lots of things, but I dont know where we keep tape or how to page the right doctor or .. hundreds of other things and somedays I come home so aware of my shortcomings and completely lacking confidenc in my ability to be a competent nurse.
I was listening to some of the hospital aides talking the other day, and i think that they correctly identified the problem. The tendency is for us to feedback to people when they screw up. On the days that you manage your patient load well, have all the dressings done before lunch and manage to have all your notes finished by 3pm, no one says "well done", but you will generally get feedback on the days that you arent keeping up.
That is one concept that i want to incorporate into my practice. I think we all need positive feedback a lot more often. Just bear in mind that the average experienced nurse can handle the odd bit of criticism, because she knows that she can keep up/do the job. The average new graduate isnt quite certain they can keep up/do the job, so negative criticism can be very hard on their self esteem.

Linz

[judy ann]

When I was a student many years ago, we were told "you know when you have done something wrong. Often you need to be told that you did something right". ----- So far as eating each other, my question is - What would you do if you were the "eatee" and no one stood up for you and you were in no position to stand up for yourself? I've been there and it's not a good place to be, and there is no good solution.

[fergus51]

Judy, you are always in a position to stand up for yourself as long as it is done professionally(a simple tactful explanation of the problem). Unfortnately you can't wait for someone else to do it for you because it just won't happen. If it really bothers you I say leave. There are a lot of great nursing jobs out there, so I would never stay at a facility where I didn't feel valued by my coworkers.