Nurse eating their young?

Nurses Relations

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I am a new nurse and there is a night nurse ...who is so rude (to me). Every time I give her report she cuts me off abruptly. And doesn't even let me finish a sentence. And its not like I talk slowly or giving irrelevant information. What is her deal? Or is it just me?

Me: "Mr. X is on telemetry monitoring..."

Her: Abruptly interrupting.."whats the heart rate?"

In another instance

Me: New Admission, Mr. B is currently undergoing chemotherapy and reported lack of appetite...."

Her...Abruptly interrupts me again "Did you give him anything?"

Me: ....patient is receiving an appetite stimulant (megace)..

Her: What else? Skin intact?

She doesnt let me finish the sentence...I feel like she's testing me or something.

Frustration ensues....

Also she looks like she could care less about what I'm saying.....

Specializes in Acute Care Cardiac, Education, Prof Practice.

Politely ask her to let you give report. I am glad we do phone recorded report now and I don't have to deal with that passive aggressive crap anymore.

Seriously, if the mood struck me, I might just look at her and ask if she prefer I just skip report all together!

Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

This is not "eating their young". This is just basic rudeness. Don't give it any more credit than it deserves.

I found that if I flat out say " do you want to listen to report from me or should I just leave and let you figure it out" pretty much does the trick.

Be bigger than that, no matter how hard it is. I have gotten the same thing. I just pause, answer the ?, then continue with my report. The pauses allow the rudeness to stand out. After a few days of this her own best bud was telling her to shut up.

Sorry you have to endure this. And I am speaking from recent experience.

Specializes in psych/addictions/liaison.
Me: New Admission, Mr. B is currently.....

New nurse came on duty - personality is a festering bag of septic pus......

new nurses are definitely eaten. lol

i work as an aide on a telemetry unit. one day they gave the new grad 6 patients. she had 2 isolation rooms out of the 3 iso's that were on the unit that day. most of her patients were heavy. it got to the point where she actually got so frustrated and cried. but she still went on the rest of the day, but talking about the other nurses behind their backs to me. hehe

Reading stories like this motivate me to be a great nurse. I made a promise to myself that I will never be the rude, selfish, jealous, nurse. I will answer any appropriate question without saying you should know this, or omg you don't know how to do this or that. I love helping people when I have time.

Specializes in CVICU.

The next time she cuts you off, I'd say, "Ok, you obviously have a way you want report so instead of me telling you, I'll just answer whatever questions you ask. If you miss any pertinent details, I hope you will look them up in the chart so that the care is complete". And then I would just sit and look at her until she's either asking questions or catching flies with her mouth.

I have to offer this caution, however - as a new nurse you may not realize if you're rambling or that she may be trying to guide you in a way to give report in a concise, coherent manner. You might try asking her if there's some problem with the way you are reporting off, because you might learn something.

Then again, she might just be a raging *****. You never know.

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

no, this isn't nurses eating their young. it could be just blatant rudeness. or it could be a senior nurse attempting to guide you in giving a clear and concise report. the only way you're going to know for sure is to talk with her about it.

There is never an excuse for rudeness. If nothing else, its unprofessional.

I have seen this (and honestly probably been a part of) this same dynamic before -

That being said : On our floor... we complete "RANDS" some people call them KARDEXes ... and essentially contains most of the info any nurse would want to know. We also keep copies of new orders on the front of the MARs- so the nurse comming on can see what has been ordered that shift. The shift coming on get the RANDS and the MARs about 10 minuets before report is given, Allowing me to start my report with a simple "Any questions?" and frequently the answer is no. This is how I like for report to go :)

On the other hand... I frequently feel like i am receiving extraneous reports from the shift leaving. It is as if they are venting and decompressing from their shift, and even small talking with me, or with another nurse while I wait for them. Just the facts please. If nothing is abnormal or requiring immediate attention, Just let me get started. The very first thing I do is check the MAR and the chart, and glance @ the H&P, I gonna do this no matter in depth report is given.

Dont get me wrong, I am by no means justifying how ****** that nurse was to you.... I have definitely been there, feeling unnecessarily grilled, like I being quizzed for absolutely no good reason.

I guess the point I am getting @ is questioning whether report is worth the the 30mins plus it takes...

Best of luck:redpinkhe

I always try to keep my report to the point and we use SBAR hands off communication, this nurse is just plain rude as others put it. I never seem to have a problem with my report with the other nurses. Thanks for the advice.

Specializes in Mental health, substance abuse, geriatrics, PCU.

Yup, some nurses are just like that during report. Three things you can do:

1. Ignore her questions and continue on with what you're saying, if she has any common sense she'll get the point and be quiet and listen to what you're trying to tell her.

2. Say something along the lines of "Well, just let me finish my sentence and your questions will be answered." Don't be nasty just matter of fact.

3. Ask her for feedback on your report, some nurses just want the main points wham, bam, thank you ma'am type of report. She may have some insight on how to make your reports more efficient. After all there's nothing wrong with constructive criticism and we all have room to improve.

Best of luck!

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