Changing a complaining profession

Hello All!

It would be ironic if this post was a complaint, so I pose it as a constructive inquiry:

Lately, I have been ruminating on the reputations of our profession. With all of its amazing attributes, I feel its important to look with equanimity at the shadow side. Recently, a colleague reflected that regardless of the quality of the nurse, complaining about trivialities was one of her least favorite characteristics of nurses.

Now, I know that we have a lot to stick up for. I applaud our activism, representation, and correction of stereotypes. I find that my professional circle is CRUCIAL when I need to vent about a significant difficulty related to being an RN.

Yet I wonder how we change the tendency to negatively gossip, change the cattiness of nursing staffs, the hierarchical rivalries between NPs, RNs, LPNs, CNAs, MAs, etc.

Patient's notice this all the time: the nurse who is so caught up in B*$@%ing about the copy machine and their shift that they can't take time to empathize and care, they forget what it's like to be hospitalized. How can we as nurses change this poor reflection of our competence and professionalism?

I welcome your ideas!

B