not so NETY

Four months into my first job as a new nurse. I found the ubiquitous NETY situation to be very different from what many have described. The experienced nurses on my unit are awesome. They know things, are happy to give advice/guidance in a quick, expedient way, and they don't give a hoot about personal stuff with other staff. They leave you alone to do your job unless you ask for help.

The newer nurses, however, are a nightmare. Ask one to show you how to do something, and you'll be spending the next twenty minutes gritting your teeth while they enjoy the sound of their own voices. They're constantly doling out unsolicited advice that they think is very sage but that any idiot would know. They ask personal questions about your life that are none of their business. They talk about other people's personal information with anyone who will listen. They're nosy about what's going on with your patients. They constantly search out opportunities to make themselves look smarter than everyone else.

For my orientation, I was assigned to one of these new nurses, who would loudly berate me for asking about something she had already told me about. Preferably in front of as many people as possible. She had extremely poor time management and was constantly flustered and would take it out on me. She refused to let me do any "cool" procedures because she wanted to do them herself. Patient needs a port accessed? Forget it, I'd have to stand there while she went on and on in a loud condescending voice.

I had to go to my unit supervisor and request that I be scheduled with an experienced nurse. Why they would put someone with a new nurse for orientation is beyond my understanding. The rest of my orientation, with an experienced nurse, went along like a dream.

Some of these new nurses think too highly of themselves, and some humility is sorely needed. And they really need to think about whether they are qualified to teach someone instead of insisting they be given trainees because they want preceptor pay.