Why do some Medstudents love to belittle nurses?

Nurses Relations

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I have been belittled by medstudents numerous times. the whole "You don't know as much" or "You didn't go to school as long as a doc" always comes up. what is is that they have to prove to me? why do they do this?

Where is the respect??? :mad:

This is a direct quote i received from a medical student

"Ha! Most of you ***s are just registered nurses... which is what most people who can't aspire to anything greater or just can't handle medical school... I may be a student now and you might think high and mighty because youre registered... but one day i'll probably be your boss... so suck it..."

how do i deal with this? i just ignore it, but it sooo unprofessional

I am not in any way talking badly about medical students, i am just wondering if any of you have had this kind of behavior happen, over heard it, etc. and how i should handle this. please no rude responses.

Belittling others is human nature to make oneself feel good. A med student is at the bottom of the MD food chain - the doctors, residents, interns, etc are all more educated and constantly making them feel like they don't know what they're doing. An MD asks a student a question, he answers wrong and is humiliated, and he retaliates by finding what he perceives as a weak target and trying to humiliate them - an RN. Sad thing is, an experienced RN would likely know the answer to whatever question he just failed...

So, bottom line, it's no different then a school bully who picks on the weak, nerdy kids. He has a horrible home life, his parents make him feel bad, so he comes to school and makes himself feel better by beating up on someone he sees as weaker. In the end, though, the nerd is a happier person and the bully ends up a sad, pathetic, out-of-work drunk :)

Do the med students who rotate in your hospital REALLY go after RN's that much? Once again, I am truly shocked that some (albeit, a few) nurses get "bullied" by the med students.

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Specializes in cardiac, ICU, education.
Do the med students who rotate in your hospital REALLY go after RN's that much? Once again, I am truly shocked that some (albeit, a few) nurses get "bullied" by the med students.

I don't think it is the majority of med students who participate in this type of behavior. I think nurses just really remember the ones who do it and are completely offended because it shows a complete lack of respect for our years of commitment and experience.

Getting harassed by a med student is like a plane crash, it is rare but unbelievable when it happens.

I also think many people lump the interns and some residents in with the med students. Although in my experience, when there is a bullying issue it is usually the resident.

Don't get some nurses started on PA's though, then the real stories come out.

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Don't get some nurses started on PA's though, then the real stories come out.

I must be lucky then, because I work with some awesome PAs. :)

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Specializes in cardiac, ICU, education.
I must be lucky then, because I work with some awesome PAs

That is good to hear. The last clinical I taught (ADN to BSN) there were PA's working in a setting where they usually don't work and they treated my RN's like CNA's. Had to cool the fires that day.

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So, bottom line, it's no different then a school bully who picks on the weak, nerdy kids. He has a horrible home life, his parents make him feel bad, so he comes to school and makes himself feel better by beating up on someone he sees as weaker. In the end, though, the nerd is a happier person and the bully ends up a sad, pathetic, out-of-work drunk :)

I agree with this. Anytime you see people belittling another, 90% of the time it is because of insecurity. The other 10% is just straight up inability to relate to other human beings. I'm sorry, but anyone who takes the time to belittle someone else in a career probably does not have many friends. ;)

When you really think about it, go into any career and you'll find the same thing happening. It's not only with med students and doctors. Secretaries at big companies, paralegals at law firms, etc...they probably all deal with the same disrespect. In all actuality, there's always going to be some ******* at a job that will attempt to bring you down as a person. And insulting someone's career is the fastest way to do it, in their mind. So when you feel belittled as a nurse by a med student or whatever, just remember that no matte what you do, it's going to happen. Hell, even within the medical field, doctors are criticized! I've heard people making fun of psychiatrists for "not being real doctors". It's pretty awful.

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I salute med students for going into their career choice. However, there are some with low self-esteem that feel they need to belittle those not in the program. Just ignore them and know they have a self-esteem problem.

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Mike109810 - I've been a nurse almost 20 years now and nope, never seen this done. Med students, residents, fellows, attendings - nothing but mutual respect.

Gotta consider the source - Facebook and IMHO, nuff said.

I've worked in multiple states, in three countries and it just doesn't happen.

When we work as a team, our pts prosper.

Good luck in your residency!

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