New Nurse/Old Attitude

Creamsoda, ASN, RN · Jul 16, 2012

All to do with that word, attitude. Rotten shift unfolding in acute, ED. Acute team leader asks me if I have seen the (new grad) nurse looking after 5 bedded bay #4. I say I haven't for a while but assumed that she was at dinner (no, she had dinner at 530pm, it's now 1945hrs). For the next hour or so, myself and team leader unwittingly looking after bay #4, doing odd tasks when the docs asked. Eventually team leader very frustrated and we have figured out that no-one has seen her for over an hour, "where is such and such?". I say I'm not sure, then I transfer a patient down to our short stay unit which is separate from the main department. Said nurse is sitting in the very out of the way nurses' station, on facebook. She flashes me that "I've been sprung" look, I confirm with the short stay T/L that she has in fact been there all this time, then tell the co-ordinator. I have never been so livid with a nurse in my life. How dare she!. When she returns, one of her pts. has a critically low BP and is moved to resus- she then proceeds to garner sympathy for the rest of the shift about how inexperienced she is, etc. I wish I could have said out loud the words in my head that night. Of course, she tells the other new grads what an awful b___h I am, and they should watch their backs!
New graduate nurse assists with her first intubation last week with me shadowing. Very smooth intubation, she did really well and we got to talk it all through. I tell her how well she handled it and we do some education. She proceeds to tell me that I am an excellent teacher, how much she learned, thankyou and could she roster herself on some shifts with me to learn some of the more critical interventions if that is okay with me?. You bloody well bet it is okay with me! She has an excellent knowledge base and works very hard. Excellent attitude. These examples demonstrate the times when I will gladly eat my young, or have them over for dinner at my place.

how did that first nurse not get fired???? ***!

metal_m0nk, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2012

Aaaaaaaaaand look who's beating this dead old horse again....BIG surprise >.

ALina19 · Jul 16, 2012

im a new nurse too, i work in a nursing home and there are honestly more thibgs broken than i can fix..if other new grads would be willing to work, appreciative of a new job, questioning doctor's orders by correlating cause and effects of medications, humbly asking for avice etc just that drive to be a good nurse , then maybe new grads would have a better reputation..

beeker · Jul 16, 2012

You can't blame all the new grads, just as you can't blame all the old nurses. Some new grads are great and some are not. Some old nurses are mean and some are kind. I think it is pretty evident that in nursing, we do not always treat each other well. I hear the gossip, I try to stay out. As a fairly new grad I can tell you there are a couple of eat your your young type of nurses on my floor, but fortunately there are also plenty of kind helpful ones. In the beginning there were two biddies that went out of their way to be nasty while getting report, and I can tell you it took a little time to learn how to handle them. I see them do it to all the newbies. As a new employee though, it is hard to try to learn the job, deal with the stress, and try to fend off all the girl drama at the same time it can really be overwhelming. I don't think it is ever fair to blame the victim or generalize that it is all the new grads fault. Learning the job is hard enough, it should not also be a shark tank with fresh meat. I think we all see how we as women treat each other, and we can all agree it is not great sometimes. I don't know why we have to make work harder for each other. I'm thankful for the great group I work with.

sauconyrunner · Jul 16, 2012

Great post.

One theme I see is the difficulty in adjustment from the school environment to the work environment.

In school things like grades were made to seem very important. GPA, test scores, etc. All of a sudden once you graduate and pass that exam...None of that matters anymore and it is all about how you are at doing the actual work.

This is usually more of a shock to those who did very well in school, because they have assumed (and been told) that these excellent grades will translate them into an excellent nurse. And suddenly, they find themselves trying to learn time management and how to interact with a wide variety of patients, and there is no score...there is no module to just get through...this is it.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2012

I agree that the schools are not preparing the students to be new nurses. They leave the environment of minimal clinical time, "simulation labs", fake arms to draw blood and start IV's, and never taking care of more than couple of patients and being told the "right way" it needs to be done and that everyone else is doing it wrong. Strangely enough many instructors don't have extensive bedside experience anymore......they have degree's. In the today's culture of nursing school it is no wonder hospitals are requiring residencies.....they need to teach these poor new grads the realities, and skills, of what it means being at the bedside.

Don't get me wrong....I am all for education but there still needs to be some common sense and hands on teaching. Many of my nursing instructors were bedside nurses and there was a practicality to their teachings.....they too were educated with advanced degrees (which was rare in those days) but we were told, and taught, what to expect......and to respect our "elders". which I feel is missing from the culture in general these days.

I also feel that being educated by a laptop and computer screen leaves these new grads unable to deal with the harshness and realities of humanity which is the core of being a nurse. The culture shock to these new grads can be over whelming.

Now the students leave school and are shocked at the real world. They have been fed, all those days in school, that the nurses at the bedside just weren't educated right and those nurses are somehow "beneath" the new grads. They(the new grads) are shocked and stunned that the real world is nothing AT ALL like "they" (the instructors) said it would be in school and besides these nurses with the experience at the bedside don't know how to do it right anyways. I fault the instructor and schools.

These bedside nurses are thrown to the wolves by administration and then have their staffing cut that day because there are students. These nurses are not your instructor. They are not being paid to teach you. They are not there for you.....they came to work that day to care for the patients. Their responsibility is to them, the patients...not the students. But the bedside nurse is stuck......she needs to ensure the patient is safe and cared for regardless of circumstance ...........plus, administration will do as they wish and cut staffing because it will save them money that day. Making that bedside nurse resentful and overwhelmed herself.

Now the staff that is left has to do the same level of care with less AND teach these new students. The students who are over whelmed themselves and have no clue about the nurses responsibility and are upset that the nurse isn't nice to them to answer their questions. It's a catch 22.

My question is.....where is the instructor? I know she has all the other students and can't be in two places at one time. But they were when I went to school...we didn't "bother" the staff. There was also a free "liaison" nurse, that the school had on board in cooperation with the hospital, who made sure we didn't hurt anyone. Her job was to watch and help us as well as not "bother" the regular nurses because they had a job to do that day.

Somewhere along the line the respect to those, at the bedside, has disappeared. The respect of the "elders", the "older", the "experienced" nurse is no longer apart of the curriculum......nor is it a part of our culture. This is also the generation of every one's a winner! When the reality is.....not every one wins. It's a tough world out there and nothing is going be handed to "you" (the collective you) on a silver platter. People are rude, nasty, mean. Sick people are ruder, nastier and meaner. The human body does not do anything by the book and medicine is not predictable.

This subject comes up every time are new grads. They are so overwhelmed and are stunned at the harsh reality of nursing. They are shocked that the nurses at the bedside aren't jumping for joy at being showed how to do it correctly.

We as the experienced one's need to remember how it feels to be that new nurse....fresh and ambitious ready to change the world. We need to step back and remember how hard it was for us and not repeat the mistakes that were made teaching us when we were new. The new nurses need to remember that these old bats have been doing this a long time and that through continuing education and actively working at the bedside keeps the bedside nurse pretty current on how to do things.

New grads need to remember that there is more than one side to every story and more than one way to skin a cat.

But, there is always that one mean and spiteful bully. Just like in all aspects of life, there is always going to be that one, or two in every crowd.... :cool: ....and it spoils the whole bunch

OnlybyHisgraceRN, ASN, RN · Jul 16, 2012

Unfortunately, these kind of scenarios are all too common in nursing. I've seen and experience my fair share of "mean" preceptors and preceptors that were excellent teachers and knew how to talk to people. Once again, it is not what you say but how you say it.

And when I say mean, I don't use it lightly. These are just a few examples of what I've witnessed: Seasoned nurse telling a new grads:

-" You could of killed that patient" ( right in front of the pt.)

-" Can you read?"

-" I don't like to precept and I can be a real B@#$%h"

-"What you did was Sh$$%^"

-" Just shut up and do it"

-I've also seen preceptors allow new grads to give the wrong medication just so the intern to "learn" Since when did "learning" happen at the expense of the patient.

I've made errors being a new grad RN in ICU and I've preceptors who yelled and attempted to make me feel stupid and preceptors who chose a different but more effective approach....

When people yell and use extreme sacarsm with me, I shut down and no longer listen. I don't respond to that kind of behavior.

However, when you talk to me like an adult I will understand and listen. I have no problem learning. I'm receptive to constructive criticism.

In the ICU nurses are very anal and more assertive and you have to be, thus I've learned not to take every comment and the way things are said personally.

I've learned that the majority of nursing is getting along with your co-workers and a small percent is pt. care. If that seasoned nurse whom has knowledge power and informal leadership don't like you, then you are doomed.

When I don't understand something my preceptor does, I try to be meek and say something like" I've learned such and such different from you can you explain your rational"

At the end of the day we are responsible for our own behavior and not anyone else. I know I cannot change the attitudes of those on my unit, therefore I change mine. I've made up in my mind that some of the "mean" nurses I've come across are not God and cannot break me unless I allow them to. Most importantly, I've learned to pick and choose my battles.

Ruby, I think your post is spot on and I agree with you 100 percent. You've shared your views are new grads and what could be done better, now I'm asking for advice on how to deal with preceptors who truly are non-productive and down right nasty?

OnlybyHisgraceRN, ASN, RN · Jul 16, 2012

Another part of the problem is that preceptors don't want to teach. Often preceptors are forced to precept without any training. This is absurb. I believe this sets up the new nurse for failure. If you are not motivated to teach then you wil have an attitude.

Preceptors should be paid more, given adequate training, and atleast have a choice.

OnlybyHisgraceRN, ASN, RN · Jul 16, 2012

Aaaaaaaaaand look who's beating this dead old horse again....BIG surprise >.
It was a great post, but I can't help to agree that it is beating a dead horse. It is nice to vent but once again lets focus on how we can individually change instead of expecting others to change. There will ALWAYS be "mean" nurses and "pretty" young, new grads who feel entitled to everything who are always on FB.

wanderlust99 · Jul 16, 2012

When I started off as a new nurse, we really did have a group of 5 women in their late 20s who were mean girls. So it was kind of like the seniors hazing the freshmen. Think of an ICU that hires 8 new grad nurses for their 20 bed unit and then there are about 10 nurses in their late 20s who have only been nurses for 5 years that think they're amazing and know it all....oh the stories of mean spiritness I could tell you. You would be shocked.

Now it's about 7 years later and I still know some of the girls who work in the unit, that started off with me as a new grad. NONE of the mean girls are there, they all married residents and are home with babies or became NPs or CRNAs. But I'm sure some of my group became mean/nasty know it alls themselves.

There is no doubt in my mind that new grads encounter some ****** nurses, because I encounter one weekly. Some of you (us) are such a pain the ass to deal with or give report to. It's embarrasing some days, that I have to justify some things to some certain nurses who I find to be so stupid and lazy...

Totally agree with you on the quiet person comment. I struck gold when I graduated, if I had waited a few years later I would have been so screwed!

pecanpies · Jul 16, 2012

I'm a new grad nurse who just started on a 10-bed critical care unit one month ago (my first actual day on the unit was June 13). My preceptor is fair, patient, and level-headed. She's also tough and doesn't let anything slide - and I'm incredibly glad for it. I do something stupid almost every day that am I there: things like spraying myself with tube feeds; having to re-check something because I forgot to write it down; walking to the Pyxis twice in 15 minutes because I didn't pull all my 8am meds at once - typical new grad mistakes that happen when it's chaotic on the unit and you let yourself get flustered. There are definitely times when my preceptor points out these errors and I feel dumb, but I'm happy that she does so. It's not my goal to just slide by. It's my goal to be an excellent nurse.

There are nurses on my unit who barely even acknowledge me and I'm sure don't know my name, and I'm OK with that. I'm in a position where I need to earn their respect, and I'm certainly not there yet. I intentionally applied for a challenging position. I KNEW there would be days I'd feel like an absolute idiot (turns out, it's most days!). I'm glad that no one's cutting me any slack because it's making me a better nurse, one mistake at a time. I'm sure there are new grads out there who expected (or thought they deserved) an easy ride, but that attitude isn't universal.

GitanoRN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 16, 2012

i'm glad that no one's cutting me any slack because it's making me a better nurse, one mistake at a time.

a wise person once said " experience is simply the name we give our mistakes" oscar wilde