New specialty bullying?

Specialties General Specialties

Updated:   Published

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Hi! I’m wondering if anyone has changed specialties and encountered passive aggressiveness / bullying from other nurses? 

I’ve been a medsurg/Tele nurse for 3 years. I also have some experience in outpatient same day procedures. I recently made the change to the ED. I have been encountering problems passive aggressiveness from some of the ED nurses. It’s unprovoked. They’ll make comments to me as they walk by or just flat out tell me they don’t know how I can work the floor without having critical care in my background. They act like an inpatient nurse, I never worked my butt off. I ignore it but it’s starting to irritate me.

If you have experienced anything like this, how did you handle it? 

Specializes in Med-Surg, Tele, Outpatient Procedures, ER.
1 hour ago, Dani_Mila said:

Its funny how they talk about how you can work in the ED without a critical care background. How about their background? They probably started off there and had been working there for awhile. You have at least, experience in med/surge and outpatient. Ignore the bullies, because they have nothing better to do. I for one had experience with bullies and I ignored them and just focused on my work. They didn't last long at my job. 

You are totally right. I would hear, “I started off in the ED and I’ve been here for 20 years. I haven’t done anything else”. Okay…. So you were a new nurse in the ED? I have been a nurse and worked the floor first. I don’t get why they feel the need to make themselves feel better, I guess? But Youre right, ignoring them has been the best solution. 

Specializes in Cardiology.

Floor nurses always get disrespected by ER and ICU nurses (may not be all the nurses that work in those areas but there are always some). It's an inferiority complex. Just keep working your tail off. Ask questions. Show that you want to learn. Kill them with kindness (they always hate that). 

Specializes in Cardiology.
On 10/28/2021 at 8:53 PM, Dani_Mila said:

Its funny how they talk about how you can work in the ED without a critical care background. How about their background? They probably started off there and had been working there for awhile. You have at least, experience in med/surge and outpatient. Ignore the bullies, because they have nothing better to do. I for one had experience with bullies and I ignored them and just focused on my work. They didn't last long at my job. 

Yet every ER hires new grads now LOL. Same with the ICUs. I've met my fair share of ER and ICU nurses who were less than stellar yet had the gall to call out someone else. You are right though. Those nurses tend to leave and not last because they are never happy. 

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