Let's face it, some nurses are battle axes. They're mean, negative, condescending, uncaring, self-centered, lazy, neglectful incompetents. But where do they come from?
#1 The Authoritarian Personality
These are the ones who were treated like dirt in nursing school (and elsewhere in life) and because they were made to fee like dirt, they decided that was what real power was--the ability to make someone feel like dirt. So, they brown-nose anyone they consider their "superior" and treat anyone they consider their inferior like dirt. Nursing students and new nurses often catch the brunt of this.
#2 The Burn Out
This person is not a nurse, he or she is a hotel maid dressed up like a nurse. They never really loved anyone, they just wanted the pay, and now the years of "having" to care for others has taken it's toll. Because they're angry and hate their "servile" station in life as a nurse, they become mean. They never smile. They may even deliberately withold pain medication by making it their last priority when a patient asks for it. Subconsciously, they are getting even with the patient. This nurse judges everyone and everything. If a patient has a broken leg, then they shouldn't have been so stupid. If they have cancer then they shouldn't have smoked, and now they damn well aren't coming to the hospital and getting addicted to their pain medication--not on this battle axe's shift anyway! Patients often bear the brunt of this wretch in white.
#3 The Stripper on the Side
This one is immoral at best and nauseating at worst. She hits on all the doctors and male nurses and ex-convict transporters. She constantly has a sexual joke to tell and talks about what patients look like when they're naked. She likes to socialize and when her call lights are going off you can bet she's somewhere else. The patients are the last thing on her mind. Why she isn't working at Hooter's is anyone's guess.
#4 Tammy Faye, RN
This is the religious one. She goes to church every sunday and for some reason everyone knows this. She usually pins up some Halmark greeting card prayer on the bulletin board, and has some anti-vampire symbol around her neck. But in the patient's room she turns into a battle axe. She yells at the demented; she argues with the anxiety ridden, and has a good reason for every uncaring thing she ever does. Her patients foley bags are so full they've become a legal restraint, and under the fold of an old woman's breast you may very well find one of her needle caps or alcohol pad packets. When the nursing student asks about the PRN MSO4 that could be given ("Right, I mean we can give him that, right, right, please....please!) The moralistic reply comes across in the smoothest caring fashion--"Oh deary, didn't you know? He's a drug-seeker." This battle axe hypocrite is going to burn in hell for sure, but until then your medicare tax dollars are keeping her on the floor.
All good nurses must make a stand and commit themselves to never becoming a battle axe. Be to work on time. Fake being happy if you have to for the sake of others. Answer your call lights. And care for your patients as if they were you--don't separate yourself from them.
I work w/ #'s 1,3, and 4. Glad I had an empty bladder when I read this one. You are a hoot! #4 was prostheletizing to me just the other night about her daughter's "immoral lifestyle". She wants off every Sunday to observe the Sabbath, but would complain loudly if she were to be a pt. and the unit was too understaffed to meet her needs/wants. I was able to share some of my grandmother's wisdom w/ her...no matter how many others you condemn to Hell, there will always be enough room for you when the time comes. I don't quite think she got it.
I know this is somewhat tongue in cheek, so I am having a laugh here and taking into account that this is a problem, but w/ a funny twist to it.
I do hate to see year after year people getting a raise and good evaluation as they wreak their own personal havoc on pt's and staff. Incidentally, there's a sub-type for #1. This is the nurse who knows it all and is constantly pointing out the short-comings of others (they don't need to be new or less experienced than her/him, they just need to have a pulse). Often this is done in the presence of pt' and/or their families. Problem is when it comes time for this person to function he/she "needs help" or if they do something wrong, it's because "no one ever told me that." Never ever would it be this individual's fault. I don't think our profession is unque. My DH works for the govt. as a computer scientist. There is one guy in particular, that is just a hateful a$$.
What is bad is that, part of our job is to put forth a caring attitude. I had a rotten night two weeks ago and I felt bad because I had this really nice couple who went through a long labour and then c/section. I know I wasn't as friendly as I should've been. I had a migraine and wanted to go home. I tried to be pleasant as possible because this was such a big day in their life. Who was I to spoil it? I just knew I wasn't at my best. Turns out dad was in his last semester of nursing school. They were very appreciative and sent a card and fruit to the staff, still I feel bad I was not at my best. What I guess I am trying to say that's what is everyday for us, is of great signifigance to our pt's. I know I often lose sight of this myself. Whiel it is quite true you cannot arbitrarily label someone, having been in the hospital setting for over 20 years now, I can tell you that there are many difficult co-workers who I've met that share a number of these traits in common. It is also very true, that on any given day that anyone's attitude can drift this way. I certainly have pt's annoy me, but I also have no right to give them substandard care because they do.
I guess as the cliche' goes, good thing we can have a laugh over this or we'd cry. Bad attitudes in nursing are born both of the poor treatment we recieve from our managers and sometimes pt's and the fact that w/ the shortage, we allow a lot of people to be among our ranks that do a substandard job. As for lack of education, it's pretty difficult to change a person's heart or personality. I hate when I make out assignments and I have a very sensitive or needy pt. and must assign them to one of these types who will come out of the room and bellow loudly about what a loser this pt. is. Sure I can tell management, but hey don't care. They want warm bods w/ RN behind their name.
I don't really see the point in nurses bashing other nurses. Most of the nurses I know and have known throughout my long career are good hearted folks who ARE burned out... for legitimate reasons.
As long as we can split, label, and bash one another we will never come together. JMHO.
I think the vast majority of nurses should be labeled as really great people trying to do a good job under poor conditions. There are, however, the signifigant few who bring the rest down. We've always been taught to be good girls in the past and not raise a fuss. As I said above, it's sad when you know you are giving a patient to someone who just plain won't be nice to them. I could report this to administration and to God Himself, but no one does anything EVER to the nurse who is just not nice or pleasant to his/her pt's. If they did who would take her place? I guess a mediocre nurse is better than no nurse at all., esp. if JCAHO is coming. I work w/ a person whose rudeness has been reported by multiple pt's including the fact that he pt's had her being rude to them and that they witnessed her being rude to other staff in front of them (the pt's). Like I said in 20 years I have seen all of the types the poster discusses. I wish it weren't true, but it is. I think some good nurses get really fried. That's why they leave. Look at the person #1 this poster describes. Does the idea of "nurses eating their young" come to mind? It's a real problem. I don't know what the solution is. Better working conditions (ie. not 12 pt's on med-surg or 3-4 in ICU or L/D in some places) might help since what many nurses have to tolerate is inhumane. There's a difference between being harried and being foul. My mother wasin the hospital and the call light system was broken. She said the nurses rushed all over the place and you had to ask twice for things, but "they were very nice," "they tried to answer her questions" they apologized for not being able to get what she needed earlier, etc." That's quite different than the treatment of "nasty" nurses. Like the one I worked with as an aide who would answer the call light with the wonderful "So what do you want now Mr. Smith?"
I think one problem is we are not percieved as professionals, but as second class citizens to drs. by the drs, some pt's, and even some nurses who view this as second rate job and so are very unsatisfied w/ their lot in life. We work very hard for very little in comparison to some other occupations. Let's build up the good nurses, but let's also recognize that not all nurses are where they should be. Education YES!!! Excuses for mediocrity and plain nastiness-NO! (Disclaimer-I do have PMS this week and I'm feeling a little edgy, so sorry if I come off mean). Truly and sadly, I can completely relate to this poster. I can think back to nursing school and when I had my oldest daughter 15 years ago and see these mean nurses. On of the things that inspired me to switch to OB was my idea that new moms deserved kind nurses.
I really hate the ones that specialize in making new people feel lousy. Inevitably, they are the last ones who should be throwing stones. Typically, the nurse or aide who gets picked on is actually eager and conscientious, visibly afraid of making a mistake, or regarded as a pain in the rear for asking too many questions. Know-it-all loves to fry fresh meat like this when they make some minor mistake. Usually, they've violated some protocal, and haven't actually neglected or harmed a patient. But, they will be made to feel like they killed someone.
I agree grouchy. It sort of makes me wonder why people like that even consider nursing as a career.
One of my girlfriends was hired at a LTC facility about a week after receiving her license. She said the nurses were extremely nasty towards her and instead of offering her guidance they purposely allowed her to make mistakes, and then would report her to the DON.
She called me two weeks after starting this job in tears. She had made a med error. The nurse working with her actually told her not to report it and to chart that she had given the correct dose What his intentions were is beyond me.
Nobody should be subjected to that kind of environment. It is one of the reasons that errors occur in the first place in my opinion.
Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.
Quote
Originally posted by Plato
Let's face it, some nurses are battle axes. They're mean, negative, condescending, uncaring, self-centered, lazy, neglectful incompetents. But where do they come from?
#1 The Authoritarian Personality
#2 The Burn Out
#3 The Stripper on the Side
#4 Tammy Faye, RN
All good nurses must make a stand and commit themselves to never becoming a battle axe. Be to work on time. Fake being happy if you have to for the sake of others. Answer your call lights. And care for your patients as if they were you--don't separate yourself from them.
I guess my funny bone is out of order today-I just don't see the point here.It is funny that I have observed all of these personalities in co-workers over the years in many other professions..Check it out the next time you go to Walmart or Home Depot and ask for assistance.....
As a new nurse and new grad starting in the OR, I've had nurses stomp on me and treat me like I'm their servant and I better do it right. My nurse manager is a "doll" and there are some very nice nurses with whom I've yet to work. Yet, One nurse just screamed at me and asked me what I thought I was doing. She wasn't even my preceptor and had no right being in there adn talking to me that way. I guess you just have to learn to work with all types of people; it's ashame some people are so unpleasant, but you have to deal with it. Just savor the good moments.
As a new nurse and new grad starting in the OR, I've had nurses stomp on me and treat me like I'm their servant and I better do it right. My nurse manager is a "doll" and there are some very nice nurses with whom I've yet to work. Yet, One nurse just screamed at me and asked me what I thought I was doing. She wasn't even my preceptor and had no right being in there ADN talking to me that way. I guess you just have to learn to work with all types of people; it's ashame some people are so unpleasant, but you have to deal with it. Just savor the good moments.
You do have to work with all kinds of people.
Remember however, you are no one's doormat and we should learn some assertiveness and put these battleaxe's in the place. The reason some are so agressive is that no one stands up to them.
Remember what sjoe says. "We will get as much crap as we take."
No you aren't going to change the basic personality of certain types of people. But you don't have to put with with people's "issues" either.
I guess my funny bone is out of order today-I just don't see the point here.It is funny that I have observed all of these personalities in co-workers over the years in many other professions..Check it out the next time you go to Walmart or Home Depot and ask for assistance.....
Gotta go with you here ktwlpn.. Deb, and Mattsmom. Nurses are part of the human family. Nothing more, nothing less.
These attributes, while negative and irritating, are not unique to the nursing profession. Let's build it up, shall we? There are enough out there in the general public who delight in maligning us... let's just prove them (AND the nasty coworkers) wrong by our actions and examples. Simple enough.
I think the people who don't find this post funny in the least, may be the one's on the list. I mean, when I was in Civil Service, there was a guy just like Milton in the movie Office Space. He finally saw the movie and didn't find it funny at all. Gee?
I think the people who don't find this post funny in the least, may be the one's on the list. I mean, when I was in Civil Service, there was a guy just like Milton in the movie Office Space. He finally saw the movie and didn't find it funny at all. Gee?
C'mon...enough is enough! Hey, ya know, I don't think anyone on this board appreciates this, and why the heck should they? I don't know who you are, or who you THINK you are, but if I knew you personally you would NOT be in MY inner circle of friends.
I think the people who don't find this post funny in the least, may be the one's on the list. I mean, when I was in Civil Service, there was a guy just like Milton in the movie Office Space. He finally saw the movie and didn't find it funny at all. Gee?
heeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyy.... NOW who's too serious? :chuckle
I hear what you're saying in your post and don't deny these battle axes exsist. But "they're EVERYWHERE, they're EVERYWHERE!!!" ... not just Nursing. Can we agree on that?
Have you just observed these 'types,' or do you observe a little of each type in yourself on bad days?
What about a description of the nurse we'd all like to be/are on our best days?
Or a mini-description of a great, but somewhat unusual, nurse we've worked with
My nominees:
To R with the flaming hair and green chewing gum whose looks appalled this ex-Brit, but whose skills I eventually tried to copy
To G who never did understand 'professional distance,' but who manoevered a desperately abused women and her children away from the obsessive, controlling abuser
To J who shunned bras and deodorant, but who crawled thru broken glass to help a disturbed young woman and her newborn out to safety
I loved/hated working with you, but when the going got tough, you were there and amazing.
What his intentions were is beyond me.
... not just Nursing. Can we agree on that? 
imenid37
1,804 Posts
I work w/ #'s 1,3, and 4. Glad I had an empty bladder when I read this one. You are a hoot! #4 was prostheletizing to me just the other night about her daughter's "immoral lifestyle". She wants off every Sunday to observe the Sabbath, but would complain loudly if she were to be a pt. and the unit was too understaffed to meet her needs/wants. I was able to share some of my grandmother's wisdom w/ her...no matter how many others you condemn to Hell, there will always be enough room for you when the time comes. I don't quite think she got it.
I know this is somewhat tongue in cheek, so I am having a laugh here and taking into account that this is a problem, but w/ a funny twist to it.
I do hate to see year after year people getting a raise and good evaluation as they wreak their own personal havoc on pt's and staff. Incidentally, there's a sub-type for #1. This is the nurse who knows it all and is constantly pointing out the short-comings of others (they don't need to be new or less experienced than her/him, they just need to have a pulse). Often this is done in the presence of pt' and/or their families. Problem is when it comes time for this person to function he/she "needs help" or if they do something wrong, it's because "no one ever told me that." Never ever would it be this individual's fault. I don't think our profession is unque. My DH works for the govt. as a computer scientist. There is one guy in particular, that is just a hateful a$$.
What is bad is that, part of our job is to put forth a caring attitude. I had a rotten night two weeks ago and I felt bad because I had this really nice couple who went through a long labour and then c/section. I know I wasn't as friendly as I should've been. I had a migraine and wanted to go home. I tried to be pleasant as possible because this was such a big day in their life. Who was I to spoil it? I just knew I wasn't at my best. Turns out dad was in his last semester of nursing school. They were very appreciative and sent a card and fruit to the staff, still I feel bad I was not at my best. What I guess I am trying to say that's what is everyday for us, is of great signifigance to our pt's. I know I often lose sight of this myself. Whiel it is quite true you cannot arbitrarily label someone, having been in the hospital setting for over 20 years now, I can tell you that there are many difficult co-workers who I've met that share a number of these traits in common. It is also very true, that on any given day that anyone's attitude can drift this way. I certainly have pt's annoy me, but I also have no right to give them substandard care because they do.
I guess as the cliche' goes, good thing we can have a laugh over this or we'd cry. Bad attitudes in nursing are born both of the poor treatment we recieve from our managers and sometimes pt's and the fact that w/ the shortage, we allow a lot of people to be among our ranks that do a substandard job. As for lack of education, it's pretty difficult to change a person's heart or personality. I hate when I make out assignments and I have a very sensitive or needy pt. and must assign them to one of these types who will come out of the room and bellow loudly about what a loser this pt. is. Sure I can tell management, but hey don't care. They want warm bods w/ RN behind their name.