Gossip Girls... (And boys)

Nurses Relations

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Nursing is supposed to be a profession.

That would lead one to think that nurses are professionals.

I've been on my unit for 4 months and the gossip is just ridiculous.

Just like women continue to tear each other apart, nurses (which, you guessed it> are mostly women!) tear each other down instead of build each other up.

If my coworkers are gossiping around me, and I can move, I will.

If I can't move, I zone out into my own world, and sometimes, I am sure to make a positive comment about the person that they are gossiping about.

I hate feeing like I have to shy away from my coworkers.

•Are you a gossiping nurse?

•Do you wonder what they are saying about you when you are not around? (I do...)

Where exactly is the name calling?

You sure are stuck on the "boy" thing when they are included not only in the post, but the title as well.

Please, continue proving my point.

Please, continue proving your own.

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You believe what you allow to occur... Meaning if you hear gossip and ignore it, you are part of the problem. When you hear people talking about others, address it... "X is not her to defend herself, we should not be talking about her."

Is it hard? Yes, but necessary if you want to be part of the solution... Just my two cents...

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Small minds discuss people, average minds discuss events, smart minds discuss ideas.

Well said! Amen!

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Specializes in LTC/Rehab, Geriatrics, Dementia.
Exactly. I think it was Wayne Dyer who said, "What you think of me is none of my business."

This is my mantra. I don't give a fig what others think of me and if they're talking about me then they're leaving someone else alone. At the same time, I want people to like me and luckily for me, most do. I do admit to gossiping and even getting in a few digs about nurses that drive me nuts. I hate being petty and try not to say anything I wouldn't repeat to the person I said it about if confronted. Is it nice? No. Is it professional? Again, no. But it happens. All I can do is try to be a better person in the future. its true that women tend to back bite and tear each other down and nursing is a female dominated profession. I, for one, will make the effort to do and be better.

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Yes, I completely agree that nursing is a profession. However, I dont think the rest of the nursing profession knows that. I was a working professional in the corporate world before I decided to go back to school and become a nurse and I'm amazed at the type of emotional terrorists that nursing attracts. One would think that the older you get the more mature you become - but in the professional world, I have not found that out to be the case. Everywhere you go - there are going to be people that gossip and make life hard for everyone. Thats just the nature of the human race it seems. However, I would like to add that nursing is special in the sense that there are some genuinely kind, giving, sensitive caregivers and then you look at others and wonder why they ever wanted to be a nurse looking at the way they treat others. I would have to say to you that you need to find somewhere that you can be yourself and enjoy 'most' of the people around you.

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Specializes in ICU.

Yeah it plays out online as well.

Every night on a thread of genuine interest it's the same old crap from the same individual who has to indulge her need for attention and petty bickering.

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Yeah it plays out online as well.

Every night on a thread of genuine interest it's the same old crap from the same individual who has to indulge her need for attention and petty bickering.

That's kind of gossipy. ^

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

Step-dgt. and her mom are 'CHAMPEEN' red-neck gossipers. It's why I never tell my step-dgt anything. Generic conversational chats even, somehow, end up as fodder. My respect for her plummeted years ago.

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

This is one I've told before on maybe several previous threads, but it bears up well for this topic:

My 3rd or 4th year as a nurse I started a job as 3-11 med nurse at a small suburban hospital. I'd come into the report room and these 3 other nurses were finishing up a hot discussion about some people who were, I thought, family members, co-workers or neighbors, naming names, etc., and they weren't always very nice about some of the things they were saying. This continued all week.

I never said a word, kept my eyes down and just listened.

At first I was scandalized and then I felt like a real Dodo, because it wasn't until the fourth time I went in to work that I realized they were talking about characters in​ a soap opera!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
This is one I've told before on maybe several previous threads, but it bears up well for this topic:

My 3rd or 4th year as a nurse I started a job as 3-11 med nurse at a small suburban hospital. I'd come into the report room and these 3 other nurses were finishing up a hot discussion about some people who were, I thought, family members, co-workers or neighbors, naming names, etc., and they weren't always very nice about some of the things they were saying. This continued all week.

I never said a word, kept my eyes down and just listened.

At first I was scandalized and then I felt like a real Dodo, because it wasn't until the fourth time I went in to work that I realized they were talking about characters in​ a soap opera!

I once got in trouble for "discussing a patients HIV status". I was talking about Robin and Stone on General Hospital.

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I once got in trouble for "discussing a patients HIV status". I was talking about Robin and Stone on General Hospital.

I bought the first 3 years of tv series E.R. I'm in the third year of the series and HIV status of P.A. Jeanie Boulet and her ex-husband is a large part of the storyline. All about HIPAA and confidentiality and whether someone with HIV should work in trauma.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanie_Boulet

:)

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Nursing is supposed to be a profession.

That would lead one to think that nurses are professionals.

Passive aggressive snark.

I've been on my unit for 4 months and the gossip is just ridiculous.

Just like women continue to tear each other apart, nurses (which, you guessed it> are mostly women!) tear each other down instead of build each other up.

Straight up insult, no evidence cited. Overgeneralization. Just because your unit of female nurses sucks, doesn't mean the rest of nursedom is female, 13 years old, and immature.

If my coworkers are gossiping around me, and I can move, I will.

If I can't move, I zone out into my own world, and sometimes, I am sure to make a positive comment about the person that they are gossiping about.

Good for you, acting like an adult. I'm so proud.

I hate feeing like I have to shy away from my coworkers.

•Are you a gossiping nurse?

No.

•Do you wonder what they are saying about you when you are not around? (I do...)No, I don't have time for that middle school crap.

Not really sure what your goal for this post is, unless you're trying to make all female nurses angry.

If you want advice about how to deal with the gossip or change your unit culture, then ask for it. This kind of passive aggressive post just feeds into the culture that you imply you don't like.

I'm going to assume you meant this positively and don't want to be part of the problem.

Here's my advice:

Live your life and quit being drawn into the drama. Keep doing what you're doing and walk away. The gossipers will leave you alone, you'll have less stress. Stop wondering what they say about you. It's probably along the lines of "She thinks she's too good to talk to us. Snooty biddy." That's what gossipers say about everyone who doesn't fall into their gossip trap.

Or, you can start looking for another job. But, until you learn to deal with unit politics, you'll probably have the same complaint.

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