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.
SueBee, if I were an instructor and there was a student taking up a spot only to get their Masters in another profession and wasn't committed to nursing, I would probably put my efforts and concentration on those students with nursing as their goal. Not that I wouldn't try to find out why she's doing this and perhaps change her mind, but I would encourage to choose another major to get a Bachelor's in if she has no intention of being a nurse. Doesn't make much sense to me to continue on. To each his/her own I guess.
There are many dynamics that are part of the nursing shortage besides how we treat each other. Economics, management, family obligations, retiring and aging nurses, lack of instructors willing to accept low pay, etc. It's not just nurses mistreating nurses. I find for the most part nurses are very supportive and understanding of what we go through.
Well, I disagree with you. I start law school Fall 2008, and my BSN has paved the way for my advanced education. Advanced education dosn't have to be in nursing as long as it benefits nursing. A law degree could benefit nursing in many ways. If nurses treat others poorly then why would a former nurse use advanced education to better healthcare. All to often nurses get their BSN and move into hospital administration, but because other nurses treated them poorly when they were nurses, nursing has lost their support.
Nurses need others, and others need nurses. It's a team effort, and if nursing can't see this, well, nurses teach people how to treat them, don't they?
When I was a carpenter, I was working on a house, once, when a second story deck collapsed. One of my co-workers was on the deck and rode it down, fortunately without serious injuries. Almost miraculously, no one was under the deck when it feel. Afterward, we found that the deck had been held up by eight 1/4 in toggle bolds in a block wall.
Nursing is not the first field I've worked in where mistakes can kill. It didn't happen during my short stint in fast food, but I've heard of people dying from undercooked hamburgers.
However, as nurses, we deal with the truth that even small mistakes can have very serious outcomes. If we're 99% perfect, that isn't good enough. Also, as professionals, we have an obligation to police ourselves. As a carpenter, my only obligation in the collapsing deck incident was to be sure the one I replaced it with was done correctly. As a nurse, I am expected to take corrective action, including incident reports, if I know of another nurse's mistake, and--more typically--other nurses are obligated to take corrective action if I may a mistake--even an honest one. A few times in my short career, I've been "written up" for errors I've made, and a few times I've been corrected without an incident report. I'm lucky that my management and most of my coworkers see honest errors as teaching opportunities. It's also true that my errors--even the stupid ones--have been honest mistakes, rather than careless ones. But it's still painful to be corrected, as well it should be. What I've had to understand, and what other new nurses need to realize, is that the worst thing about being wrong is not getting caught. Indeed, one ought to shudder to think that one may make mistakes that aren't caught. When I drew and sent a vanc level on a patient who wasn't even getting vanc, the error was easily caught. If, as could easily have occured, two patients in adjacent rooms were both getting vanc, the mistake could have gone undetected, and could have had more serious repercussions that simply having to draw the level on the right patient later than was ordered. (The broader lesson, of course, is that when it's 0500 and you're tired and in a rush, you have to be extra careful...)
I know a few nurses who can get pretty indignant over even honest mistakes. I don't know many nurses who are not offended by careless or grossly incompetent ones. I know newer nurses, and have been one, who felt badly about being corrected for mistakes they've (we've) made, and I have seen one or two who lacked the brains or maturity to recognize where the fault for such errors lies.
Yes, there are some nurses who eat their young, and yes, every one of us has at some time or another been chewed on. I'm fortunate to work with a very decent bunch of nurses who are happy to teach anyone willing to learn, most of whom would crush me like a bug if I wasn't willing to learn. God bless them.
Well, I disagree with you. I start law school Fall 2008, and my BSN has paved the way for my advanced education. Advanced education dosn't have to be in nursing as long as it benefits nursing. A law degree could benefit nursing in many ways. If nurses treat others poorly then why would a former nurse use advanced education to better healthcare. All to often nurses get their BSN and move into hospital administration, but because other nurses treated them poorly when they were nurses, nursing has lost their support.
I apologize then. I didn't realize the person in question, and you as well, were using a nursing degree to benefit nursing. That makes a bit more sense to me. Thanks for the clarification.
As somone who is a nurse, and has been a nurse for 15 years, I disagree with the statement "nursing has lost it's support". That's too much of a blanket statement for me to buy into. I agree that all too many people are leaving nursing (although I personally haven't seen one person leave nursing whom I've worked with, but I've been sheltered in one medium sized hospital for the last 15 years).
Many nurses do indeed leave the bedside for law, teaching, management, reserach, doctors offices, etc. That they leave because they are mistreated by fellow nurses is definately a reason I've heard, but not the only reason. Many people just grow and expand, and get tired of the stress of bedside nursing.
Good luck to you.
Nurses need others, and others need nurses. It's a team effort, and if nursing can't see this, well, nurses teach people how to treat them, don't they
I get that. Many of my coworkers do as well. We get along fabulously and work together. Also when I've taken patients to ICU the teamwork of the ICU nurses is amazing. Many of us see this.
I wonder if you and your friend truly have such a negative opinion of us, why the heck are you getting into such a profession??? Why would I want to stay in such a profession. Why would anyone? Why are there thousands of people on waiting lists??
Specializes in med-surg, teaching, cardiac, priv. duty.
As a RN of 16 years, I just had to comment on this! When I was a new grad, the staff nurses who oriented me were wonderful, patient, helpful, and supportive! However, the upper level RN's (supervisors, administration, etc.) were not so helpful. I would say they "ate me" and almost destroyed a new nurse!
First, I was hired as a new grad for a FLOAT pool position! Being young (only 20 yrs old), green, and new - I had no idea that being a float as a brand new nurse was not a good idea. I can NOT even believe they would hire a new grad for this position!! DUH!!! Then, for my orientation, I was oriented on ONE UNIT only. You would think because I was hired for the float pool that they would have at least oriented me to several different units!!!!! Again, duh! What was administration thinking?!?!
So....I finish my orientation and immediately start floating. It was a nightmare! My first night floating (it was 16 years ago now and I still remember it!) -I saw things (equipment, procedures, MD orders, etc) that I had never seen before, and I had no idea what to do! Things went downhill fast! I was soon drowning, overwhelmed and struggling. After a short time of this, it was apparent to everyone that I needed more orientation. I was re-placed back on orientation. Now this was the extra frustrating part, administration treated me like something was wrong with me! That is was me! That I was slow, stupid or whatever to have to need more orientation. They said they would be watching me very closely to see if I was competent enough to be a nurse! Again, being young and green, I believed them. I thought I was a total failure.
I had almost decided to quit, and go back to school for something else. But MY PARENTS really came behind me with support and encouragement. They told me to give nursing a little more time. Really, only because of them, am I a nurse today!
So...the staff nurses who oriented me were wonderful. BUT the decisions of the "upper people" to hire a new grad for a float position, and then only orientating me to ONE unit of the hospital, and then treating me like I was an incompetent idiot when I was barely treading water as a float - WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! As you see, after 16 years, I still have strong feelings about this.
I don't understand you last questions. Why are we getting into the nursing profession? I've been a nurse for quite a long time (16 yrs), and my friend has been a nurse for 2 years. At he present time we find nursing/medicine dangerous. Administration and their cohorts are making nursing and medicine a danger to the American community. We all know health care is about $$$, not the patient. Americans have the worst healthcare on all the developed countries, and pay the most for it. Hay, nursing is a calling, and so are many other professions. Nurses are the ones who truly care for people vs. the bottom line. Nurses know the system, and know how to change it, so that is why nursing are needed in other professions as they devlope the desire to move on.
I urge all nurses to get involved in their political campagin of choice.
I'm sorry SueBee, I missunderstood and thought you guys were students and it didn't make sense to have such a negative opinion about nursing.
Now I do have some strong opinions about our health care delivery system, the high cost and the inequities, but that's other topic altogether than "nurses eat their young". :)
Specializes in Pediatric, Geriatric, Med Surg, NICU, PI.
Most of us in the post Kramer era have been attuned to the tone of voice, body language and how to be supportive. That's in hospital. I am still concerned about nusing assistants and nurses from other sites. Take Long Term Care which is highlyregulated - an atmosphere where it is esier to use the "here's how we do it HERE" approach.......
Ok. I've been eaten! Or, at least had a bite taken out of me!
Really, everyone I've worked with has been great, except for one.... (I know, same old story...) But, I was actually sabotaged by one nurse, when I was a student... the if it weren't for the rest of the staff on my floor (nurses & aides) sticking up for me... I don't even want to think. She was making false allegations, I got a call from my state BON. She would up leaving her job over the thing. (Really sad, she was a great nurse to her patients, though not great to me. I never wished her harm.)
Really, I was going to drop out of nursing school, I had a bad taste in my mouth. I'm so glad that I was albe to see the good, those great people who stuck up for me and fought back; or else I would have quit before even beginning.
I can honestly say I make it a part of my practice to be helpful and available to new nurses, students etc. I make it part of my practice because of the awful experiences I endured when I was a new grad.
It is unfair to say that nurses eat their young....but you know what they say about that one bad apple right?
I will also say that I have worked in a variety of professions and I only see this type of behavior where it is predominately female.
There is something to be said about that in itself, however I can only draw from my own personal experiences.
As a new nurse, I was bullied during my preceptorship and made to feel incompetent and unorganized. This preceptor did this deliberately to make herself feel bigger I guess!? I began precepting with someone different, and it worked out GREAT!! Four years later... I love my job and I am now very comfortable with my responsibilities, so if you are training with a young nurse "eater" get out!! It does get better!!!
I think it is the very few miserable people out there who are guilty of this. I know there has to be some who do eat their young, but as a whole, I think it is badly overstated. There is going to be that select few in most every place of business that gang up on new people coming in.
Before I started nursing school, I was scared to death that instructors were just out to "weed you out". Everything I had heard before made it sound like it was a game they play. I can honestly say, NOT all instructors want to do this. Ours are great. I was also scared from hearing that students were out to sabotage other students.
The first day of class, the instructors make it clear that the competition was over, and we needed to pull together and help each other, cause we were "in".
We have an enormous support system and no one wants to see anyone fail out, or even quit. I have just been in the class for two weeks, and I can honestly say that so far, most of the negative things I have heard, I have found to be totally false.
SueBee RN-BSN
232 Posts
Well, I disagree with you. I start law school Fall 2008, and my BSN has paved the way for my advanced education. Advanced education dosn't have to be in nursing as long as it benefits nursing. A law degree could benefit nursing in many ways. If nurses treat others poorly then why would a former nurse use advanced education to better healthcare. All to often nurses get their BSN and move into hospital administration, but because other nurses treated them poorly when they were nurses, nursing has lost their support.
Nurses need others, and others need nurses. It's a team effort, and if nursing can't see this, well, nurses teach people how to treat them, don't they?