Disappointed in nursing

[nursingilove]

I've been a med/surg nurse for three years and I can't believe how caddy and back stabbing nursing can be. I know all about nurses eating their young but this is about mentoring and support then back stabbing. Makes me want to use my degree to do something else:(.

[RN-APNstudent]

It can be very frustrating to see how some nurses act toward each other. We are all here for the same purpose but some act like they're in high school and it's all about being social.

[caliotter3]

Let me assure you that nursing is not the only line of work where people can be catty and back stabbing. It just sticks out more because we expect nurses to act better because they supposedly have the patients' best interests in mind.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

My first question is:

Have you spent your entire career at the same job? Yes, there are nurses out there who participate in bullying. However, they aren't everywhere, and aren't as pervasive as some make them out to be. If you find that your current job is not as supportive as you like, why not look into another unit, another facility, or another specialty?

I've come across people in my job (a few different positions within one relatively large department) that I don't enjoy working with. But with my current position, I work with a much smaller team and we are more like family than just a bunch of people who work together. Most days I love my job, and those days I don't it's not because of those I work with but rather the difficulties in providing patient care that day. Supportive environments can make even the most difficult days easier to deal with. Look around, and I'll bet you can find a job that is a better fit for you.

[nursingilove]

Thank you for your replies each of them make sense.

I guess I have to grow and explore my options. Thanks again:)

[scottaprn]

There are tons of studies that demonstrate the nurses bully their colleagues at a higher rate than other professions. As nurses it is our job to work to curb this but instead we act like it goes on everywhere so we are no different. Complete BS- the rate of nurse bullying is higher than other professions and leads to higher job turnover and other associated problems with our profession. Instead we act like having half your roof blow off in a tornado is no big deal because the neighbor had a few shingles down.

I have no idea what the OP is dealing with so I don't know if you are bullied or just over sensitive. I do know that some nurses on this message board will not pay any attention to the facts concerning nursing bullying.

Dr. Berry from the University of Cincinnati and the Robert Wood foundation have published a great deal on nurses bullying. Take a look at it and see if you are being bullied. If you are fight it for the benefit of your profession.

I will now sit back to be flamed.

[Red Kryptonite]

caddy

I think you meant "catty." Caddy is that guy who carries the clubs on the golf course.

There are tons of studies that demonstrate the nurses bully their colleagues at a higher rate than other professions.

Got any citations?

[RN-APNstudent]

Great post Scott!

[nyc2011]

Sorry to hear this!!! from personal experience I would like to say MOVE TO A DIFFERENT UNIT OR HOSPITAL.

I never experienced this BUT there have been units I have went on where people don't seem friendly……..so don't feel nursing is what you experience specifically….

This will depend on your personality also….are you a timid person that is easy to take advantage? Do you stand up for yourself? The easiest way to go about this…is since you have been working for 3 years…DONT ASK THE NURSES…. as doctors! If you have trouble with a nursing related SKILL….ask another unit that is specialized in it. For example..chest tubes..if you aren't too familiar….and you get a patient that has that….call respiratory unit in your hospital and ask a nurse for help THEY WILL DO IT….

don't give up. if ur goal is to help people, where there is a will there is a way my friend

[Mavrick, BSN, RN]

I think you meant "catty." Caddy is that guy who carries the clubs on the golf course.

Prepare for the backlash on this one.

[Mavrick, BSN, RN]

Perhaps your school did not prepare you very well for nursing and your mentors have spent an over abundance of time getting you up to speed to be a functional member of their team and don't have anything better to do than talk about you behind your back.

Perhaps your expectations of nursing were over inflated because you read too many comic books or saw too many hyped-up commercials about nursing to where no job could meet your standards for job satisfaction.

Perhaps you are not as good a nurse as you think you are and the nurses stabbing you in the back are trying to get you to quit so you won't kill any of their patients.

Perhaps your fellow nurses don't feel very supported by you because you're always saying how disappointed you are in nursing and wish you had gone into another field and are writing about you on this board in another thread.

Knowing nothing about you or your situation, we can wildly speculate what may have cause your unhappiness.

People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. -- Abraham Lincoln

[Mavrick, BSN, RN]

There are tons of studies that demonstrate the nurses bully their colleagues at a higher rate than other professions. As nurses it is our job to work to curb this but instead we act like it goes on everywhere so we are no different. Complete BS- the rate of nurse bullying is higher than other professions and leads to higher job turnover and other associated problems with our profession. Instead we act like having half your roof blow off in a tornado is no big deal because the neighbor had a few shingles down.

I have no idea what the OP is dealing with so I don't know if you are bullied or just over sensitive. I do know that some nurses on this message board will not pay any attention to the facts concerning nursing bullying.

Dr. Berry from the University of Cincinnati and the Robert Wood foundation have published a great deal on nurses bullying. Take a look at it and see if you are being bullied. If you are fight it for the benefit of your profession.

I will now sit back to be flamed.

As with any "research study" you have to look at the assumptions and definitions to determine the validity of the conclusions. Based on anecdotal evidence presented here on AN, bullying is an overused / misused term that says as much about the ill-prepared new grad as burnt-out overworked and abused practicing nurses.