I give in, I'm a COB

Copy and paste "Proud member..." onto your signature line. For batlings (aka "Future COBs), copy and paste "Proud member..." onto your signature line, but add "Future" to the line.

Many people have a knee-jerk reaction to it and accuse us of NETY, when in face, it came about due to NETO.

I feel like an "old" bat already - having been a paramedic forever and then almost 7 years in nursing....do I get 'grandfathered' in? hahaha!!!

Some of my fellow nursing students would give you COB's a run for your money. I mean, they've been through foundations of nursing, they know nursing backwards and forwards. You all couldn't possibly have learned anything in your 15+ years. :-P

On a serious note, I hope you lovely self-proclaimed COB's/Buzzards remember not ALL new grads think they know everything and are eager to learn what you have to teach when you take them on as an orientee.

I have done this job in multiple states and have been doing for what seems like way to long some days. So If I do not qualify in years then its what I want to do when I grow up. I do love to teach and I am good at it most of the time. AND I have learned alot from COB's.

Gosh I just love this post. Completely made my day : )

Also I would like to add that the COB's will save your arse every time if you listen to them.

"But that's not what I learned in nursing school." ha ha ha....

Gosh I just love this post. Completely made my day : )

Which one?

Some of my fellow nursing students would give you COB's a run for your money. I mean, they've been through foundations of nursing, they know nursing backwards and forwards. You all couldn't possibly have learned anything in your 15+ years. :-P

On a serious note, I hope you lovely self-proclaimed COB's/Buzzards remember not ALL new grads think they know everything and are eager to learn what you have to teach when you take them on as an orientee.

We do know that, and I literally get all verklempt at times thinking of some of our nurses with 3-4 years on the job who still post here. We knew them "when", and I consider them esteemed colleagues. Now I shall run for the Kleenex box and get into a state that would probably cause the "that is sooo corny" eyeroll in you young'uns.

Stereotypes suck.

I graduated from a BSN program 4 years ago, mid-life:second-degree. I was 54 years old, not a cute young person.

I was never arrogant about any of my education, but I can assure you that "COBs" made me HATE nursing, both in the academic sphere and in clinicals.

Have you COBs ever thought that maybe you put new nurses & students, no matter their age, in terribly uncomfortable positions, such that their "cockiness" may be just a defensive mode, because they are not all socialized yet to be nurses, and have no other mode to fall back on?

If new or student nurses admit ignorance or a lack of knowledge, then COBs REALLY jump to that--with much derision.

I honestly think if you are a COB, you should consider leaving the field. The profession of nursing has been held back so terribly, almost to the point of no return, because of nonprofessional behavior in the ranks. In a word: cattiness, an all too familiar word generally ascribed to women.

Ours is the only profession, I think, where such behavior exists. New engineers, new salespeople, new teachers, new dental techs, new MDs, etc., all have a learning curve, for sure. But only nursing has that cruel emotional bent which destroys the spirit.

Thankfully, a lovely mid-fifties non-COB nursing school instructor, with 30+ yrs experience, "rescued" me from leaving nursing for good. Instead, she took the time to nurture me and invited me to volunteer w her at our university in a program she headed, and encouraged me--at my core--my last 10 months.

I love being a nurse. I thank God every time I remember her. And I will never become a COB. Anybody who wants to become a nurse is respected by me, and I will give them due honor.

Respectfully submitted,

staeces

I've been a RN 15 years now. On my way to COB status. In my civilian life, everyone thinks I'm a just crusty!

Sounds so familiar, today I'm sadly finding this attitude is the " new normal".

I graduated from a BSN program 4 years ago, mid-life:second-degree. I was 54 years old, not a cute young person.

I was never arrogant about any of my education, but I can assure you that "COBs" made me HATE nursing, both in the academic sphere and in clinicals.

Have you COBs ever thought that maybe you put new nurses & students, no matter their age, in terribly uncomfortable positions, such that their "cockiness" may be just a defensive mode, because they are not all socialized yet to be nurses, and have no other mode to fall back on?

If new or student nurses admit ignorance or a lack of knowledge, then COBs REALLY jump to that--with much derision.

I honestly think if you are a COB, you should consider leaving the field. The profession of nursing has been held back so terribly, almost to the point of no return, because of nonprofessional behavior in the ranks. In a word: cattiness, an all too familiar word generally ascribed to women.

Ours is the only profession, I think, where such behavior exists. New engineers, new salespeople, new teachers, new dental techs, new MDs, etc., all have a learning curve, for sure. But only nursing has that cruel emotional bent which destroys the spirit.

Thankfully, a lovely mid-fifties non-COB nursing school instructor, with 30+ yrs experience, "rescued" me from leaving nursing for good. Instead, she took the time to nurture me and invited me to volunteer w her at our university in a program she headed, and encouraged me--at my core--my last 10 months.

I love being a nurse. I thank God every time I remember her. And I will never become a COB. Anybody who wants to become a nurse is respected by me, and I will give them due honor.

Respectfully submitted,

staeces

I'm so sorry you didn't feel the need to read through this thread and understand what a Crusty Old Bat really is before you wrote your scorched earth letter.