Attitudes of New Nurses

[NextGen]

Where are all of the attitudes of new nurses coming from? Did they teach you this in nursing school? Did your preceptors teach you this? I am stunned every day to hear new nurses confidently saying things to patients that do not make any sense. The new nurse seems to think that as long as they say it with confidence, it will somehow make sense.

For example, the patient and their family asked about the medication doses the patient was receiving. At home, the patient took different doses than what was prescribed in the hospital. The new nurse said "The reason the dose is different is that the doctors do not like to give you too many medications while in the hospital". Nurses are not doctors and do not speak for doctors. SHE SHOULD HAVE SAID "I will talk to the doctor about your concerns and get back to you". The medication was for seizures and the patient had not had a seizure since the dose was increased.

I believe patients when they tell me that they asked the nurse before me to follow up on something and nothing was ever done. The new nurses do not even document that the question was raised by the patient.

NEW NURSES: You are not doctors. Just because you say something with confidence, does not make what you said believable. That patient is your responsibility. You do not need to "like them". You do need to take care of them.

Any other nurses out there have experience with new nurse attitudes?

[Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN]

Also remember that there are pts who love to play nurses against each other. They will swear that the previous nurses did not do this, or did that, just to cause trouble. After telling you that you are the best nurse ever, they then turn around and complain about you to the next nurse.

Maybe the reason there is no documentation about the pt asking a certain question is because they did not ask it!

[CaitlynRNBSN]

Why does this have to be generalized into "new nurses" im a new nurse (on year 2) and I feel slightly offended by this. This post might turn into another one of those new nurses vs veteran nurses...so, way to go!

[SmilingRN]

Also remember that there are pts who love to play nurses against each other. They will swear that the previous nurses did not do this, or did that, just to cause trouble. After telling you that you are the best nurse ever, they then turn around and complain about you to the next nurse.

Maybe the reason there is no documentation about the pt asking a certain question is because they did not ask it!

Yeah, that's a good old case of "splitting." It's most common on the mental health units. However, I'm sure that non-psych patients are good for it, too.

[OCNRN63, RN]

Why does this have to be generalized into "new nurses" im a new nurse (on year 2) and I feel slightly offended by this. This post might turn into another one of those new nurses vs veteran nurses...so, way to go!

​It's a new nurse bashing other new nurses. We "seasoned" nurses have nothing to do with this.

[DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN]

its broad, overgeneralized, stereotypical statements like these that TERRIFY those of us in nursing school. You can not make a blanket statement that applies to ALL people in a category. How would you like this statement..."All OLD nurses are mean, spiteful and stupid". Of course this is not true, and I do not believe it, but please realize how ludicrous you sound

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

its broad overgeneralized, stereotypical statements like these that TERRIFY those of us in nursing school. You can not make a blanket statement that applies to ALL people in a category. How would you like this statement..."All OLD nurses are mean, spiteful and stupid". Of course this is not true, and I do not believe it, but please realize how ludicrous you sound[/quote']

OP has 3 years experience.

[deyangrey]

I am a new hired staff nurse first job and experience :/ and i'm on my 3rd week it is really stressful i got to cry sometimes because, I expected that my senior nurses would help me out, but then it feels like i'm a total failure even doctors is discouraging :? but i'am motivating myself to continue and study hard again and again... how can i survive all of this, dealing with an understaffed hospital

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

Here's the thing I find most interesting. New hires (and some are in fact "new nurses") are taught a completely different thing than some nurses who have been with facilities a long time.

They are given scripts that are to be used with patient communication, encouraged to not stray from the scripts, and essentially learn that they are to scan and EMR checklist chart, and not have active communication with patients. Patient education is to be done from the information generated from the facility. Or patients can watch neat-o videos regarding this.

So essentially, when a patient asks a valid question, a number of newer nurses are caught off guard, and given little support on how to answer these questions. (Do we have a script for that?). Their orientations are slight, based on how to chart in the computer, and that their very job could be based on patient satisfaction scores.

The heart of nursing is dwindling. Patients are numbers. And for newer nurses who really thought that they would be more actively involved in nursing as an art, are quickly discouraged to find that their obligation is to use scripts, key phrases, white board goals, and not to stray from the main road. Otherwise, it will affect the HCAP, and the facility will not be reimbursed accordingly.

And nurses are disposable commodities. For every nurse there's 10 new grads waiting in the wings. Who are more than happy to do whatever it is the facility would like them to do, as they need jobs. Warm bodies until the next warm bodies show up.

Even in management, you may have some amazing ideas on how the unit can run well. Patients are happy and well cared for, nurses happy and fufilled in their occupations. But there is just that one (or several) people over them that are interested in the dollars and cents.

If we treat new nurses like they don't have any sense in their heads, then that is what we will get. Seems as if the bigger error in the OP's judgement of the newer nurse's statement is that the nurse would be encouraged to just say "I have some patient education for you, let me print that off, and I will bring it right back to you." Then the obligation to educate the patient is over, and the nurse gets the extra point for "meaningful use".

[OCNRN63, RN]

its broad, overgeneralized, stereotypical statements like these that TERRIFY those of us in nursing school. You can not make a blanket statement that applies to ALL people in a category. How would you like this statement..."All OLD nurses are mean, spiteful and stupid". Of course this is not true, and I do not believe it, but please realize how ludicrous you sound

That post came from a NEW, repeat, NEW nurse, not an OLD nurse.

[NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

I am a new hired staff nurse first job and experience :/ and i'm on my 3rd week it is really stressful i got to cry sometimes because, I expected that my senior nurses would help me out, but then it feels like i'm a total failure even doctors is discouraging :? but i'am motivating myself to continue and study hard again and again... how can i survive all of this, dealing with an understaffed hospital

Is there no one guiding you? You should still be in orientation with your preceptor very close at-hand.

[Ruas61, BSN, RN]

It's those dead nurses with attitude that really make things difficult.

In the lore and legend they live on.............

[andrewschultz, LVN]

Thank you to the OP for this post. The responses you have solicited have made my evening. BTW, I'm a newborn nurse... Not even a newbie. I just passed NCLEX on 22 July. :) how many years do I have to put in to be considered "seasoned"? Not "haggard"... "Seasoned". :)