Title says it all . Second semester baby nurse in clinicals at a major hospital.
Patients = Awesome
Most Nurses = Very sweet and helpful
Some nurses are rude, terse, horrible with patients, horrible with students and horrible with each other.
To those nurses I say this, please retire.
Its only a matter of time before management figures out they can live without you and hire some very hungry and very competent new grads that want to be there to fill your dusty shoes....
word...
sadly the vast majority of the time these happen to also be charge nurses....in charge of what? Misery?
In fairness, I do think there's a gray area between appalling and reportable, and it's undoubtedly bigger and grayer to a student than to an experienced nurse. I feel lucky that I've never witnessed a reportable event, but I've been appalled a few times. Once, when my father was on step-down overflow in an ICU bed, I was a bit disgruntled by his nurse's lack of bedside manner. It was one of those "I'll never be like that," moments. But I was already a nurse with some experience, so I did appreciate that she was technically excellent, and wrote the rest off as "that ICU type." Apologies in advance to any ICU nurses who read this, but I'll bet if you're honest, you've seen what I mean, even if you aren't like that. Thing is, what I disliked wasn't remotely reportable, and in my opinion not even reportable to her charge nurse. But, really, I thought she ought to call herself by some other title than "nurse." We don't really know what the OP meant by "horrible," so it's hard to judge what should have been done about it. Maybe ranting on allnurses.com was enough. Or even too much.
Title says it all . Second semester baby nurse in clinicals at a major hospital.
Patients = Awesome
Most Nurses = Very sweet and helpful
Some nurses are rude, terse, horrible with patients, horrible with students and horrible with each other.
To those nurses I say this, please retire.
Its only a matter of time before management figures out they can live without you and hire some very hungry and very competent new grads that want to be there to fill your dusty shoes....
word...
sadly the vast majority of the time these happen to also be charge nurses....in charge of what? Misery?
Remember - your enemy is never an enemy in their own eyes - keep that in mind and you may find a way to make them a friend
Often those in charge feel that they cannot afford to be friends with staff because then they are in an invidious position if they have to reprimand someone. So they build a barrier. Best thing is to ignore the behaviour and do your job regardless. After all - it is only words and their behaviour is THEIR problem and not yours unless you make it yours
So I guess you are the competent new grad that will be replacing the dried up nurses? Its always nice to hear about new graduates that are almost ready for management.
but to witness "bitter dried up old nurses" is not accurate.
i've seen it from nsg assts, and other personnel.
i've reported it all.
but, as a caveat, there are nurses/assts who 'sound' abrasive...almost like they're yelling, but are actually very loving people.
be careful when you/we judge.
leslie
Leslie leslie leslie,
You are awesome :) And very wise....
I am a very pleasant person. I am respectful, I work hard, and I do anything that i am told to do with out question as long as it is legal and in the patients best interest.
You want me to clean up a cdiff eexplosion. No worries, it matters not.
I smile, I am kind and I treat everyone who crosses my path like solid gold.
I do not care how I am treated...but when I see these creatures treating the patients badly, thats where I draw the line.....most of the patients in this hospital are indigent and are too scared to report their poor treatment.
OP - I have never thought of myself as one of "them", even after 20 years of nursing - but to refer to them as "creatures"...
Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.
Mindlor, I can only comment on how I perceive the tone of your posts. It has nothing to do with the title for me. It was more the typed repitition "Leslie Leslie,Leslie" and " be advised" and" yes, yes I agree, let us all be careful when we judge" and "wow, hm, well, here's the deal". It just has a very negative flavor to it. If this is the way you are accustomed to speaking, you may not even know you do it but I do think if a nurse had to deal with even perceived condescending behavior or perceived arrogance (even if it's just a quirk in your way of speaking) it would put them off....especially since you are a student.
Pax...
This was my thought as well. The condescending tone comes across LOUD AND CLEAR. I could almost imagine the OP sitting in a parlor, fingers together in a pointed triangle, smiling and nodding at the "poor poor bitter dried up nurses that need to RETIRE" pontificating and offering pointers as to how we as nurses could improve our Press Ganey scores.
OP, I admire you for climbing an unspeakably difficult hill in order to overcome the obstacles thrown in your path. I can't pretend to understand your plight. I can only imagine that it was intensely hard.
I realize that you were in management previously and made a six figure salary. Management in healthcare is a different beast, but there are many nurses who have a background in management that contribute new ideas and formulate new plans in order to streamline our profession. It is needed. Desperately so.
I encourage you to abstain from judgment yourself. You have seen both sides of nursing; as a caregiver and as a patient. I have as well. Some nurses, regardless of age, have become jaded and do not offer an empathetic regard toward their patients and families. You are right: these nurses need to dispense with the occupation if they have come to the point of not caring. They are dangerous.
Please continue to offer your opinions about the nursing profession. However, I beg you to keep an open mind and an open heart when it comes to expressing your opinions firmly until you have worked for a year on your own. You will see a different side of nursing.
I agree that there are some people who should not even go to work in the morning. They are just tired and breed negativity. Based on some of the responses, your point is proven. People are so bitter, they can no longer see right from wrong.
It is not about the actual act itself. I have no problem whatsoever getting a patient a drink, or an extra blanket, or a snack. What I do have a problem with is when said patient is calling me into the room every 5 minutes (even though every time I leave the room I ask if they need anything else....), screaming at me when I do not get into the room immediately with what they asked for (I am sorry, my crashing patient trumps the extra pillow), screams at me when the doctor will not order any more pain medication (because the NPO patient won't stop eating the candy they had their family sneak in), and then goes on to tell their family/doctor/nurse manager that they have not seen the nurse all night/have had horrible care (even though I have spent the evening bending over backwards for their requests at the expense of spending time with my other 5 patients that truly need me there).
To reiterate: I have no issue with helping those that need it, but I do have a problem when they begin to act entitled, demanding, and at times, verbally abusive when they do not get what they want, when they want it.
i'm a nursing student and there might be some nasty veteran nurses out there but i think there are WAY more awesome supportive veteran nurses out there. do i expect the veterans to hold my hand and tell me "oh honey it's okay" when i make a mistake? ummm NO. i expect and deserve to get fussed at. the very first thing i ever messed up in clinicals (CNA clinicals) was that i didn't line the sink with a wash cloth before beginning to clean a pts dentures. supervising nurse chewed me out. and you know what? i never once since then have made that mistake. i think in general, aside from getting fussed at when i make a mistake, i get respect and support from the veterans because i afford them the same courtesy.
maybe tweak your attitude a little bit? while there will always be a*#holes out there in every field, i find that people generally treat me the way i treat them. hope this helps. good luck!
In 2008 after labor day I left my management job with a large corporation and left a very large 6 figure salary behind because I could not deal with the incongruence between my personal values and the corporate values that I had to contend with.
I just wondering why you left a job paying six figures to be a nurse. I think the only reason you want to be a nurse is because you feel you can improve the customer service aspect. I don't think you'll have time to focus solely on customer service between keeping your patients alive, dealing with doctors, the pharmacy, trying to get someone to cover your patients so you can have a bathroom break, dealing with family members, and delegating tasks to ancillary staff.
:yeah:
nursemike, ASN, RN
1 Article; 2,362 Posts
In fairness, I do think there's a gray area between appalling and reportable, and it's undoubtedly bigger and grayer to a student than to an experienced nurse. I feel lucky that I've never witnessed a reportable event, but I've been appalled a few times. Once, when my father was on step-down overflow in an ICU bed, I was a bit disgruntled by his nurse's lack of bedside manner. It was one of those "I'll never be like that," moments. But I was already a nurse with some experience, so I did appreciate that she was technically excellent, and wrote the rest off as "that ICU type." Apologies in advance to any ICU nurses who read this, but I'll bet if you're honest, you've seen what I mean, even if you aren't like that. Thing is, what I disliked wasn't remotely reportable, and in my opinion not even reportable to her charge nurse. But, really, I thought she ought to call herself by some other title than "nurse." We don't really know what the OP meant by "horrible," so it's hard to judge what should have been done about it. Maybe ranting on allnurses.com was enough. Or even too much.