Entitlement/ superiority attitude of some nurses?

Nurses Relations

Updated:   Published

I work alongside nurses and am in the process of becoming a nurse myself.

While I have great respect for the profession and my coworkers as well as a passion for it (hence my reason for going to RN school), I've noticed nurses (many but not all) have this superiority attitude like their job is the only job in the Healthcare field that matters. They talk down to all the other professionals (respiratory therapists, social workers, occupational therapists, etc) and disregard any of the hard work they do and just expect a pat on the back for every little thing. I've even heard some nurses say they should get paid more than the doctor because their work is more important.

Also, I hear many nurses complain that they have too much to do, and then when anyone tries to give them a hand they have this turf battle and think everyone is trying to take over their job and isn't competent enough to do so even if it's something as simple as helping bathe a patient.

What's your opinion?

Extra Pickles said:
A consulting firm came in and asked why the techs were running around and the nurses sat with their cell phones, did this actually happen, or did someone at work tell you it did? because if a consulting firm is coming in to see how the unit operates and check for efficiency it's unlikely they would ask this question of anyone who would be in a position to relay the information, which makes it sound like rumor not truth. If a consulting firm knows what nurses do and that's why the consultants are there in the first place they wouldn't ask such a question!

When I first joined I posted something about how when I was a student I thought I knew all about how the nurses I saw during my clinicals were mean or rude or lazy and that when I got to be a nurse I wouldn't be anything like any of them, that I would be an awesome nurse, LOL I think I'm a pretty awesome nurse but a little embarrassed at what I thought I knew back then! The nurses I was calling rude or lazy or whatever weren't but to my uneducated eyes I thought they were. Not the same thing! Maybe after spending some time as a nurse you will see the difference between what you see now and what you will know then. Experience changes your perspective!

They asked in front of me actually

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That's a very rude and spiteful comment rnurse. who ever you are.

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Pythinia said:
That's a very rude and spiteful comment rnurse. who ever you are.

Please use the quote function when you address a specific post or poster. It's right there next to the "reply" button, so no extra work involved.

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Specializes in ER.

A tech couldn't wrap it around her head why we try really hard not to give food out from our ER fridge during the day. I am sure she wrote me off as the mean nurse. She even said "I've found myself without money and waiting at ERs for a long time with sick children." I also pointed out she hasn't had to face the situation where a psych patient is ready to punch you because you don't have food for them. If necessary, we can have patients order from the cafeteria. We unfortunately cannot give food to visitors all the time. I also give people crackers. We also need the food if we need to feed a diabetic patient right now.

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Specializes in LTC and Pediatrics.

Then there is the CNA who told the DON and administrator that she had to teach the nurses how to do their job. Yep, really happened. What she wanted was for us to do her job so she could be lazy. She has no clue what our job is or how to do it or to teach us how to do it.

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Specializes in Trauma, Med Surg, Case Management, Field RN.

I know this is an old thread but any ways.

I don't believe that the work of nursing is more important than other jobs in healthcare.

However, people who have never worked on the floor as a nurse just don't understand.  Nursing is imo one of the hardest jobs in the hospital if not the hardest.  There is no other profession that spends as much time with the patients and also shoulders the amount of responsibility that nurses do.

The point about nurses thinking they should make more than doctors... Not more but closer to on par perhaps... It just sickened me to listen to a trauma surgeon bragging to new residents about how he had a beach entrance added to his 12 ft deep swimming pool... While I'm caring for the same patients, knowing more about them than most of the docs, spending 12 hours with them and struggling to pay for my 3/2 house.

I also wanted to say that I agree with Nurse SMS completely.

Nurses ARE marginalized, by patients and families, by doctors, and by leadership.  Nurses have an ever growing list of 1000s of responsibilities that WE are held accountable for, no one else.  If we have a responsibility that we delegate to somebody and it doesn't get done, management's not going to that other person, they're going to the nurse.

Not to mention most nurse to patient ratios are way higher than they're supposed to be, which is 1:4, most are 1:6.

And then the thanks we get for all our hard work  is one week where we get a $15 gift card and $1 bottles of lotion and cheap hospital monogrammed water bottles and pens for nurses week.

?? This person originally wrote this post in 2016.  I wonder if their views have changed ?

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Specializes in LTC.

No we're not all like that. I'm much happier interacting with my CNAs than I am with (most) of my fellow nurses. 

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Crystal-Wings said:

No we're not all like that. I'm much happier interacting with my CNAs than I am with (most) of my fellow nurses. 

I agree. I have never treated a CNA or auxillary staff as if they don't matter. I pull a team together and we provide excellent  patient care and have better outcomes When we work as a unit.

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