Are there nursing fields with less bullying from other nurses? Is it possible?

Nurses Career Support

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Please let me know if you think there are any areas of nursing that I could consider going into that do NOT typically have a culture of bullying and hazing. Bottom line I do not want to work in a hostile environment.

I am tough and a hard working person but I do not want to be unhappy or put patients, or myself, at risk. I am a pre-nursing student. I have read some articles citing that nurses really do eat their young and that the behavior is so prevalent about 60 percent of nurses quit because of being bullied and that patients are often put at risk when other nurses ignore another nurses calls or when important information and training is withheld from other nurses holding grudges, etc.

To make matters worse it seems that most nurses I meet seem unhappy and they have warned me that nurses treat one another very poorly. This was a surprise since nursing is such a kind a noble profession.

I have completed all of my nursing pre-req courses and have started to apply to nursing schools but after reading about the workplace culture I am strongly considering a different career. Does anyone know of nursing options that do NOT typically have this kind of work climate?

I already have a Bachelors degree in another field and nursing would be my second career so it is really important to me to avoid any options that might lead me into a hostile work environment where I cannot properly care for patients or where I am just miserable because of coworkers. It may be that nursing just is not for me but if you have any suggestions on areas of nursing with less nurse on nurse conflict please let me know.

I should note that I have worked with extremely hostile and sometimes dangerous clients, as well as their families, in my previous career, so I am more than equipped to deal with challenging patients and and their loved ones. When I transitioned to health care support I managed angry patients and worked well with them. My concern is about what I have heard regarding the hostility that seems to occur between nurses and how it could impact my job performance. Thank you for any suggestions you may have regarding areas of nursing that might be better suited for someone that wants to avoid conflict with coworkers.

Editorial Team / Admin

Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN

6 Articles; 11,658 Posts

Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

The first thing you need to realize is that bullies and rude people will be found in all walks of life. Yes, they are nurses. They are also lawyers, plumbers, teachers, every single other profession out there.

The second thing you need to realize is that bullying and the so-called NETY is blown way out of proportion by a lot of people. There is a difference between someone being a bully and someone being rude or blunt. Many people have blurred the line between the two and call everything bullying/NETY to the point that the words no longer have meaning.

The third thing you need to realize is that if you go into a situation looking for something, you will find it even if it doesn't truly exist. So, get the idea that you will automatically get bullied as a new nurse out of your head. Does it happen? Sure. Does it happen to even the majority of nurses? No. But if you go in looking for it, your interpretations of interactions will likely end up skewed.

There is no one specialty of nursing that will ensure you don't run into bullies.

Shagce1

200 Posts

The above poster is correct. Bully's are everywhere. I also think it can be a department or facility specific behavior. Leadership goes along way. If leadership allows that kind of behavior from its employees or actually behaves that way, bullying seems to become "the norm." Toxicity breeds toxicity. It is not specialty specific.

llg, PhD, RN

13,469 Posts

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

There are nice people and not-so-nice people in every specialty. And as a previous poster said, if you go into a situation with an attitude that your will find bullies, you will see them in everywhere you look -- even where they don't exist. Health care is stressful and both the patients and the staff are often stressed. Sometimes, the communication gets blunt and rude -- and super-sensitive people can exaggerate that in their minds and react as if they were being bullied.

If you look for them, you will also meet some wonderful people working in health care -- in every specialty. But you have to look for them and not focus on the not-so-nice.

To be success as a nurse, you need to be able to tolerate a certain level of stress -- in your colleagues as well as in your patients, the system, and within yourself. If you can only handle a world of sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns .... then you should probably choose another career.

plantsower

8 Posts

Unfortunately, there ARE bullies or rude nurses. That shocked me. I experienced it big time as a new nurse and I WASN'T LOOKING FOR IT! It started when I was a nursing student and I was bullied by a teacher. She didn't like the fact that I wrote down the steps to doing IV's because it seemed complicated and I didn't learn by watching it done once. She tried to get me kicked out of nursing school. I was upset and told one of my fellow students whom she favored. He talked to her and it stopped.

I was then bullied as a working student at a hospital because I didn't know what to do at every turn. I WAS A STUDENT!!! The staff is supposed to teach and be supportive. They were not. I was bullied at my first job because I asked a question about something in the supply room. Tension was building up. I changed jobs and was bullied there by a nurse for something I asked her. I blew up. I finally stood up for myself and said, "Don't you ever talk to me like that again." She backed off and apologized. I'd had it.

I was a straight "A" student in school. But other students and nurses would always say, "students that get straight "A's" don't always make good nurses. They don't always have what it takes." Wow! OK. I can tell you that when I had a supportive teacher or environment, I excelled. When I was intimidated, I was a nervous wreck and was afraid to ask questions and was miserable. Shame on all the nurses who forget what it's like to be new! Anyway, after I blew up, I had no more problems with that kind of nurse.

Eventually, I worked at a nurse call center and almost everyone there was nice. There was one nurse who was rude to me in the beginning, and I let her know how I felt about it in no uncertain terms. She backed down, too. Bullies always do when you confront them. They know they are wrong but God knows why they act like that. I am now retired and much happier.

I wish I could tell you where to work without that kind of tension but I can't. I think it sometimes has to do with the management and how you handle that kind of verbal abuse. When you are new and unsure, it's difficult to combat. When you are more sure of yourself and your skills, it's easier. They say bullies are everywhere, but nursing was where I found them the most, unfortunately. I assume that's why that book "Nurses eat their Young" was written. I would have loved nursing a lot more had I not had that kind of experience. I did love the patients.

If you really want to be a nurse, then go be a nurse. You can move around to different jobs to find out where you fit in. It's best to get at least a year of med-surg under your belt so you can handle most things wherever you go. That's the hard part; staying at a facility to get those skills, even if you have bullies or rude nurses there. But, if you stick it out with the knowledge that you are there to hone your skills so you can work at a better place, then it makes it easier. Think of it as bootcamp. Just get through it and learn as much as you can there. Like I said, the better your skills, the more confidence you will have and the least likely to be intimated by those who do not know how to treat others with respect and kindness. The best of luck to you.

TriciaJ, RN

4,328 Posts

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

When I was a teenager, I worked in fast food for a bit. It was a terrible job; everyone wanted to be in charge and no one was. Then I worked in a restaurant. It was much better-run but the assistant manager was really on my case until I learned the ropes. Then she was my staunchest defender. Then I became a secretary and had much the same experience. However, I realized secretarial work really didn't suit my temperament and went off to nursing school.

Every nursing job I ever had I had to go through being new and feeling stupid. Some people were more supportive than others. Some became more supportive after I'd had a chance to prove myself. Some people were just cows and stayed that way. Some workplaces are just toxic, but all are high-stress. And that isn't always the fault of the people working there.

If you find yourself being "bullied" wherever you go, you have to ask yourself "What's the common denominator?" (Hint: it's not because they're all nurses.) You said yourself "nursing is such a kind, noble profession". It's that kind of stereotype that makes reality harder for some to swallow. Many of us on AN try to dispel that myth.

If you go into any profession with the belief that it's "noble" and "kind" then the first stressed person who doesn't have time to pat you on the head is going to seem like a bully. Here's another thing to think about: nursing is not the profession to go into to have your own needs met (except for a paycheque). You have to be prepared to put your own issues aside to provide care for others. No one has time to care if your stomach's growling, your cat is sick or you suffer from thin-skin syndrome. If you can handle an environment like that, you will eventually make friends with the finest people you could hope to know. If your focus is primarily on you, then you need to make a different plan.

island2016

4 Posts

Wow thanks for the advice and for your honesty :) I was actually looking into entry level Med Surg jobs, like an OR tech assistant, so that I could observe the nurses.

island2016

4 Posts

Shagce 1, thank you for your tactful response. I agree with you 100% when you say that leadership is a critical component. I am pursuing nursing as my second career and I definitely experienced the benefits or consequences of good or poor leadership in my previous professional positions. It also seems like in some professions certain specialties can attract certain personality types and so I wondered if that was the same case in nursing. Thanks again :)

plantsower

8 Posts

Hi: I'm not sure just observing the nurses will help. Especially if yo are trying to see if they are nice or not. That's only one situation and you don't know if they have worked together for a long time or really what the dynamics are. Working in some sort of medical capacity does make sense though. It gives you background and everything isn't so foreign after awhile.

I know when I went to nursing school, except for the fact that I had been a medical transcriptionist for over 10 years, I had no medical background. The medical transcription background really helped because I knew the terminology. But when it came to hands on, I wished I had been a CNA or something similar because that was practical experience with patients (or clients as they are called now) and the medical atmosphere. I kind of envied those that were in school with that background because they were much more comfortable during clinical experiences. Just a thought.

island2016

4 Posts

Plantsower, thank you :) I was actually remarking that I wanted to work in Surg to observe nurses b/c another person posted that is a good place to learn valuable nursing skills that could help me out in my career :) I agree that prior experience in health care will be helpful. I was fortunate enough to get a job in healthcare a couple of years ago and to work with a lot of great people and I was able to master a lot of medical terminology but saw very little direct patient care. I think observing experienced nurses providing care would be really helpful.

plantsower

8 Posts

You're welcome. I know you will make the right choices because you are thinking this through.

michelle.laree

50 Posts

While I agree with some of what the other posters said about there will be not-as-nice people in all aspects of life, I most definitely see it taken to the extreme in nursing. I have been a nurse 7 years and worked agency for a while so I have been to quite a few facilities. I worked at one hospital 3 years and management did NOT tolerate gossip and being mean to each other. It was a lovely place to work. We had good ratios. We helped our co-workers out. It was fun to come to work. I worked at another hospital for a brief stent where everyone, including management, talked poorly about the staff. I worked at a few places with agency where the companies were so happy to have us the staff would help the agency nurses out by giving us easier assignments while we figured out the layout. I worked one day (thankfully not on a contract, just per diem agency work) at a hospital and they gave me the worst assignment of my life. It was rotten of them. No one would break me for lunch. I did a 6 month travel contract down in California at a jail and they were incredibly nice to work with. I ended up staying in 2 different co-workers mother-in-law suites. I went to all the holiday parties. The manager told me all the cool vacation spots I needed to go to while I was there. I now work for a physician owned OR clinic. One of the owners did my initial training so I am trained the correct way. They are happy to have me (they make sure I know it) and I enjoy being there. I would say 1/2 of the jobs I have worked are pleasant. Please forgive the errors- I am typing on my Blackberry, lol.

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