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 telemetry, med-surg, home health, psych.
Side Note! I recall the 1st 2 preceptors that I had when i was a student nurse, 1 they called "sarge", the other "purple head fred" both female nurses with 20 yrs senior! grrrrrrrrrrrr they were nasty but i think that makes me a better Preceptor today because of that bad experience !
I agree, I had the same bad experiences with my preceptors....maybe that is why I try to go out of my way to help our newbies, too.......so that is one good thing that came of it!!! nawwwww, think I would have been kind anyway......
:typingI tell this story not to be mean but as a learning episode for any newer nurses who read this. I feel my experiences have purpose. I am not perfect. By any means. This experience for this nurse has meaning for her I am sure, but it isn't the same meaning for me. I feel my purpose in being part of this instance is to relay it here to teach others to SLLLLoooowww down some times to think and pick up the pace to act when needed. I hope if anyone out there recognizes this story I am not trying to be mean but just to remind pp to SLOW down and think....Now, I have now precepted about 6 or 7 nurses. I have been very lucky. Our unit has been very lucky. I work with great people. BUT! What I am getting to is that I have my days when I almost snap. One orientee I recently had (I only had her for 5 days then she went to another more seasoned nurse and now she was on her own) called me on her Vocera (like a cell phone on speaker). "Well I just wasted 20 minutes waiting for Dr SOandSO to come out of a room to help me and of course he was useless. He told me to call the medical DR-I have 2 patients with a temp what should I do?!" (all along I was trying to interrupt her because she is saying this over the vocera where any staff, family or pts can hear her AND OF course DR SOANDSO was walking by me as she spoke. I finally get through to her and to make my point I say "WELL I could ask him again, since DR SOANDSO just walked by me." From her "Uh oh." Anyone in earshot heard her demean our Dr and they now know an RN on the unit doesn't know what to do for a fever. One of the pts with the fever had tylenol every 6 hours. I said when you get a hold of the medical Doctor ask if they can change it to q4hours since he had had it last about 4 hours ago, and I didn't think waiting 2 more hours to give it would be ideal. Well after she had called me I grabbed a thermometer to check the pts temp because she wasn't answering me when all I wanted to know was what the temp was and what the temp had been on the previous shift. She chased me down the hall. "I already did that. I took his temp 15 minutes ago. (i thought she waited 20 min for Doctor to come out of a room so it had to have been more than 15 min ago right?)!" she cried. I just looked at her and said "I am going to take his temp." It of course was higher-I know that sounds mean and like 'Iknoweverything' but I don't mess with temps! They are tricky sneaky things. She called the medical Doctor on call who of course didn't know the pt and who was going to contact another Doctor to call her back (so that is two Doc who won't do anything). She could not even get him to up the tylenol (not her fault she tried). Well turns out the other Doctor didn't call back for two hours (she never alerted me that he hadn't called back-I figured she got an order for some atb as he had labs (cultures) from day before that were pending but I thought maybe the Doctor would order something while it was pending (not ideal practice but the temp was climbing) but she got the order to change the tylenol to q 4hours when she did talk to the Doctor. WELL that was at 2230. ANYWAY, ITS 2245 and a CNA voceras me. "Uh nurse x wants to know if you can give pt Z his Tylenol. His temp is now 103.8. (when I took it it had been 102.8). I go find nurse X cuz I am WONDERING why a pt who we had been waiting 2 hours for a dr to call back on re a fever was still waiting for tylenol. She was in an isolation room. "Oh, ha ha ha, did the cna tell you what his temp was?" she asked. Yeah, did you give the tylenol and did you give the dr his most recent temp when he called (i.e. why am I not starting an IV?)?" "Oh no, I had to get to passing my pts HS pills, and I gave the dr the 102.8 temp." "You haven't taken his temp since I took it (now 2hrs30+ minutes)." Uh no - a temp is a temp, isnt it? Should I call the Dr back with the most recent temp?" "Yes because he probably needs fluids at this point while we wait for the labs to come back (ordered earlier in day when temp on previous shift was 101.2) and since he is on seizure precautions if he seizes from a high temp the Doctor may want a IV access-who knows?. OH MY LORD priorities. Yes I am patient but this taught me NEVER assume and take each new nurse as their own entity. She is smart and she just needs to get her own way, and maybe some Xanax. Oh that was mean. I will probably be editing this. No one yell at me--I am very helpful and patient. I tell orientees what I would have wanted to know when starting out. I allow them to learn from mistakes I have made. I never assume they DON'T know something-they are nurses and not idiots-I don't treat them as such just because they are new. I mainly have issues if they don't calm down and listen to the words coming out of my mouth. That same night she called me into a room. "Oh my gosh I am going to lose my job!!! The float nurse was in the med room while I was in an isolation room. I found her looking up her patients info on MY computer that I was logged into. I freaked out on her! I told her they check on all this in IT. The HIPPA and our policies-I could get fired I told her!!! I said, finally getting her to stop 'freaking out on me', "you need to take 3 deep breaths." She took 2 and then started to talk again. "I said 3. I'll wait." When she finished I said, "Now as long as she didn't chart anything on there, what would you have done if she was at dinner and one of her patient's needed something? Would you have to look up their info on your computer under your name?" "OHHHHhhhhhh...." I am going to bed....
I think you idea about the parameters is a good one, however as a new nurse you are lucky to get to go potty! At 56, I have to, or I would have an extra "clean-up Job." I can't afford anymore cleanups than neccessary, LOL!
Mahage
You're proving my point! How is what YOU are doing working for you?
I know what it feels like to feel like a lamb voluntarily walking into the slaughter house every day...I feel your pain. But if you keep focusing on what you don't want in your life (how you never get breaks and how certain charge nurses are out to get you, etc.) then that's what you'll keep getting. Believe me, I speak from experience.
If you keep affirming over and over in your mind that as a new nurse (even at age 56) that you have so much work to do that you can't even take a break to go potty, then THAT'S what you'll keep getting. Because that's where your focus is.
All I'm saying is that it DOESN'T have to be that way. I :typing about this all the time on my blog (listed in my profile). Change is an inside job. You don't have to wait for "the system" to change to fix your frustrations. Besides, you might be waiting a very long time!
Use your nursing frustrations to help you write parameters specific to you and the nursing life that you want to lead. That's what I do and it works! It's helpinig me get less of this and more of this !
we do "group" training sessions that "all staff" attend, this seems to cut down on the "eating of anyone", because we will repremand you if you "eat your young" at our facility.. We expect respect to all staff , young & old, and to be honest! I would rather hire a NEW grad than an Old Hat! :loveya: Reason being, a new grad is opening to learning, Us old HAT's are stuck in our ways & are hard to train!!
But thats just 1 nurses opinion! But i love the take the cranky nurse out for coffee, and compliments, that would really work for me! haha i might have to suggest that!!
Thanks again for your positive spin on Nursing! :heartbeat
And I applaud you for thinking out of the box and creating a nurturing environment (safe for questions) on your floor.
Believe me, I'm choosing to think out of the box to deal with nursing stress issues because the other boxes that I kept thinking in seemed to have trap doors and I kept falling through them.
In other words, focusing on the problem and staying STUCK there didn't get me anywhere (except fights with my beloved husband)! Now when I encounter a problem at work, I write specific parameters on it and use it to work for me rather than take me down!
I'd love to see all nurses start asking for what they want in their lives...I'm positive that our patients would benefit! I :typing about it, listed under my profile.
You're proving my point! How is what YOU are doing working for you?
I know what it feels like to feel like a lamb voluntarily walking into the slaughter house every day...I feel your pain. But if you keep focusing on what you don't want in your life (how you never get breaks and how certain charge nurses are out to get you, etc.) then that's what you'll keep getting. Believe me, I speak from experience.
If you keep affirming over and over in your mind that as a new nurse (even at age 56) that you have so much work to do that you can't even take a break to go potty, then THAT'S what you'll keep getting. Because that's where your focus is.
All I'm saying is that it DOESN'T have to be that way. I :typing about this all the time on my blog (listed in my profile). Change is an inside job. You don't have to wait for "the system" to change to fix your frustrations. Besides, you might be waiting a very long time!
Use your nursing frustrations to help you write parameters specific to you and the nursing life that you want to lead. That's what I do and it works! It's helpinig me get less of this and more of this !
God bless!
Actually quiet well. I am a realist. I know well the power of positive self talk, however you have to start based on what is, not on what you wish. Yes, change is an inside job. You have to change the way you react to the negative or the stressors you encounter, unfortunately denying them won't get you anywhere. Sometimes it involves confrontation of others behavior, sometimes venting, sometimes re-evaluting your actions and planning for change. All of this is about inside changes as your thoughts and strategies change and evolve as you go on. If you will look closely at my posts you will see that I often speak of experiences that I have had, and how I have dealt with them. I don't feel like a victim because I am unwilling to stand for it very long! There are a lot of people out there who thrive on finding someone who is too inexperienced or too afraid to speak up. I have at some point been both, most days now, I am neither. I may not have made it clear, but I find much more good in my job and my coworkers than I do bad. The nasty ones however help create a "hellacious environment" for the newby!
Have you considered directing some of your "power of creating your own positive reality" toward some of the nurses who may be having a hard time with precepting or dealing with the multitude of questions and demands that newer staff my place on them? I think it might work there too.
BTW, it is not an option for a 56 yo to not take a potty break. Regardless of whether I believe I have time or not,it is gonna happen, LOL!
I just finished my final semester of school, and I have an experience that really took my breath, and my mind, away.
I had a really difficult patient this particular week during clinical, and the floor nurse that I was working with (an angel to say the least) and myself were really have a bad time with her. She spoke a foreign language and was calling her daughter every minute (no joke) and stating that we weren't helping with her pain. I had just given this patient a good dose of Dilauded, when she called her daughter again, and this time her daughter was threatening to call the news if we didn't help her mother! We were doing everything we could do, and nothing seemed to help.
We finally got the situation under control, and the floor nurse and I were standing at charge nurses desk, literally pulling our hair at the mess we were in and to relieve the tension, I made a joke.
The charge nurse, at the top of her lungs, shouted to me that I was not a real nurse yet, and until I was a real nurse, I was not allowed to make jokes about the job. She also told me that I needed to learn my station in life and that she had no time to deal with me, and that I was nothing more than a wanna be!
Nurses don't eat their young, yeah right!
I did file a complaint, and I will not work at that hospital when I graduate, in one week. Respect is earned, not simply because you have the initials RN after your name, no matter how many years you have.
The charge nurse, at the top of her lungs, shouted to me that I was not a real nurse yet, and until I was a real nurse, I was not allowed to make jokes about the job. She also told me that I needed to learn my station in life and that she had no time to deal with me, and that I was nothing more than a wanna be!
Nurses don't eat their young, yeah right!
She seriously yelled at the top of her lungs? For most people that's pretty loud. What did the other people say? I would have called security seriously. Anyone that yells that loud is deranged. Seriously.
So, because of this one nurse, you're going to brand the profession you are working so hard to get into as one that eats it's young? What about the angel of a nurse you worked with today?
She didn't brand the entire profession as young eaters. She gave an example of a nurse that IS an eater, and one that isn't.
Why do the few of you who deny the existence of this phenomenon always try to paint these stories as "every nurse that ever worked in a healthcare setting is a young eater!!!!!!!!"?
Specializes in Emergency Medicine, Dr. Office, Psych.
I happen to have a perfect example of patients & teaching methods!
Yesturday we had an inmate that c/o pain w/ urination & a headache, he is a trustee that works in the kitchen, the night nurse gave him a motrin order & a ua cup for a dip, we received his urine on days & the new nurse of 1 yr and only 6 mths in our facility dipped his urine & said wow Lori look at this, he had 4 + blood, leuks, 3+ protein, so on & so forth, he was 54 yrs old, no medical problems no medications, i told her we would call the Dr. in a bit to get an ATB for this uti, in the mean time we finished more work, one of the officers at the pod where this inmate is housed called & said Inmate xx says he isnt feeling well & doesnt look so well either, so i instructed him to bring him to medical for an exam, i took her in the room with me, she took a temp orally @ 96.5, he was groggy, i asked him questions about date time etc. she looked at me stranger after each question, (checking for A&O but she didnt understand why?)he was disoriented & lethargic, i told him to get up on the exam table & lay down i wanted an ekg on him,he was HOT to touch, he denied medical problems but when i pulled up his shirt to put the leads on , he had a "zipper" right up his sternum....... and another scar over his left breast, i inquired about what the scars where from he said the breast scar is from a stabbing but didnt recall the sternum scar, the told me that his symptoms had been 2 days long, started Tuesday............... (problem being it was sunday)...... i told her he was hot to touch, she said but Lori his temp read 96.5, i said well get an axillary temp then, her eyes bugged out of her head as his temp climbed to 105.4, he was tachy @ 148 and resp labored @ 26. EKG just showed Tachycardia w/ an old MI............the ambulance was called, in the mean time i instructed her to get cool compresses under his arms, groin & head, she said what about Ice packs? I said hmmmmmmmm Jenn you tell me, Tachy @ 148 what damage could a "shock" like ice do for this man? i told her to think about it, she got the cold compresses the medics came to transport him to the ER, after he was gone she said, WOW, i learned so much.............. in a short time.......... Its his urinary tract infection right? thats why he is confused & his heart rate is through the roof & his temp is so high? I said BINGO!, now why didnt we ice him? she said. well, i thought about it, it would have shocked his heart & probably caused an irregular heart beat right? i said BINGO!!
Coaching new staff is a great way to get them to learn, watch them, guide them & lead them, have patience with them. They don't have the 18 yrs experience that we do, they are fresh, they need nurtured like our children do as they grow up!
Praise them when they make great choices or finds, coach them when they don't, they learn better that way, atleast thats what i have experienced in my 18 yrs of precepting new staff & Nursing Students, & teaching at the Police academy!
The inmate was admitted for Urosepsis, and is recovering on IV Leviquin! He will return in a few days, but the lessons that she learned that day were ones that she wont forget, you can teach without making them feel stupid..
Remember we were all New Nurses once!!!! Have a heart.:heartbeat... Teach Smart!
She didn't brand the entire profession as young eaters. She gave an example of a nurse that IS an eater, and one that isn't?
After she gave that example she said "Nurses don't eat their young...yeah right". Meaning she now buys into the idea that the profession is one that eats their young, and she appears to be basing it on this one nurse and tossing aside the fact that she worked with an angel.
Why do the few of you who deny the existence of this phenomenon always try to paint these stories as "every nurse that ever worked in a healthcare setting is a young eater!!!!!!!!"?
Because that's what "nurses eat their young" means. This vile phrase tosses all us good nurses to curb. It doesn't say "There are some nurses that eat their young and you need to watch out for them, but the majority of nurses are good hardworking people that will help you out." It simply says "nurses eat their young" and sorry I ain't buying that.
As I've said probably 50 times in this thread, I'm not denying that there aren't nurses that eat their young,
and more of this 
!
aloevera
861 Posts
can you all believe that this thread is up to 170 pages !!!!
very hot topic, indeed.......
we need a course on "entering the nursing world" for our new nurses, don't we????