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.
As a nursing student doing classroom and clinical assignments, AND being an older male, I have a unique opportunity to watch the Survivor Island-type cattyness of female nursing students. Male nursing students do not act this way. While its obviously caused by insecurity and a history of negativity, its quite a unique artform to witness in a medical setting. Female students being outwardly nice and inquisitive of their fellow females students with a feigned intense interest, then when one person departs, that person is socially dissected and verbally ruined in minutes. There is an invisible caste system among female nursing students. Its quite fascinating from a sociological point of view. They backstab, spread rumors, invent stories, give disinformation about study tips, and sway others loyalties using fear of similar action on that individual.
While the nursing curriculum is quite grueling, it should be enjoyable. Its really sad that there is some recruitment method to attract this type of personality. Nursing is a benevolent, kind, caring profession.
While stress of school plays a factor, there seems to be a common thread in previous posts about this type of personality trait proliferating in many hospitals around the country. With nursing shortages and school enrollment limitations, it would be a conclusion that cattyness and insecurity are signs of academic intelligence that gives them an enrollment edge in many colleges.
I'm sure this happens to some degree in all schools, but I'd be interested if anyone has an opinion/solution on how to thwart this mentality. Our school has an 80% attrition rate which in part I attribute to students imploding on themselves due to lack of fellow-student support. Is there a cattyness gene? Or is this indicative to nursing? Or is it being in a small town?
Katie..honey, I know you are not insulting, I have read your posts! You made a valid point, certainly struck a cord with me. I'm a Midwife, trained for 3 years to be just that. That was my passion..until I met the preemies in the NICU that is! Now, nearly eight years after going to the NICU, if we have low number of babies, and L&D is busy, its always a fear that we will be sent there! And I was trained to deliver babies. just haven't done so for near on 8 yrs now, and that terrifies the bejesus out of me. Give me a 23 weeker anyday, I love the ventilation stuff, love the adrenalin rush, just don't ask me to do normality!
Katie, you will go far, good luck to you babe!
Hi Danissa,
I wrote a reply to your post and *poof*, it was gone.
I just wanted to give a big thank you to your reply of my post :icon_hug:
See, posts like yours are the exact reason why I debate that nurses eat their young. Those nurses are just a tiny percentage of the rest of us who truly care about passing on our experience and knowledge to our new collegues.
lorabel, critical thinking and organisational skills do develop over time, with experience but I cant give a specific time frame. in my experience, it's when you look back at how you used to do things, how stressed the job made you, just trying to fit your million and one things into a shift, with no real idea of just HOW to do it. When you reflect like this, you realise just how far you have come, and how you can be relaxed in certain situations which once made your knees shake. It will happen for you, I'm sure, as it has for me. I ONCE was that shiny new midwife, with sky high expectations of what I should achieve. Realism and hard work are great levellers, and now I don't beat myself up over stuff that used to make me lose sleep. Hope you find some great, supportive mentors!
Thank you. I'm hoping to have nurses such as all of the posters here in the forum on my next job to mentor me! Preceptors are like kindergarten teachers...they can make learning a positive or negative experience. They have the greatest influence on the students' outlook......I think we can all look back and remember one teacher in particular that made us feel good and gave us positive encouragement.
Thank you. I'm hoping to have nurses such as all of the posters here in the forum on my next job to mentor me! Preceptors are like kindergarten teachers...they can make learning a positive or negative experience. They have the greatest influence on the students' outlook......I think we can all look back and remember one teacher in particular that made us feel good and gave us positive encouragement.
Hi Lorabel,
Even though we are not there on the floor and at the bedside with you, please always remember that you can always bounce ideas off of us; ie. how you handled a difficult situation and what we would have done differently and offer *loving* suggestions.
I shouldn't speak for all members on this forum, but I think you get the gist of who you can safely do that with.
From a new nurses point of veiw...nurses do eat their young. I am the youngest in my unit. I do not agree with almost everything that goes on there. I guess im from a different era or something-i do not interact in a clickish way with the others...they are 35+. What do I look like clinging with them?? Thats what makes me the target of their ridicule. I had a "made up" incident with a family member. I had to confront(positively) the family about it and they said they didnt make the "reported" comments. I told my manager about it and she investigated it. We went to the source and she claims she heard it from someone else. She's an older lady who wanted to start on the new person. I was set up my first week on that unit. I quickly nipped that in the bud. You dont want to set bad impressions for your self just starting out, anyway.
From a new nurses point of veiw...nurses do eat their young. I am the youngest in my unit. I do not agree with almost everything that goes on there. I guess im from a different era or something-i do not interact in a clickish way with the others...they are 35+. What do I look like clinging with them?? Thats what makes me the target of their ridicule. I had a "made up" incident with a family member. I had to confront(positively) the family about it and they said they didnt make the "reported" comments. I told my manager about it and she investigated it. We went to the source and she claims she heard it from someone else. She's an older lady who wanted to start on the new person. I was set up my first week on that unit. I quickly nipped that in the bud. You dont want to set bad impressions for your self just starting out, anyway.
Kudos to you for nipping it in the bud from the get go. Perhaps those that eat their young wouldn't do it if new grads constructively and assertively handled problems when they came up.
If you do not agree with just about everything that goes on there, it sounds like it's not a good fit and when you get your time in, I hope you consider leaving.
I also hope one day you realize that the profession as a whole does not eat their young. It's not something we are taught to do. The ones that do it, ruin the profession's reputation and it's not fair for you to judge us of a certain age and experience.
I don't know how anyone can think we don't eat our young. We are terrible to new nurses a lot of the time. Then we wonder why they leave our hospital within a year.
I couldn't have said this any better.
When I was leaving a pre-surgical internship as a student nurse, the nurses gave me a nice going away card. It stated "You've made a fine appetizer. You'll make future RN's a nice main course." Of course I laughed along but knew they were a bunch of vultures circling around me to pluck out my eyeballs...
When I was leaving a pre-surgical internship as a student nurse, the nurses gave me a nice going away card. It stated "You've made a fine appetizer. You'll make future RN's a nice main course." Of course I laughed along but knew they were a bunch of vultures circling around me to pluck out my eyeballs...
Lol! Your post resurrected a very old memory of my days as a student nurse. The story is as follows...
The afternoon before I was to spend the day with the RTs, my instructor lovingly (she was, and still remains, my hero) brought me down to their lair to introduce me to them and to show me where to go the following day.
There were three of THEM there and yes, I got a strong feeling they were circling around fresh meat. One of them said simply, "we like cake". One of them farted, one grunted disapprovingly, I nodded as to show I heard them loud and clear then my instructor and I left their den.
She knew very well what kind of student/person I was and told me to go easy on them tomorrow ~ LOL!!!
When I got home that evening, I made a small single layer cake, iced it with white icing and using red and blue food coloring and tooth picks, drew an anatomically correct set of lungs on top of the cake.
The next morning, I arrived with the cake. One of the RTs said, "I can't believe she actually brought us a cake! She even made little lungs!!" In doing this, I diverted the vultures from circling around me, and instead, they circled around my proxy, the cake.
The cake truly broke the ice, it took me a grand total of 30 minutes to make and it proved to be so worth it, as I had one of the best clinical experiences with the RTs that day. At the end of the day, the cake was gone with the exeption of one tiny piece. "We saved you some", said the flatulent RT. I took it "to go" and winged it out the window during the drive home. I mean really, hmmm, wouldn't you?
They even showed me the most disgusting mucus plug which one of them extracted from the trachea of a poor unfortunate soul. The thing had the consistancy of a solid rubber ball. I managed to hold the bile from rising and at the same time, I was honored to be shown this rare specimen; sort of like when my cat drags a mouse into the house ~ the RT and the cat are proud of their trophies!
Now, I'm not saying to kiss as*, however, a little kindness goes a long, long way. You get back what you give, sometimes not immediately, but it will come back to you.
chrisclark
5 Posts
As a nursing student doing classroom and clinical assignments, AND being an older male, I have a unique opportunity to watch the Survivor Island-type cattyness of female nursing students. Male nursing students do not act this way. While its obviously caused by insecurity and a history of negativity, its quite a unique artform to witness in a medical setting. Female students being outwardly nice and inquisitive of their fellow females students with a feigned intense interest, then when one person departs, that person is socially dissected and verbally ruined in minutes. There is an invisible caste system among female nursing students. Its quite fascinating from a sociological point of view. They backstab, spread rumors, invent stories, give disinformation about study tips, and sway others loyalties using fear of similar action on that individual.
While the nursing curriculum is quite grueling, it should be enjoyable. Its really sad that there is some recruitment method to attract this type of personality. Nursing is a benevolent, kind, caring profession.
While stress of school plays a factor, there seems to be a common thread in previous posts about this type of personality trait proliferating in many hospitals around the country. With nursing shortages and school enrollment limitations, it would be a conclusion that cattyness and insecurity are signs of academic intelligence that gives them an enrollment edge in many colleges.
I'm sure this happens to some degree in all schools, but I'd be interested if anyone has an opinion/solution on how to thwart this mentality. Our school has an 80% attrition rate which in part I attribute to students imploding on themselves due to lack of fellow-student support. Is there a cattyness gene? Or is this indicative to nursing? Or is it being in a small town?
I'd be curious to hear other comments.