How do you handle rude nurses?

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Aug 11, 2007

I got one that had like a "box" under it that was notebook-sized. WalMart.

I wouldn't worry about rude nurses. I encountered none during my clinicals, and an icy, "I beg your pardon?" always says it all.

Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 11, 2007

The best way to handle it is not let it bother you. It will prepare you for dealing with rude patients, rude doctors, rude family members, rude techs, rude CNAs, rude physical therapists.......

It's really not that bad. Don't let the stories get you down. For every rude nurse I've encountered, there have been three really nice ones.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Aug 12, 2007

we encounter rude people in all areas of our lives. what do you do what you run across a rude waitress or store clerk? just ignore their behavior and carry on with the business at hand. a basic psychological principal is to not reward bad behavior. calling attention to it sometimes only aggravates it. sometimes that attention is what the perpetrator of the rudeness is unconsciously seeking. don't give them the satisfaction. also, don't confuse rudeness with bluntness. many times when people are under stress and time constraints they aren't paying attention to their body language or the way their voice sounds. what you might perceive as being rudeness may only be a manifestation of the stress they under at that moment in time. keep in mind that one day you may well find yourself in the same predicament. nothing hurts worse than having to hear a complaint about your behavior and you know that it's not true. much of behavior is perception on the part of the other person--psychology 101.

you know, when i was an active practicing hospital nurse, i always carried a clipboard with me that had my "brains" on it and a couple of other pieces of paper with information i liked to have at my fingertips. however, i was confined to the hospital in the past two weeks and i noticed that all the nurses were carrying their own 1/2 inch ring binders. inside them they had dividers. they had the computer printed patient kardex for each of the patients they were assigned to with all the scribblings and notes they had taken during report and throughout the shift. some, i noticed, also had the mars (medication administration record) for each of their patients in them as well. it kept the information concealed from roving eyes and confidential. there was also room for pages with specific policies and procedures, etc. in them. some of these notebooks were quite cutely decorated; some had pictures of their family taped to them.

CinderMelly · Aug 12, 2007

My best advice is to kill them with kindness. Offer to do anything you can to help them out. In my experience if you prove yourself to be competent they tend to open up a bit and become friendlier and they alos just might help you seek out skills to do.

allthingsbright · Aug 12, 2007

Hi everyone!
I'm starting my junior year in a BSN program this semester, and my clinicals start in a couple weeks. Some of the upperclassmen warned us about the possibility of rude nurses, and I was hoping anyone can offer strategies for dealing with them, or their own experiences? I would appreciate anything
Thank you!
PS- I know this is a digression, but what kind of clipboard do any of you recommend?

I am polite, assertive and if there is a REAL problem, I let my clinical instructor know. My school pays good money (my money) for my clinical placements. Nurses are busy and I understand a certain amount of curtness in some situations, but if it gets out of control (and this has happened ONCE in my clinical experience--to a fellow classmate, and not to me) then the CI needs to step in. But you will run inot rude people wherever you are in life, so learn to deal with it in a professional manner. GL!

StudentNurseSteph, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2007

My best advice is to kill them with kindness. Offer to do anything you can to help them out. In my experience if you prove yourself to be competent they tend to open up a bit and become friendlier and they alos just might help you seek out skills to do.

exactly..kill them with kindness... last year i had the most rude nurse i've ever met..i just tried to be as nice as possible..it didnt really help it any but it didnt make it any worse also lol and turned out none of the nurses on the floor liked her either and she was planning on leaving the floor soon anyways..

nitewarrior · Aug 13, 2007

I had a rude nurse in clinicals. She liked giving me cna work that she thought would upset me but I didnt mind. Especially when she said would you try to feed this lady she just wont eat for the "real staff, even me" I was ever so happy to inform her that #1 none of her food was even cut up, some of it like boiled potatoes was still raw and # 2 the woman's dentures didnt fit they were falling out of her mouth and #3 that maybe she could call the md and get the lady on a mech soft diet so that if her family couldnt afford new dentures the lady didnt have much chewing to do. She was pleasant about it the I heard her on the phone with the MD saying she had noticed..everything I reported to her.

southernbelle08 · Aug 13, 2007

I've never had a problem. I think it is all about how you go into the situation. I try to respect the fact that I am learning and even though myself and my entire group are there for the day...it is not our work environment, we are simply guests there for the day to learn. I treat them with respect, ask intelligent questions, and I have never had a problem. Most nurses you'll run into are invaluable if you allow them to be - you can learn so much from them. Sure, not every personality is going to mesh...but as long as you keep your work first and just not dwell on that personality you don't like...you should do just fine.

Clipboard - I also have a cheap one from Wal-Mart with a compartment underneath it. :)