First of all I want to say I LOVE ALLNURSES!!! It has been the best resource for me for so many things.
Sadly, I have noticed in the last year or so that there are more and more negative postings. Some OP’s will post innocent topics and get torn a new one for nothing. Why?
We should be encouraging one another and not be putting people down. The saying "nurses eat their young"….I once thought it was not true, but I am beginning to think it is.
I am not trying to pinpoint nurses who have been in the field for many years; however, I have noticed many negative comments come from people who have forgotten what it was like to start out as a nurse. Other comments that are nasty I figure are from people who just have low self esteem and want to tear someone apart to feel better.
Maybe the economy is just taking a toll on people? Whatever it is I hate to see it. I love Allnurses. I would hate to see it become a negative place where people can’t share their thoughts without the fear of ridicule.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
my point is not to sing my own praises or be ultra-defensive, but simply to highlight that the site and its members benefit from having contributors from a broad range of healthcare-related backgrounds, as long as they don't try to blather about topics outside their areas of knowledge. that there are non-nurses who do so doesn't mean that all or even most of us do. i don't think the blame for flaming can be placed squarely and solely on the shoulders of the nursing students, allied health workers, and members of the general public who post here. there are plenty of threads in which nurses attack other nurses.
i think non-nurses, student nurses, old nurses, new nurses, other healthcare team members and even patients and families of patients can learn a lot here. what seems to have changed a bit is that people who know little about the topic at hand do not seem to hesitate to jump right into a vent thread and tell all of the nurses participating that they're heartless old meanies, that we should switch careers because clearly we weren't meant to be nurses, and if they had our job, they'd do it so much better than we had ever dreamed of doing it. that's pretty gosh darned irriatating, and many of the nurses slap back. then we get bitter, flaming fighting threads.
people in general are becoming less courteous and more demanding -- and some of those people become nurses, cnas, physicians, patients or visitors. what's changed is that many of those people who post here seem to think they're "owed" something. the drug seekers believe they're owed their dilaudid injection for their hangnail, family members seem to think they're owed pillows, blankets, diet cokes, endless cups of ice and a functional tv with the right channels and they don't hesitate to demand them loudly, impatiently and often at inappropriate times and in inappropriate situations.
many students seem to believe we owe it to them to complete their homework assignments and i wish i had a dollar for every time i've read on here that "nurses ought to be more compassionate and nurture me more and tell me what i need to know" from some new grad having a rough time in her orientation. they term any negative interaction they've had as "nurses eating their young" rather than stopping to examine what they may have brought to the table. we have threads now admonishing senior nurses for "picking on me" every time they're corrected and bemoaning the idea that "those ugly old hags should just retire and get out of my way." i don't think these are new thoughts that people are having, but they're becoming more and more willing to express them to strangers on the internet.
in general people seem to expect more, demand more and feel compelled to contribute less to their own happiness or their own success. not all people, and maaybe not even the majority. but they are usually the loudest people.
i think non-nurses, student nurses, old nurses, new nurses, other healthcare team members and even patients and families of patients can learn a lot here. what seems to have changed a bit is that people who know little about the topic at hand do not seem to hesitate to jump right into a vent thread and tell all of the nurses participating that they're heartless old meanies, that we should switch careers because clearly we weren't meant to be nurses, and if they had our job, they'd do it so much better than we had ever dreamed of doing it. that's pretty gosh darned irriatating, and many of the nurses slap back. then we get bitter, flaming fighting threads.
people in general are becoming less courteous and more demanding -- and some of those people become nurses, cnas, physicians, patients or visitors. what's changed is that many of those people who post here seem to think they're "owed" something. the drug seekers believe they're owed their dilaudid injection for their hangnail, family members seem to think they're owed pillows, blankets, diet cokes, endless cups of ice and a functional tv with the right channels and they don't hesitate to demand them loudly, impatiently and often at inappropriate times and in inappropriate situations.
many students seem to believe we owe it to them to complete their homework assignments and i wish i had a dollar for every time i've read on here that "nurses ought to be more compassionate and nurture me more and tell me what i need to know" from some new grad having a rough time in her orientation. they term any negative interaction they've had as "nurses eating their young" rather than stopping to examine what they may have brought to the table. we have threads now admonishing senior nurses for "picking on me" every time they're corrected and bemoaning the idea that "those ugly old hags should just retire and get out of my way." i don't think these are new thoughts that people are having, but they're becoming more and more willing to express them to strangers on the internet.
in general people seem to expect more, demand more and feel compelled to contribute less to their own happiness or their own success. not all people, and maaybe not even the majority. but they are usually the loudest people.
i suddenly had a thought about this- as a recent grad who temporarily gave up her life and sanity to make it through school ( as we all did) and as an academic tutor it really bugs me when students come on here and start threads that are so obviously asking us to do their homework for them
frankly, i don't think it should be allowed- i think doing so should be a violation of the tos- i doubt that level of "help" would be allowed in their schools, as it is pretty much cheating- why would we tolerate it here?
i think the only level of help we should be allowed to give students is research tips or pointing them in the right direction to begin an assignment- anything else is doing their work for them,
This used to be a site for RN's to come together and share, with the understanding of common backgrounds and experience. Now, any non-professional can come in and flame about anything; and the site is poorer for it.
This was never an all-RN site. The N in LPN stands for nurse. The N is CNA stands for nursing.
I do not like seeing my sisters (and brothers) in nursing marginalized.
i think non-nurses, student nurses, old nurses, new nurses, other healthcare team members and even patients and families of patients can learn a lot here. what seems to have changed a bit is that people who know little about the topic at hand do not seem to hesitate to jump right into a vent thread and tell all of the nurses participating that they're heartless old meanies, that we should switch careers because clearly we weren't meant to be nurses, and if they had our job, they'd do it so much better than we had ever dreamed of doing it. that's pretty gosh darned irriatating, and many of the nurses slap back. then we get bitter, flaming fighting threads.
in general people seem to expect more, demand more and feel compelled to contribute less to their own happiness or their own success. not all people, and maaybe not even the majority. but they are usually the loudest people.
i agree with you about people in general being more obnoxious, demanding, and much more willing to run their mouths even when uninformed. however, i don't believe they're the majority or anything close to it on this board, and i hate to see the decently-behaved but quieter majority condemned or penalized for the sins of the ill-mannered and loudmouthed minority.
This was never an all-RN site. The N in LPN stands for nurse. The N is CNA stands for nursing.
I do not like seeing my sisters (and brothers) in nursing marginalized.
So, this is where we have come to? I for one am done here.
Bye. Yes CNAs are not Nurses, but could any of us do our jobs without them? And there are several divisions on this site for all different types and levels of nursing. I find such exclusive attitudes appalling.
folks that just what the big corp. and politicians want to see a divided workforce. we must stop the will the real nurse please stand up games and unite for the sake of not just nursing but healthcare in general. during one of our past shortages i remember the bsn versus adn versus diploma. in stead of getting together we let the groups manipulate us and break us up. as an older nurse i would like to share how it went down in my neck of the woods. we could not enough nurses. so corp. came to us and convinced us that we could do the same amt of work with 6 nurses that we were doing with 8. so they gave us a big raise, hire nursing assistants. i was young making 12.00/hr and went home after just one meeting to share with everyone the news and celebrate the instant raise to 18.00/hr. that was a great feeling, we were selfish and pt care was not the first priority. after a while the honeymoon was over. the nursing shortage either got better or we were now so use to working with the 6 nurse we did not miss the other 2 from the past? next came the idea of i can't remember the exact term, but it was now only the nurses could to draw blood, do resp tx, it was back to hands on nursing. in other words convince the nurse that we could draw the blood better, provide tx and give baths and attend to the pt better then the "non-nursing" which in the days was considered just about any tech and even the nursing aides. so then they got rid of the nursing aides and techs, yes again a little raise,, then they worked up ways and techniques to raise pride, as morale was slowly becoming an issue because now the nurse was working much harder spending less time, and the pat on the backs, little awards, employee of the day, week, month, special parking, being noticed in the "hospital news paper". but still i could see the emphasis on real pt care becoming less an issue. it was welcome to the world of "healthcare business" where my pt now became a customer. let’s not start breaking up in little sub-groups with the lpn-rn-adn-bsn-nurse aides, etc. let stay united as healthcare workers for this time the sake of pt care. because that selfish young nurse from the old days is soon to become a pt or customer. it’s more important than money. we need to get in the political arena!
then we will see changes made as in any major movements in history.
I started reading this thread from day one. I have now ploughed my way through 93 posts, and right at the end, I came upon one which seems to touch on the root cause of negativity everywhere.
It's manipulation, and the accompanying sense that we, at best, have only limited power over our own destinies. We are allowing ourselves to be herded in exactly the direction that those in power want to drive us, be it management, big business or government. And if we let them get away with it, we deserve to be sent to the slaughterhouse...
We are living with fear, whether of economic disempowerment, crime, war, terrorism or 2012! Pretty difficult to be Pollyanna in today's world! So I don't work myself up and get all hot under the collar if I read rude or unpleasant posts; rather I am saddened by them. Yet another miserable s*d looking for company. Unfortunately, all communities have nice people, funny people, miserable characters and downright horrors, but no-one can write the whole lot off just because of those few. We need to stand together, lift each other up, make each other laugh. Yes, we also need to correct mistakes, but we don't need to stomp all over each other in order to do that!
I haven't been a member long enough to recognize "predator pack" mentalities emerging. If such attacks occur, the best way to deal with it is, as has already been pointed out, to just hit the "report" button, especially those of you who know who these guys are. Nip it in the bud before they can rip anyone to shreds. Maybe they do it as a means of working off their own frustrations, or maybe they're just nasty, but the behaviour is both childish and destructive. Let the sheep wake up and realize they are strong!
...so corp. came to us and convinced us that we could do the same amt of work with 6 nurses that we were doing with 8...
yep, fewer nurses, more techs. then, nurses have to do this and that. so fewer techs. then fewer nurses more techs. then nurses have to do this and that. so fewer techs. so 8 nurses with no techs eventually turns into 4 nurses without techs.
I must just say that I found it interesting to see some of you talking about myself and my thread that was closed.
I sure did get defensive when I was accused of "targeting" a nurse and how I wouldn't dare complain about a doctor. Yep, that sure ticked me off that someone would make that opinion out of nowhere. However, I am sorry that it came off the way it did, specifically the "get a life" post. I just got po'd when someone started to give great advice, then went on how I target and judge nurses because that is not who I am.
But for all of the advice, even that specific person's advice I did "kudos" it. And I did make sure to thank everyone for their advice.
So pedicurn, I apologize for telling you to get on with your life and stop judging me. Though I still think that some of the things you said were not appropriate or necessary, it was not appropriate for me to react the way I did and say that to you. I do appreciate the advice you gave me.
Anyways,
I think it's easier for people to act negative on a website because they are hiding behind a computer. I just hope that some of the truly rude people on here are not like that in person. I've only seen a few posters who seem to be notoriously nasty. The rest just have their moments.
Ruby Vee, BSN
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