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 simply don't worry about it. no one is going to die on me. the things i might not do don't really amount to much more than the oncoming nurse ******** about some minor thing. the people who power trip like this have absolutely no control over what really goes on. i've gotten to the point that i satirize their behavior to really **** them off.
so it's all a moot point. let's face it.. if you're a verticle body with a license and you don't make a grevious error, management couldn't give a rats behind. they aren't going to fire you. this gives you plenty of time to work on your skills/shortcomings
and develop yourself professionally.
just don't give it energy. keep on keeping on. all the complaints will fade to nothingness, so have a think skin and don't let it get to you.
"nurses eat their young." that means that you don't have to take any responsibility for the negative interactions you're having everywhere you go? must be nice to be blameless. oh, wait! you're female, too, so you must be one of those women who have this thing where they tend to be jealous of and hate each other for no good reason! i mean, if you're sure that all women behave this way, that must be the way you behave. so i guess you're not blameless. could be that you're having these negative interactions because you need to be a little nicer to folks!
i really hate seeing these posts where someone trashes most of a profession and an entire gender because they are having difficulty getting along with people, and somehow it's never their fault.
all this negativity must be exhausting to sustain! i'd rather look for the good in people. it's less tiring, and you're more likely to find it!
i like your point about taking personal responsibility. let's be careful not to overextend it to deny that we could use some improvement in how we treat each other. the phrase will become a joke when it is no longer true. that will happen when we follow your excellent advice and take responsibility.
"nurses eat their young." that means that you don't have to take any responsibility for the negative interactions you're having everywhere you go? must be nice to be blameless. oh, wait! you're female, too, so you must be one of those women who have this thing where they tend to be jealous of and hate each other for no good reason! i mean, if you're sure that all women behave this way, that must be the way you behave. so i guess you're not blameless. could be that you're having these negative interactions because you need to be a little nicer to folks!
i really hate seeing these posts where someone trashes most of a profession and an entire gender because they are having difficulty getting along with people, and somehow it's never their fault.
all this negativity must be exhausting to sustain! i'd rather look for the good in people. it's less tiring, and you're more likely to find it!
my darling,
for someone who is calling me negative and exhausted u sure dont sound too positive in this post. infact its more like a war of words with me. i never said all nurses are mean, or all women hate each other, or that i was blameless. but there's enof pple that are very mean and nasty that its a call for concern. if u remember correctly i said we should all take a look in the mirror. this post right here is a good example illustrating the negativity in our gender bc instead of seeing where i was coming from u decided to start querrelling with me. did u read the thread i was referring to. maybe u'd see how gd of an example i have illustrating this phenomenom. its ppbly a gd idea 4 u 2 get it right b4 u start laying out accusations. im not a negative person, im just calling it like i see it and trust me i've been just about everywhere. hopefully u r not one of these witches i 've come accross. hav a gd day.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i read your thread. i was just electing not to comment. it appears that your problems started when you got caught sleeping on the job. i'm not so sure that's an illustration of nurses eating their young, or an example of bad people picking on someone blameless. but i have no interest in fighting with you.
Specializes in Internal Medicine,Surgery, Wound Care.
hi.....
i just passed my test this past sept 2008 and started at a nursing home within 40 minutes of my residence. at first i thought the place was ok, but saw right away it lacked strong management direction and also saw some lpn's and cna's get away with a lot of things. i also saw some people being put into management positions because simply "they were there".
so recently a fellow lpn employee put a bug into the don's ear that when she opened the lock box to count the narc's, the fantanyl patches flung out of her hand, she then goes to the don and insinuates that i was not concerned at all when two patches could not be located. i was the one who got down on the floor to find them. so the don says, well that is a problem, you were the one who found them and not her. so i say: "i was the one who got down on the floor cause i was worried about it... she couldn't be bothered".. long story short: no investigation. this lpn is so nasty and condescending, i wound up quitting, well i had already put in my resignation because i found another job and start next week.
but here is the kicker.... i am told: nurses eat their young
so this statement is supposed to condone all the nasty behavior some nurses put out on others, especially a new nurse??
sorry but if that is the game, then nursing really sucks!. i thought someone would welcome another helping hand and be part of a team to get the work done and help the residents.
oh wait a minute? isn't it about the resident's in a long term care facility? oh i am so confused? here i thought it was about the resident's and now i'm learning its about the lpn that stomps her foot louder than the others, acts like a 2 year old not getting her way and they give in to her!! what a crock of ****!!!
well.. i hope this new place is a lot different.. plus it's a county job and i know they follow the rules and from what i have heard all over town is, it's a good place to work..
shame on all those lpn's who treat other people like **** especially new grads!
nurses eat their young is a dumb saying and brings me right back to school when we learn how the nursing profession was before florence nightingdate took over. nursing was a bunch of women that were whore's and drunks. and maybe some of them were good people, but the nursing profession is getting a bad rap because of these rude nasty lpn's.
so there i vented.. i do feel much better.. :typing
please let me know there are wonderful places out there and wonderful managers!!
let me know if you heard this saying and agree its a dumb thing to say to a new grad!
for those of you that are wonderful lpn's, congrats to you for being such loving human beings and making it about the residents!!!
have the best holiday ever!
looking forward to learning the complete job and contributing to the wellbeing of our baby boomer's!!
My guess. If we keep reposting and phrasing things a bit differently....we may be able to convince ourselves that the phrase "Nurses eat their young" is not true. I wonder what is the motivation, why not face the facts and move toward correcting the problem?
you are never going to "correct the problem". you will have more success in stopping the tide from rising in the gulf of mexico. perhaps you could talk with a bunch of chickens and then they wouldn't henpeck the weakest bird.
ain't it grand? what other biz can i bang out 5 nights a week as a traveler and make over 150k? what's a few crazy women to put up with? the crazier, the better i say :). you've got to love this environment.
i just passed my test this past sept 2008 and started at a nursing home within 40 minutes of my residence. at first i thought the place was ok, but saw right away it lacked strong management direction and also saw some lpn's and cna's get away with a lot of things. i also saw some people being put into management positions because simply "they were there".
so recently a fellow lpn employee put a bug into the don's ear that when she opened the lock box to count the narc's, the fantanyl patches flung out of her hand, she then goes to the don and insinuates that i was not concerned at all when two patches could not be located. i was the one who got down on the floor to find them. so the don says, well that is a problem, you were the one who found them and not her. so i say: "i was the one who got down on the floor cause i was worried about it... she couldn't be bothered".. long story short: no investigation. this lpn is so nasty and condescending, i wound up quitting, well i had already put in my resignation because i found another job and start next week.
but here is the kicker.... i am told: nurses eat their young
so this statement is supposed to condone all the nasty behavior some nurses put out on others, especially a new nurse??
sorry but if that is the game, then nursing really sucks!. i thought someone would welcome another helping hand and be part of a team to get the work done and help the residents.
oh wait a minute? isn't it about the resident's in a long term care facility? oh i am so confused? here i thought it was about the resident's and now i'm learning its about the lpn that stomps her foot louder than the others, acts like a 2 year old not getting her way and they give in to her!! what a crock of ****!!!
well.. i hope this new place is a lot different.. plus it's a county job and i know they follow the rules and from what i have heard all over town is, it's a good place to work..
shame on all those lpn's who treat other people like **** especially new grads!
nurses eat their young is a dumb saying and brings me right back to school when we learn how the nursing profession was before florence nightingdate took over. nursing was a bunch of women that were whore's and drunks. and maybe some of them were good people, but the nursing profession is getting a bad rap because of these rude nasty lpn's.
so there i vented.. i do feel much better.. :typing
please let me know there are wonderful places out there and wonderful managers!!
let me know if you heard this saying and agree its a dumb thing to say to a new grad!
for those of you that are wonderful lpn's, congrats to you for being such loving human beings and making it about the residents!!!
have the best holiday ever!
looking forward to learning the complete job and contributing to the wellbeing of our baby boomer's!!
call me overly sensitive, but i could have sworn your post was about a specific lpn and then somehow you group an entire lot of lpn's. tsk tsk.
i feel the term n>e>t>y is over used, given more strength than it even deserves. not all people get along together, personality conflicts can happen. to keep using the term n>e>t>y just perpetuates some nurses feeling victimized rather than feeling empowered to make changes. i said it before i will say it again. i have not ever experienced the so called syndrome. when i am wrong, i can see i am wrong. i did not blame the fact that i was a new nurse, or new to the unit, or new to the facility. does it mean i have never worked with nurses who are rude? of course not, but i do not equate that to nuses eating their young. the more people excuse bad behavior , or bad treatment of co-workers on nurses eating their young the more it will go on. call a spade a spade. if a nurse is rude, she is simply that and it can be dealt with.
and started at a nursing home within 40 minutes of my residence. at first i thought the place was ok, but saw right away it lacked strong management direction and also saw some lpn's and cna's get away with a lot of things. i also saw some people being put into management positions because simply "they were there". 
is a dumb saying and brings me right back to school when we learn how the nursing profession was before florence nightingdate took over. nursing was a bunch of women that were whore's and drunks. and maybe some of them were good people, but the nursing profession is getting a bad rap because of these rude nasty lpn's. 
congrats to you for being such loving human beings and making it about the residents!!! 
traumahawk99
596 Posts
i simply don't worry about it. no one is going to die on me. the things i might not do don't really amount to much more than the oncoming nurse ******** about some minor thing. the people who power trip like this have absolutely no control over what really goes on. i've gotten to the point that i satirize their behavior to really **** them off.
so it's all a moot point. let's face it.. if you're a verticle body with a license and you don't make a grevious error, management couldn't give a rats behind. they aren't going to fire you. this gives you plenty of time to work on your skills/shortcomings
and develop yourself professionally.
just don't give it energy. keep on keeping on. all the complaints will fade to nothingness, so have a think skin and don't let it get to you.