Some mean Nurses.......

[Billsgirl]

hi everyone! i don't get to come to the site as often as i would like because of work and school, but since i have a tiny break from both right now i have some questions for you all, and i love reading about people who are in the same situations i am and learning too.

i started my cna (pca) job at a hospital on the med./peds. floor about two months ago. i love it! i am learning so much and my experiences have reinforced my desire to become a nurse. i only have one problem.

some of the nurses on my floor are just plain mean. i notice that it isn't that they are mean toward everyone, just the aides. now, i am older, (37) and a lot of the girls who are r.n.'s are younger than me, which may be part of the attitude, but the older ones are just as bad. it stinks because their harshness is uncalled for. is this just some initiation deal? am i being tested?

i know everyone is different, but i was hoping for a kind of "sisterhood" at this job, where i could make new friends and find a mentor or two. anyone else find a similar situation happening to them?

[I love my cat!]

Originally Posted by locolorenzo22

tip for the above 2 posters....just always check the date before posting...as sometimes most of us have moved on from said thread....before you 2, nobody's commented on this thread in 2 weeks.....nothing bad, just a FYI....

Well, at least they haven't reopened a 5-year-old thread by mistake!

Heck, if a thread is worth commenting on and the issue in the posts are still problems, I don't think there is anything wrong with posting in an old thread.

Personally, I would rather build on an old thread than have a new threads started every week, repeating the same topic.

Oh, and those that think missed breaks and/or lunches that are interrupted are OK, please check your State labor laws.

In CA (for example) a 30 minute lunch break MUST be uninterrupted or you are paid for 1 hour.

Labor law:

No employer shall employ any person for a work period of more than five (5) hours without a meal period of not less than 30 minutes, except that when a work period of not more than six (6) hours will complete the day's work the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of the employer and the employee. Unless the employee is relieved of all duty during a 30 minute meal period, the meal period shall be considered an "on duty" meal period and counted as time worked.

[mom_3cuties]

I understand where you are coming from. I was a CNA and am now in my second yr of LPN school. I think a lot of problems are with people who think they are better than others. Doctors do it to nurses, nurses do it to aides, and some aides do it to housekeepers, bedmakers, laundry, etc. There is so much stress when workin in the healthcare field, that I think people forget common courtesy. hang in there; once they see you are good at your job, you will earn their respect. You have to remember, there are a lot of aides out there that are just in it for the money; this has to irritate the nurses, who are responsible for the pts. Once they know that you are different, it will be easier for them to treat you nice.

[love_being_an_aide]

On the other hand, there are a lot of nurses out there who are just in it for the money. It works both ways.

[jb2u, ASN, RN]

Your not alone.... I say more than half of the nurses are rude to the aides, they think they can boss us around, make us do all the dirty work, while they sit around and chat w/ each other... Some will not acknowlege you, but once they get new admits or need help w/ vital signs thats when they come around and talk to you.... it's unfortunate how they treat the aides when we do most of the patient care....Sometimes a thank you is always good

Just a friendly note from staff....

qualifying this statement with..."In YOUR opinion more than half of the nurses....."

Again, this forum was created by a Nurse for cna's. For the number one nursing site on the internet to include cna's shows the respect cna's are given here. Please, do not turn this into a forum to bash nurses. Many have said on this forum that nurses should be required to work as a cna before becoming a nurse because many cna's feel that nurses do not understand what they go through on a daily basis. I agree 100%!!! However, this same argument can be used to say..."do not judge a nurse, as some here are, because unless one is a nurse, he/she knows little of what the job entails.

I really hate to see adults "fight" about this topic. I've seen cna's (when I was a cna) SIT in the day room almost the whole shift. I've seen cna's sleeping during the night shift in a hospital (while I worked as a cna). I've seen cna's leave the floor for hours. The point is....some people have a good work ethic and some do NOT...it really has nothing to do with what title they have earned in life, be it CNA, RN, RT, mechanic, plumber, or even MD!!!! I've seen customer service people that would not go the extra mile to help a customer in need. I've seen soldiers that "looked the other way." I've seen mechanics take short cuts. I've seen MD's that didn't want to do THEIR job. They've wanted me to do things that I couldn't legally do because only an MD/DO could do. I'm just trying to prove that yes you will find some mean, lazy, "in it for the money" nurses, but you will find all professions that have people that are less than delightful and got into their profession for the wrong reasons, thus making life unpleasant for those working with, as well as under, them!!! Hopefully this thread has run it's course. If not, please remember to respect the fact that cna's are included as an integral part of allnurses. One can do this by not using this forum to bash nurses.

Regards,

Jay, Assistant Admin

[johnsboo]

I have been an aide for over 12 years, both in LTC and hospitals. I just would like to put in my two cents here about the way all nursing staff treat each other.

I have seen aid to aid bullying, nurse to nurse bullying, and nurse to aide bullying. It seems in healthcare, there is some underlying need to be petty and to gossip.

My impression is that since it is largely a workforce of women, that all the petty jealousies so many girls participated in back in the middle school years, never really leaves some women.

I hated it then and I hate it now, but you really can't change some people. Just make sure that you don't gossip, or make snide remarks, or act petty yourself.

If someone acts that way toward you, just smile, and continue to do a great job.

Maintain your professionalism and in the end you will know that you are doing the right thing.

In any profession there are people that aren't going to be nice to you, there are people that aren't going to like you, and there are people that are just plain rotten. Don't worry about them. You are there for the patient and to assist the nurse in her many tasks.

Also remember as an Aide, the nurse has a huge amount of responsibility and a ton of stress to deal with. She or He, has a lot of people standing over her/him just waiting to let the nurse take the final blame for any thing that goes wrong, and that includes the fact that YOU are working on their license. That's right, your negligence, wether, intentional or not, falls back on your nurse. Keep that in mind. Respect what your nurse goes through and she will respect you as well.