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 Med/surg,Tele,PACU,ER,ICU,LTAC,HH,Neuro.
Yes, absolutely. It is a terrible thing. I would not say that it is all nurses. I actually blame management for allowing these particular nurses to do this. I don't care how good of a nurse they are; if they can't be kind, especially to their co-workers, they should be warned once and fired. It is ridiculous and has been going on for too long!!!:angryfire
You can't make a mean nurse nice with one warning and then fire them...THAT AINT NICE..........lol
Maybe other work places need Anger Management Classes and nurses need ....How to NOT eat your young CLASS.
Specializes in Med/surg,Tele,PACU,ER,ICU,LTAC,HH,Neuro.
I did have a big response that I just erased. I'll let it go. I won't get defensive. Whining was a bad choice of words, and I apologize for that. By all means reporting a bully and abuse is not whining.
Otherwise, I won't say anything further since you're done with this "dead end discussion".
Actually whining is the approptriate word to convey what your saying.
I work in retail atm.
I love my boss.
But I whine to myself about never talking to him unless I have something to whine about .
I agree, If a manager or supervisor can't take whining, they need to find another position cause unfortunately that seems to be all they hear.
Unfair but true....
I did have one management team who got sick of the whining and insisted all complaints be in writing and followed with some suggestion on how the whiner thought the problem could be addressed. It made us think before we whined to much and acually helped the QA/QI program:idea:.
Specializes in Med/surg,Tele,PACU,ER,ICU,LTAC,HH,Neuro.
Do Nurses Really Eat Their Young? Maybe it's the young nurses that are eating the new nurses. I never heard that expression when I was a student. My husband learned it his first week in school. Would I ever be mean or condescending to a new graduate? No ,because it's not in my nature to be mean or condescending to anyone. Have I seen it done to new graduates...absolutely. Often I saw it done by younger, relatively new nurses to more recent graduates. Sad to say, I have also seen a trend to target older new nurses. When I was a supervisor. I always found it ironic the ones who repeatedly scared away staff were often the first to complain about staffing. "Eating" ranges from the roll the eyes " well look who the nurse was ",exclusion from the many cliques , to complaining they are too slow or stupid. Yes there are those who will go to any measure to "get rid" of a nurse they don't like. Last year, I entered a room to do recreation activities for a quad. vent. pt. A new graduate was struggling to get him in bed with a hoyer. She was a pleasant woman in her late 50's. I had often heard other nurses complain about her. Unlike other nurses who paired up , she was often left to do 2 person jobs solo. I put down my papers , helping her get him in bed. She thanked me saying "not many people offer". She said she heard she was " too old and too slow" behind her back. It didn't bother her because, she knew she was giving good care. Yet, her voice cracked and her eyes welled up betraying her words. Her pain was actually caused by those who pledged to ease pain. Maybe they felt after a year or two under the belt, they were obligated to live up to that old adage. Maybe we just live in a self serving society that places too much emphasis on youth and beauty. It could be nursing is just the most obvious example to showcase a me generation. After all, what could bring the point home more, than showing lack of caring in the "caring "profession itself ?
Do Nurses Really Eat Their Young? Maybe it's the young nurses that are eating the new nurses. I never heard that expression when I was a student. My husband learned it his first week in school. Would I ever be mean or condescending to a new graduate? No ,because it's not in my nature to be mean or condescending to anyone. Have I seen it done to new graduates...absolutely. Often I saw it done by younger, relatively new nurses to more recent graduates. Sad to say, I have also seen a trend to target older new nurses. When I was a supervisor. I always found it ironic the ones who repeatedly scared away staff were often the first to complain about staffing. "Eating" ranges from the roll the eyes " well look who the nurse was ",exclusion from the many cliques , to complaining they are too slow or stupid. Yes there are those who will go to any measure to "get rid" of a nurse they don't like. Last year, I entered a room to do recreation activities for a quad. vent. pt. A new graduate was struggling to get him in bed with a hoyer. She was a pleasant woman in her late 50's. I had often heard other nurses complain about her. Unlike other nurses who paired up , she was often left to do 2 person jobs solo. I put down my papers , helping her get him in bed. She thanked me saying "not many people offer". She said she heard she was " too old and too slow" behind her back. It didn't bother her because, she knew she was giving good care. Yet, her voice cracked and her eyes welled up betraying her words. Her pain was actually caused by those who pledged to ease pain. Maybe they felt after a year or two under the belt, they were obligated to live up to that old adage. Maybe we just live in a self serving society that places too much emphasis on youth and beauty. It could be nursing is just the most obvious example to showcase a me generation. After all, what could bring the point home more, than showing lack of caring in the "caring "profession itself ?
What you are describing is a classic case of bullying and mobbing. I would go have a conversation with your nurse manager to express your concerns. It is her responsibility to make sure that the work environment is safe and non-hostile. If I have time I will post a link to an article that I found for nursing research that describes how to level out bullying behaviors.
Please PM if you would like copies of my articles about Horizontal Violence/Bullying.
What you are describing is a classic case of bullying and mobbing. I would go have a conversation with your nurse manager to express your concerns. It is her responsibility to make sure that the work environment is safe and non-hostile. If I have time I will post a link to an article that I found for nursing research that describes how to level out bullying behaviors.
Absolutely - all nurses need to stand up to bullying behavior.
Absolutely - all nurses need to stand up to bullying behavior.
steph
to further add, not everyone can do this fresh out of school. It should perhaps be addressed in nursing school. I know we had a few lectures about assertiveness in my ADN program that were very helpful to me as a new grad.
A while ago when this post first started, someone mentioned the book "No A**hole Rule". I can't recall the author's name at this time, but I went out and bought it right away. I would recommend the book to just about anyone. Some of the examples of what others have gone through at work (not just in nursing) in terms of bullying will make you want to sceam. Plus, its a quick easy read that just might make you laugh a little.
The fact that this topic stays at the top of the thread list is a good indication that Nurses do eat their young.
It's a good indication that people are interested in the topic, not necessarily that they agree with the premise. A fair number have posted that they either disagree with the statement or that it should be qualified so as not to paint all nurses with the same broad brush.
I've had just a few experiences with nurse "bullies", fortunately, just a few. I work registry, I have only two years experience as a nurse but thirteen years in EMS. I was sent by my registry to work on a med surg floor. As we know, registry often will get assigned the "difficult" patients to give staff a reprieve. My patients were not just of the "demanding" type, which may be because of the lack of caring attention (upon introducing myself to one of my patients she punched me yelling she hates us nurses) but many of my patients were also very overweight and difficult to move. I had seven patients. It was a 7a to 7p shift. I asked if someone could cover me so I can get lunch, no one would, I asked If someone could keep an eye on my patients so I can go to the bathroom (one of my patient's incision on an ORIF was coming open and I had put in a call to the doctor and let the charge nurse know) I was persistently following up with that. Well, I could get no help. No help with moving the patients, no coverage for lunch and almost soiled myself trying to make it to the bathroom. I worked 15 hours with no food, no break, and one chance to run to the bathroom. I just couldn't justify abandoning my patients and could get no one to help. 8 hours into the shift I called the registry and told them not to send me back. At the end of the shift the charge nurse told me I was a trooper and had a good attitude and asked if I would like to come back, I told her I already called my registry and told them not to send me back. I was so exhausted my legs and hands shook and I could hardly walk straight. Tit for Tat she DNR'd me. This shift was worse than the Friday night my partner and I were the only available 911 unit in a very busy northern California city. We at least got food and potty breaks, they may have been very short but we got them.
Another of the only two experiences I have had was working at an Alzheimer's unit as the charge nurse for second shift. I was doing the paperwork for an admission. Upon completing all of the paperwork and assessments, I had another nurse who was staff just double check to make sure I didn't miss anything (CYA, checks and balances - you know) she said that everything looked good and was complete. I wrapped up the admission and called it a night. The night nurse came on, an older woman close to retirement. The next day I found out that she had shredded ALL of my admission paperwork, did the admission all over and told the day charge nurse that I did it all wrong. I was registry and all I had was the word of the other staff nurse which was never taken into consideration. For as long as I worked at that facility I never heard the end of my "lousy paper work" from the day charge nurse at every change of shift report. No one asked to see if my work was correct, no one took into consideration the other nurse as a "witness" on my behalf, and no one questioned why the older nurse had shredded all of the paperwork so no one could see it. This seems kind of petty, but annoying none the less.
Assertiveness to stand up for oneself is valuable in this field. What is more valuable is learning when and how to use your assertiveness. Good documentation is always always always helpful, and having someone else double check some things is helpful most of the time. I think too, that the longer nurses are in the field, the more they forget what it was like when they first started. I told my friends and colleagues that if I ever become that way take me behind the barn and shoot me.
Nursing has changed over the years since these older nurses have started. Number one, there is a shortage where there was no shortage before. Number two there are a lot more opportunities as the nursing field expands into more areas. Finally, number three, times have changed, cost of living has gone up, lawsuits have increased and malpractice insurance even for nurses is sometimes necessary. All of the preceding reasons drive up wages to more than they were for years prior which may add to why the nurses that have been around for a while can become resentful. They loose sight of the fact that they have been around for a while and are valuable assets to the nursing community. If these nurses would realize this important fact, they will be much happier, take pride in mentoring the young and the new nurses, and we will see so much more growth in our field.
Again, as a rule, I have only run into a small number of nurse cannibals. I am proud to be nurse, love what I do and love my patients. I look forward to when I can be such a mentor and when I can, help someone out with even less experience than me.:)
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leslymill
461 Posts
You can't make a mean nurse nice with one warning and then fire them...THAT AINT NICE..........lol
Maybe other work places need Anger Management Classes and nurses need ....How to NOT eat your young CLASS.