Define: Nurses Eating Their Young

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This is an older thread that still has significance in the nursing field today:

I see this posted all the time. I always thought it was someone who deliberately embarrasses or has a tantrum for the express purpose of making the other person feel small and/or stupid in front of others. Am I wrong in this thinking?

...And here are some updated articles about this topic:

Nurses Eating Their Young, A Different Perspective

Why Do Nurses Eat Their Young?

Nurses Eating Their Young Is Not Okay

Not all Instructors, preceps or Dons are bad. Before I became an RN, I was in LPN school and doing clinicals along with a bunch of the RN students that day. I remember the RN instructor who had nothing to do with supervising me, go out of her way at the end of the day, to introduce herself and tell me that she couldnt help but notice all the extras I gave to my patients that day.

That meant a lot to me and was so very encouraging!

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Specializes in OB, ortho/neuro, home care, office.
I lost my first nursing job out of school. I worked in an LDRP unit in a small semi-rural hospital, and the preceptor I had was the big hero nurse of the unit (I'm sure you know what I mean, every unit has one), and although she was an excellent nurse, we were not a good personality match. Aside from that, there were days that there were nursing students on the unit that she'd precept too along with me. So then I'd get passed to whatever preceptor was on that day. Finally, when I did make a mistake, and advance a diet from clear to full on a C/S pt (on the preceptor's advice), the doc went nuts on me, and went to my boss and guess what - she did not defend me. I was being trained directly to labor as a new grad, and trying to learn pp and nursery. Other people there could see that I was struggling, but I just didn't fit in with these people who have all worked together for 15 years - I was only the third new hire in the last 5 years!!!! :crying2:

I wanted to quit nursing altogether, but now I work med surg, which I dont like, but the staff are wonderful and have so much faith in me and i don't think horizontal violence has to be the norm. I think it takes good leadership to prevent it.

WOW! To say this fits my recent life to a 'T' would be an understatement. I am currently looking for a new job.

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I am not a nurse but the same thing happens in any job. The person training you might think you are a bother and "eat you" :rotfl:

Also, at school......remember when you were a freshman :)

You are right, just like high school. Things were better in kindergarten....

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.
You are right, just like high school. Things were better in kindergarten....

:rotfl: ahhhh kindergarten............If only we could turn back the hands on time. :)

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Specializes in Correctional Nursing, Geriatrics.
I was also impressed by the actions of the DON and nursing instructor in this situation. :yeah: :yeah: :yeah:

You are also correct when you point out that this type of problem is allowed to continue when management does not handle these situaitons appropriately.

You're my kind of manager mydesyngn.

The bad thing is when the management is right in on the backstabbing...I have recently been finding out some things our boss does...when all the nurses are getting along she will tell one another said something about her...that is a total LIE! :angryfire Why would anyone act like this...especially a boss? It drives me CRAZY? Recently I and another nurse have been victims of her lies. We want to confront her...any suggestions on how to do so without ticking her off?

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The bad thing is when the management is right in on the backstabbing...I have recently been finding out some things our boss does...when all the nurses are getting along she will tell one another said something about her...that is a total LIE! :angryfire Why would anyone act like this...especially a boss? It drives me CRAZY? Recently I and another nurse have been victims of her lies. We want to confront her...any suggestions on how to do so without ticking her off?

Good example. I worked for a president of a company who behaved that way routinely. Her philosophy was divide and conquer. IDIOT.

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Comments like this:

A majority of them are old ugly ass battleaxes too.

are just as inappropriate.

Horizontal violence is not caused solely by older nurses toward new nurses. There are plenty of nasty newbies out there, too.

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Comments like this:

are just as inappropriate.

Horizontal violence is not caused solely by older nurses toward new nurses. There are plenty of nasty newbies out there, too.

Boy, that WAS Nasty! I hate to see any so called professional refer to another in this way.. This poster will do REALLY WELL in her career. HMMM, maybe she'd like to work for me? A little retrain and re-ed is in order!

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Specializes in ER.

Debate the topic, not the poster please.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ER.
Comments like this:

are just as inappropriate.

Horizontal violence is not caused solely by older nurses toward new nurses. There are plenty of nasty newbies out there, too.

It's just that the older nurses are the ones with all the power so they're more likely to get away with it. I'm not defending the battleax terminology. However if a newbie comes into a unit with a bad attitude she will be smushed within about 12 hrs.

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Horizontal violence is inappropriate, no matter the age of the perpetrator.

I'm just tired of the whole expression, and as I said, there are penty of new nurses out there who are just as bad. I've seen older nurses run off units who were staffed with a majority of new nurses.

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I experienced this to an extent the other night at work. I work in this LTC place where I am pool and they are so short staffed. I imagine treating pool employees like crap might have something to do with it! Anyway, I made a mistake, but I do not beleive I am completely at fault because I was not given a proper report. This woman with one leg apparently had a bed that went all the way to the ground. It looked like a regular hospital bed, I was told she was continent, and could only needed to to be there with pretty much no assistance to transfer to wheelchair. In any case, I'd been interacting with this nice woman all night, and there were no signs in her room about this bed that would need to go all the way down to the floor when she was put to bed for the night, nor were there any signs that she needed a brief and the LPN in charge never mentioned anything to me. When the night CNA came on shift she was really rude to me about my mistake and was talking to me in a horrible way. I immediately spoke up and told her just as bluntly "do NOT speak to me like this. I was not told about the bed or the brief during report, I am pool and have never been on this pavilion before!" She immediately changed her tune and apoligized and admitted I should have been told by the nurse or the other CNA who gave me report. I imagine if I had just took the treatment she would have continued to speak to me like I was a child who had misbehaved. I *cannot* stand this holier-than-thou attitude by others. I sometimes wonder if its because this is a predominantly female field, but then my husband reminds me he is in IT and has the same kind of catty attitude by men too.

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