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.
Specializes in Medical-Surgical-Ortho-Neuro-Agency.
BunnyRN, my mantra is that it does not have to be this way and that it will not change until each of us confront the evil. We are the voice of Helps, but we are sick within our own ranks, there is a need for a champion, I chose to be the champion and I will confront the ignorant nurse, no matter what he/she uses as a defense for "teaching". It is not right, it is not helping, it is mean spiritedness. ENOUGH already!! nanacarol
If you don't stand up for yourself, they will only take advantage of the situation, and think that you enjoy being treated that way. Speak up, and explain that you won't accept being treated that way or spoken to that way. Be serious about it, so that they understand that you mean business.
Maybe we shouldn't say "eat our young", but I have to say in today's world nurses eat everyone. Most recently I relocated and took a job at a hospital that came highly recommended as being "great" to it's nursing staff. What I found within a day of working there was that the group of women I was working with were the nastiest group I had ever encountered and I've been a nurse for 27 years. They gave excellent care but talked to each other like dogs. There were many times my eyes just popped out of my head because of the banter that went back and forth. I can't speak for what it's like to work in other fields where women are the majority but I have to say that what I observe in nursing is a carry over of elementary school attitudes towards each other. I've actually been accused of being intimadating to others I believe for just being confidant in my skills and knowledge. I've been a nurse for 27 years and if I can't exude confidence then there is something wrong with me. Don't get me wrong I am not a know it all. I learned a long time ago no one knows it all. I will ask questions if I don't understand, I will seek knowledge to better inform my patients, and yes I will refuse to perform a task which I feel puts my patient and myself in harms way. I hate to say this but there are too many women in nursing. The back stabbing, nasty chatter, and total disrespect I witnessed in my previous job actually made me sick to my stomach.
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
I totally agree with above post....I see it every day....I work on different units and it is everywhere...not just to the new nurses, but to older, experienced nurses as well....some are very nice and helpful and others are just plain rude, nasty and what I really hate is the ones that question everything you have done when you are giving report...Did you do such and such?? Did ya, Did ya, I am so fed up with one, next time I am going to tell her to quit questioning what I have done..if I say I have done it during report, that should be enough !!!
What is wrong with these people?? Are they feeling insecure and inadequate so they have to make someone else feel defensive??? I just don't understand them at all....pity, we work in such a stressful field to begin with, we don't need the added stress from our co-workers...sorry, thanks for the vent..
Specializes in Medical-Surgical-Ortho-Neuro-Agency.
I have to say in today's world nurses eat everyone. Most recently I relocated and took a job at a hospital that came highly recommended as being "great" to it's nursing staff. They gave excellent care but talked to each other like dogs. There were many times my eyes just popped out of my head because of the banter that went back and forth. I hate to say this but there are too many women in nursing. The back stabbing, nasty chatter, and total disrespect I witnessed in my previous job actually made me sick to my stomach.
I agree with your post, you are right, I was actually laughing, but it's sadly true. Many nurses are backstabbing and hateful.I see the animosity between nurses and aids, nurses and nurses, and everyone else. It is ridiculous that these people enter the nursing field to help people when they can't help each other. I do like the idea of more men entering nursing. I love working with them, more than other females, especially when they are gossipy.
What I think happens to the comaraderie between nurses is that we receive no level of credibility from management, MD's, PA's. Everyone thinks we think we're doctors. But the way I was taught to look at all those that work in medicine is that each and every one of us is an integral part of a team. A team that shares a goal of doing what is best for the patient. Doctors should welcome questions from nurses, questions help us learn and spark ideas in them. Doctors shouldn't be intimidated by a nurse who doesn't accept a lame answer. Let's be real we're not stupid and we can all tell when we're being BS'd. We're no different then patients really, when we don't understand something we want to understand so the next time we can answer the question. I'm a big person for asking the docs "so what's the plan". When I did this as I worked in a hospital in New Hampshire once I was looked at by the two docs I asked as if "what do you need to know the plan for," another time the cardiologist walked right passed me saying nothing then went to the phone and spoke to I don't know who regarding the plan for the patient. Now obviously these docs didn't see how letting me in on the plan could not only make their lives easier but also help the patient. Afterall I'm in the trenches with the patient, if the doc speaks to me and lets me know she's aware of the complaints the patient is offering or that she's formulating a new plan then I won't have to be on the phone asking questions I should already know the answer to. Effective communication between all staff members will insure the proper care given to our patients. I read the previous blog where the person states a study which showed that higher degreed nurses decreased mortality rates. I would like to know exactly what it was about these highly degreed nurses that caused such an effect on mortality rates. Was it there increased knowledge, was it there sense of confidence in approaching a MD knowing they had MSN behind their name, was it a teaching hospital, was the MD staff younger and more accepting of their input, what was the the nurse to patient ratio. Communication is what saves lives. I know in my own experience that when I truly felt I failed the patient it was usually due to a disregard from the higher authority regarding what I was reporting. So when we work in areas where MD's totally discount what we have to offer I think there is a tendency for us to take that frustration out on each other. Instead of lifting each and every RN up we tend to cut them off at the knees every chance we get just so we feel better. I always like to relate how you never catch MD's discussing their mistakes in an open forum. And we know they make mistakes and we also know the other doc's are aware. But there seems to be an unwritten law to keep it amongst themselves. Now when a nurse makes a mistake the news of that mistake hits the rounds before the ink is dry on the incident report. Now why is that. Most likely because we are meant to feel so inferior in our role that in order to feel superior we have to advertise the mistakes of others. Not to mention also that we are made to feel our mistakes no matter how minor will result in the death of a patient, or our discharge. We are human mistakes happen however Suzy ommitting a drug doesn't make her a bad nurse. With the majority of nurses being women and all the stress we as women have to carry on a daily basis we should go out of our ways to make sure that a work place that is dominated by women is not the equivalent to being tossed to the lions. Where is respect for each we should be sharing because are sisters are not only trying to do the best they can on the job but there trying to hold it all together outside the job. We are mothers, sisters, wives, we are in school, we are single parents, we wear many hats, many more hats then any MD you may be working with but yet we will through each other under the bus in the blink of an eye. Let me tell you some of the things that have been said to me in my past roles as a nurse, "your problem is your to smart", imagine saying that to a doctor. "your very good at what you do, so good that the other staff feels intimidated." That one was my favorite because what it says to me is I have to dumb myself down in order to make others feel secure. Why can't those who feel intimidated turn that around and say "I think she can teach me something", answer because to many of us think no one can teach us anything. In the field I've presently chosen to work Endoscopy I worked with a doctor who was one of the nicest people you'll ever meet but would I let him do my colonoscopy HELL NO, why because he does the entire exam in less then 3 minutes and actually that was a long exam for him. Now I approached the Medical Director of our unit asking if there was anything that could be done, could he himself talk to him about maybe taking longer to do an exam he said there was nothing he could do, that basically doctors won't approach another doctor regarding a manner like this. Now had a nurse worked outside the "guidelines" and what I'm implying here is that "she didn't do that the way I would have done it." her name would have been mud not only throughout the floor but word would have spread throughout the hospital quicker then any flu.
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
When I am charge I expect to be told important info from my other nurses so that I may share in report.....makes sense, no???
Well I go in report and during my report I have nurses pipe up and give info that I should have been told about....what is going on???
They want to appear the better, smarter nurse....does that help the pts. continuity of care?? Hell no....but it makes me appear ignorant when giving report....one will come in the room late, have pertinant info that should have been told to me earlier in the shift....
I am getting so tired of the competition and cattiness between co-workers that I am thinking about looking elsewhere to work...life is too short to have to be stressed out caring for pts. THEN NOT HAVE THE SUPPORT OF YOUR CO-WORKERS... I just cannot imagine why it is like this....when I am on a floor (I float), I always tell charge info that is needed....
I think I may check want ads this week....got to be something else to do.....any suggestions to get away from this behavior???
Specializes in Med Surg, Nursing Administration for SNF.
I had heard the phrase "nurses eat their young" often in school. didnt know what it meant til my first day on the job at a large teaching hospital. I was following a seasoned nurse (who immediately let me know that she was seasoned), we were in a pt room when the IV pump startied beeping. There were about four pumps all on one pole, I was so nervous and not at all familiar with the equipment. She gave me a nasty glare and yelled "well, turn it off!! I will never forget that. In my opinion, as a new inexperienced nurse, with no confidence whatsoever, a good preceptor is the single most important aspect of developing ones one roots in nursing. Maybe that wd prevent us from going on the defensive instead of helping each other to grow.
mulan and daucshland, we can eliminate the problem one episode at a time by confronting the individual (s). for the charge person, saying immediately after report, "i am confused, did you just get that piece of information?, next time, call me aside before report, only one of us needs to provide the group with updates and on the days that i am charge, that would be me" men confront issues for the most part, women tend to present in a passive aggressive, needy way, they fear supporting each other for fear that someone else will get the kudos. no, drs. don't rat each other out, no drs and others don't air their dirty linen infront of others. they are very careful to discuss issues in a safe haven forum, they have a creed that they hold dear. nurses still present as the epitome of the gossipy fish wife, non supportive, non confrontative but passive and mean spirited.we can make a difference but it requires each of to risk not being well thought of and subjecting ourselves to the queries of "who does she think she is, she does not know her place, why is she asking me questions, i am a nurse too". there is an article in rn today (sept) that speaks to this subject, this is not just a hospital nurse issue it is in academia and private practice also ending nurse to nurse hostility is a good read and will (gave me insight) provide information on the subject. i have decided that changing jobs is not the answer, if i am happy with the benefits and place of employment, i refuse to allow disfunction to chase me away. blessings to you both. nanacarol
dear nanacarol, I tried to stay at a hospital for the benefits and the pay as well as the mission statement. What it got me was fired. I'm an individual with free will and I refused at this particular job to be manipulated by those of "power". I was standing across from two long term nurses at this hospital and overheard one say to the other as she pointed to someone's name on the schedule "I really thought we could get her on our side but it doesn't look like it's going to happen." Since I was the only new person I assumed they were referring to me. Now I choose not to confront these two nurses but instead went to my manager where the anecdote fell on dead ears. I also had a nurse say to me "you need to learn to embrace the right people." Now I found this statement both hostile as well as ironic because the statement was made by an african american nurse to myself a white nurse. I can only imagine what would have evolved had the tables been turned and I made that statement to her. These two events on top of many others made me decide this was not the place for me however before I could find other employment I was shown the door because I couldn't take the games that were being played between the staff and also the fact that the games were condoned and initiated by my manager. So u see sometimes u have to move on or at least move on when your told to do so.
I think that moving on is the best for you LOL. But then you may need to refine your perception of things. Do you feel that every time someone speaks...they are talking about you? And if they are? is it because you are new to that workplace? You know what we were taught in nursing school...ASSUME.....makes an ass out of you and me!
If you know what you are doing when you go into a job, then just do your job....believe me if you do your job, you will be fine.
Specializes in Med Surg, Nursing Administration for SNF.
I think that moving on is the best for you LOL. But then you may need to refine your perception of things. Do you feel that every time someone speaks...they are talking about you? And if they are? is it because you are new to that workplace? You know what we were taught in nursing school...ASSUME.....makes an ass out of you and me!
If you know what you are doing when you go into a job, then just do your job....believe me if you do your job, you will be fine.
Very well said Softstorms. So much of life is "perception", but what we do about it is what counts.
No softstorm I don't believe everytime someone speaks they are talking about me. How naive for u to think that if u do your job that is all that matters. If I was judged on how I did my job I would probably still be there. You see I look at a job as just that a job. I don't clock in the morning then go off and have breakfast on company time, or check my personal email while others are admitting patients for the day, or play computer games on my PDA, or read my newest romance novel for three hours waiting to clock out, or sit for an hour in the am catching up on what everyone did since I last saw them when I'm suppose to be working. Nor do I put my canned soda on a stretcher that holds a patient while I push the stretcher back into the procedure room. And you won't hear me mutter the words "we don't do it that way here." And I would never tell someone to "just do it" because I can't give a logical reason as to why we have to do something. So the next time you want to LOL maybe you should practice a little of what you preach don't assume you know me or where I'm coming from. If you have been lucky enough to work with a group of nurses who are supportive and comfortable in there own skin then hats off to u. But everyone knows in order to survive in certain situtations you have to play the game and I for one have never been a game player. I should have been judge by my job description only as you say, not by whether or not I wanted to be "friends" with the people I work with, or whether I contributed to my managers wedding gift, or whether I was willing to dumb myself up in order to let someone else feel smarter. You see when I'm at work I actually work. I'm there for the patients, to serve their needs during a very frightening time of their life. I'm there to give the best care I know how to give even if that means accepting that I don't know it all.
BunnyRN
158 Posts
If you don't stand up for yourself, they will only take advantage of the situation, and think that you enjoy being treated that way. Speak up, and explain that you won't accept being treated that way or spoken to that way. Be serious about it, so that they understand that you mean business.