Nurses and bullies...

Nurses General Nursing

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So, this might seem controversial, but it's something I noticed while working at a hospital for almost 3 years.

I was lucky enough to work with Physical and Occupational Therapists (so we did therapy in every department of the hospital -- sans NICU).

In saying that, I think part of the reason an NP is more appealing to me than a BSN / RN program is because I saw A LOT of bullying in the nursing field on the BSN / RN or CNA level. As an NP, I'm sure it could happen, but I feel like it would happen less at that level.

I mean some of them were just downright B-words. And, I don't chalk it up to a bad day (because this behavior was tied to them on a frequent basis when I saw them).

And while it was pretty prevalent in all levels, it seemed that the ones in charge were the worst.

It's almost like Dante's levels of H*ll in terms of moving up the ranks of mean (not including NP, CRNA, Midwife or other higher level nursing positions).

Crappy attitude, didn't want to be bothered by patients (or other healthcare workers), nasty disposition, thought highly of themselves and looked down on others etc.

I have friends and family who are nurses in hospitals, nursing homes, home health, school systems and it doesn't seem like it stops there (in terms of environment and bullying).

I've worked in a few fields and while bullying can happen anywhere, it seems like nursing has a high ratio of this type of catty, mean behavior.

It's one of the reasons I'm not sure I could handle this field.

It's not because I can't handle myself around bullies, but I know that I'd put one of these bullies in their place and probably get fired over it (because they either tend to be in charge or "in" with the people who are in charge or just lie or are manipulative).

My tolerance for that sort of behavior is really low and I'd definitely knock them off of their bully peg which wouldn't bode well for anyone involved.

So, what has your experience been with bullying in the nursing field? And, how did you handle it?

Is it as prevalent as it seems?

And, do you feel like it contributes to the issues with burn out in the nursing field?

What advice would you give to a new grad who encountered this type of behavior?

And, I don't think me stating that I would stick up for myself (or others) against bullying therefore makes me a bully, but again, that's just my perception of the situation.

Yeah, I don't think sticking up for yourself against a bully makes you a bully. This makes no sense to me.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
Hmmm, I think there is a difference between "looking for bullies" and "observing my environment."

In terms of "bullying" and its definition, I tend to reference the APA for context:

"Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. Bullying can take the form of physical contact, words or more subtle actions.

The bullied individual typically has trouble defending him or herself and does nothing to "cause" the bullying."

Source: Bullying

I will say though, at the end of the day, it boils down to semantics. I will not discredit someone else's experience with bullying based on my own subjective definition of it.

And, I don't think me stating that I would stick up for myself (or others) against bullying therefore makes me a bully, but again, that's just my perception of the situation.

I think perhaps some previous posters were correct in that it may have been an environmental situation and cultural norm at the hospital where I worked.

And, as I've stated, it wasn't ALL nurses, but it was quite a few (and from the feedback I've received from other people in other facilities, it wasn't just tied to where I was located).

If my post came across as negative, it may be because this is a negative topic and there really is no nice way to sugarcoat the caustic behavior of adults that brings forth negative impact towards other adults.

It was in no way condemning all of nursing though.

It was more inquisitive in nature, asking how many others have experienced this and if it was part of the possible burn out of nurses, and how they've handled it.

For the sake of comparison, what other industries have you worked in? How many healthcare facilities have you worked in? Is the behaviour consistent among healthcare facilities but mostly absent in the other industries you've worked in?

Before we tie bullying to nursing (however one defines bullying) what are we using for our basis of comparison? I've worked in a variety of settings and have noticed pretty consistently that some people are friendly and helpful and some are not. Some even go out of their way to cause problems. The vast majority of people I've worked with have been nurses, but nurses represent a very tiny minority of people I've worked with who seem to enjoy causing problems for others.

So I have a really hard time associating "bullying" with nursing. Even in the most nurse-rich environment, the people who lobbed the biggest monkey wrenches into my work day were almost never other nurses.

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Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.

I've encountered two bullies in my nursing career of about five years.

One was a manager, not a nurse, and part of it was my fault in that I wore my heart on my sleeve and was too upfront and honest. Valuable life lesson, when managers dont see a problem trying to bring about change just gets you labeled as a trouble maker and you get a really large target on your back.

The second was a lawyer and again for much the same reasons as the first.

I think people have very different ideas on what constitutes bullying. Someone who has a somewhat upfront and brash personality is not a bully. I did a per diem shift today at an eating disorders unit, the charge was a lady who was very forthright and blunt, however observing her it was easy to tell that she cared alot about her nurses and the patients.

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In my experience (32 years) I have found physical therapists to be bigger "bullies" than nurses, although passive-aggressive. In one facility they were the only ones permitted to cut tubigrips for the patient, they refused to do it. I had a patient who needed diabetic shoes, and they refused to order them because the patient would not do what they wanted in therapy. I have had physical therapists tell me what MY job is (sorry, I know what my job is, do yours,) and be so snotty to me I nearly punched one of them. In most places I work, the therapists think they are "God," their therapy time takes precedence over anything else the patient needs ("I have two more minutes of therapy I have to do!") Really? The patient needs to go to dialysis. Or needs an x-ray. Or needs to go to the bathroom. Or whatever.

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Specializes in ER, Paeds, Gen Surg.

Yep - worked with a bully for many years. Both in the same unit, and on different units. Our facility is around 100 beds. She and I had words one night. I walked away because I would have slugged her. I called my manager to come down (it was on nights), and deal with her. The words were over supplies. I needed something from their stock room. I was in ER, she in CCU. The exact words from the manager were "If you think I am getting mixed up in the middle of a **** show between you and *******, forget it - no way." No one on the facility has ever had the gall to deal with her, and it's like everything, you let something go on long enough without taking care of it, and it becomes the norm. And that is what has happened. So, although I am no longer at that facility - 35 yrs was enough, before I finished - my tactic to deal with her was one of avoidance. As an aside - NPs - at least in my experience are not immune from bullying either. I have been on the sidelines and witnessed it.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Neuro/Oncology floor nursing..

My current employer is wonderful. I absolutely love just about everyone I work with(not just the nurses but the doctors/PAs/NPs, clerks, techs, CNA/PCAs, social workers and other support staff). Unfortunately it was not like this at a previous employer. At my old employer I worked with some downright mean people. A handful of nurses on my unit I wouldn't really call them bullies..but they were very clique like..always talking about what they were going to do that weekend without even bothering to get to know anyone else or even pretending to be friendly. One of the girls when I would see her in passing I would say hi to her(as I did everyone) and she couldn't even fake it..she just looked up with a blank, deadpan expression on her face...she didn't even have the decency to fake a smile for a second.

We had one nurse in that group that was very passive-aggressive and was always talking about the patients to the other girls in her "clique." I wound up changing jobs but I actually heard that she finally got canned not only for talking about patients within earshot of their rooms for them for family members to hear, but she was neglecting her patients habitually(one patient was admitted for a diabetic coma, had improved and was transferred to the floor and she neglected to give the patient any insulin her whole shift..luckily the patient was okay, but the next nurse on shift took the patients finger stick and the reading was close to 500..that nurse was livid).

Anyway I digress we could start a whole new thread on inept co-workers but that's not what this is about. Anyway I wouldn't consider those nurses I work with bullies, they were mean, obnoxious and downright nasty at times. But it definitely caused a toxic work environment for me so much so it was the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of me finding a new job. I wanted to leave for other reasons but their behavior really pushed me to look for another job. And I'm glad I did because I love my job now. Like I said everyone I work with is wonderful. So to the OP maybe a change in environment would be better. What goes on in one setting might not go on in another.

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Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.

"Bullying" seems to be the new buzzword for a lot of people to define actions by others that they don't like. Several nurses who I have personally dealt with considered any effort to correct their behavior or practice "bullying". It isn't.

Crappy attitude, didn't want to be bothered by patients (or other healthcare workers), nasty disposition, thought highly of themselves and looked down on others etc.

If this is an example, this isn't bullying. Somebody who has a nasty disposition and is arrogant is unpleasant to be around, but that doesn't make them a bully. Bullying, by definition (according to Miriam-Webster), is "abuse and mistreatment of someone vulnerable by someone stronger, more powerful, etc." Having a nasty attitude in and of itself isn't bullying.

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I had a bully in school when I was younger. I beat her up though lol So let's just say I'm not the one for bullies

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"Nurses eat their young" is a real thing...I started my nursing career at the age of 34 and my charge nurse did anything and everything she could to break me at the beginning of my career. Unbeknownst to her, I was stubborn as hell and determined to succeed...now I'm a charge nurse in CCU and she was demoted to a staff nurse in the medical unit (the demotion happened several months after I left the med-surg unit because I kept my irritation to myself). Keep your head up, ignore the naysayers, and do your job to best of your ability!

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This is going to be a controversial thread, in part because it's over-discussed, in part because it's sometimes blown out of proportion.

I will say this though. People have a tendency to let the nasty out when they're stressed. Everyone who works in nursing or as an aid is stressed. Literally the only reason I'm staying is because I'm learning a ton of information that will be an asset to me when it comes time to pursue an advanced practice position. In my opinion, hospital nursing is honestly not a fun job and I don't enjoy it; I have very little job satisfaction and it takes 110% effort to smile some days. I try very hard to be courteous, but there have been a couple of times I've had to apologize to someone because something came out completely differently than how I intended it to come out, and that happened because I was too stressed. Others have been short with me at times, but I brush it off. I don't view it as bullying, because I can empathize. We are all too ******* stressed.

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Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.
In my experience (32 years) I have found physical therapists to be bigger "bullies" than nurses, although passive-aggressive. In one facility they were the only ones permitted to cut tubigrips for the patient, they refused to do it. I had a patient who needed diabetic shoes, and they refused to order them because the patient would not do what they wanted in therapy. I have had physical therapists tell me what MY job is (sorry, I know what my job is, do yours,) and be so snotty to me I nearly punched one of them. In most places I work, the therapists think they are "God," their therapy time takes precedence over anything else the patient needs ("I have two more minutes of therapy I have to do!") Really? The patient needs to go to dialysis. Or needs an x-ray. Or needs to go to the bathroom. Or whatever.

This reminds me of a time when a newish therapist requested (demanded in a rather snotty way) that my pt's Foley be removed & to DC the IVF. Um, no. Sorry it means you have to juggle a few more things when you ambulate, but I have specific orders to keep those (low output & BP). "Well, will they be out by the afternoon PT session?" Ha!

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Specializes in ICU; Telephone Triage Nurse.

I encountered bullying - real, honest to God bullying in my first job as a new grad only. This the largest teaching hospital in town, and the employee numbers hospital wide were staggering. There were quite a few bullies on my unit - interestingly they bullied each other too. There were also a large number of kind, decent folks on the unit, but one thing everyone had in common was burn out.

I learned a few hard lessons there, then skedaddled.

I have never encountered it ever again no matter where I went thereafter. It was like another universe. I referred to this hospital years later as "The Planet ________________ (Medical Center's name goes here)".

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