Why so many negative nurses in the field?

[Nursey916]

I'm by no means a new nurse, been around the block for awhile now...but why are there so many negative nurses? Don't get me wrong I'm not saying ALL, I've met some who are just sweet as pie and so helpful. I recently started a new job though and yet againnnnn I immediately notice the rapport and overall attitude of the people I work with. Is it the burnout or what? I understand first hand that nursing can be very stressful at times but seriously what is the problem?

[LadysSolo]

I "put on a happy face" for my patients, and usually my co-workers but I have been dong this for 35 years, and I am not happy about the changes I have seen in the profession over the years. I am sick of being expected to more and more with less and less, and not getting adequate compensation while the "powers that be" get more and more compensation for our hard work. We work more and more hours, with sicker patients, and then get in trouble for the time it takes to take care of them and then do more and more documentation to protect the corporate owners of whatever facility we work in or agency we work for. I can keep "making nice" with everyone because I am nearing Medicare eligibility and can then pick where I want to work instead of needing to stay for insurance benefits.

[Zyprexa]

Because nursing sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cat365]

All of my jobs have had negative/unhappy people and I've had more non-nursing jobs than nursing positions. Unless the work place is toxic, there are always welcoming, cheerful people too. Humans run the spectrum wherever you are at. I don't think it's nursing specific.

[cinlou, BSN, MSN, RN]

Op, I hear what you are saying. When I started nursing almost 40 years ago we were taught to not say anything keep it to ourselves. Do not judge others etc. We gradually gained credibility as nurses. I think some nurses come into the field for different reasons, maybe more financial than caregiving. And that is ok we all need to live. The newer generations were taught to speak up about everything, so they are more vocal. I have worked with some who enjoyed escalating patients because they like to take them down and restrain them. I shaved an elderly client in the ER and was told I shouldn't do that because they would expect it. So, yes, times have changed, and we do not need to be negative just to belong, do what is right even if you stand alone. There are so many opportunities as a nurse not at the bedside, maybe bedside is not where you need to be, try something different for awhile. Try to teach new nurses and protect them from the negativity. Teach encouragement, organization techniques, delegation, caring and commitment, understanding and ethics. Let us help change this negative face of nursing, if there are more positive people others will either join or leave.

[Tr4cyFl1ck]

You are exactly right. I've worked in some areas where they complain constantly and try their darndest to get you to join in. My job is the greatest honor everyday, but nurses can be some of the most judgemental, whining folk I've ever met. They are usually targeted by administrators to try to do less with more, they are the first line for patients, and they are wildly disrespected by professionals in other disciplines. This can sometimes get folks in a bit of a martyr complex. I don't think anyone who says they never get a chance to go to the bathroom on a shift is a better nurse or a harder worker than anyone else. But boy do a lot of them want you to know all about it.

[Tr4cyFl1ck]

Have you ever worked on a floor with bad morale? I've taken a few jobs feeling that I could change it, but it's rough to change those tides.

[cinlou, BSN, MSN, RN]

I have worked on floors and in units with bad moral. If I couldn't influence change I left for my own sanity. Behavior roles down from the top. trying to run healthcare using business models does not help. Why are we not using nursing theory? I once wrote to studer and asked what nursing theory they were using, the woman I spoke with had no Idea as to what I was talking about, and yet studer supposedly took his model from healthcare. So much change and transitions need to take place.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

No one can "put" anyone else "in a bad mood." It's up to each individual whether or not s/he chooses to let someone else's negative "aura" affect her/him. I've encountered a few colleagues over the decades who exhibit the kind of behaviors you describe, but not enough to consider "so many." And I'm sure there are individuals like that in other occupations, as well.

Just my own experience -- not saying your experience hasn't been different. Maybe I've just been lucky over the years.

It's a lot of work, a terrible toll on one's energy, to not let negative Neds and Nellies drag one down. Some people are more sensitive to negativity than others are, perhaps. Maybe you have been lucky to not have had to deal with it much.

As to OP's question of why it is like this, I don't know. Being new and still an outsider, an unknown quantity, not really trusted yet doesn't help, though.

Hang in there and good luck, OP.

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

The negattitude thing happens in any field and can happen on any job. A severe incident happened to me once, but I just kept quiet. I didn't answer the individual who was dishing out the verbal attack, and after a short time, she left that job and went to work for another company in the same line of work. When My boss saw what was happening, he began hiring more ethical employees.

[Junebug59, RN]

Well, in my area, it's the surgeons that really make a negative impact on my day at times. There are a couple of egotistical narcissistic idiots with little man syndrome that i work with.... i try to let it roll off but yesterday, i could've really blown up in his face.... but, of course, i didn't. i was overworked and tired. we are extremely short staffed with a director who could care less how the surgeons treat his nurses

[dream'n, BSN, RN]

I'm on the more realist (some may say pessimistic) side. I have a low tolerance for bull****. That's me and that's who I am. The smiley, always cheerful people drive me bonkers. It looks and feels fake to me. And I think being fake is a really bad character flaw. So I guess we'll just have to agree to tolerate each other.

[Nursey916]

One can still be positive without being fake, the two don't go hand and hand. And I'd much rather be around upbeat people than those with terrible attitudes ANY DAY OF THE WEEK whether they are being fake or not. That negative energy is contagious and it's not something I wanna catch whether it's "real" or not.