Nurses eating their young? (not the same old rant)

Nurses General Nursing

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Hi all,

I just completed my first week of orientation on a LTC floor. I have heard the horror stories of more seasoned nurses "eating their young" and I have experienced first hand nurses picking student nurses to pieces. This post is not the same ol' rant about that..happily! I think my preceptors are for the BIRDS

I was not eaten by my "elders". More like fattened up by them. Just as a mother bird will eat meals for her babies and then regurg to feed them, the nurses I had the pleasure of working with were just like that mother bird. They did all they could to help me, show me tricks, give me the knowledge to start the process of giving me my confidence to spread my wings and fly solo. Of course that process is a work in process, no one expects me to fly solo for a while. They DO, however, want me to flap these new wings and TRY.

I felt so welcome and actually WANTED from the very first minute I was introduced to the nurses I'd be working with. When I made the same mistake not once, or twice but THREE times, my preceptor did not get annoyed or sqawk at me. What she did do is give me positive reinforcement by telling me although it was a mistake, she was happy to see, that before I carried out that mistake I questioned myself (I knew something was wrong but not sure what) and then asked her if what I was doing was incorrect. She reinforced to ALWAYS ask when something doesn't "sit" right in my gut.

Even the nurses on the shift before me were/are welcoming. My preceptor had to go to a room to check a patient as I was pulling meds. I got stuck because the med was listed on the MAR as the generic and I couldn't remember if that med was ABC trade name or XYZ. I stood at the cart, thinking, just about ready to grab my drug book from the nurses station when the nurse leaving came over, sweetly put her hand on my back and said "sweetheart, you look scared..whats wrong, can I help?" I explained my situation and said I think that this med is ABC trade name but I am not sure, (it was a VERY basic well known trade and generic name..duh!!) she said "yup, that med is known by ABC...you're right". I thanked her, told her I felt stupid and incompetent because I wasn't 100% sure while pulling the med and had to ask. She told me to never, ever, feel stupid and the only people who are incompetent are those who DON'T ask, even if it a basic question.

My entire week was great. I was offered the opportunity to do anything I wanted to try, and was allowed to decide to watch or listen the times I didn't feel ready to do.

These are the types of nurses I aspire to be. The ones who WANT to show the ropes to the new fledglings, the ones who want to nurture and protect us so that as we "age" and leave that protective nest of our momma bird we will fly safely when we go solo.

I hope that my momma birds will continue to feed and protect me as I get ready to leave their nest. But as with all momma's I do expect a peck on the neck from time to time when I do wrong..really wrong..the kind of wrong that can hurt me and/or my patients.

I am wishing all the new nurses who are entering the field the same great experiences I have been getting..so no, not ALL nurses are hungry enough to sample their young, most are so full, they are giving their "food" to the young ones.

Specializes in Telemetry/Med Surg.

Thanks for posting this! Sounds like you had a great experience.

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

Very refreshing. I also was fortunate to have had great experiences both as a nursing student and a newbie. Congratulations to your new team and also to you!

:up:

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Great post. I'm glad to hear that you will be "paying it forward".

Where in Ct do you work?? Sounds like a great place!

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Glad to hear that you have had a good experience! I am fortunately to also work at a hospital where the senior nurses are really great towards students and new grads. =)

Specializes in Pediatrics.

That is awesome, I will be hoping for a similar experience

Nice!

I too was told that "nurses eat their young" and kept asking myself why I was starting a new career in this field where co-workers only wanted to bring me down. I started in LTC for a few months and now am working on a surgical floor in a busy hospital. I have only had good experiences with my co-workers so far. Every nurse has been helpful and very willing to teach. My preceptors have gone out their way to help me learn and everyone helps out if someone is falling behind. I wonder if the people who tell us this have some of their own attitude problems?

Specializes in PACU.

I am only a nurse for not quite 3 years . . .but I LOVE to get new nurses to train. It is refreshing and I want them to feel supported and can ask any question. I had a mix of good and bad preceptors and I remember how the bad, make the new nurse do everything and disappear, treated me . . .I vowed never to be like that. Now as I contemplate going for my masters, I am thinking of doing it in education so I can continue to watch new nurses grow!

Specializes in Psych, M-S, FP, Women's Health.

There would be no nursing shortage crisis if other facilities were similar to yours. Enjoy this wonderful career start and practice the "what goes around, comes around" philosophy for those who join you in the future. Blessings to you!

Wouldn't it be nice if those nurses who give out and/or practice with negative energy towards new grads and other nurses, changed their way of thinking and doing things......if they acted like the OP's preceptors instead of being so hateful and negative it might help overall to attract more young people into a nursing career. We're short staffed all over, as it is, and something needs to change to help young people come into the nursing world.

I, myself, do not like to work short staffed. It's hard on me to have to work with less than we need so many days a week.

We have a brand new grad doing some job shadowing at my place of employment today. She's thinking about taking a part time position on my shift...evenings. She's brand new. Hasn't even got into any job to get her feet wet yet.

I want to do everything I can to help this young person, so that she won't get discouraged and quit or get a bad impression of the nursing world.

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