[micro]

welcome angel
P-RN-----you remind me of a brother that I love dearly that tried to tell me about how to communicate in computer land.....like CAPS are only used is trying to make a point of angry, etc.......gee, whiz.........wish I was a computer whiz like he.......but he grad'e-ated before me.....in 1970.....got all the good genes.....

sad to say, nurses we do eat our young and each other.........no, not all, but then again......why is this.......
it is not a formal, rite of passage thing as sounds almost grand(discussed with a friend of mine),
instead it is a mean, cruelness or maybe not.........maybe it is just so many tired, overworked, stressed out people dealing with the worst of the worst of the human condition day in and day out.......that they have lost their way.........
if I ever become that jaded..............
but I won't or I do not think........
as I got kicked in the teeth so hard again today.........

micro,


p.s. sometimes life is just too hard, but thank goodness for the dawn and good friends..........

[carehope]

I have just come from one of the worsst units in my whole career. I did figure out in the 13 weeks I have been there that the nurse manager was a big player in nurturing this behavior. In the last 10 years this behavior has increased 10 fold. I don't know about the nursing schools you went to but it seemed to me that the behavior started with many of the nursing instructors . Most nurses I have spoke with through the years have many horror stories of nursing school. I can not understand why nurses have no respect for each other. In this place that I just finished an assignment You would be trying to give your report and the b--ch would be interupting with an attitude from hell. I always wondered how this person must have been raised. truly though I really believe that we need to start at the beginning and stop allowing the degrading behaviors of instructors in nursing school and not allowing this behavior on our units. I worked for a hospital in Cincinnati Ohio that did just that and they do not have the turnover in nurses that most places have now. The administrators and nurse managers got to gether and decided by going over the exit interviews that the #1 reason given for leaving was the way the nurse had been treated by her peer. They then introduced it to the administration and there is now a zero tolerance policy. they were only short for about a month as they fired the nurses that did not follow the new policy . As of today there are no need for agency or travelers because the nurses that are hired stay. This is what nursing needs to do everywhere. We need to say no more. Poor treatment of each other will not be tolerated.

[lever5]

Susy,
Tooo short for you. Come on Susy, you can do better.

When we see a new nurse(young or old) being treated poorly, it is up to us to say something!!!!! It will stop, if we make it stop!!! We can not afford to turn our backs on new staff. Don't let it pass.

[lever5]

The fact is, it is never approiate to take a strip off another person, even if they deserve it. There is a way to point out errors or rules, and it does not involve reticuling, yelling, embarassing, or sneering. Calmly point out what is wrong, what can be done about it. Reassure the orientee that everyone needs to learn, and everyone blows it once in a while.

[MillieW1]

As stated earlier, other professions deter people from entering the work arena in that respective profession. Other professions do not dwell on this phenomena. Instead of dwelling on this issue and doing nothing to resolve it, we should direct our energy in ways to help the profession, recruiting and mentoring new nurses. We need to stick together. Not only will this facillitate the growth of the profession, it will also improve our job satisfaction.

[fergus51]

Originally posted by lever5
The fact is, it is never approiate to take a strip off another person, even if they deserve it. There is a way to point out errors or rules, and it does not involve reticuling, yelling, embarassing, or sneering. Calmly point out what is wrong, what can be done about it. Reassure the orientee that everyone needs to learn, and everyone blows it once in a while.

Uh huh. Doesn't get the same results with my young eater though. Tearing off a strip is what worked with her because she was so think skinned. New nurses on the other hand are so sensitive you hardly even have to look at them for them to get the message that they did something very wrong.

[mattsmom81]

I never heard this 'eating young' term til about 10 years ago and as I have said before, much of it seems a reflection of our new nurses need to be excessively catered to, and their displeasure /disappointment that they are not.....

There are indeed bullies everywhere, all walks of life, all careers. There are also nice folks everywhere. I choose to seek them out and refuse to be a victim. My nursing school prepared me to enter the 'real world' and IME many new grads today did not receive any helpful prep for the transition...which is unfortunate.

Nursing is a tough, demanding field. Look to yourself first if you feel 'eaten alive' on your unit. Talk to a trusted older colleague and get to the bottom of the problem... start with yourself first. Maybe you're in with a bad group...it happens...so consider going elsewhere. Take control. Maybe you're too needy and frustrating the overworked staff....maybe they don't see you as a team player....be open to the feedback you get...you may need to do some off duty researching and reading...ask a coworker for suggestions. Maybe you need to go to medsurg and learn organization and basic skills. (I still feel all new grads need this medsurg experience!)

I haven't liked every group of nurses I've worked with either, but that's life, and the world does not revolve around one person......
am I 'mean and ugly' to new nurses? NO. Do I expect them to be adults, to act maturely, take responsibility for their learning and accept constructive criticism and suggestion when necessary? YES. If THAT is 'eating my young' then guess I'm guilty as are most experienced nurses...but it is an unfair label, IMO.

As far as the exit interview fingerpointing staff nurses--I think that's just another attempt to blame nurses for everything that goes wrong in a facility.....hospitals do this so well. I hope they are looking at their end of things...are they staffing adequately to ALLOW proper internship of new nurses? Or are new grads just one more drain on an exhausted, understaffed unit?

Whew..I feel better now..sorry so long! I'm hungry now but my preference is a bagel with cream cheese.

[l-andrée]

Originally posted by Teshiee
CANNABALISTIC PROFESSION. I NEVER HEARD OF MD'S EATING EACH OTHER IF ANYTHING THEY HAVE EACH OTHER'S BACK.

If you never heard of MD's trying to ripe each other, you're lucky!!
Surgeons are the worst.

Nursing: cannibalistic profession? Some say it's because it's a women's world (sorry guys!). All this progress over the years didn't make us stop speak behind each others back. I wish "a women's world" didn't meant that ... but ask anyone, not just nurses, and they'll all tell you it means *****y and hypocrite.
Now that we changed the way the world sees women, maybe it's time we changed some of our attitudes. Sometimes, it really sucks, girls.

[projectangel]

Hey There Super Moderator and Micro. Thanks for the welcome (:
Re: caps. Yes, I have heard from some people that caps seem like yelling to some. I have never felt that way unless someone is clearly angry at me but I will do my best to not write in caps on this board (unless maybe I want to emphasize a word other than in bold print?). Moderator- you are correct that I do not love med-surg but primarily it is the meanness that I encounter that makes it maddening. The job is tough, too, but with support and the offer of basic human decency it is a whole lot better. And when I have a moment to really *be* with my patients that is really great. Aside from that, I am mainly in it to aquire skills that I believe will make me a better nurse when I move on to other areas of interest. One example? Home Care, Public/Community Health. I love service work and will volunteer down the road in this country and others in areas where people will need hands on medical care. So some med-surg, I think, is necessary. I did do the Red Cross Disaster Training and will put that to use someday, too. By the way (I am not their employee so I hope this does not seem like and ad) when I did the training they said they may need nurses through this year in the NYC area c/o longer term after affects and issues post 9-11. But they need people who are able to give two weeks at a time, minimum. So if anyone has a leaning towards community service and you can swing two weeks away from your regular job maybe check it out and see if this is still the case. Maybe someone out there has more current info than I do???....Will check in again soon. Great message board (:
~~**~~**

[micro]

Nursing Today
We Are All In This Together

Nursing today
We are all in this together.
So why do we war and
eat our young,
Why do we do the shift to
shift....are we not 24/7,
If not for our coworkers
The job would be impossible!
I for one could not do.....
But I humbly ask this simple plea...
Remember the you in you and me...
A smile, a shared laugh, a hi,
how are you...often used niceties.......
Don't know about you,
But needed for me.

The job we do is so NEEDED and
words can't even begin to say...
But it may be I on the patient
receiving end one day...
So let us not war, bicker and complain,
but let us support, hold up and let me
Explain.........

If I can, why these thoughts I write.....
I value myself; who I am and what I am becoming...
I also value you; all of you no matter what it is you do in this scheme of health care that we are each day and nite.
We are so many......with so much the same,
but with differences that make our gift to
our patients so rare...
Cause I can not be you nor you I...
And because life and health care
is serious, this is not a game...
So share a smile, then share your expertise
We will get through this day to the next
And we come back for more.....
Why do we do this, why indeed, please...
So whatever your role, nurse, housekeeper, aide,
manager and the doc's please......
and the list could go on much deeper
just remember to never forget to care and
see.....how important the job you do
is for the patient
that one day could be.....................me!

---msk


now gotta go to work .........
micro