Nurses eat their young - now I understand why.

Nurses Relations

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I started working for a sub-acute LTC as the DSD last week. The DON and I hit it off because we have the same vision on what we need to do in order to solve the problems we current have.

Early this week, we posted an ad for RN charge nurse with no experience required. We feel it's best to have trainable nurses even though they lack experience. I was tasked to interview for the position as I will be the one training them for the first 36-hours.

Needless to say, I was flabbergasted with the array of applicants we had and now know why the some nurses eat their young.

- New
RN
grad said she's been working as a CNA and knows she can do the job because there's not much difference between being a charge nurse and CNA

- New
RN
grad said that she'll consider our offer, so I asked if she is being offered another position (as we need someone full time). She said she's expecting an offer any day now since she finished the online application earlier this week (and she was not kidding).

- Someone coming into the interview with a wrinkled nose and irked expression and said that she can smell the BM from the floor

- Someone who wrote "expert in IV medication preparation"; when asked what's their experience on it, she stated she's been a vet nurse and she's been doing those a lot.

- Someone who said they are not available for the first two weeks of April as they are going on a cruise

- Someone asking for the pay, end up telling me that new grad RNs in LA are paid $34/hr starting at the beginning of the interview.

- When asked about core measures, all of them couldn't deliver one intelligent answer.

and a lot more...

Looking back, I asked myself if I ever acted as arrogant and privileged as the ones I encountered. Most of the ones the new grads I interviewed have this air... like they have mastered a craft. Like I should be rolling out the red carpet for them.

No nurse is "just" a nurse. :)

Specializes in ICU.
No nurse is "just" a nurse. :)

Lol, well yes. My point was just that I don't see a difference between a charge nurse and a non-charge nurse based on that description.

Sorry to go off-topic. :rolleyes:

Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.
I find it even funnier that it has been pointed out that the OP herself is also a new grad, and has only been at this company for less than a month..but yet..she is already in a position to hire & train new staff?! How can you train someone when you are still fairly inexperienced & learning the ropes as well? :uhoh3:

I think the facility doesn't know what they are doing by putting a new grad, OP, on such a position.

OP doesn't know what she is doing, because she doesn't have experience. Now they are looking for someone who wont know what they are doing as a new grad on charge nurse position. The facility shows a big red flag; definitely not a place I woudl like to work at.

Wow. Your facility must really suck juevos if you had to expand your net to get more applicants for this position. I mean, "no experience necessary"? It makes a lot of sense that you are getting these idiots as potential candidates because no smart person, new grad or experienced, would want to work in your facility. The vet tech is the only person I am somewhat impressed with, and I hope he or she finds a better job in a better facility, NOT yours.

Specializes in PCCN.

feel sorry for the residents at that place :-(

Wow. Can we say stereotyping? How about agism? When people discriminate based on age/generation, they're only proving (in a public forum, no less) how close-minded they are. People from older generations aren't better than younger ones simply because they are older. Let's look at an individual's mind, attitude, personality, before judging them.

No lets not. Lets look at the concrete, not the rainbows and skittles. It's not about older, or younger, it's about having a solid work history, and proven achievements and references from employers and decision-makers that show that you are can be counted on in the workplace. Look, there are few jobs out there and lots of complaining from employers about their own poor choice in hiring...

Specializes in ICU.

I see it this way.

You posted an ad for a position which typically is filled by someone with experience, even though you said no experience required. I understand that you want someone your an mold into the perfect nurse for your facility, but.....

The nurses that are responding to your ad are ones that think they are so good that even though they have no experience, they can handle this job. So, yes they will have this kind of attitude and false sense of their own abilities.

I would have never ever thought of applying for a charge nurse position whether or not it said no experience required.

How can I be in charge of something I have no experience in?

Specializes in Pediatrics, Step-Down.

I ask you this, can you honestly say that you are a nurse when you have never functioned as one? When you have never performed any duties of a nurse? When you never had the opportunity to pick up the phone and call a doctor? When you have to tell a family that their father has passed away? When you've never given medications outside of the clinical setting?

From looking at your previous posts you just became an RN yourself less than three weeks ago. I am going to throw the same question that you asked right back at you: can you honestly say that you are a Registered Nurse when you have never functioned as one?

You lack RN experience and are working as the Director of Staff Development. You are hiring/training charge RNs with no RN experience yourself. I don't understand how YOU will train an RN to be charge nurse when you have never worked as an RN. Your lack of experience became obvious when you posted the resume of one of your applicants on a public forum. I'll add that it also looks like you became in LPN in 2006. I respect LPNs entirely but they have a different role than RNs...working as an LPN does not qualify you to train RNs! You're not so different from these applicants you look down upon.

Your facility seems to be sacrificing safety for cost-effectiveness. Maybe you should reevaluate where you are working.

PS I think someone is a Registered Nurse as soon as the BON says they are.

My mom has been an ICU nurse for over 30 years. She's smart, caring but can be critical of the job because she's so passionate about it. I'm glad she doesn't eat the new grads but I get to hear (and understand) why there are SOME who do. She says most schools in the area build up their student nurses to be "over confident". Yes, confidence is needed but they have this mentality of almost being defensive and over confident because they anticipate the "eating". With that, older nurses get turned off by the attitude thus, eating their young.

I'm a novice nurse and I am very willing to learn from the older nurses. I don't know everything and I'm definitely okay with that. I can only hope the older nurses will be kind and patient enough to share their knowledge with me.

PS: My mom also gets very annoyed because she says she sees "young nurses" on their iphone playing games, texting, online checking their facebook and with the patient's call light is on, she attends to their patient, instead of them.

Specializes in ICU.

I'm a novice nurse and I am very willing to learn from the older nurses. I don't know everything and I'm definitely okay with that. I can only hope the older nurses will be kind and patient enough to share their knowledge with me.

PS: My mom also gets very annoyed because she says she sees "young nurses" on their iphone playing games, texting, online checking their facebook and with the patient's call light is on, she attends to their patient, instead of them.

2 things you should really learn, and perhaps your mother too. "older" nurses like to be called "seasoned" nurses and "young" nurses are new nurses. I graduated from the same nursing class at 23 as I did with women in their 50's. We were on the same level.

And the generalization I do not life. I worked with some "seasoned" nurses who pretty much spent their night shift in the ICU sleeping. May they not be on their phone or checking their Facebook, they were checked out, drooling on themselves. That used to get ME annoyed as a YOUNG nurse, when i had was answering their call lights, recycling their blood pressures or suctioning their ETT's.

Don't understand the DON's view on new grads for this position since every single new grad I met that was newly hired for LTC, was very vocal about what she couldn't do, was afraid of, or just plain quit the job within days. RN's are supposed to be 'educated' as opposed to 'trained', so perhaps there is a further disconnect here.

Specializes in being a Credible Source.
Needless to say, I was flabbergasted with the array of applicants we had and now know why the some nurses eat their young.
I see none of those as worthy of being "eaten," regardless of their suitability as competitive candidates. "Eating" new nurses is quite simply unprofessional and unnecessary.
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