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.
I completely agree with you....nurses are not particular about who they try to intimidate or make look bad....it is sad but true...
I would guess about 50% of our colleages behave this way and the other half try to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
I am proud to say I fall in to the latter.....
From Nurse 430+yrs:
One of the interesting things Quint Studer says in his book "Results that Last"...about health care: "health care workers are trained to focus on what's wrong, and for good reason: What's wrong can kill someone."---Pg 42. He goes on to say (paraphrased) because we are taught and work in an environment that is assessing for something wrong--it becomes more difficult to focus on "what is right" and "positive"----if we unconsciously operate on a negative cultural (even in the workplace) ---positioning people in a positive light---therefore is somewhat "counter culture" to the way we are/were trained. ---It takes an unusual person to consciously recognize this and be more positive....
When health care entities enforce the new Joint Commision Standard on Disruptive Behavior perhaps some of these negative, backbiting, people will have to move on!
Specializes in med surg, geriatric, clinical, pool.
It's sad that new nurses or for that matter ANYONE has to put up with this; This is one of the many reason Joint Commission has come out with a new standard that MUST be in effect by January 2009....in various health care organizations. Basically this type of behvavior has been researched and demonstrated to negatively impact patient care and outcomes.
See new Joint Commission Standands on Disruptive behavior or PM me for a copy of an article. nurse430+yrs
Thanks I will. I had so many problems from day one as a new nursing student. I head of nursing didn't like me, for what reason I will never know, but she haunts me over .3 of one point I was put out of the nursing program even though I really did pass.
Specializes in med surg, geriatric, clinical, pool.
i would have to answer "yes" and "no" to the question of nurses eating their young. as a still fairly new nurse, i have had some nurses treat me horribly when i 1st granduated. the thing is i actually had been working with these same nurses for about 8 months prior as a student nurse extern. as soon as i graduated, they changed the way they treated me and other new grads. in fact, i had walked in on a conversation in the breakroom where my so called supportive co-workers were saying "they need to stop hiring these new nurses" as well as other comments. certain seasoned nurses would give the "pain in the you know what" to us new nurses. they would push off their diurty work on us and then say "its good experiance" and laugh!
however, at the same time, their was some wonderful seasoned nurses who would support us professionally in anyway they could. when i walked in i new what kind of night i was going to have depending on the nurses i was working with.
as far as new nurses treating "older" nurses poorly, i see that happen as well. we have a "older" nurse who is not only close to retirement but also a lpn. i have witnessed her be treated with disrespect several times by new, young nurses.
the truth is, i have seen this in other professions, too, just not as much. the one thing with nursing that is different then many other careers is that if someone else is slow, or not yet skilled, then other employees need to pick up the slack whether they want to or not. for example, a new nurse may not have her priortizing down yet and fall behind in administering her meds. this is when the charge nurse and/or other nurses on the floor will need to jump in and help the new nurse get back on track. this can cause some resentment when the nurses helping have a lot to do themselves. just a thought.
jennifer
you are right in so many ways, but sadly this is the reason i quit nursing after 8 yrs. i could not stand the thought of what i was going to walk into. every day was a stupid battle instead of just being able to be the nurse i always wanted to be since a little girl. it got so ridulous that every day i was having to take up for myself over someone's silly remarks. finally i started giving it back and they quit. one gay guy used to talk to "smart" to me i finally told him that if he was a man he wouldn't talk to me that way, and of course he said he would. finally i said " no you wouldn't because if i was a man i would beat your a** in the parking lot" because that is how men take care of problems. he quit! he was a terrible cna anyway.
come on... it's not just reserved for the young. anyone who finds themselves in a weak position will be eaten.
let's face it. it's a woman's domain, and many of them cannot handle having a bit of power without it going to their head.
heck, i've worked with some women so crazy they couldn't order food from a restaurant without power tripping on the person taking the order over the phone. sad but true. these same nurses would be telling you instantly if one of your pumps was beeping, yet they'd sit and let their own pumps beep for an hour. anything to stir up trouble.
my solution? as a man, i don't want to be in charge of anything. i float so i'm not on a unit more than a few nights. i just do what it takes to make the $$ and avoid the b.s.
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
come on... it's not just reserved for the young. anyone who finds themselves in a weak position will be eaten.
let's face it. it's a woman's domain, and many of them cannot handle having a bit of power without it going to their head.
heck, i've worked with some women so crazy they couldn't order food from a restaurant without power tripping on the person taking the order over the phone. sad but true. these same nurses would be telling you instantly if one of your pumps was beeping, yet they'd sit and let their own pumps beep for an hour. anything to stir up trouble.
my solution? as a man, i don't want to be in charge of anything. i float so i'm not on a unit more than a few nights. i just do what it takes to make the $$ and avoid the b.s.
smart guy... .I agree with you completely, and I am female....
I am working PRN now floating for the same reason....also just want to work when I want to..!!!!! Do my job, stay out of the gossip and make the $$ !!! sometimes they mistake kindness and compassion for weakness also....I am not weak, but have been nibbled on by those who don't know the difference....
smart guy... .I agree with you completely, and I am female....
I am working PRN now floating for the same reason....also just want to work when I want to..!!!!! Do my job, stay out of the gossip and make the $$ !!! sometimes they mistake kindness and compassion for weakness also....I am not weak, but have been nibbled on by those who don't know the difference....
I guess, that grade school teachers, and day care workers (female dominated professions), have to catch-up with nursing to be true to their gender.
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
I guess, that grade school teachers, and day care workers (female dominated professions), have to catch-up with nursing to be true to their gender.
I don't think that you can compare the two professions....teachers do not work TOGETHER for 12 hr. shifts.....and need to sometimes watch each others backs.....like we nurses do.....
teachers are in their own classroom doing their thing without dependence on each other or with each other for 12 hrs. :wink2:
There's one young nurse where I work that I wish SOMEONE, ANYONE, would eat! Just kidding, kind of.
She's new, and is full of energy, which I do envy. But she also is so bossy, like telling us old broads EXACTLY how to word charting, when to do this or that. And she does it in such a way that I just stand back and do nothing. One time I actually put my hand out and up, as if to say, "talk to the hand." I mean, really. I've been nursing since before she was born.
I don't think she realizes how she is coming across so maybe at an evaluation that will be addressed. And she also flits from one place to another. Recently she and I were getting a c/s patient ready for the OR, when another patient had to go first and quickly. Now since no one came into our room to request help from either of us for the other crash, I continued on with my/our assignment. But the second she heard about the other thing, off she went, with a wild look in her eye. There is such a thing as too many bodies. But I think that is something she still has to learn.
Hopefully sooner than later. I work per diem so don't have to be around her much, but I can see the patience of others wearing very thin.
I don't think that you can compare the two professions....teachers do not work TOGETHER for 12 hr. shifts.....and need to sometimes watch each others backs.....like we nurses do.....
teachers are in their own classroom doing their thing without dependence on each other or with each other for 12 hrs. :wink2:
O.k. you win. Females are destine to follow the biology that you presume to be an expert on D/T your gender. Guess any other profession I mentioned, would in some way be different from nursing. Let's throw our hands in the air and moan, nothing we can do about the poor way nurses treat each other. We gave it our best shot when we tried to deny that it happens. Now, what are we to do? Wait until the profession has a greater male to female ratio than it now does? In any case, we are no longer responsible. Aww, shucks. Then again, I'm a poor male who only thinks with his anatomy. Gosh, life is easy this way. Wish I'd been thinking with the big head before, now I know I am not responsible, it's me wee little chromosome ta blame.
Specializes in med surg, geriatric, clinical, pool.
There's one young nurse where I work that I wish SOMEONE, ANYONE, would eat! Just kidding, kind of.
She's new, and is full of energy, which I do envy. But she also is so bossy, like telling us old broads EXACTLY how to word charting, when to do this or that. And she does it in such a way that I just stand back and do nothing. One time I actually put my hand out and up, as if to say, "talk to the hand." I mean, really. I've been nursing since before she was born.
I don't think she realizes how she is coming across so maybe at an evaluation that will be addressed. And she also flits from one place to another. Recently she and I were getting a c/s patient ready for the OR, when another patient had to go first and quickly. Now since no one came into our room to request help from either of us for the other crash, I continued on with my/our assignment. But the second she heard about the other thing, off she went, with a wild look in her eye. There is such a thing as too many bodies. But I think that is something she still has to learn.
Hopefully sooner than later. I work per diem so don't have to be around her much, but I can see the patience of others wearing very thin.
Let her go, let her be who she is, which is someone who is excited about her new job. She will settle down in time. I had two old nurses "burst my bubble" at my very first job. Everything that came out of their mouths was a put down and in front of my coworkers too. They even had me in tears and I was 38 yrs old with 2 children, so I wasn't just some kid.
I still think about them. I shouldn't its been 15yrs. But I took nursing seriously, my whole heart was in it. This was my dream even as a little girl, but with epilespy I couldn't go into the program after graduation, but later when I found out that I could actually become a nurse, Oh lady you just have no idea how good that made me feel. and to have these old nurses put me down, asking if I was fluffing their pillows!
I liked what I did, don't ruin it for her, she will change.
nurse430+yrs
he was a terrible cna anyway.
nurse430+yrs
41 Posts
From Nurse 430+yrs:
One of the interesting things Quint Studer says in his book "Results that Last"...about health care: "health care workers are trained to focus on what's wrong, and for good reason: What's wrong can kill someone."---Pg 42. He goes on to say (paraphrased) because we are taught and work in an environment that is assessing for something wrong--it becomes more difficult to focus on "what is right" and "positive"----if we unconsciously operate on a negative cultural (even in the workplace) ---positioning people in a positive light---therefore is somewhat "counter culture" to the way we are/were trained.
---It takes an unusual person to consciously recognize this and be more positive....
When health care entities enforce the new Joint Commision Standard on Disruptive Behavior perhaps some of these negative, backbiting, people will have to move on!