I don't understand this profession..

CseMgr1, ASN, RN · Sep 25, 2005

I have been a nurse for almost 8 years. During these years, I have worked in many different areas at two different hospitals. What I do not understand is the bitterness, bickering, and unprofessional behavior that happens on the floor.
I think this has always been a problem, but it seems to have become increasingly worse. Yesterday I witnessed a colleague rip apart another nurse, the director, and a nursing assistant. The other nurses on the floor then began to tear into the first nurse and it became a very tense working environment.
Nurses are in such great demand and I see why. Unless you have thick skin and can take being harassed by coworkers, you will leave the profession too.
Nurses not only eat their young, but also their old, strong, weak, and whoever else.
Yesterday, I was ashamed to call myself a nurse. I am a second career nurse and I have never witnessed behavior in coworkers in my life. The incident yesterday was just one example there have been many others of nurses bring each other down.
I needed to vent about this because it makes me sad. I have a niece and nephew that both were thinking about the nursing profession while in school. Thanks heavens that I was able to talk them out of it. They deserve more out of their career.

It is sad, isn't it? I've lay awake crying many a night during my 35 years in this business, also being a victim of harassment by my co-workers. At one hospital, I would come into work and find my time card marked with unprintable expletives, as well as my charting altered. If that wasn't bad enough, I was also physically abused by one particular co-worker, who made it a point to punch me in the ribs with her elbow as she walked by me in the nurses' station. What was so sickening about these atrocities was the fact that the D.O.N. knew they were going on...and she did nothing. And it didn't stop, until she was forced out by the hospital's Board of Directors and was replaced by a petite, no-nonsense spitfire who cleaned house. I credit this woman for saving my career, because if she had not come in and taken charge when she did, I would have walked out and never looked back.

Diahni · Sep 25, 2005

Hi,

Your post hit me had, because I have 8 months to go before the NCLEX, and I can't take the stuff you wrote about. In my last clinical I was humiliated by a patient, an arrogant doctor and his really obnoxious demanding wife. Although I did my best, they actually reported me and made up things too, like I talked nonstop about my personal life, which was an utter lie. The nurse's response to the abuse I endured: you must have presented yourself badly! Then I got chewed out by my professor/clinical instructor, and when I got home, a fellow student friend called me saying she was upset that a few people in our group found the whole thing wildly funny. It seems like there's a whole lot of meaness in this profession. There seems to be precious little civility. This is a second career for me, too. I worked hard to do my preliminary courses, and last year was brutal in my first round of clinicals. Do you think there are any working situations that wouldn't have this crap? It makes me very sad that people are so ugly.

Thanks,

Diahni

I have been a nurse for almost 8 years. During these years, I have worked in many different areas at two different hospitals. What I do not understand is the bitterness, bickering, and unprofessional behavior that happens on the floor.
I think this has always been a problem, but it seems to have become increasingly worse. Yesterday I witnessed a colleague rip apart another nurse, the director, and a nursing assistant. The other nurses on the floor then began to tear into the first nurse and it became a very tense working environment.
Nurses are in such great demand and I see why. Unless you have thick skin and can take being harassed by coworkers, you will leave the profession too.
Nurses not only eat their young, but also their old, strong, weak, and whoever else.
Yesterday, I was ashamed to call myself a nurse. I am a second career nurse and I have never witnessed behavior in coworkers in my life. The incident yesterday was just one example there have been many others of nurses bring each other down.
I needed to vent about this because it makes me sad. I have a niece and nephew that both were thinking about the nursing profession while in school. Thanks heavens that I was able to talk them out of it. They deserve more out of their career.

purplemania, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2005

First off, I don't believe these behaviors are restricted to nurses. Second, in my research on nurse personality I learned that we tend to have expectations for ourselves and others that may be unrealistic at times. The stress of our jobs is another factor. About all I can say is that positive behaviors are as contagious as negative ones, so practive being the kind of person you want your coworkers to be. We can only control ourselves. Having said that I will add that certain behaviors should never be tolerated and policies should exist to either modify the behavior or risk losing your job. Hope you are able to get support in your dilemma.

rn/writer, RN · Sep 25, 2005

It is sad, isn't it? I've lay awake crying many a night during my 35 years in this business, also being a victim of harassment by my co-workers. At one hospital, I would come into work and find my time card marked with unprintable expletives, as well as my charting altered. If that wasn't bad enough, I was also physically abused by one particular co-worker, who made it a point to punch me in the ribs with her elbow as she walked by me in the nurses' station. What was so sickening about these atrocities was the fact that the D.O.N. knew they were going on...and she did nothing. And it didn't stop, until she was forced out by the hospital's Board of Directors and was replaced by a petite, no-nonsense spitfire who cleaned house. I credit this woman for saving my career, because if she had not come in and taken charge when she did, I would have walked out and never looked back.

Using the analogy of the fire tetrahedon, if you remove any ONE of the four components necessary to sustain fire, the thing goes out. In your case, decent, take-charge management changed the rules that allowed toxic behavior to thrive.

I'm happy for you.

CseMgr1, ASN, RN · Sep 25, 2005

Using the analogy of the fire tetrahedon, if you remove any ONE of the four components necessary to sustain fire, the thing goes out. In your case, decent, take-charge management changed the rules that allowed toxic behavior to thrive.
I'm happy for you.

Bingo. She was one of the best nursing managers I have ever had the pleasure of working with.

ClimbingNurse · Sep 25, 2005

I graduated nursing school in May and have been working on my unit for 3 weeks now. (I had a summer job as a wilderness guide.) Before becoming a nurse I was a HS teacher and an IT consultant before that.

I think it's all unit and person-dependent. 99% of the people I work with are really good at what they do and very professional. But 2 nights ago one of them spent half the night at the nurse's station sniping on various individuals. I was honestly shocked. I couldn't believe no one told her to knock it off. Maybe they were all thinking the same thing. I wasn't about to do it as the FNG.

Anyway, it made the night pretty miserable, but every other night I've been there has actually been fun. I've had lots of other jobs and none have been as much fun as ER nursing... Well, OK, wilderness guiding was more fun, but the pay REALLY sucks.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2005

re: your post. . .when i was a firefighter. . .

what great philosophy! a very ingenious insight into the goings on between nurses. great wisdom. great analogy and so well put. hope the young'uns "get" it.

Diahni · Sep 25, 2005

Anyway, it made the night pretty miserable, but every other night I've been there has actually been fun. I've had lots of other jobs and none have been as much fun as ER nursing... Well, OK, wilderness guiding was more fun, but the pay REALLY sucks.

Wow, is it great to hear that you are enjoying your job. I'm considering dropping out, and for that reason have been very interested to read the posts about toxic work conditions. Taking crap from co-workers because they hate their lives is far worse than a grouchy patient. After all, nobody is too happy about being sick or in pain. Someone just wrote that you need really thick skin to be a nurse. Don't know how I made it through my first year. I'm just not made that way. Can anybody tell me if there are non-stressful working situations for nurses?

Diahni

chadash · Sep 25, 2005

I do believe that nursing is a hot bed of this kind of abuse, far beyond other professions. The stuff that happens in LTC's is unbelievable. Just not the normal adult to adult interactions you see out in the big world.

Diahni · Sep 25, 2005

I do believe that nursing is a hot bed of this kind of abuse, far beyond other professions. The stuff that happens in LTC's is unbelievable. Just not the normal adult to adult interactions you see out in the big world.

this is very interesting to hear, Chadash - do you think it's because of a certain personality type or maybe the work makes this happen? I've noticed that many doctors cultivate a certain distance, and patients complain of this. One friend was put off when asking about the fate of her huband with lung cancer - the doctor said "Get your papers in order." Having to tell people repeatedly that their days are numbered must require a lot of distance. Since nurses "treat the person, not the disease," the stress is much worse. Pretty "up close and personal," I'd say. However, many nurses I've worked with are the greatest people in the world- just oozing humanity, the women and the men. What a conundrum.

curlyfries · Sep 26, 2005

Instead of calling it quits, join the professional nursing organization in your area. Be proactive in nursing and affect changes in treatment of nurses in your area. Call a meeting in your hospital with your administrators and board of directors. If this doesn't work go to another location where hopsital are designated as "magnet" hospital.

DianeMyra · Sep 26, 2005

Here's what has worked for me in these situations. I act the same way, whether dealing with people who seem out to get me as I do for those who are pleasant. I make it a point to give them a salutation, ask how they're doing, and say have a good weekend/night/day when they, or I, are leaving. It's amazing how many REALLY grumpy people show nicer colors in a very short time. I think that their bad behavior causes those around them to become grumpy themselves, in turn making the initiator even more miserable. This has worked well in all aspects of my life, including 25 years as a hair stylist (another hot spot for this kind of bad behavior from co-workers and customers). I started doing this when I was 16 as kind of a game, a challenge to myself to see if I could persuade this one waitress to be more pleasant to me; the results amazed me, and still do to this day. The more spiteful one is, the more of a challenge I have, I kind of enjoy it, keeps me on my toes! Of course my form of enjoyment is spending a weekend over a chessboard trying to solve problems there, so I'm prolly just weird! I know now that I wrote this I'll meet an unchangeable, cantankerous cuss that'll cause me to bang my head against the wall in defeat; :rotfl: if I do, I'll be back to ask for advice ~ Diane