Do nurses really "Eat Their Young"?

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I start my first LVN job tomorrow. and Ive herd a few horror stories so im wondering do nurses really eat their young? If so what is a good way to win over my new colleagues. :nurse:

Help :confused:

Specializes in Case Management, Psychiatric Nursing.

Thank You so much... being a New Nurse is tough especially when your notsure what to do or how to act around these Experiences nurses... all i can do is stay positive and keep gainging experience..

Thank You all so much this site is Great!!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

thirty years (or so) ago, i might have agreed that nurses "eat their young." but with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, i can see that i must have rubbed everyone the wrong way with my ignorance and youthful arrogance. as i grew a bit in the job and as a person, the nurses around me became much nicer. so i guess it was me.

now i'm thinking that i might appear smarter to the teenager when she's about 25!

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Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.
thirty years (or so) ago, i might have agreed that nurses "eat their young." but with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, i can see that i must have rubbed everyone the wrong way with my ignorance and youthful arrogance. as i grew a bit in the job and as a person, the nurses around me became much nicer. so i guess it was me.

you make a good point. i see a lot of newly minted nurses coming to work with bad, bad attitudes. the ink is hardly dry on their bs diplomas and they know everything. it especially irks me that many of them have no idea how to run their patient load and think they're overworked when they have 3 patients. i just want to know what kind of nursing school did they go to?? they may have been "all that" in nursing school but out in the world you start at the back of the pack, just like everyone else.

i'm not as cranky as i sound. actually, i love precepting younger nurses because most of the time they are really fresh and excited to be in their first job and that's downright contagious. i love to teach and i have a lot of patience with learners. but when i got some wet behind the ears immature young thing who wants to spend more time telling me what she knows and how great she was it just makes me grind my teeth. so here's a tip from an old nurse: come with a teachable spirit. be willing to do whatever it takes to make the floor run well. treat cnas and unit clerks like your best friends. people will warm up to you faster if you keep your mouth shut and your ears open. that's not "eating our young" it's advice that works in any job.

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I would help out, but never fetch someone's coffee. That is terrible advice.

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