Improve APRN - RN work relationship

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Specializes in Nicu.

I work in an ICU at a pediatric hospital. We have mostly APRNs covering our patients. A lot of them were nurses on our unit who went back to school. The relationship between the 2 roles is abysmal. Their director is not a kind person, so I feel like they work in a toxic group, and their frustration is displaced onto the nurses. In conversation, they say they value the nurses' opinions, they want to work together, etc. But in the moment, they are snarky, mean, and dismissive. They act like any questions about patients are a stab at their knowledge, expertise, or experience. It makes nurses, even seasoned nurses, not want to talk to them or ask them anything. The end result is that patient care isn't what it should be. Their attitude seems to be that nurses should be seen and not heard. Even my friends who go onto become APRNs are eaten alive in that group and none of them are my friends anymore.

Are there any unit-wide things you have seen that has improved relationships among different roles? We have a committee aimed at improving this exact problem, but in the 4+ years since it started, there is very little to show for it. 

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