so far, love the job, hate the culture

Nurses General Nursing

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As a second career nurse, I have over 20 years of work experience and have been rudely slapped in the face this past month at my new RN job by just how horrible nursing culture is. What is up with this? I had some inkling of what was to come in nursing school, but I'm still shocked. As a feminist it saddens me that I can't help thinking this has to do with the fact that the overwhelming majority of nurses are women. My complaints so far:

1. Paranoia

2. Coworkers writing each other up or chewing each other out

3. Gossiping about others' mistakes or lack of skills/experience

4. Unfriendliness to new nurses that borders on rudeness

5. Looking down on CNAs, reinforcing a hierarchy that that nurses themselves hate when they deal with doctors

[Just last week a nurse manager at a staff-wide meeting told the CNAs that there were plenty of people lining up for their job. I was shocked!]

But maybe this kind of brutality happens at other "blue collar" jobs, too, and I've just been oblivious because I've always worked at pink collar or white collar jobs.

Why is this happening? What's the dynamic here? Is this workplace hostility coming down from management?

Every time I say something or make a suggestion, something I would do at any other job, I'm looked at like I'm from outer space or like I'm some kind of idiot. For instance, I'm on orientation and I asked if I could take one day and rotate through other parts of our hospital so that I could get a handle on the institution as a whole and I was shut down and given an eye roll by my manager.

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I hate to say it but you are right, but not in general. I like everyone that I work for or work with, but that cynicism does creep through. I hope things will get better, or I can find my place. I most likely will find my place and keep threading in the allnurses site to keep grounded. lol.:wink2:

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Specializes in Staff nurse.

It sounds like it is them and not you. But as a new person, it is better to keep a low profile at first and watch the dynamics. Learn the paperwork, protocols, procedures...work on your own system and then little by little offer some insight.

I would hesitate to think that it is because nursing is primarily women's work historically. We've all been around men who are gossips and can't keep a secret, etc.

My first job was a disaster, a horrible fit. Looking back, it could have been the stand-offish behaviour of co-workers was because I lived in a different city from the hospital...and it might as well have been a different planet. Cliquish behaviour, etc, like we're back in junior high.

Also, are you a high-profile feminist? Maybe they don't want you rocking their boat. I was anticipating a position at one particular hospital, the interviews went very well with the NM on the floor, etc. Then I got the form letter that my services weren't needed. My name recognition probably did me in, as I had picketed this hospital in the past. So it could be that...

Let us know how things go.

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Specializes in Day Surgery, Agency, Cath Lab, LTC/Psych.

I hate to sound trite, but one person really can make a difference in a unit. Instead of being forced into the role that is common for nurses to fall into, strive to be the leader and example for change. Don't allow yourself to submit to the stupid "hierarchy" of healthcare professionals. Have an attitude that is constantly positive towards others. I have been in "toxic" work environments in the past but was able to avoid the gossip and sniping. Maybe my coworkers work environment was "toxic" but my own personal work environment was not. Why? Because I have control over my own personal work environment.

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Specializes in ICU, MedSurg, Medical Telemetry.
As a second career nurse, I have over 20 years of work experience and have been rudely slapped in the face this past month at my new RN job by just how horrible nursing culture is. What is up with this? I had some inkling of what was to come in nursing school, but I'm still shocked. As a feminist it saddens me that I can't help thinking this has to do with the fact that the overwhelming majority of nurses are women. My complaints so far:

1. Paranoia

2. Coworkers writing each other up or chewing each other out

3. Gossiping about others' mistakes or lack of skills/experience

4. Unfriendliness to new nurses that borders on rudeness

5. Looking down on CNAs, reinforcing a hierarchy that that nurses themselves hate when they deal with doctors

.......

Every time I say something or make a suggestion, something I would do at any other job, I'm looked at like I'm from outer space or like I'm some kind of idiot. For instance, I'm on orientation and I asked if I could take one day and rotate through other parts of our hospital so that I could get a handle on the institution as a whole and I was shut down and given an eye roll by my manager.

I've noticed a lot of this too. Where I work, people waste so much time complaining about other people not doing their jobs, even if it is a honest human mistake.

Example: after each shift, the CNA not passing meds for the shift must take the trash out. every once in a while, someone will forget. I have known girls on the next shift who will absolutely REFUSE to take out that trash and will leave it for the shift that forgot it. And when I have gone ahead and taken my trash and someone else's trash, I've been told "oh, just leave it for the next shift. they left it anyway". I'm like "no, that's okay; i'm headed out anyway."

What with that? I want to shake people and go "HEY! Grow UP, girls! We're a TEAM! We work TOGETHER! That means if one of us makes a mistake, WE PICK UP THE SLACK! It's about the patients and keeping our retirement home a pleasant place to live, not about who did or didn't remember to do some small task."

Do we just forget why we got into nursing after a while or are we really that unhappy in our jobs to have to nitpick? Sorry, just ranting.

I just don't understand the whole back-stabbing, always complaining (and not trying to fix the problem in some way) attitude.

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Specializes in Infection Preventionist/ Occ Health.

I too was shocked by how petty and unprofessional some nurses can be to each other and to other health care professionals. There is something in the culture that allows for this type of behavior. IMO there is not enough emphasis on professionalism in undergraduate nursing programs.

When I worked in the laboratory (still health care, mind you), there was very little of this type of behavior happening. If someone started acting inappropriately, they were usually put in their place pretty quickly.

How do you begin to change an entire culture? This is a question to which there are no easy answers...

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
As a second career nurse, I have over 20 years of work experience and have been rudely slapped in the face this past month at my new RN job by just how horrible nursing culture is.

You might want to look at another place to work. I am not kidding. I worked in a place similar to this a few years back. I dismissed the "culture" as possibly the norm because I was new and, at the time, it was my first job in that field. I was WRONG!!!!

Three things you have wrote has given me flash backs... First, your co-workers are so stressed they try to get each other in trouble and they do not support one another in need. Guess what? You are next!! No matter how well you do your job, someone will find something small and blow it out of proportion! And no, they will not point to all of your good hard work to justify not writing you up, giving you a poor evaluation, or doing anything else negative to you in the future.

Second, you are not allowed to give a positive suggestion without being made to feel dumb. OK, well maybe you do not feel dumb now; give it some time. They will slowly but surely chip away at your soul; they are too negative (and some are too evil) to do otherwise.

Last and definitely not least, you say that you tried to take the initiative and learn about the company. There is NOTHING wrong with this!!! Within a normal/productive/positive work environment you would be looked at as if you have potential to lead a department some day! Instead, your nurse manager rolled her eyes! Why? Probably because she is thinking, "Give me a break, peon. You are not going anywhere! You will be here in your current position forever so there is no need for you to learn about the other departments!"

So, in short... RUN!

Sincerely,

A third career Nursing Student who will take her own advise should the time come....

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Less nursing staff = more job security...

That was my first job and I graduated last year....The CNAs informed me that the nurses would point out your mistakes to the DON to make a new person quit or get fired..

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Geez, this all sounds like what goes on in my neighborhood with all the moms. hehe. I guess the high school antics do not end even when are older. I would believe this goes on in many occupations. I am currently a pre-nursing student but was a cosmetologist for 10 years. I had seen the same gossiping/bashing among hairstylists too. As long as you go to work and do the best you can possibly do then whatever anyone else has to say should be ignored. They say people gossip about people who are important. If it is you they are gossiping about then you must be IMPORTANT.:lol2:

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Specializes in tele stepdown unit.

My first job was horrible with gossip and rudeness to new grads. I was having a hard time staying a year. The shift wars were crazy. I remember I worked dayshift and had a pt with a GIB. Dr wrote order for a stat CBC and a type and cross. I sent the blood to lab and notified next shift to look for results. THe results were Hgb was 6.5 and afternoon nurse had a busy shift and did not call the Dr. He reported to midnights and she did not report it because afternoons should have done it. I could not believe what I was hearing. I come back on dayshift and hgb 6.2 now and ended up tranfusing the patient.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

For many work situations you get back what you put into it. I am not denigrating the fact that when you work short-staffed consistently, you are more stressed. However, to blame the female gender for nursing's woes isn't helpful either.

To the OP, your plight has been adequately documented here by your numerous posts about your tough time in school to which you attribute to the female instructors, to the first two jobs that you had where you were fired by two females and now further issues with females.

In all honesty, why in the world did you choose a female-dominated career field? If you are consistently unhappy, sometimes its important to be more introspective.

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I am a first year nursing student and an EKG tech of 2 years. I have to say that I basically agree with you. Not all - but definitely a significant percentage of nurses, in my experience, are either rude or just plain apathetic. Not just to me and other personnel, but also to the patients and their concerns. Sometimes nurses just get frazzled and things come out sounding the wrong way, but I honestly am convinced that for some reason this profession tends to act as a magnet for women who just know how to be real b****es. Again, not all of them are like that, but quite a few are. Also, I used to date a nursing student (many years ago, before I got interested in the field myself) and also had a boss at a job who happened to be a former RN (the job was not healthcare-related) - and I had very, very sour experiences with both of those individuals. Oddly enough I eventually got interested in becoming a nurse myself...I know that there are good nurses out there as well, and it's always refreshing when you do meet the good ones...

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