Nurses eating their young

Nurses General Nursing

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Everyone has heard this: Nurses eat their young. What I want to know is; why?

As a group we have the power to change our behavior and the culture of nursing, so why does this happen? Do we resent new grads having it a little easier than us? Are scared of their knowledge? (stuff they learned in school, that we had to learn on our own.)

How and what do we do to change this?

Anyway, if we could identify and talk about possible reasons...we might find new ways to change how we do stuff.

All of us above a certain age have experienced ageism, and I don't like it one bit! So is "eating our young" a similar form of discrimination?

Your thoughts and advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Specializes in LTC, Med-Surge, Ortho.

I believe the problem is the fact that preceptors are given their normal patient load and having the task of precepting a new nurse to the facility, adds more stress to an already stressful shift. Some preceptors are frustrated because in reality, they are doing two jobs in one shift. It is more stressful when it is a new graduate with no nursing experience at all. Facilities should have preceptors who just precept and they should not be given a full 5 to 6 patient assignment. So, new nurses think that they are disliked but in actuality, it is the frustration and pressure that makes some preceptors seem unkind. On the other hand, some preceptors do not have the gift or patience to teach, therefore they should not be required to do so. Facilities should only use the nurses who are willing and love to teach. This is just my perspective.:nurse:

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eating-smileys-emoticons34.gif nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom
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Specializes in CVSICU, Cardiac Cath Lab.

Because they replaced all of the Coca-Cola and Snickers bars in the vending machines with Vitamin Water Zero and rice cakes.

*wine

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It isn't just seasoned nurses (I think their names are Rosemary and Basil) chowing down on the newbies. Sometimes the newbies do their own version of chomping. And the young 'uns sometimes take a bite out of each other. As do the older stewing hens.

No one should be snacking on a co-worker. If you have a complaint, handle it like an adult. We don't need to worry about other professions giving us guff when we can be our own worst enemies.

Let's all of us go on a co-worker abstinence program and take a bite out of . . . disrespect. :D

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Specializes in Neuro ICU.
tl:dr (scroll to last sentence for the abridged version.)

when you are new, you are bright eyed and bushy tailed. you are immune to office or floor politics. you have a temporary force-field that repels cynicism and absorbs knowledge/skills with enthusiasm.

to some, all of the smiles, curiosity, and mistakes resulting from being inexperienced are irritating and possibly threatening.

my first ever preceptor was irritated by the fact that i needed a rationale for everything. i wanted to know why something was done a certain way. while i realize this was not conducive to time management, i still think her reaction of "you're a nurse not a physician"..was less than helpful. there were others in the bunch who did not take kindly to my question asking mainly because they did not know the answers to said questions ;)

there were a handful of nurses who met my curiosity with kindness and direction. they (even when swamped) when out of their way to teach me or guide me in the right direction. yes, they were stressed and overworked; but they also knew if they taught me something, i wouldn't be asking the same question again. the best nurse who ever mentored me in the workplace copied a few scholarly articles from journals and told me the answers were somewhere buried in the text.

my point here is:

if the new-grad is open to learning, has a great work ethic, and shows signs of progress at the appropriate times...you should thank your lucky stars they were hired to be in your dept. even if said new-grad is awkward, takes too much time at the omnicell/pyxis, asks too many questions etc... enrich their beginnings in nursing and they will remember you always. they will also become a more competent nurse!

i think the problem is certainly multi-faceted. but remember no one was born an expert in anything. eventually, you might have to rely on that once incompetent new-grad to be your wingman when the sh*t hits the fan.

we're all in this together people.

love it!!!

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I believe the problem is the fact that preceptors are given their normal patient load and having the task of precepting a new nurse to the facility, adds more stress to an already stressful shift. Some preceptors are frustrated because in reality, they are doing two jobs in one shift. It is more stressful when it is a new graduate with no nursing experience at all. Facilities should have preceptors who just precept and they should not be given a full 5 to 6 patient assignment. So, new nurses think that they are disliked but in actuality, it is the frustration and pressure that makes some preceptors seem unkind. On the other hand, some preceptors do not have the gift or patience to teach, therefore they should not be required to do so. Facilities should only use the nurses who are willing and love to teach. This is just my perspective.:nurse:

100% my opinion too.

I think grads and students expect every nurse will want to teach and add that into their work load which is heavy enough. Being pulled in different directions does not bring out the best in me. So, if that means I am one of those "who eat their young" then I'll gladly raise my hand and admit to it.

Students and grads can thank the hospitals for not employing enough staff development nurses and clinical preceptors. The $$ is more important to the hospital than the grads and students. Exepcting the ward nurses to do all the teaching, mentoring, support, damage control is why so many feel like they are "the eaten young".

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:yeah:

They taste like chicken...

bahahahah!

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Specializes in Long Term Care.

Hi all. Here is an excellent article on this very topic. It has some good insight and ideas on how to curtail bullying behavior. Thoughts?

http://www.nursezone.com/nursing-news-events/more-news/Preventing-Nurse-Bullying_37282.aspx

Steve Agee (first year nursing student)

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I don't agree that nurses eat their young.

Some nurses are rude, and be-littling to ANY other nurse that they perceive as "weaker".

That would be someone new, quiet, demur,...etc.

They do this because there is no one else who will accept this kind of behavior ...BUT a peer.

These kind s of attitudes cannot be changed.:twocents:

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I told myself I would never treat a student or nurse the way I was treated when I was a student nurse and new grad. I hope to make a difference in the eyes of a new grad or student so they can treat others kindly in return. I do not think it is a matter of experienced nurses, younger nurses can be vicious too. The nursing culture is unsupportive from the beginning: nursing school. Some professors are the epitome of eating their young for many reasons. I had professors that have not worked the floor in twenty plus years and awful, mean professors. While in nursing school, we experienced this behavior from multiple areas. Hopefully this culture will change before more burnout occurs.

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Excellent article. Thank you for sharing. :D

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:lol2::lol2::lol2: Too funny !

I don't believe nurses eat their young, I just believe there are some mean nasty nurses out there from the ones with the least experience to the ones with the most. Nurses eat each other, period.

I hear ya, seen it, dealt with it in person just this week. Usually it's someone who seems to have a lot of confidence and can't relate to a newbie feeling intimidated and unsure...maybe they just flew, like being really good at english or math?

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