MEAN GIRLS (or GUYS)

etaoinshrdluRN · Jan 28, 2011

Remembering a terrible person who forgot what it was to be a new nurse. Doubt this is unique, nor is it a topic that is fun. Lateral violence shouldn't be celebrated.

T14WFLY · Jan 28, 2011

I'm just trying to get people to give examples of how we all go through it. I'm not celebrating it! If we can't brush them off or laugh about it then the Mean Girls win. No offense intended at all by this thread.

gettingbsn2msn, MSN, RN · Jan 29, 2011

The mean woman works at my hospital. I work nights and many times have to give report to her. She is day shift. The first few times I gave report to her I gave it to her back. Seriously, she would not turn around. Who does that! I told her I am "giving you report". She says "I can hear you and does not turn around". She was not talking to anyone either as she just did not want to turn around. I have seen other people give her report and she just get up in the middle of it and say she is going to the nursing managers office . This was said in a not so nice tone. We have new nurses on our floor and she practically spits at them. She is probably mid 40s and been a nurse maybe 10 years. How do you deal with people like this? I gave her report this am but she was so mad at someone else I felt like it was a blessing because I could get through report without getting slammed.

FlyingScot, RN · Jan 29, 2011

The "Plastic" in my life reported me for stealing/using narcotics which I absolutely was NOT doing. Nearly lost my job over it. I had to pay for my own hair test to prove it since they were convinced the urine test wasn't accurate. No I wasn't acting loopy... this woman was just really mean. I think I'll go hang with the "Cool Asians" (movie reference so don't everybody get their knickers in a twist)

malenurse82 · Jan 29, 2011

The "plastics" in our hospital would be the infant medicine unit, they always come with attitude and a long face when they have to float over to us. One time I was in charge and I was going to assign a new admission to the float nurse and the nurse said to me: I am floating to this unit, I don't know where anything is, I cannot do an admission, and walked away.... They also have stories of being nasty to each other in face book, or sending you copies of incident reports they have filed over things allegedly done by you. I would like to put them in an all carb diet (including butter), keltene bars, and foot cream for their nasty faces!

T14WFLY · Feb 1, 2011

There was a new guy who started a couple of months ago and the girl who precepted him would always say things like "oh God, he's here today", "He doesn't know anything" "Why do they always give me the idiots to train". Now that he's off orientation, she acts like she is his best friend and he even hangs out with her group of friends. I haven't even been there a year yet, but this is what I have seen. I don't trust any of the people I work with and I don't even attempt to make friends with anyone, because I can't trust them. Everyday, they are talking about someone different and then the following day, they will gossip with the person they were previously talking about and talk about someone new. I'm busy doing my work and there will be a group of them in the nursing station gossiping and being loud enough to hear from down the hall. One day a family member even came out and asked them to be quiet because her mom was trying to sleep. I work night shift, so they are able to get away with a lot. A lot of them are younger. I'm only 30, I'm not VERY old, but maybe they are just still immature. I just dread going to work. I do my job and go home. I love what I do, but I can't stand the people I work with. They are so disrespectful. This thread was in attempt to remind me that people like this are everywhere and I shouldn't quit my job just because of them. I'll stick it out until my dream job opens up.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Feb 1, 2011

this thread was in attempt to remind me that people like this are everywhere and i shouldn't quit my job just because of them. i'll stick it out until my dream job opens up.

true, i work in a similar environment to yours for over a year. the mean girls and guys (to include techs in the same clique) used to talk about me so badly or try to make me drown with my bed assignments that they were in utter shock when i threw their words back into their faces and pointed out their actions. some even tried to deny words and events; but they are too loud and they gossip too much for there not to be ample proof. sadly, their tactics worked on so many nurses that all other nurses outside of the clique employed before me and after me have sense quit!! management is so clueless that it is the dominant mean clique that pushes them away, that their patterns of behaviors will not change any time soon. btw, most of the dominant clique where i work are in their late 30s to early 40s!!! thus, immaturity does not exclude older generations.

now that i have a year of er experience, i am leaving. ironically, i fully expect to deal with another set of mean girls and guys where i find a new job because this is the culture of nursing to which i have been exposed. i hope i am wrong. i hope to find an ideal professional work environment as well, but i will not hold my breath. gl!

MassED, BSN, RN · Feb 2, 2011

The mean woman works at my hospital. I work nights and many times have to give report to her. She is day shift. The first few times I gave report to her I gave it to her back. Seriously, she would not turn around. Who does that! I told her I am "giving you report". She says "I can hear you and does not turn around". She was not talking to anyone either as she just did not want to turn around. I have seen other people give her report and she just get up in the middle of it and say she is going to the nursing managers office . This was said in a not so nice tone. We have new nurses on our floor and she practically spits at them. She is probably mid 40s and been a nurse maybe 10 years. How do you deal with people like this? I gave her report this am but she was so mad at someone else I felt like it was a blessing because I could get through report without getting slammed.

give report to her back, then. I would. Let her issues be just that. Hers. You can either let her issues infiltrate your world, or give report and move on. Oh well. You can't change those weirdos we happen to work with...

Fribblet · Feb 2, 2011

give report to her back, then. I would. Let her issues be just that. Hers. You can either let her issues infiltrate your world, or give report and move on. Oh well. You can't change those weirdos we happen to work with...

With someone like that though, I'd chart a little extra to cover my ass because you just never know when someone like that is going to run to management and accuse you of all sorts of crap.

"Report given to Nurse X. Nurse X acknowledges report. No questions or concerns verbalized." Or something to that effect.

Sucks when you feel you have to chart to cover yourself from your fellow nurses.

FancypantsRN · Feb 19, 2011

I know this post is a little old - but I am just now reading it. Good thread.

I have this ex-coworker that I worked nights with - she was nice as could be, until I moved to day shift. I was a relief charge nurse on days and on the days I took a team - she was a monster to give report to. She would critique every patient I was giving her and give me a "to do" list before she would even accept report (which was never until 7:15 even if she had nothing extra for me to do). When I took the group back from her the next morning, guess what? No morning meds passed, no morning labs drawn - nothing done. Every answer to my questions was "I don't know, but I have to go". I got to start every shift with cleaning up her mess for an hour or so.

I should add that she has her masters degree in nursing and knows it all. She loudly accuses the new nurses of killing their patients (even DNR's who are expected not to make it). She sets them up to make foolish phone calls to doc's because they are new and don't know better yet. Needless to say, just an unpleasant, mean lady. She will always be there, as she is great friends with the director. I don't miss working with her : )

T14WFLY · Feb 21, 2011

Thanks for sharing. I know people like this too! I always go out of my way to make sure my rooms are stocked and my patients are clean and well taken care of, but it never fails that I follow the lazy people. Very frustrating!