Nurses continue to eat their young

Nurses Relations

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I am about done. Where I work there is this culture that allows for day shift nurses to be flat out ******* to the offgoing night shifters during report. It is a poisonous culture on my otherwise great unit.

It stands in such contrast to a few wonderful day shift nurses who will come in and help solve problems and are a calming presence.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

How does this equate to "eating their young"? Sounds like equal opportunity eating to me. A buffet of sorts.

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Specializes in Home Care.

In life you'll meet many people with bad attitudes

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I think more info is needed.....what constitutes "*********"?

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Nom Nom Nom

Inter-shift hostility is a whole different 'thing'... Just like inter-departmental hostility - AKA "hate the pharmacy, lab, housekeepers, etc" Actually, in a very weird twisted way, this promotes inTRAshift teamwork because of the need to sustain the "us against them" mentality. FWIW, this is not restricted to nursing or even healthcare. Happens in any work setting. It's human nature. Put any three people in a work setting and before long, two of them will decide that they can't stand the other person.

Skilled managers know how to deal with this. But that takes management training and development - which apparently has gone the way of the Dodo & $1.00 gasoline.

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Specializes in Anesthesia, ICU, PCU.

I don't think it's a NETY thing, they're probably just ****** because they've got 12 hours to go and you're going home :p Nonetheless, nursing seems to be a never-ending battle against negativity and bad moods. Bad moods from the ill and infirm are one thing, but when bad vibes are coming at you from all directions besides the patient it's particularly demoralizing. Fellow RNs, CNAs, RTs, the portable CXR guy, NOC interns, sometimes the oncoming shift. The thing with HCWs is we work with so many people that we're exposed to so many different personalities every day/night - you really have to be a great communicator. I'm a firm believer that most people in most walks of life are generally unhappy with their work. Could that be why they don't call it "a fun place to spend 1/3rd of your life" instead of "work"? Hmmm.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Those night shifters will eat anything.

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Specializes in MDS/ UR.
Those night shifters will eat anything.

Tobasco sauce livens it all up!

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

That's hot.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

If they are nasty to everyone in general then it isn't restricted to only the young ones. I ignore those with such negative energy. Just give report and get out. Let them wallow in their own self pity.

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Specializes in ER.

Shift change is a very vulnerable time for everyone. The night shift is exhausted, not firing on all cylinders, and ready to get the heck out of Dodge. The day shift just woke up and may have had an argument with a spouse, a teenager, or had to get a child off to daycare. Maybe they need another cup of coffee or breakfast.

These two groups of people collide in a wonderful half hour known as shift change, hand off, report. Night shift is may be barely articulate after 12 hours, and day shift is cranky and critical.

The best thing to do is to allow the maximum amount of grace toward the other shift, instead of attacking one another. They really should have courses on this in nursing school, it's a very common problem.

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They did talk about it with us in the last semester. On our unit it seems to be toward the younger nurses. I get what everyone is saying and it helps.

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