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 CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
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!!
sounds like you had a problem with a rude lpn -- so you had a problem with a rude lpn. can't generalize about a whole profession because you didn't get along with one person.
sounds like you had a problem with a rude lpn -- so you had a problem with a rude lpn. can't generalize about a whole profession because you didn't get along with one person.
asking for clarification. how many examples would allow for generalization?
Nurse: Go ahead and do the primary assessment on that c-section baby they just brought into the nursery. Apply the eye ointment and administer the vitamin K.
Me: I haven't ever seen that done, can you orient me on what all needs to be done?
Nurse: *rolls eyes* Nevermind. I'll do it! Can you at least WRITE? (while shoving the clipboard into my hands)
Me: Yes, I can write just fine. Can you speak and interact without being an ass?
Nurse: *Gasp* That's what I hate about students! None of you have any respect! I'm a nurse, not a teacher. If I wanted to teach, I wouldn't be a nurse!
Me: I agree, you're not much of a teacher. Thanks for your time, though. I'm going over there to see if the other RN will allow me to work with her.
As has happened in the past when I've had to deal with this type of thing in clinical, my instructor lauded me for standing up for myself, and chastised me for doing it too harshly.
Later in the day, this very same nurse was observed (by me) picking up a baby by it's face (well, not picking him up, but lifting his torso off the bed in order to feed him). She literally palmed the kids face and yanked him into a sitting position in the warmer. You can bet I notified the charge nurse of that.
The funny thing is, the director of this particular nursery has offered me the opportunity to precept there next semester. I think we now all know which nurse I WON'T ask to precept me.
Borta, that is one rude nurse you had, who most likely needs to take a break from nursing.
I suspect she does not treat her co workers any better. Glad you could stand up for yourself, however the use of the word ass ( maybe next time you can use a different term) I do not feel interactions which are insulting have to be met with insults.
"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!
whoa ruby, i have to tell you that i am an old new nurse and in my year as an rn i have been the subject of more than a few scathing responses. they did not all come from seasoned veterans either. sometimes it was the 20 something or 30 something on an ego trip because this old gal has to come to her for input and assistance. those weren't too hard to recognize or deal with. i soon learned who could be trusted to give me support and assistance. now shift report is where you really find those that are hungry for fresh meat. we give a very complete report and with a couple of nurses if you can't tell them the nare that the ng tube is too, or the color of the urine, they are highly p....d! i told one that i would gladly go back and get this information for her, but it was my impression that she would get it when she did her own assessment. just p...d her off more. i have gotten to the point that i try very hard to be reasonable, but i can growl back.
i had an instance where a nurse with about a years experience on me told me to move from the computer where i was working, saying that she had been using that station. well she may have but she had got up and left and i needed the computer. i had logged her off and she didn't loose any data. i wasn't waiting like a hawk for her to move, she had been gone a while. when she rudely told me to "move, i was on there." i replied without skipping a beat "in your dreams!" her reply was "well granny is getting mean down there" as she sat down to another computer. i wasn't about to jump because some bratty bully told me to. she and the rest know that now. same girl has been good to help me on a lot of occasions but she does like to be pushy when she thinks she can.
i think that we all have rough edges and i am willing to hang in there with the best of them. but yes, nurses do eat their young and their not so young! it is about showing weakness and early on we all have more weaknesses than after we get ahead of the learning curve and get on top of our game. i think toughness and humor is the way to deal with most situations.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
whoa ruby, i have to tell you that i am an old new nurse and in my year as an rn i have been the subject of more than a few scathing responses. they did not all come from seasoned veterans either. sometimes it was the 20 something or 30 something on an ego trip because this old gal has to come to her for input and assistance. those weren't too hard to recognize or deal with. i soon learned who could be trusted to give me support and assistance. now shift report is where you really find those that are hungry for fresh meat. we give a very complete report and with a couple of nurses if you can't tell them the nare that the ng tube is too, or the color of the urine, they are highly p....d! i told one that i would gladly go back and get this information for her, but it was my impression that she would get it when she did her own assessment. just p...d her off more. i have gotten to the point that i try very hard to be reasonable, but i can growl back.
i had an instance where a nurse with about a years experience on me told me to move from the computer where i was working, saying that she had been using that station. well she may have but she had got up and left and i needed the computer. i had logged her off and she didn't loose any data. i wasn't waiting like a hawk for her to move, she had been gone a while. when she rudely told me to "move, i was on there." i replied without skipping a beat "in your dreams!" her reply was "well granny is getting mean down there" as she sat down to another computer. i wasn't about to jump because some bratty bully told me to. she and the rest know that now. same girl has been good to help me on a lot of occasions but she does like to be pushy when she thinks she can.
i think that we all have rough edges and i am willing to hang in there with the best of them. but yes, nurses do eat their young and their not so young! it is about showing weakness and early on we all have more weaknesses than after we get ahead of the learning curve and get on top of our game. i think toughness and humor is the way to deal with most situations.
mahage
the fact (or perception) that you have been subjected to a few (or more than a few) scathing responses does not translate to the gross generalization about an entire profession. sometimes you elicit the responses you get. and sometimes a scathing response is just a response to something you said that they interpreted as bratty, bullying, condescending or pushy. i don't know you or your colleagues. but it's common sense that if you go looking to find "nurses eating their young," you'll find all kinds of "examples."
conversely, if you go looking for mentors, you may find many examples of mentoring as well.
the fact (or perception) that you have been subjected to a few (or more than a few) scathing responses does not translate to the gross generalization about an entire profession. sometimes you elicit the responses you get. and sometimes a scathing response is just a response to something you said that they interpreted as bratty, bullying, condescending or pushy. i don't know you or your colleagues. but it's common sense that if you go looking to find "nurses eating their young," you'll find all kinds of "examples."
conversely, if you go looking for mentors, you may find many examples of mentoring as well.
ruby, i wish i always got what i was looking for....but unfortunately that is definately not the case. if it were that simple, i would have a very energetic and stimulating and supportive workplace. those are the vibs i seek and intend to put out. my intended point was that indeed nurses do eat their young and can be really really nasty, but at the same time we have to learn from this and a part of that learning in addition to gaining in skill is to be tough and not wimp out. we have to take the bad with the good, but please don't be so naive as to think that new nurses don't have to "pay their dues" by running a gammut. there is even research to back it up. wish i could quote, but it has been a while since i ran across it when doing my literature review for research class. i for one do not believe that all nurses do this, and yes, i have encountered many who are absolutely wonderful and stimulating and supportive! yet since this is my second career and i am a seasoned lcsw, i can tell you that such behavior is not accepted or tolerated among social workers whereas it was and is commonly exhibited by my nursing colleagues. (not that the social work profession doesn't have its own quirks. ) i have evolved over the past year from new nurse to one with a years experience under my belt. i have precepted newer nurses and i see many of the same colleagues who were jerks to me treating them the same way. the good thing is, they know they can come to me with questions and if i don't know the answer i will direct them to the colleague who will give them a respectful answer and will show them respect. frequently when i don't know the answer i go with them to ask because i need to know too! i am still learning and have to ask a lot. i personally believe the only dumb question is the one you don't ask. i have learned by trial and error, who can be trusted. i have also seen a few of the nurses with more experience who react differently to these really young new nurses than they did to me. that is all right by me, because i don't have to have the support that a lot of these first career kids do.
no i can't say every nurse eats their young but the practice is rampant among nurses and it is very unfortunate. i think it has to do with the overall feeling of powerlessness among nurses and this is frequently gender related.
if you have never been on the receiving end of the chewing, then, you are indeed a lucky nurse.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
no i can't say every nurse eats their young but the practice is rampant among nurses and it is very unfortunate. i think it has to do with the overall feeling of powerlessness among nurses and this is frequently gender related.
if you have never been on the receiving end of the chewing, then, you are indeed a lucky nurse.
mahage
i've been on the receiving end of more than one scathing remark, and was not unanimously welcomed with open arms into most of the jobs i've held over the past 30+ years. however, with 20/20 hindsight i can now admit that my own youthful arrogance and attitude and somewhat to do with that, along with low self-esteem and an ignorance of "politics". however, the term "nurses eat their young" had not been coined in the ancient recesses of my past, and if i was having problems with a co-worker, i took it upon myself to work things out. i didn't simply and conveniently dismiss it as an example of "nurses eating their young."
there is someone nasty in every workplace. wherever you go, there will be someone who, for whatever reason, doesn't like you. that's life. it's not fair, but it is life. but the good people far outnumber the bad, and if you realize that you elicit the responses you seek and change your part of the interaction, you're likely to find more mentors and less people who are "out to get you." that doesn't detract from the unpleasantness when you do encounter someone who is out to get you, but you're less likely to run into those sorts of folks if you go looking for the best in everyone instead of the worst.
YES!!! NURSES DONT JUST EAT THEIR YOUNG, THEY SPIT THEM BACK OUT AND GO FOR SECONDS!!!
My first day as an LPN at a nursing home, the DON approached me and told me too my face "You know the saying nurses eat their young, well its true." I was expecting "welcome" but I sure didnt get that. I found it funny when 8months later that very DON left, and called me to ask if I would come work for her at her new job. She also had the nerve to say she molded me into the nurse I am. While that DON was extremely hard on me, she had no right to say she made me into the nurse I am. I molded myself and learned overtime.
I now work in a hospital and we have students and new nurses come in on a daily basis. Many of our older nurses react as if the students and the new nurses are the plaque and treat them as if they are beneath them. I know how it felt to be treated with disrespect as a new nurse by the nurses I hoped to look up too and learn from. It is hard to look up to someone who acts like a child and wines when students and new nurses are around. I know sometimes it can get frustrating trying to teach someone, but you always have to remember YOU WHERE THERE ONCE TOO!!!
I just quit my job today. I didn't quit because I was being eaten. I didnt' quit because I could handle it. I stuck around even though I was humiliated, made to feel stupid, talked about behind my back, had supportive nurses slowly poisoned against me. I quit plain and simple because my preceptor skewed the truth about certain events that took place. I realized that what she was doing was LYING. She also said that I was lucky that a patient didnt' hit me even though I did nothing to provoke this particular patient who has had issues with several staff members. She also said that if the patient had hit me that I would have deserved it. I was trying to de esculate this patient, and the preceptor just sat in a chair and watched with a smirk on her face.
Today I went into talk about my evaluation and I was told things said by this person that were not true!! I realized two things. First of all, people on this unit could say ANYTHIGN about me and it was going to be taken as truth, regardless of what the truth really was. Secondly if something happened to me nobody was going to have my back, and I woudl be later reprimended for .. whatever they choose to choose the reason was for my deserving being hit, or yelled at or spit at.
I'm seriously considering quitting nursing altogether. I love my work, I love my patients. I hate feeling like all someone has to do is open their mouth and lie about me and it will be taken as truth and I can be fired or hit.
I had several staff memebers come up to me last week saying I was doing a really great job!! I woudln't put their jobs on the line however by asking them to speak up for me. Some already have but those comments were not brought up during this evaluation.
So you nurses out there who think this is a great profession, do you think I'm crazy for wanting to go work as a bank teller because I can handle just about everything but backstabbing. For those of you who say most places are like this, I've had other jobs while in nursing school, and I have lots of friends in various positions who have been very honest with me, and neither I nor they have ever experienced such behaviour from coworkers. Maybe the more competitive execs do this, but for the most part, as long as your pulling yoru weight, for the most part after a couple weeks of hazing in most jobs they let you alone. I knwo this from personal experience like I said as well as from what I've heard from others.
Why do nurses put up with it, or DENY IT AS SOME DO? Why don't nurses stand up against bullies by staying something or quitting? I realize that my quitting won't have a huge impact but why don't those more experienced nurses stand up and say that humiliating and playing with the livlihood of other nurses will not be tolerated? I guess everyone is just worried about their job. Here I am, a perfectly decent nurse, who cares very mmuch for her patients and loves her job, walking away because she's sick of the violence, bullying and backstabbing. The company wants to set me up with a different jbo, they suggested going back to med/surg, but why should I when I've done nothing wrong? Why should I be switched to a different department because of these bullies. It makes me want to just walk away from nursing because I feel powerless, and I feel that even the company is powerless to stand up to these bullies. They just want to do what is easiest. God bless them though, for at least seeing my worthm and wanting to keep me. Is it worth it though? I am seriously having doubts after all these years in nurseing, 7 if you include schooling.
Nurse: Go ahead and do the primary assessment on that c-section baby they just brought into the nursery. Apply the eye ointment and administer the vitamin K.
Me: I haven't ever seen that done, can you orient me on what all needs to be done?
Nurse: *rolls eyes* Nevermind. I'll do it! Can you at least WRITE? (while shoving the clipboard into my hands)
Me: Yes, I can write just fine. Can you speak and interact without being an ass?
Nurse: *Gasp* That's what I hate about students! None of you have any respect! I'm a nurse, not a teacher. If I wanted to teach, I wouldn't be a nurse!
Me: I agree, you're not much of a teacher. Thanks for your time, though. I'm going over there to see if the other RN will allow me to work with her.
As has happened in the past when I've had to deal with this type of thing in clinical, my instructor lauded me for standing up for myself, and chastised me for doing it too harshly.
Later in the day, this very same nurse was observed (by me) picking up a baby by it's face (well, not picking him up, but lifting his torso off the bed in order to feed him). She literally palmed the kids face and yanked him into a sitting position in the warmer. You can bet I notified the charge nurse of that.
The funny thing is, the director of this particular nursery has offered me the opportunity to precept there next semester. I think we now all know which nurse I WON'T ask to precept me.
That is just awesome, well done, love your work. I think more students and new grads should be encouraged how to deal with these idiots in nursing school.
Ruby Vee, BSN
17 Articles; 14,053 Posts
sounds like you had a problem with a rude lpn -- so you had a problem with a rude lpn. can't generalize about a whole profession because you didn't get along with one person.