This vile expression implies that experienced nurses do not treat new nurses kindly. My first problem with the statement is that it’s a generalization implying that all nurses are like that. Interestingly, whenever I hear someone utter the expression, I always say, “I don’t do that. Do you?” The person making the statement always says, “Oh no, I don’t, but many others do.” I’ve never heard even one nurse own up to doing this, although some nurses are willing to indict the entire profession. Every time that statement is repeated, it causes harm and casts a dark shadow on every nurse. Say anything enough, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Please note that by moderator consensus some of the "Nurses Eat Their Young" posts will be referred to this thread where there can be an ongoing discussion, rather than several threads saying the same thing.
To students and new grads that are having problems with nurses, please take a moment to read the above link. Is it really the entire profession, every single nurse, or do you need help with one or a few nurses? We will be glad to help you in dealing with those people, but let bury the phrase "Nurses Eat Their Young".
To experienced nurses who claim our profession eats it's young, please take a moment to read it as well and think about it. Also take time to teach, be friendly and nurturing to the new nurse and students on your unit.
BEEN TREATED LIKE CRAP MYSELF, HAD A INT THROWED ON ME WITH BLOOD STILL IN THE LINE, RUINED A PERFECTLY GOOD UNIFORM, MANAGED TO BE MADE TO LOOK AT LIKE I WAS THE FOOL, HAD TO SCRUB AND THE WHOLE NINE YARDS, DON'T KNOW MAYBE IT WAS SOME KIND OF INITIATION!:offtopic: BY A MORE MATURE NURSE THAN MYSELF, FIRST DAY OF TRAINING TO BE EXACT AND THE VERY REASON I HAVE NOT AT THIS TIME EVER WORKED IN A HOSPITAL SETTING.:stone:stone:stone
That kind of behavior is uncalled for. Some one who throws lines at you should be enrolled in anger management. This is a case of abuse. You cannot treat others badly under any circumstances no matter how expereinced of a nurse you are. I am truly sorry you had to go through this.
That kind of behavior is uncalled for. Some one who throws lines at you should be enrolled in anger management. This is a case of abuse. You cannot treat others badly under any circumstances no matter how expereinced of a nurse you are. I am truly sorry you had to go through this.
I have been in the nursing profession for a while now, and have worked in two countries as a nurse. I have seen this kind of behavior in every facility I have worked in (U.S and in Canada). Not all nurses are behave in this mannor but some do. It has nothing to do with sexism, women and the whole nursing profession being bashed. These are similar attitudes people have in regards to their nursing experiences. I think these people are voicing their concerns to hopefully send out a message that this kind of behavior is not okay. Many people agree from new grads, students to even experienced nurses, nurses do eat their young and it happens everywhere. If this wasn't such a big issue then why have so many people responded to this thread, the majority of them supporting nurses eating their young. You are taking this to a whole different level. It has nothing to do with gender, more to do with the expereinces people have gone through, it just happens that the nursing field is full of WOMEN.
That kind of behavior is uncalled for. Some one who throws lines at you should be enrolled in anger management. This is a case of abuse. You cannot treat others badly under any circumstances no matter how expereinced of a nurse you are. I am truly sorry you had to go through this.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
sorry, but i'm going by observation. one nurse told me she was told by a male nurse this advice as a new grad out of school "cheri you are very pretty. don't wear make-up and make sure your uniforms are a little baggy, because if the other nurses even get a hint that you are attractive, you're dead meat."
i felt that was pretty bad that that was the only advice he had to offer her. i don't mean to bash females, but oh man, when there's a group, this is what happens. plus nurses do eat their young, because if they didn't, this thread wouldn't exist. nurses have a very high turnover rate, all over. i have friends that are nurses in different states and countries, and the story is always the same. one of the reasons for high turnover at hospitals, other than being overworked is the treatment of new nurses. during my orientation we spent an entire day on "one the job violence: nurses eating their young". people can be in denial about it, but this phenomenon does exist, whether there are nurses that want to believe it or not. i'm even willing to bet that there are some right now reading these post and not caring at all in any shape or form how they treat their co-workers.
no i'm not saying every nurse is like this, just like not every female is like this, but its more than a fair share... will this stop, probably not... that would be too much like right... and there are people out there that don't like right. and some of those people are in the nursing profession.
interestingly enough, i can take being overworked, dealing with patients and their pia family members... i just can't handle nasty acting nurses... we're on the same team and when a few sow discord and are not stopped, it ruins everything for everyone. its a two sided sword. this exists, but at the same time, these nurses are permitted to behave like this. if they weren't, then this wouldn't be such a hot topic peaking out at over 1000 replies.
this thread doesn't exist because "nurses eat their young." this thread exists, and has so many responses because there are lots of people out there who find the idea that "nurses eat their young" as a comforting explanation for the problems they're having in their new jobs and their new careers. this thread solves two very basic problems for lots of folks out there:
first, since "nurses eat their young," the problems i'm having with my preceptor and all the other people at work can't possibly be my fault. i don't have to look at my own behavior and try to analyze what i've brought to the interactions. i can just explain it away by saying "look -- it's just those cranky old nurses chewing' on their young. everybody says so."
and saying it's because "that's what happens when a bunch of women get together -- that's what women do" also diminishes one's own responsibility for the problems one is having. the thing is, hazing exists in every occupation, including the tradionally male dominated ones. ever see the movie "north country"? take a look at the character of hazing that existed in that male dominated occupation -- some of those "jokes" were potentially (or actually) lethal! the difference between hazing in a group of women and hazing in a group of men is that male hazing tends to be more physical and potentially physically harmful and that men seem to accept it as a rite of passage and move on.
elsewhere on this board, we've seen threads that indicate some newbie believes all her problems with her co-workers have root in the "fact" that she's just so much more attractive than everyone around her. if you refuse to accept that at face value and read between the lines of her posts, you come to see that this woman regards her co-workers as "old dogs" or "old fossils who should stand aside and make way for me to rock the er (or icu or or or labor suites)." true, i'm an "old fossil" by some standards, but i really believe the troubles these newbies are having at work as more to do with her feelings about her co-workers being visible than about any extraordinary beauty she may or may not have.
the people who blame their problems on nurses eating their young "because it's a female dominated profession and females are catty" really don't like women all that much. it's particularly sad when you note that so many of those people are women!
i've been around a long time -- long enough to see many nurses go from novice to expert, and to see many extraordinarily cute young things marry, have children and become middle-aged, over-weight and tired. one thing i have noticed -- and it seems to hold true with few exceptions -- is that those newbies who scream that "nurses eat their young" and "those mean old nurses are always picking on me for no reason" inevitably turn into the very same "nasty old hags" that this year's crop of newbies is screaming about eating them.
this thread doesn't exist because "nurses eat their young." this thread exists, and has so many responses because there are lots of people out there who find the idea that "nurses eat their young" as a comforting explanation for the problems they're having in their new jobs and their new careers. this thread solves two very basic problems for lots of folks out there:
first, since "nurses eat their young," the problems i'm having with my preceptor and all the other people at work can't possibly be my fault. i don't have to look at my own behavior and try to analyze what i've brought to the interactions. i can just explain it away by saying "look -- it's just those cranky old nurses chewing' on their young. everybody says so."
and saying it's because "that's what happens when a bunch of women get together -- that's what women do" also diminishes one's own responsibility for the problems one is having. the thing is, hazing exists in every occupation, including the tradionally male dominated ones. ever see the movie "north country"? take a look at the character of hazing that existed in that male dominated occupation -- some of those "jokes" were potentially (or actually) lethal! the difference between hazing in a group of women and hazing in a group of men is that male hazing tends to be more physical and potentially physically harmful and that men seem to accept it as a rite of passage and move on.
elsewhere on this board, we've seen threads that indicate some newbie believes all her problems with her co-workers have root in the "fact" that she's just so much more attractive than everyone around her. if you refuse to accept that at face value and read between the lines of her posts, you come to see that this woman regards her co-workers as "old dogs" or "old fossils who should stand aside and make way for me to rock the er (or icu or or or labor suites)." true, i'm an "old fossil" by some standards, but i really believe the troubles these newbies are having at work as more to do with her feelings about her co-workers being visible than about any extraordinary beauty she may or may not have.
the people who blame their problems on nurses eating their young "because it's a female dominated profession and females are catty" really don't like women all that much. it's particularly sad when you note that so many of those people are women!
i've been around a long time -- long enough to see many nurses go from novice to expert, and to see many extraordinarily cute young things marry, have children and become middle-aged, over-weight and tired. one thing i have noticed -- and it seems to hold true with few exceptions -- is that those newbies who scream that "nurses eat their young" and "those mean old nurses are always picking on me for no reason" inevitably turn into the very same "nasty old hags" that this year's crop of newbies is screaming about eating them.
just something to think about.
ruby, i never said it was older nurses that dish out this type of abuse, that's what you implied. and yes, there are some women out there that feel that since they are attractive, their unsurpassed beauty must be a point for jealousy, therefore they are treated badly. interesting enough these are women that have not learn to cope with life without beauty and are used to being able to sway males with their beauty... but that's another topic.
i'm sure there are new nurses that have gone in new jobs and caused trouble, that doesn't mean that others haven't experienced abuse at work. yes you've been a nurse for some years, and i'm willing to bet, since you are very sensitive to this subject, that there is a chance you haven't been the nicest nurse to new nurses yourself.
i'm confident in the fact that i'm female, and that's why i can also way with confidence that women have some pretty bad traits when they get together as a group. its not bashing, but stating facts. i'm sure there are nursing units where all the women get along just fine, with very little discord and problems. but just because you are howling against the wind that everyone here is whining about this problem won't make it go away either. not everyone here is making it up... not everyone here is trying to pass the blame. i saw "north country", and it was sad about the hazing there, but i did notice that the unattractive women were very jealous of the chalize theron character because of her beauty. they wouldn't support her, even though they themselves didn't like the harassment that was happening to them.
there are older nurses on my floor, and everyone loves and supports them, one of them is dying right now as i write this message, and believe me when i tell you that the young and old nurses on the floor love her dearly and have never referred to her as the names in which you said have been placed on older nurses.
sometimes older nurses do come across as being abrupt and impatient, but that doesn't apply to all older nurses, just like being petty and vain doesn't apply to all pretty nurses, or just being a hot mess applies to nurses in general. i'm not in denial about any of the things in this field, especially the fact that nurses eat their young, i'm also not going to excuse older nurses for this type of behavior just in retaliation to a bunch of immature kids. there's not excuse for it young or old, and i mean that in literal sense and experience wise. however it does happen, for any reason, and not from being overworked, but from relationships between nurses that usually go sour in some area or another, and it usually is on subjects that are sensitive to women, because the field is mostly made up of females: ie. age. i've seen units where if you are attractive you wont get hired there... no one says this, but if you see the nurses working on the unit, you know its true. i've seen units being divided between nurse that are married and nurses that are, nurses that are parents and nurses that aren't, and the list goes on. yeah, i'm speaking in general terms, because this is a huge thread. no, this doesn't happen to every single nurse, but it does happen so much so that if effects and entire occupation, there is no getting around it. i'm sure there are a lot of people that don't like what i'm saying, i can't apologize for having and opinion based on my own personal experience, but clearly it is an experience that rings true to a lot of other people here as well.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
ruby, i never said it was older nurses that dish out this type of abuse, that's what you implied. and yes, there are some women out there that feel that since they are attractive, their unsurpassed beauty must be a point for jealousy, therefore they are treated badly. interesting enough these are women that have not learn to cope with life without beauty and are used to being able to sway males with their beauty... but that's another topic.
i'm sure there are new nurses that have gone in new jobs and caused trouble, that doesn't mean that others haven't experienced abuse at work. yes you've been a nurse for some years, and i'm willing to bet, since you are very sensitive to this subject, that there is a chance you haven't been the nicest nurse to new nurses yourself.
i'm confident in the fact that i'm female, and that's why i can also way with confidence that women have some pretty bad traits when they get together as a group. its not bashing, but stating facts. i'm sure there are nursing units where all the women get along just fine, with very little discord and problems. but just because you are howling against the wind that everyone here is whining about this problem won't make it go away either. not everyone here is making it up... not everyone here is trying to pass the blame. i saw "north country", and it was sad about the hazing there, but i did notice that the unattractive women were very jealous of the chalize theron character because of her beauty. they wouldn't support her, even though they themselves didn't like the harassment that was happening to them.
there are older nurses on my floor, and everyone loves and supports them, one of them is dying right now as i write this message, and believe me when i tell you that the young and old nurses on the floor love her dearly and have never referred to her as the names in which you said have been placed on older nurses.
sometimes older nurses do come across as being abrupt and impatient, but that doesn't apply to all older nurses, just like being petty and vain doesn't apply to all pretty nurses, or just being a hot mess applies to nurses in general. i'm not in denial about any of the things in this field, especially the fact that nurses eat their young, i'm also not going to excuse older nurses for this type of behavior just in retaliation to a bunch of immature kids. there's not excuse for it young or old, and i mean that in literal sense and experience wise. however it does happen, for any reason, and not from being overworked, but from relationships between nurses that usually go sour in some area or another, and it usually is on subjects that are sensitive to women, because the field is mostly made up of females: ie. age. i've seen units where if you are attractive you wont get hired there... no one says this, but if you see the nurses working on the unit, you know its true. i've seen units being divided between nurse that are married and nurses that are, nurses that are parents and nurses that aren't, and the list goes on. yeah, i'm speaking in general terms, because this is a huge thread. no, this doesn't happen to every single nurse, but it does happen so much so that if effects and entire occupation, there is no getting around it. i'm sure there are a lot of people that don't like what i'm saying, i can't apologize for having and opinion based on my own personal experience, but clearly it is an experience that rings true to a lot of other people here as well.
how interesting. you're fixated on age, attractiveness and bashing women as a group, and you think that because i think you're wrong, it must be that i'm not very nice to new nurses. how very interesting.
i'm not denying that there are nurses who aren't very nice to each other, but i refuse to generalize that it's because they're women and "women are like that" or because anyone is jealous of someone else's beauty. i will venture to generalize and say that anyone who keeps having the same problems over and over with everyone at work being mean to them for no good reason ought to take a really close look at their own contributions to the negative interactions they keep having. and perhaps despising their own gender is contributory.
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
If we took a poll and asked 100 random women the question "Do you think that in general, women are catty?" I guarantee 95% would answer "yes".
I am confused as to how one cannot agree with this...
And believing this does not mean I don't like women. I just know them....
I have several close friends and get along well with "most" of my co-workers....and yes, there are the "gossip mongers" both at work and among my friends. It is a fact of life.
how interesting. you're fixated on age, attractiveness and bashing women as a group, and you think that because i think you're wrong, it must be that i'm not very nice to new nurses. how very interesting.
i'm not denying that there are nurses who aren't very nice to each other, but i refuse to generalize that it's because they're women and "women are like that" or because anyone is jealous of someone else's beauty. i will venture to generalize and say that anyone who keeps having the same problems over and over with everyone at work being mean to them for no good reason ought to take a really close look at their own contributions to the negative interactions they keep having. and perhaps despising their own gender is contributory.
you're the one that gave references to age and beauty, since that seems to be an issue with you. i never specified this phenomenon as being age specific, those were points you brought up, i can't help it if i used some of your argument to suggest my point.
i still think you are one of the nurses that dishes out a lot of this treatment. again, as i said before, there are a variety of reasons why nurses treat each other cruelly. but i can see that you just want to be right and that's all that matters to you.
And believing this does not mean I don't like women. I just know them....I have several close friends and get along well with "most" of my co-workers It is a fact of life.
Do you include yourself in the category of catty women, because it's a fact of life that women are just that way, or is it "them" but not you?
Count me in the 5% that doesn't agree that women are catty. I find nurses to be kind, nuturing, gentle and intelligent people, most of whom are tired working women just trying to get through the day under dreadful working conditions conditions. Many of whom balance a tough home life was well, raising kids, struggling with the economy and pay bils, dealing with deadbeat dads or spouses that can't relate to the stress of nursing and nursing school, dealling with elderly parents and grandparents. Most nurses amaze me with their stamina, because I couldn't do it. To call these people catty just doesn't sit right with me.
Do you include yourself in the category of catty women, because it's a fact of life that women are just that way, or is it "them" but not you?
Count me in the 5% that doesn't agree that women are catty. I find nurses to be kind, nuturing, gentle and intelligent people, most of whom are tired working women just trying to get through the day under dreadful conditions.
You're the one that gave references to age and beauty, since that seems to be an issue with you. I never specified this phenomenon as being age specific, those were points you brought up, i can't help it if I used some of your argument to suggest my point.
I still think you are one of the nurses that dishes out a lot of this treatment. Again, as I said before, there are a variety of reasons why nurses treat each other cruelly. But I can see that you just want to be right and that's all that matters to you.
It's very hard to judge a person by their posts on an internet and let's try not to do that. Let's try to stick to the topic of "Do nurses their young" without getting personal and making accusations about one another. I'm quoting your post, but my post is a reminder to us all to express our opinions, agree to disagree, and not personalize it too much, and not bait one another (whether concsiously or unconsciously. Thanks.
People are catty. There are mean, gripey old nurses, and arrogant, ignorant new nurses. Anyone who has worked within a large group could tell you this.
Denying that "nurses eat their young" is naive, as is denying that some young deserve to be eaten.
It's knowing one from the other that is important.
It is a fact of life.
happypea
16 Posts
That kind of behavior is uncalled for. Some one who throws lines at you should be enrolled in anger management. This is a case of abuse. You cannot treat others badly under any circumstances no matter how expereinced of a nurse you are. I am truly sorry you had to go through this.