Does ED have a bad rep for mean nurses?

Specialties Emergency

Published

I was perusing the posts and this question came to mind. I have worked several different units but my short stay in the ER showed me some of the meanest, bitter, most unhappy RN's I've ever met. Most were nice to me, but a handful of the veterans were downright unwelcoming and nasty to me and more importantly, to their pts, too :(

One of the docs saw what was going on and offered advice--he told me it was b/c I was attractive. He suggested I try baking treats, being extra helpful, etc. I did all that and it seemed to make things worse. It seemed the nicer I was, the more they disliked me. Anyway--I could go on and on. It was one of the hardest experiences of my life b/c I so wanted to be accepted there, never had a problem ANYWHERE else. It was months ago but still messes with my mind.

I found the ER to be my fav work. Loved the pt population, will go back to this or another ER one day. The tele unit I transferred to seems SOOOOO much busier for me than ER. I get out late almost always, juggling so much more than any other unit I've worked on. Most of the RN's there are registry or agency, I am staff. I go home drained both emotionally and physically almost always. Just an observation. I'm not saying the floor works harder than the ED. It's just different, different degrees of busy-ness and workloads, and I wish we would all recognize this. Nursing is tough enough without us fighting each other, for any reason, period. The really great RN's, the ones who are secure with themselves and truly love what they do, are who continue to inspire me. The old dinosaur RN's, like the ED ones I referred to earlier, shouldn't be able to call the shots anymore. (They need to change jobs :)

Whew! I feel better! Just my 2 cents.

Well, this is the perfect forum to bring up your question. And you've gotten some good answers. Everyone's experiences are different, that's all.

And you've even agreed with most of the posts - that ER's are not full of mean nurses.

And that mean nurses or mean people are just not fun to be around.

So, it is all good.

steph

Well, this is the perfect forum to bring up your question. And you've gotten some good answers. Everyone's experiences are different, that's all.

And you've even agreed with most of the posts - that ER's are not full of mean nurses.

And that mean nurses or mean people are just not fun to be around.

So, it is all good.

steph

Thanks Steph. You are very wise :)

I didn't mean to be such a pot-stirrer.. I was very tired after a really tough shift.

That being said, I hope you can lock this thread up forever.

Thanks Steph. You are very wise :)

I didn't mean to be such a pot-stirrer.. I was very tired after a really tough shift.

That being said, I hope you can lock this thread up forever.

Not me - I'm not a mod. :monkeydance:

I'm tired too - been up since 1:45 a.m. and heading to bed now. You can request that the thread be closed - just look for a moderator.

Get some sleep!

steph

Specializes in ER, critical care.
Thanks Steph. You are very wise :)

I didn't mean to be such a pot-stirrer.. I was very tired after a really tough shift.

That being said, I hope you can lock this thread up forever.

I don't know that I would have this locked up forever just yet. I think there might be something in this post (and I am not trying to be mean but merely explain)... "I didn't mean to be such a pot-stirrer"

This statement says to me that perhaps you aren't comfortable making waves, even when you think you are correct. From years of ER experience that is not the personality type of most ER nurses I have been acquainted with. Making waves when necessary is a job requirement.

I have worked with nurses who were extremely wary of the new person (which looked a lot like being mean) and some who just acted like the new person didn't exist. The ones smiling were often just gathering information to be fed to the other "family members" later.

I always found the best approach was just to put my head down and do the job at hand well. It didn't take them too long to make a judgement of competence and then VOILA!! the testing period was over.

It isn't just the nurses either. Once when I started in a new department, one of the docs only snarled at me for 6 months. He decided I was worthy one day over a critical patient and later was my favorite physician preceptor during NP school. We still have dinner when I pass through that town.

Working in ER is tough work. The nurses there see much, hear much, and know much. It isn't any place for the squeamish or thin skinned. You will be tested, sometimes vigorously, before acceptance occurs. The personalities are strong and the head butting can be fierce, but that is just because everyone needs to know they can count on you in a pinch.

In short, I can be firm, abrasive, sweet, and sometimes maybe mean. It really isn't personal, just trying to make sure the job gets done. I couldn't imagine working anywhere other than ER. After my first shift, I knew I found what I was supposed to do.

Specializes in home health, neuro, palliative care.

I volunteer in the ED, and the nurses there are WONDERFUL. I know that sometimes the pace of the ED attracts people who may be more efficient and less effusive, so students who need a little more stroking may find ED unattractive.

~Mel'

Specializes in ICU,ER.
I volunteer in the ED, and the nurses there are WONDERFUL. I know that sometimes the pace of the ED attracts people who may be more efficient and less effusive, so students who need a little more stroking may find ED unattractive.

~Mel'

well said.

Specializes in ED-CEN/PACU/Flight.

It sounds to me like it was a toxic environment, not that it was BECAUSE they were ED nurses. Glad you're out of it - no job is worth putting up with that...

And I have to ask...

ATTACK NURSES?

ROFLOL! I read that among the posts and about giggled myself silly!

Now I have a mental pic of nurses that are wearing black leather collars with silver spiked studs, attached to a tie-out chain that lets them roam from the nurse's station to their room assignments.

I can also visualize the patients with whips and chairs, swatting at the nurses if they get too close, or foam at the mouth...

LOL!

Not Mean nurses,

TOUGH nurses.

Yes, we are testing the new staff to see what you've got.

You have got to be tough to put up with all the abuse that we take from patients, Doc's and the floor nurses.

Do I love my job, YES, I do! Like working in a circus

Specializes in ED-CEN/PACU/Flight.
Do I love my job, YES, I do! Like working in a circus

I affectionately refer to work as, "The Zoo". Only I can't quite figure out if the staff is supposed to be the animals in the cages or not...

Not Mean nurses,

TOUGH nurses.

Yes, we are testing the new staff to see what you've got.

You have got to be tough to put up with all the abuse that we take from patients, Doc's and the floor nurses.

Do I love my job, YES, I do! Like working in a circus

I think the ER brings out the tough. I have worked in the ER for almost 2yrs and my family often comments on my "personality change" I used to be super sensative and take every comment personally. (not anymore) I used to assume everyone was telling me the truth (ha) My teenager had a difficult rebellious time when I first started working ED. If this had happened earlier I probably would have let her get away with more BS. But, I had new found respect for "tough love" I had watched alot of teen's come in and walk all over mom and dad ("no mom, I never drank alcohol, my friends FORCED me to drink tonight")

I think my personal change is for the best, but I can see how the ER could ruin people.

I do think ER nurses can eat some personality types alive. I've seen it happen. Some people are just not cut out for ER. This is a job where you need to have some healthy thick skin, be a little suspicious and be able to go home and (after a few strong drinks) forget about your day:beercuphe

Specializes in Emergency.

Way back in the beginning of this line, someone wrote that toxic situations like the one described by the OP are often a reflection of management, which I totally agree with. I'm been in departments where one shift or team becomes known as the "mean" shift as the nurses who can get away with that behavior tend to congregate there. After shift change, its like another world. The charge can set the tone. If they let this stuff go on, sometimes it will. Its certainly not a reflection on an entire specialty........ Speaking more generally, the ER requires more teamwork than any other spot in the hospital with the possible exception of the OR. Unlike the OR, the world of the ER changes unpredictably minute-by-minute. Good ER nurses are the ones who can spin 180 degrees in an instant without blinking an eye - from a Code to a crying baby to a dying elder to a puking drunk to a trauma to a seizure to a fighting junkie to frightened child with a broken arm - all before coffee. Patients hug you, spit at you, puke on you, tgry to slug you and bring you cookies - all in one night. To be good at this, ER nurses do tend to grow a chip on the shoulder - as one writer put it, a "best nurses working the toughest department" attitude. You get to value your team members like sisters/brothers because ....well, they are your team and when the chaos starts, you are in it together. A newcomer sometimes takes a bit of looking over and feeling out before they are accepted, and this sometimes is perceived as exclusion. If you want the ER, just keep working. There will be those "toxic" departments/shifts but they are the anomoly just like anywhere else. For me, I wouldn't work anywhere else.

Specializes in mostly in the basement.

I'm just curious as to what eventually led the OP to believe these nurses were "threatened" by her?

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