Do Nurses Eat Their Young?

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We have all heard the saying "Nurses eat their young". Do you feel this is true?

Please feel free to read and post any comments that you have right here in this discussion

Thanks.

This article sums it up for me... ?

http://www.dcardillo.com/articles/eatyoung.html

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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 Volunterr in A&E.

Well crap now I know I'm gonna get eaten at some point I can get that bite my a** tatoo I've always wanted for 4 reasons:

1. If someones biting me they're not biting anyone else.

2.If someone is THAT stressed I'd rather they bite me than someone else.

3. If they bite my a** it's cheaper than lypo :lol2:

4. I don't taste nice maybe they might think twice.

I hope I don't get slammed too bad for this post! I don't think it is so much of "nurses eating their young" as it is "females eating their young" or females of any age really. I work on a med-surg floor that has 5 male nurses among 30 female. I have noticed when eating lunch female nurses will talk about a nurse as soon as she gets up from the table. Male nurses talk about each other to their faces, it's part of the fun of being full of flaws. Most men go to work and try to find some way to have fun with it, while women look at the job as a responsibility. Not that it is a bad thing, it just makes more stress for them. I have many more ideas, but i think I should stop here for fear of upsetting someone or a gender.

Thank you and have a nice day!

I love to hear people's opinions and I am not the least offended or upset. I disagree, t hough, that males are the be-all, end-all in relationship management. I have worked with plenty of men who are great and plenty who are very catty, just as bad as any female.

I am in LPN school currently and I agree with the above comment that not all nurses eat their young....unfortunately I have worked with very few that didn't. :chair:I have worked mostly with RN's, some new and some old, most of them are set in their ways and resent a student that gets to come in at 6:30 and leave at 3:00, chose the patients they want to take care of that day, then leave the remaining time of the shift for them to pick up those patients. I can see where that would cause you to be that way, but I also have experienced working with the older nurses that don't remember how they felt as "baby nurses" or maybe they have just hardened throughout time and need a hug and a smile.....or maybe they are hardened, at which time I see the kind of nurse I do not want to be. I pray that I may never treat student nurses the way I have been treated, and may I always remember where I came from.

nice informative point of view article.

But, Yes, I eat the young, and they taste so good, particularly with A1 steak sauche and Jalapenos on the side. Yum.

hey, you're from Texas? Deep fried with mashed potatoes, I say!

Diahni

Kuulnurse: Now, who would you upset? Thje scenario of a group discussing the person who just got up is pretty funny. And telling. I observed this when I hung out with a bunch of mothers, where nobody was really friends. You could have fun with it and say, " I'm about to leave, so if you're going to talk about me, why not do it now so I can hear, too? While I do think women have more of a tendency to gossip about each other, men do it too. Just think, if you know somebody who's always bad mouthing other people, you can be sure they do it about you, too. As for men sounding like they're having more fun, maybe it's because they're having more fun! But I have known quite a few sourpuss nurses, men included. When people are humorless, it's because they're unhappy. Just remember, "Better to be alone than in bad company." If there are some coworkers who can't think of anything to talk about besides each other, eat alone. And if you are going to gossip, save it for stuff that's really juicy! Otherwise, it's such a bore.

Diahni

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nice informative point of view article.

But, Yes, I eat the young, and they taste so good, particularly with A1 steak sauche and Jalapenos on the side. Yum.

I suppose it's the really tough ones that we learn the most from, but I am sure it's hard for new nurses, especially if you're a sensitive person. I'm entering the nursing program in Fall 08 (getting pre-reqs out of way), and I am an older student (late 40's), but I am still anxious about all there is to learn and how my peers will interact with me during clinicals, etc. I guess I will learn soon enough!

Specializes in Burnout & Resiliency Coaching for Nurses.

I think it is more of an expectation of certain older nurses for younger nurses to know a lot more than we necessarily do. Nursing schools have changed, my clinical experience was lacking and we were told "It is normal and we would get it when we started working." Many older nurses I have spoke with had a more rigorous training program (diploma school nursing) that prepared them to hit the floor running. Most programs today do not offer this same rigorous training.

I think that is why it is viewed as eating their young. There are those nurses that have maladaptive attitudes and feel it is better not to be bothered with someone unexperienced, and there those nurses that nurture and help you grow and can be a bit hard on you at times because they have to be for the patients and your license safety.

Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).
I suppose it's the really tough ones that we learn the most from, but I am sure it's hard for new nurses, especially if you're a sensitive person. I'm entering the nursing program in Fall 08 (getting pre-reqs out of way), and I am an older student (late 40's), but I am still anxious about all there is to learn and how my peers will interact with me during clinicals, etc. I guess I will learn soon enough!

The nice thing about being an old newbie is that you tend not to be as tender, and they never know for sure when we might just bite back.

Best of luck. I'd tell you not to be anxious, but that would be absurd, so I'll just say hang in there.

Specializes in Burnout & Resiliency Coaching for Nurses.
The nice thing about being an old newbie is that you tend not to be as tender, and they never know for sure when we might just bite back.

Best of luck. I'd tell you not to be anxious, but that would be absurd, so I'll just say hang in there.

amen!

I have always disliked this particular saying because of the generalization. I found the thread fascinating, though, because I was at the receiving end of less-than-enthusiastic older nurses as a new grad; nurses who responded to questions or requests for help with abrupt, angry-toned responses or who even went so far as to comment that perhaps I'd be more comfortable working in a nursing home. The hospital was about 2 miles from a BSN college; many of my co-workers were graduates from that college, while I was a fresh ADN from another state. It was discouraging at best. At the end of my first year, I left that hospital, feeling like a TERRIBLE nurse, and wondering if my dream from childhood of being a nurse was just a pipe dream. But I took another chance; hired into a smaller hospital, and found my first of many mentors: dedicated to teaching the "new" nurse; responsive to questions and willing to provide information on CEU opportunities; took the extra time to provide possible scenerios for me to work through before the situation(s) arose. That was over 1/4 century ago, and I am, to this day, grateful she was part of my early nursing life. I work hard at passing her gift on to newer nurses, or to nurses who are new to my own specialty (psych nursing). I do NOT always succeed because I am human, and occasionally have the day when I am too tired, too hungry, too stressed. I try to remain aware of my own interactions, and apologize for abruptness when it occurs.

Specializes in Burnout & Resiliency Coaching for Nurses.

I had a horrible experience and it was similar to yours (I was given the choice for termination or to quit after 5 weeks that is very embarrassing to say). My first preceptor had me giving care/doing everything starting on my second day. After crying everyday from that, I finally broke down to my clinical coordinator and said, I need a new person. They gave me an older nurse, and constantly all I heard was your skills are too far gone, I don't know how to teach you, a nursing home is more ideal for you. (If you know me, I am very anti-nursing homes).

I have been caring for children for a year in psych residential. I loved it and had a good rapport with my co-workers, therapists, and doctors. When I worked there, I was confident in myself. I spent most of that 5 weeks on that floor after work in my shower crying because I felt like a failure because I didn't take the road most traveled after school. Because she needed someone that would be ready to take a pt load of 1:7-8 on nights with little support and I would take longer to orient; I was given the choice and I quit.

Well, after talking it over with my ex co-workers and other nurses around the hospital. What happened was not fair, especially only 5 weeks in. The clinical coordinators incompetency to provide me the teaching that I told her I needed was not fair. Although, now I am interviewing for areas that I will be far happier in. My skin is a little thicker from that experience and now I say exactly what I want and make it clear that I am a GREEN hospital nurse who expects a full orientation.

I have always disliked this particular saying because of the generalization. I found the thread fascinating, though, because I was at the receiving end of less-than-enthusiastic older nurses as a new grad; nurses who responded to questions or requests for help with abrupt, angry-toned responses or who even went so far as to comment that perhaps I'd be more comfortable working in a nursing home. The hospital was about 2 miles from a BSN college; many of my co-workers were graduates from that college, while I was a fresh ADN from another state. It was discouraging at best. At the end of my first year, I left that hospital, feeling like a TERRIBLE nurse, and wondering if my dream from childhood of being a nurse was just a pipe dream. But I took another chance; hired into a smaller hospital, and found my first of many mentors: dedicated to teaching the "new" nurse; responsive to questions and willing to provide information on CEU opportunities; took the extra time to provide possible scenerios for me to work through before the situation(s) arose. That was over 1/4 century ago, and I am, to this day, grateful she was part of my early nursing life. I work hard at passing her gift on to newer nurses, or to nurses who are new to my own specialty (psych nursing). I do NOT always succeed because I am human, and occasionally have the day when I am too tired, too hungry, too stressed. I try to remain aware of my own interactions, and apologize for abruptness when it occurs.

Yes, and we serve them with bernaise sauce and white wine. :devil:

Seriously, sometimes it seems that way, and sometimes it seems we eat each other. It's not an easy profession, but it's the best thing I ever did for myself.

faroe78

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