Are nurses nice to each other?

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN · Jan 17, 2012

I had a very tough shift tonight. Patients going and coming from procedures, in pain, labile glucs, pressures, moods, and families. One of my co-workers had one patient with dementia who was combative and swinging and another who had to go to the ICU soon after arrival on our floor.

My coworker helped me sort through fun on my patients and I helped her get her new arrivals stat labs, UA, VS done and spent not too few minutes wrestling with her dementia patient.

We communicated how much we appreciated each other the whole shift.

Perpetual Student · Jan 17, 2012

Sometimes. There's obviously variation from unit to unit and shift to shift. There's overall too much petty silliness in this alleged profession for my taste. It's sometimes tempting to say "Why Tan Fox, you're 40 (or however many) years old, stop acting like a 5 year old."

Ideally, people will be polite and forthright in their interactions. E.g. instead of talking to Jed about Cletus's mistake you would go to Cletus and say it straight to him, and not in a manner to belittle or be a goody two shoes, but to let him know what the issue is and how he can correct it or prevent it from happening again. That type of interaction should happen in private and be low-key.

DixieRedHead, ASN, RN · Jan 17, 2012

INurses need thick skin. We are not babies, even when we graduate. Things are prioritized. Sometimes that priority does not lend it's self to "My dear, if you have time would you please.............." Let's all play like we are big people and just get over it.

wearyLPN · Jan 17, 2012

No one likes to hear they did something wrong, but in nursing since doing something wrong can lead to death, sometimes you have to speak up. The response you get depends on how you approach the issue. Tact, its important.

I let everyone know when they do a good job. I also let anyone I see doing something above and beyond know what exactly they did and that I appreciated it.

Its a smooth shift when nurses work together. I like!

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Jan 17, 2012

Where I work, yes :) The teamwork aspect we have on our floor (at least on night shift, day shift is totally different) is great - we always work great together and are always offering help to each other when needed.

allnurses Guide · Jan 17, 2012

Do electricians? Carpenters? Bankers? How about butchers? Secretaries? Disc jockeys? etc etc etc

Nurses are human beings and you will find the same variances in the nursing population as you do in the rest of the population.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jan 18, 2012

some of my dearest friends are nurses. some of my worst enemies are nurses. nobody's that special a snowflake. that's the human condition. as you grow up more you'll understand it better; for now, just take our word for it.

Raviepoo · Jan 18, 2012

People are people. Some are nice. Some are not. There are mean girls everywhere. How do you deal with the? First off, by resolving not to be one of them.

eyeball · Jan 20, 2012

Some are angels, most are ok, a few are just plain bad seeds. I just resigned from a new job I liked. I was 2 days off orientation and this particular bad seed grabbed me by the arm,verbally accosted me, and dragged me into my managers office. She was trying to get me in trouble. It's been devastating.