Nurses have an Attitude Problem

[SunriseDay]

Nurses have an attitude problem. They are catty, cliquey, think they know-it-all, don't care at all what you think (what they say is always right and final), dislike outsiders, newcomers and change, and most of all, rude. I cannot get along with any of them, which is different from other professions. Before you say "then why don't you choose a different career if you don't like it" in typical nursing rudeness/we are the best, the attitude is not appealing.

[Mavrick, BSN, RN]

Mavrick,

Happy now? You made me google! :-)

Jonas Grumby

Gosh aren't you and I too young for that show?

But of course! I've only seen the syndicated re-runs.

[kidzcare]

Somebody needs a cuddle.

Yeah, me.... You offering??

[hstutz86]

OP just so you know.. the difference between an expert nurse and a novice is wide. Excellent/Expert nurses have to get personal with patients to offer and provide life saving care. So, to say nurses have an attitude is an oxymoron. A nurse is not a nurse without the personal aspect of this profession and yes, I wont say job, its more than a job its a profession. If you come across a grumpy nurse its either she's not feeling well she's not yet an expert in the field. The expert nurses develop excellence because, of experience and personal patient care.

[OCNRN63, RN]

Now here's something fun.

What was the Skipper on Gilligan's Island character name?

Pffft...easy peasy. Alan Hale.

LOL, ETA I thought you were asking what his real life name was.

[OCNRN63, RN]

Continuing with Gilligan's Island, when Gilligan was portraying Hamlet in a play on the island, what was the piece of music he was singing to taken from. Hint: It's a popular opera.

This dumb episode has stuck in my head for some reason.

[OCNRN63, RN]

[nanananurse]

She's kind of got a point though... This is definitely NOT every nurse (or majority of nurses) but there truly is a good amount of nurses that act like this, and ruin it for the rest of us who are not catty or cliquey, etc. I come across these kinds of nurses very, very often.

[ns808]

Would you like some cheese with that whine?

[MegGusta]

I am sure you have notice by now, SunriseDay, that all of the "not rude" nurses have come out of the woodwork to scold you

While I do not condone generalizing that behavior to every nurse, as we would not do with race or ethnicity, I have encountered many similar nurses. I have actually met more polite or neutral nurses than mean ones, but I have also been deeply insulted and verbally attacked by tenured RNs with their noses in the proverbial air.

I have actually been so moved by the ire it caused me as to write an essay on the matter. I feel your frustration about the cliques and unwillingness to accept newcomers. I have seen my significant other publicly shamed by clinical instructors and preceptors and it burns my toast to a crispy, black dust! If the main objective of being a nurse is to provide thorough, collaborative care to our patients, why be so vituperative to future nurses?

We should do our best to remember that we all started from the bottom and it isn't about us, as individuals. If nobody provokes you, don't come out with your teeth sharpened and gnashing for virgin blood. Just because we don't have as many years under our belt doesn't mean you're better than us. If we never learn, who will care for the old, grumpy nurses when they need a bed pan?

TL;DR: There is undeniably a subculture of judgey, mean, vindictive turds in the nursing world. I see a lot of it between the second-bacs and the upper division students at my Uni. Unfortunately, some of them present even worse when they are behind the safety of a keyboard. It just doesn't apply to everyone and your statement came off as offensive to many of the respected and hard-working nurses on this forum. Although, some of them did kind of make a case for you xD

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Somebody needs a cuddle.

Or some OTHER action....

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

I am sure you have notice by now, SunriseDay, that all of the "not rude" nurses have come out of the woodwork to scold you

Or, react appropriately to the onslaught.

Out of curiosity, if a student were to go to the CNA message board and announce, rather nastily, that all CNAs were mean, catty, cliquish, know-it-alls, full of themselves....would you be perfectly fine with that? Or might you wonder what her point to posting on a message board full of CNAs might be--that it is INTENDED to annoy people? And might you think "This person has just rudely insulted me and everyone I work with without any provocation, what is HER problem?"

This wasn't posted on the Pre-Nursing Student forum, along with "this is happening to me, I'm having a real problem, what can I do to have things go better, what can I do to get along better with them?" Nope.

This was posted on the General Nursing Discussion forum, so it's quite clear that her/his intended audience was....nurses, the VERY group he/she was slamming so hard. Most people are just not going to take kindly to that

[NursesRmofun, ASN, RN]

Of course, your statements are generalizations....so, I am enjoying the replies! LOL Some are too funny! Actually though, nurses do know a lot...and if you say something that you believe is true and good info. and it's really not...you may get a "short" reply...and it may be you, at that point, that is totally off base. Nurses don't have time to explain why you are wrong in some situations. That said, on the other hand,...there are rude nurses (for no reason) like any other rude person....rude CNA's, rude LPNs, rude Doctors, rude PT's, rude RT's, OT's, and patients, etc., etc.!...Oh,...and I forgot rude students!