What Is the Problem With These Nurses?

[Sheri257]

I've always thought the "nurses eating their young" phenomenon was somewhat of a misnomer, since we're not their children and I know students can impose a lot of burdens on nurses. But, when you're pretty functional and helping out with most of the work, and some nurses still beat you down to a pulp, I just don't get it.

What's the point of being so mean? I'm running my butt off all day, I'm giving all of the meds, doing all of the charting, aide work, etc. for most of the patients. Yet, no matter how hard I work, there's still a constant barrage of criticism ...

Of course, I make mistakes and I definitely need to improve in a lot of areas. No question about it. Nevertheless, I am not a total novice and, despite my shortcomings, I do know I'm making their day a hellava lot easier.

But ... I'm only human, and I do tend to make even more mistakes when I know I'm going to get slammed no matter what I do. After awhile, no matter how tough you are, it's difficult to concentrate and do everything the nurse wants when you know she's hostile and looking for any opportunity to jump on your case ... even when you do things right.

I actually don't need nor do I expect praise or reassurance but, like a lot of people, I don't tend do well when I getting slammed all the time either.

I can't wait to get out of there and let them get back to doing all the work. Thankfully, my days of slave labor will soon be over. I hope they got their jollies because if this is how they make themselves feel better or whatever it is ... good riddance.

:typing

[PANurseRN1]

Hi !!! I'm new to this site:welcome:

So I have had similar experiences as previously posted. I graduated one year ago with my RN and then worked in L&D at a high acuity facility for one year, now i've transfered to a lower acuity facility and have just completed orientation. I feel like i've made a huge mistake and I now realize how much better it was at my first hospital. For instance, one of the six nurses that oriented me in one month told me that I was stepping on peoples toes! and pissing a lot of people off, Now I realize that I do not know everything since I am new to nursing, but a year at the high acuity facility is equal to two years anywhere else, because of the volume and high risk patients we cared for. So needless to say I know whate I'm doing. I was made to feel so stupid and incompetent!!! I am so sick of this mentality of nurses eating there young and making new RNs to feel that they have no idea what they are doing. Plus the fact that this new unit is soooo incredibly short staffed its scary and unsafe so they should be treating me like gold if they don't want to loose me. My husband tells me that I need to stick it out, and just go to work and do my job and not complain so once I am there longer then I will have more senority and not be treated so poorly. The sad thing is that I know I am a good nurse because my patients can tell I'm sincerely caring for them, also all the doctors I have worked with will always say to there patients in front of me what good hands they are in. I am confident in patient care but for my new fellow nurses I am loosing faith. This is a sad epidemic in this profession and no wonder we are short on nurses, who wants to be treated like crap?!

Thanks for reading

Have you considered that maybe your interactions with your colleagues may be part of the problem? Are you often telling them how "At the other hospital, we used to do it this way..."? Do you say things that may suggest that your current unit is inferior to the other one? What caught my attention was your assertion right off that bat that one year at the previous hospital equaled two years anywhere else, as well as the "they should be treating me like gold" remark. To be honest, that comment flat out scared me. It sounded like ego run amok. Shouldn't they be treating all their nurses like gold (particularly the ones with years of experience)?

If it is truly so dreadful where you are, perhaps you should go back to your previous unit, where it was so much better. It's obvious you have nothing to learn at the new facility; your talents are being wasted.

[abbythetabby]

Whether management realizes it or not, the experience of nursing students during clinicals at their hospital is the most powerful recruitment tool there is - FOR or AGAINST. If the nurses on a floor are welcoming and helpful to the students, then the graduate nurses will choose that place for their first job, even if the pay is less than somewhere else, or they have to drive 30 miles. If the unit has a "toxic" feel, then graduates will avoid that place like the plague, even if the management is offering all sorts of pay incentives and bonuses, and the place is "local."

Exactly!:thankya:

I've had clinical experience in four hospitals so far, and when I graduate, there's one I would never consider joining. I don't care if they pay more than anyone else, have great benefits and are within walking distance. Nothing is worth being as miserable as those nurses are.

[TrudyRN]

Oh, it's done now ... thank god. I was just responding to posts on the thread.

:typing

Did you pass? What are you doing now? I hope things are better for you and I hope you have a great holiday.

[Sheri257]

Did you pass? What are you doing now? I hope things are better for you and I hope you have a great holiday.

Thank you very much. I did pass. Luckily, I have a good relationship with my teacher going back to first semester and, she knows this nurse from working with her at another hospital.

I knew that my teacher couldn't reassign me because they were so short on preceptors so, I didn't say anything because I didn't want to bother her.

But, near the end, my preceptor claimed that the teacher was saying bad stuff about me which, was really weird because I had just met with the teacher earlier that day.

This teacher is the kind of person who would tell me in no uncertain terms if she thought I wasn't performing or, anything else for that matter.

So, at that point, I did call my teacher and, she knew what was going on. Of course, my teacher never said any of the things my preceptor claimed she did.

My teacher said she's been doing this for 30 years and, no matter what my preceptor said, she knows I'm a safe practitioner. She said she knew there were problems with that nurse and on that floor so ... she told me not to worry about it.

That was it. I'm graduating next week.

Again, thanks for the kind thoughts.

:typing

[rnin02]

I think its been said once or twice in this thread, but if your are being a good preceptor, it is alot of work. Alot of hard work, even if the orientee doesn't always see it. Its the preceptor's responsibility to make sure everything was done correctly, and the patient is stable, so alot of double work gets done. It sounds like things are far different in CA vs VA as far as clinicals go, we didn't have to take so many patients during clinicals, or do 80% of the work for them either.

Also, on my old unit, preceptors for the students weren't always assigned in advance, although somewhere. For the externs, they were almost always assigned in advance, but for the students just there a few weeks for clinicals (6 weeks, twice a week I think?) they get assigned to a patient or two, not a specific nurse.

[rach_nc_03]

Unfortunately, in this profession, we sometimes have to: bend over backwords; feed egos; take an inordinate amount of crap; be treated like dirt; maintain professional demeanor in the face of unbelievable circumstances.

yeah....but we *shouldn't* have to put up with any of the above. We continue to get treated this way because we allow it to happen.

[tiggertoo]

:yeahthat:

I had one preceptor that swore that it was a universal concept to give coumadin at 1700 and that of course everyone knows that. She even looked it up in the Drug Reference. She didn't find it.

[ern91]

Find a different environment in which to work. Not all depts., hospitals,etc.

will have this problem. It depends upon the management and what they promote/tolerate. I have worked where the behavior you describe was rampant and also where it was not. I have found, in my 16 years of experience as a nurse, that finding the right job is kind of like finding the right life partner. You kiss a few frogs before you find your prince/princess.

[hecete]

Where I Work, In Snf, The Situation Is Probably The Same. The Grads They Are Turning Out Now Leave Alot To Be Desired. To Work In This Snf You Have To Multi-task Your Whole Shift. These New Grads Can Barely Pass Meds, Forget About Doing A Pt. Assesment. Don't Know How Many Times I've Found Trachs Plugged, G-tubes Draining On The Bed Etc. You Can Talk Til You're Blue In The Face, They Just Don't Get It!!!!

[NurseMMM]

I feel terrible that you have experienced such an outcome. Unfortunately, most nurses have a deep sense of "lack of control" and transcribe their insecurities on what-ever punching bag that they can find. I have seen this many a time while working as an RN. It is very sad. I worked at one hospital and actually witnessed two "preceptors" laughing about a "new" but experienced nurse, not knowing a certain protocal. She simply asked them a question. They responded to her as if she was from a different planet. I believe this incident was race related. It sounded as such to me, because she was black. And I don't know what they, were laughing about but I did hear her name mentioned the the word, "******." Like she was a big joke for them, or something. Noneoftheless, I do not respect nor value either of them, now. So, I will tell you. Some of us realize how others are treating you. And feel abuse such as this needs to stop in our profession. She is a great nurse. She just asked a simple question and should not have encountered such an outcome, under ANY circumstances.

[NurseMMM]

One time, I worked with a Philopino nurse. She was a sweet soul. Some of the nurses decided she was an easy target. They tormented her sweet soul. Made her feel inept. She came from an LTC into the OR. She ended up quiting because of the abuse and going back into the nursing home. They were horrible to her. When I made an anonymous report to nursing administration about it, and what I had witnessed, nothing was ever done. I don't think the nurses involved were even counseled about it. Because one of them was raised to nursing instructor shortly after this Philopino nurse quit. She was new to the OR. She was trying her best to learn in a hostile environment in my opinion. They all seemed to shut her out. I even witnessed them "yelling" at her for not moving fast enough in one procedure. She couldn't find the right type of thread and needle that was requested by the MD. Because it wasn't there! I was sent in the procedure to help her. And witnessed them yelling at her! All of them, even the MD. I ran out to get her what they requested. When I came back into the OR suite, they were all laughing to themselves and she was in tears. She quit sometime after that incident. I hope she has gotten over that incident, because I still haven't.

[TrudyRN]

I also would put some blame on the college. I know that some students feel they know more than the nurses with whom they will be mentoring. Students are being applauded for their achievements, and they should be, but it may help to give an inservice on the dynamics of working on the floor, and sharing a nurses' assignment. As an LPN, when RN students are assigned to my patients, it is a set up for trouble. There will at least one student who has predecided they are more knowledgable and better qualified to be on the floor than the LPN. Yet, as the nurse on the floor who finds problem after problem the student is creating or missing, it gets old. I have standards with I adhere to with patient care and compassion and comfort of patients and family. Many, if not most of the students will strive for these same goals, but not every student. And it will be that one student who will squeak and squak about how stupid their nurse was. You know the one, you walk in and find her cleaning a wound with water she cleaned the patients bm. Who throws you a dirty look, when you point out that isnt correct procedure and it's that student then believes you as a nurse are stupid and rude.

If you were to create an inservice pretaining to both students and nurses, what would the main points be.

Students:

1. these patients aren't yours, you are being allowed to learn with them, but they are really the staff nurses responsibility.

Nurses:

1. the students are wanting to learn and prove and improve their skills. Be careful not to squash their good intentions.

If someone is using poo water to wash a wound, somebody NEEDS to holler!!!