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 believe nurses eat their young yes...why because they are women. Plain and simple. I have met the cattiest, nastiest, back stabbing women in the world in this profession. NOT ALL...I dont mean all but it is the reason I dont like being a nurse honestly. I think Id rather work in a prison with convicted murderers. At least then you know what your up against.
I love when your new to the unit and no one talks to you, or acts like your invisible. Im NEVER like that. I dont know why women find the need to be so catty.
I make it a point to talk to the new girl. Offer my help, casual chat. Im pleasant 99.9% of the time and the other % I pretend to be. But I am often met with the snidest remarks, shortest answers or just plain ignored. I realize many nurses dont like agency...but I never understood why...after all if we didnt have the ability to walk into a place with no orientation, they would be doing twice the work load.
I was once an overnight counselor at psychiatric hospital, and even though I worked alone, it was my privilege to get to know the really nice, smart young BA-level counselors every night before my shift started. they were easy to get along with, very likeable, ready and willing to learn, so why did the program's psychiatric nurse hate them so much? This woman was a real life Nurse Ratched--extremely passive aggressive, despised the younger employees, went out of her way to make them feel stupid, wrote them up for the most minor infractions, and didn't particularly care for the mental patients either. One time a counselor- I'll call her Elaine -complained to the program director because Nurse Ratched had been inconsistent in filling the patients' pill boxes for weeks. Of course, if the nurse doesn't fill the pill boxes, the counselors are prohibited from replacing the absent pills. Which means that the patient freaks out on the night counselor (like me) when we tell them that their sleeping pills and anti-psychotics are gone, and they have to wait till morning for a medical employee to help them out.
Well Nurse Ratched was furious that Elaine "told" on her to the program director and exposed her incompetence. So one day when Elaine's fiance dropped by to pick her up from work, Nurse Ratched cornered him and said "So, I heard Elaine doesn't really want to marry you." thankfully, the fiance knew Nurse Ratched was just being manipulative, and they went on to get happily married. however, Nurse Ratched still works at said hospital and gets away with all her mean comments and laziness. No matter how much the counselors talked to the program director, nothing was ever done. That program had so little respect for the younger employees, a more experienced nurse could have thrown acid in their faces and kept their jobs.
I understand that many nurses get upset when they hear the nasty stereotype about "young-consumption" in their profession, but get real. If you don't want to be stereotyped as bullies, then don't let other nurses act like bullies. That's it. Nothing else to it. Whining about how unfair stereotypes are doesn't make them go away. You have to stand up to nurses who pick on the newbies, because they can't always stand up for themselves. If you just look the other way when you see bullying going on, then you deserve whatever nasty stereotype you get.
Nurses have made their baby-eating beds, so lie in them.
that's my two cents from a hopefully-non-cannabilistic soon to be RN
Some nurses eat their young and it happened to me numerous times. The problem is the preceptor experience. Most nurse preceptors are not able to teach a new nurse because either they are not patient from the getgo, want control all the time and simply do not have a nursing master's degree to teach new nurses. I can cite various examples to illustrate my point.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
It' easy enough to say "don't let other nurses act that way" but if we could control all the negative behavior that anyone else engages in, I supposes this thread would not contain several thousand replies.
this is kind of like when parents watch their 6 year old boy kicking the dog and just say "oh well. boys will be boys." and just sit back and assume they have no control over it.
you're actually telling me there's nothing to be done about bullying in the work place?? no one can reprimand them? no one can take them aside and say "knock it off or you're through here?"
just think about what would have happened if Nurse Ratched had given the program director the same treatment. she would have been in a world of pain for being so unprofessional.
there's a reason that older nurses pick on the younger one but not on the higher ups. BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT.
doctors and nurses look at them and say "oh well. nurses will eat their young."
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
this is kind of like when parents watch their 6 year old boy kicking the dog and just say "oh well. boys will be boys." and just sit back and assume they have no control over it.
you're actually telling me there's nothing to be done about bullying in the work place?? no one can reprimand them? no one can take them aside and say "knock it off or you're through here?"
just think about what would have happened if Nurse Ratched had given the program director the same treatment. she would have been in a world of pain for being so unprofessional.
there's a reason that older nurses pick on the younger one but not on the higher ups. BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT.
doctors and nurses look at them and say "oh well. nurses will eat their young."
So you're a nursing student who's observed 1 nurse with a dysfunctional personality and decided to make a blanket assessment on the whole topic?
I understand that many nurses get upset when they hear the nasty stereotype about "young-consumption" in their profession, but get real. If you don't want to be stereotyped as bullies, then don't let other nurses act like bullies. That's it. Nothing else to it.
Just that easy, huh? I didn't say anywhere that nothing should be done about it, and the chip on your shoulder just might end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy. I never heard that phrase until a few years ago, my preceptors were great for the most part, and I am not a bully. The way it changes is to change the type of person who supervises the group, and if you get a bad apple with an inside track to her superiors, oh well. It happens. But you are painting with a broad brush already, and you sound like you're lecturing a profession you aren't one of at this point, and it's antagonizing.
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I really didn't have a problem with older nurses picking on me, but I do have teeth marks from younger nurses trying to take a bite at me. It goes both ways, boys and girls.
I completely agree with the saying... as a new nurse/nursing student, I have been treated like an idiot by "old" nurses. Not applying this to every nurse that I have worked with as a student or new grad, but there are definitely those who will throw you under the bus for no apparent reason.
I actually had a patient die during nursing school (not on my watch) about 3 days after I cared for this patient all because the charge nurse/nurse caring for the patient thought I was over-reacting to the symptoms she was experiencing. I had her 2 days post op for bowel resection following discovery of colon cancer. She complained of upper abdominal pain EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS MAXING OUT HER PAIN PUMP (every hour). Her urine output was
SO in conclusion, next time you "older" more experienced nurses think that a nursing student or new nurse is "over reacting" or mis-reading S/S just think they ARE in school and they probably have just studied what they are caring for... They may be more sensitive to subtile signs and symptoms than you are. You might just save a life!
If you would have held a gun to that older nurse and forced her to call the M.D., the outcome would have been the same. Well, except you would have had to face criminal charges. Many people "dropped the ball." They missed several signs and symptoms that would have been present in addition to the less than 0.5ml/kg/hour output and refractory abdominal pain.
as an "older" nurse, anyone having concerns raises a red flag for me, even someone who has never been in nursing school.
Those nurses did more than "eat their young," they were grossly negligent. Do you have a responsibility for reporting patient abuse? In my state you do.
@Woodenpug I documented the assessment and pain interventions and urine output in the chart. I also verbally told the nurses and my nursing instructors. I did not know that the patient had died until about 5 days later when the actual instructor of my class discussed this patient as a case study in class!!! You can imagine how much worse it made things for me! I talked to them about my options and they told me that I did everything that I could have done because they both reviewed my charting. It was probably the hardest patient that I have EVER had just because it was the first to die on me and I kept backtracking everything that I had done and if there was a way that I could have changed the outcome. I beat myself up about it for the rest of the semester!
omg yes. had an lvn with 15+ yrs experience bite my head off because i couldn't remember how to clear a PCA... i'm a new grad with 0 rn experience, off orientation for 2 mos now, and do not on a regluar basis care for fresh post op pts with PCA pumps.... the last time i had one of those was back in december. the acerbic response was "this is the third time i've had to show you this, you don't know how by now?" report never goes much better with this lvn, either. hello, that's why i asked you to come clear the pump with me, like our policy states we should... for all the great and supportive nurses, there are a few that act like satan's spawn when it comes to the latest gen of nursing colleagues.
this is interesting. the vast majority of responders say "yes, nurses eat their young." and they all go on to describe how someone bullied them. but no one admits to being the bully. if most nurses are bullies, then how is it that the 2000 responders on this thread just happen to be in the nurturing minority?
sorry, the statistics don't add up--either this site draws a disproportionate number of unusually nice people, or the nurses here just aren't being honest. out of 2000 people, at LEAST one of you is bound to be a jerk. realistically, more like 30 % of any demographic is made up total jerks- nurses, doctors, policemen, school teachers. of all you victims, not one of you ever gossiped about a new employee? cussed out someone because you were having a bad day? turned someone into a pariah at work because you were jealous of them? got ****** off at students because they didn't get down on their knees and worship you for being an older, more "seasoned" employee?
and no, i can't admit to being a baby-nurse cannibal because i'm not a nurse yet. but maybe one day i'll get to take my own advice and say "mea culpa" to my students....after i regurgitate them.
SamiRN
52 Posts
I believe nurses eat their young yes...why because they are women. Plain and simple. I have met the cattiest, nastiest, back stabbing women in the world in this profession. NOT ALL...I dont mean all but it is the reason I dont like being a nurse honestly. I think Id rather work in a prison with convicted murderers. At least then you know what your up against.
I love when your new to the unit and no one talks to you, or acts like your invisible. Im NEVER like that. I dont know why women find the need to be so catty.
I make it a point to talk to the new girl. Offer my help, casual chat. Im pleasant 99.9% of the time and the other % I pretend to be. But I am often met with the snidest remarks, shortest answers or just plain ignored. I realize many nurses dont like agency...but I never understood why...after all if we didnt have the ability to walk into a place with no orientation, they would be doing twice the work load.