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.
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.
I know you are right; however, I remember how much I learned from older nurses, even aides who were doing that kind of work when I was still in grammar school. That makes me sad that she's drying up those resources as nobody wants to even be around her right now.
Specializes in med surg, geriatric, clinical, pool.
I know you are right; however, I remember how much I learned from older nurses, even aides who were doing that kind of work when I was still in grammar school. That makes me sad that she's drying up those resources as nobody wants to even be around her right now.
I wish those 2 old (30 &28 yrs. experience) wanted to teach me something. I never tried to tell them how to do anything. It was not a good experience for a brand new nurse. A RN charge nurse called me onto the elevator one night from another floor, at the time I had no idea why. But she warned me that if I didn't quit or transfer to another floor this certain older nurse of 28 yrs. would stay on my back until I did!
She overloaded me one night with another pt, and sure enough one of my older pts died when I was off floor with this brand new pt! And because I didn't call a Code, they fired me. I knew the pt was dead, she was cold. Funny, I was never told how to call a code, so I stepped outside her room, which a was next to the nurses' station, and told the other older nurse I thought she should come look at this pt. I didn't want to alarm anyone, but that is exactly what you are supposed to do! As a child I could never do anything fast enough or good enough, keep your mouth shut, stay out of the way, so I think for me personally becoming a nurse was much more difficult than I thought it would be. I am such a perfectionest too, that doesn't help.
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
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.
??????????????? you are going in circles.....read the posts....nurses DO eat each other.....we are all not telling stories here.....
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i find it absolutely fascinating that there are so many here who are totally convinced that nurses eat their young, that it's totally because nursing is a female-dominated profession -- and we all know how catty females are -- and that they've been cruelly targeted and eaten through no fault of their own. oh, and one more thing. no one here actually eats their young!
perhaps the solution for the whole problem, then, is to get everyone on allnurses.com since none of our members ever seem to be less than kind to co-workers, "eat" their orientees, smart off to their preceptors or are catty to one another. then all nurses would be perfect just like us!
actually, i think it's sad that so many here seem to have such a terrible view of other nurses. and such an inflated view of their own worth and deflated view of their own contributions to the problems they seem to be having with others. it must be absolutely exhausting to keep up this hostility toward an entire gender and most of a profession! wouldn't it be healthier, easier and kinder to simply expect the best of everyone?
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
Hi Ruby....I understand your comments...this is not something to be proud of in our profession but I cannot tell you how many nurses throughout my years of working (almost 30) that have come to me in tears due to some problems with another co-worker...granted, sometimes a nurse needs some attitude adjustments....there are many personalities from all backgrounds thrust together...some of them come in cocky and thing they know it all.....some are young and naive and just need someone to help them along for awhile....but it does exist...I have seen it...and no, I have not been a part of it...I have been nibbled on, too, but I have tough skin and let it slide...some do not and take it to heart and from the posts, have actually left the profession...
so I must disagree with your observations....
Everyone here posting has been the recipient of such behavior....the ones that are dishing it out are probably not posting about it...
No one here is hostile about their encounters, just venting....
I have always heard it said that "the nursing profession is the only profession that eats it OWN," not just the young (new, novice, inexperienced, whatever). It is done to newcomers, brand new nurses, those with disabilities, older RNs, RNs from different cultures, really, anyone who is different. Nurses (and perhaps more specifically, women, are very much prone to cliques or exclusionary behaviors from the time they are little girls. Remember ostrasizing some other girl because of their clothes, hair, social status, etc? Remember how the "in girls" or "popular" girls would huddle together either in the cafeteria or on the playground or at the busstop and the whispers, finger-pointing, snickering and hurtful things that would be said about or to the "shunned individual"? We got older and just found more sophisticated ways of continuing those same behaviors. We have even gone to such lengths as having fellow nurses removed because "we didn't think they were a good fit for our unit." NOT because of violation of hospital/unit policy or procedure, NOT because they broke a civil or criminal law, NOT because they violated their state nurse practice act and NOT because a patient was harmed or placed in jeopardy, only because "they weren't a good fit." We dictate to others that we want them to be like us rather than allow them to be their authentic selves. Rather than take the time, rather than risk being challenged and stretched to grow, to discover, explore, experience and understand those different from us in some way, we are impatient with them, we may talk about them rather then to them, we may undermine, ostrasize or even dismiss or throw them away. I have seen it happen. It has happened to me. And yes, I admit it, I had done it to others until it happened to me. I am not without blame. So I do believe our profession does eat its' own.
??????????????? you are going in circles.....read the posts....nurses DO eat each other.....we are all not telling stories here.....
Yes, thought I said that. I wanted to emphasize that it is a nursing issue and not a gender issue. The post I quoted and the one quoted by that post seemed to imply that it has to do with gender.
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
I have always heard it said that "the nursing profession is the only profession that eats it OWN," not just the young (new, novice, inexperienced, whatever). It is done to newcomers, brand new nurses, those with disabilities, older RNs, RNs from different cultures, really, anyone who is different. Nurses (and perhaps more specifically, women, are very much prone to cliques or exclusionary behaviors from the time they are little girls. Remember ostrasizing some other girl because of their clothes, hair, social status, etc? Remember how the "in girls" or "popular" girls would huddle together either in the cafeteria or on the playground or at the busstop and the whispers, finger-pointing, snickering and hurtful things that would be said about or to the "shunned individual"? We got older and just found more sophisticated ways of continuing those same behaviors. We have even gone to such lengths as having fellow nurses removed because "we didn't think they were a good fit for our unit." NOT because of violation of hospital/unit policy or procedure, NOT because they broke a civil or criminal law, NOT because they violated their state nurse practice act and NOT because a patient was harmed or placed in jeopardy, only because "they weren't a good fit." We dictate to others that we want them to be like us rather than allow them to be their authentic selves. Rather than take the time, rather than risk being challenged and stretched to grow, to discover, explore, experience and understand those different from us in some way, we are impatient with them, we may talk about them rather then to them, we may undermine, ostrasize or even dismiss or throw them away. I have seen it happen. It has happened to me. And yes, I admit it, I had done it to others until it happened to me. I am not without blame. So I do believe our profession does eat its' own.
You completely said it all.....and how eloquently stated....how could anyone possibly disagree with this ???? None, I do believe....
Specializes in telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
Yes, thought I said that. I wanted to emphasize that it is a nursing issue and not a gender issue. The post I quoted and the one quoted by that post seemed to imply that it has to do with gender.
it most certainly does....read above post, it sums it up exactly.....
I used to hear this mentioned in nursing school, that
"nurses eat their young"
but I had a completely different take on what it really meant.
Once I got into orientation and real nursing, I found out,,,,,boy, did I ever find out! It was a real eye opener!
I would have thought that "nurses eat their young" meant that nurses would be openly hostile to your presence and let you know right up front that they were going to destroy you. And, some do, but those are rare.
Unfortunately, it's often the very ones who buddy up to you that you have to watch out for. They very often have ulterior motives,,,and they wrongly consider you a threat to their employment and standing.
Those are the kind who would rather be sharks, snarks, and barricudas, than work as a team with a common goal.
For me it meant one particular preceptor telling me to do things one way and then switching up on me,
trying to get me to do something wrong (intentionally), and
setting me up to try to make me look bad in front of other nurses and supervisors.
Her tactics ran the gamut from "seemingly innocent" things all the way to outright lying to try to make me look bad. She tried everything to put so much pressure on me that she thought I would quit.
In fact, I walked into the break room at the beginning of a shift and overheard her talking to my co-workers about how she fixed it so I "would never show up for work again!".
For some of my former classmates it has meant such things as, a preceptor intentionally trying to convince an orientee to do something that was actually life threatening.
Granted, some preceptors are not even decent nurses, and are just plain wrong,,,but, you had better question EVERYTHING.
When unsure, take time out and find out for sure!
It's your license on the line!
Considering the beatdown that we got in nursing school, these tactics worked on nurses who were less likely to assert themselves, and were submissive.
Most orientees who are not assertive, or who are unfamiliar with obscure procedures, etc., hesitate to challenge the preceptor, especially when it means punitive action result from refusing to do exactly as the preceptor says.
There's a lot more of this that goes on than I would ever have thought.
Let's make it perfectly clear to students, future nurses and orientees what "nurses eat their young" really means.
Do many here honestly believe that the reason "nursing is the only profession that eats its own." is that it is a female dominated profession?
That would imply, that for safety and nurse retention, a major goal for nursing should be to increase the number of male nurses. A goal we need to meet before the BSN/ADN ratio goals. (Since lateral violence is a more severe problem.)
tntrn, ASN, RN
1,340 Posts
I know you are right; however, I remember how much I learned from older nurses, even aides who were doing that kind of work when I was still in grammar school. That makes me sad that she's drying up those resources as nobody wants to even be around her right now.