Mean nurse

Nurses Relations

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So I'm a nursing student who got stuck on a floor with a mean nurse. Her reputation follows her everywhere. When I tell you that she's mean its to the point where she blames students for things she has done just to get us off her floor.

My clinical group said something and of course meetings were held and what not, but she wasn't sanctioned. All we did was switch floors and al was fixed that way. She knows the right people.

My point? Why are some nurses so MEAN to students?? We all start in the same place and its such a shame that students get treated as crap sometimes. Im guessing I will have to deal with all the hospital politics at some point and that was my first taste of it.

Mean girls 1 and students 0...

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This has been discussed elsewhere here that I observed, but here are a few thoughts I have...I just graduated in January and took NCLEX in March. Sometimes, I think certain programs have less than stellar student reputations. Mine had mixed reviews, fwiw. Sometimes students can get a bad rep (for being lazy, disrespectful, etc) and from the perspective of a nurse having (not choosing, but having) to work with these students daily, it can get frustrating. Not all nurses are equipped to be educators, and my clinical advisors were great about selecting those who had a desire to teach. At times, certain nurses knew they had a full load and weren't able to devote all of that time to helping students, so we switched assignments. Ultimately, we as students are guests in their hospital, on their floor. They have worked there for xyz years and will continue long after we are gone. Best to get in, be respectful, do your research on your patients, and ask specific questions. And know that there are people in every field out there who are just disagreeable, not just in nursing. People in many different fields that I have worked in treat newbies poorly. It isn't medicine specific.

It sounds as though your instructor made a change for the positive for your group. Keep your mind open. Everyone has off days, and everyone has off weeks due to challenges that may not even be work related. For every "mean nurse" you encounter, you will meet so many more who are willing to assist and educate, but keep up the positive attitude. It works both ways.

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I am probably not the most religiously observant person you ever met, but I can tell you this: Mean people are mentioned frequently in the Bible and other religious texts, and they made their appearance in them a looooooong time ago. Like the poor, the mean will likely always be with us.

Seriously? This is not about nurse vs. student. That whole thing is done to death. Try to take the longer view. Some people are mean. It's possible some of them will be mean to you. It's not necessarily because you are a student, it's because they are mean. Move on.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

There are mean people everywhere. Don't waste your time on them. Be thankful you aren't on her floor anymore you will have a better experience.

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I appreciate all the comments. In this case the nurse clearly said she didn't want on us (students) on the floor so it wasn't my imagination. I heard it. I was surprised by her reaction. I wasn't viewing it from her side that maybe she was indeed busy and didn't have the time to teach and reality is we are not all meant to teach. Maybe she didn't enjoy it and I wasn't seeing it from both sides.

With that being said, I have moved on from it and love my new floor. I have met some amazing nurses and clinical instructors, .I wanted to share my feelings incase anyone else felt the same and maybe had a view that I wasn't seeing. You might not agree with my view but it was a shared view and a shared clinical experience with classmates. Thank you once again for your views and thoughts.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

Try not to take it personally. She might be someone who in general has a bitter outlook on life and is that way w/ everyone. Not everyone is a born teacher either. I remember one day having a student when I worked in a SNF; now I love students, but was having a very busy day, anxious to get to lunch before the caf closed b/c I hadn't brought food, and it was time for the students to leave. So the students had to give me report. I wanted to hear pertinent observations; they wanted to give SBARs. It wasn't my most mentorly moment! I've also worked in long term acute care...and most days in that place if a student had darkened the doorway I probably would have cried. And I DO enjoy students.

But yeah, mean people exist everywhere. At least this time you got off the floor w/ her. In real-life work situations you'll be stuck, so I'd advise figuring out how to work w/ them.

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my concern with the OP is that the nurse lied.....not good.

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Thankfully, the meeting resulted in students not being subjected to this nonsense. And that you acknowledge and realize this behavior is unacceptable and not a norm.

You will find in your career that for whatever reason, there will be nurses who are not ideal to work with, who seemingly get away with the most outrageous stuff, and one wonders how they continue to work. This doesn't seem to be going away any time soon.

So with that in mind, model yourself after a nurse whose practice you admire. You and your fellow students now know how NOT to act, so going forward be mindful of this. To put a positive spin on it, you learned early on how not to be--now you can concentrate on how you want to be.

Best of luck and so pleased to hear your new placement is a good experience for you all.

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Oh Christ! Nurses do not eat their young because, quite frankly, we do not have the time! I personally love placement students (when they’re competent, willing to get their hands dirty, work hard and don't have a sense of entitlement) because it means extra helping hands for us nurses in exchange for supervised/guided hands-on learning. But don't even bother trying to classify this as Nurses vs. Students dispute because that's a dead horse and like looking for tits on an ant. It's just a matter life sweetheart. Some people are mean. At some point in your life someone will be mean to you (possibly so mean they make you cry) simply because they are mean. Just keep your armour up in the workplace and show humour, that’ll help you combat meanies… that and ignoring them. End of story. Move on and adopt a DGAF attitude towards meanies.

Here's an example, there was a mean nurse who developed a series of nicknames for me, would attempt to interfere with my charts, was always hovering, belittling me or shouting at me in front of doctors and other nursing staff... I never flinched and one day I said "oh, nurse so-and-so your true feelings towards me never go unnoticed... btw, you look really nice today" and then I winked at her (little fact: this nurse is extremely homophobic). I'm not gay, but she doesn't know that so I used her awful/ignorant/hateful nature against her. Low and behold, she doesn't bother me anymore and work is more peaceful in that respect. She can't accuse me of sexual harassment because my reaction was subtle, veiled in a compliment, and there were no witnesses. Plus, I could always counter her claim with my documentation against her for bullying. Keep notes on people who truly bully you, try to differentiate between actual bullying and just feeling insecure as a new nurse, get sneaky and be subversive when dealing with meanies. Beat them at their own game if you have the energy, it can be pretty fun sometimes playing their own weakness against them. lol! Good luck!

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