**nurses Who Eat Their Young Should Be Kicked To The Curb***

Published

We are in the realm of evidence based practice where nursing "traditions' have little value. This should translate over to the tradition of nurses who eat their young. We've all met them..usually middle aged with no significant other who pride themselves in being tough. Their attitudes are reflected in their slovenly appearances and of course they are great hands on nurses since they have little else in their worlds.

NP programs are no different. I've had clinical experiences with physicians and NP's alike and the physicians are professional, curteous and will correct me without the underlying insult. Most of the NP's have been rude or have ignored me and one went off on me. I threatened to sue the school if they didn't change my preceptor and they changed my assignment that day.

Those nurses (and NP's) are the reason that half the world doesn't view nurses as professionals. MBA's do not belittle students, interns or new employees. Neither do engineers or any other professionals. Many bright nurses have left the field because of these low lifes.

We should all make a concerted effort to stop this behavior in ourselves and other nurses. If they are rude or belittling, they should be told that if they want to be considered a professional...then act, dress and behave like one. If they don't listen, then administrators should be told and if necessary, they should be let go since they are making a mockery of the profession.

If you are young and starting out and your preceptor is a schmuck to you, then tell her to start looking and acting like a professional, report her to your supervisor or administration. Don't be intimidated and don't take it. It's time these "tough cookies" were kicked to the curb where they belong.

In today's world of evidence based practice...this has got to go.

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"Nurses Eat Their Young" as a stereotype has got to be kicked to the curb.

I entered nursing at 40 and have worked my entire adult life. In retail, waitressing and the hotel industry as a teen and in college. In the computer industry. As a secretary in a law firm and in a sales office. In the tourist industry. In Social Work (my first degree).

And I've met jerks in all walks of life. Nurses do not have a monopoly on that.

We ALL need to stand up for ourselves and not put up with being treated disrespectfully. And that needs to be taught AND practiced, starting at home.

steph

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I agree Steph. The "nurses eat their young" stereotype needs to stop. As a middle aged professional appearing and acting nurse, I say we deal with the individuals as they crop up.

Saying nursing is the only profession that does this certainly isn't true. Lawyers, MBAs and engineers all have people in them that "eat their young". Where did the phrase "it's a dog eat dog" world come from?

If we are looking at an evidenced based practice. I challenge anyone to do scientific research on us middle aged folks and confirm the stereotype that we eat our young and bring down the professional standards of nursing.

There are plenty of threads like this throughout the forum. I suggested to my fellow mods that we might not want to go down this road again, but then don't want an other thread "why do moderators always close down threads".

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Linking this person to those various threads is a good idea.

I was physically assaulted by a man with an MBA. I was physically threatened by a construction worker who didn't graduate from high school as I tried to intervene between he and his girlfriend as he was hitting her. I've worked with men and women who gossip in meanspirited ways, stab co-workers in the back, lie, cheat and steal.

I've known men and women from all walks of life who cheat on their spouses.

The human race is the human race . . . . . varied, good and bad.

steph

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

A good thread is here:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f118/survey-do-nurses-eat-their-young-15543.html?highlight=eat+their+young

Other threads are here. Obviously it's a widely heald perception, and indeed a problem worthy of discussion. However, we did decide to close this one with reference to the above and below threads, as well as others. Carry on. :)

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/my-first-young-eating-experience-210698.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f50/eating-their-young-just-mater-perception-210772.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/why-do-nurses-eat-their-young-195959.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/do-nurses-eat-their-young-189201.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f50/nurses-eat-their-young-rant-188764.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f15/eating-our-young-168288.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/nurses-dont-eat-their-young-179806.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f224/nurse-ate-me-her-young-im-still-paying-176897.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f17/eating-your-young-150337.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f224/older-nurses-jealous-new-young-nurses-159780.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/eating-their-young-12732.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/eating-our-young-ethics-180.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/nurses-eat-their-young-138886.html?highlight=eat+their+young

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Tweety!!! :w00t::w00t::thankya::bow:

steph

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Why was SuzieSunshine's thread closed? She made a very valid point. I feel the same way and I know several other young nurses who feel this way. I go to work to do my job, and I am in this profession to help my PATIENTS, not to deal with the dramas, intimidations, and schoolgirl games of nurses who eat their young.

I was told, when I approached my Nurse Educator about this during my orientation, that this is just how it is in the OR and if I couldn't hack it perhaps it wasn't for me. Who are these people to tell me what I can do and not do. My job description DID NOT state that I would have to feel degraded in front of residents and surgeons (whom may do whatever behind closed doors but never undermine each other in the OR). I fulfilled all the duties outlined by my job description and dealing with difficult personalities of some of the older nurses was no where in there.

This is a great forum for us, where we can share our experiences and support one another. This is GREATLY LACKING in the nursing profession. Yes this type of stuff happens in other professions, but not to this degree. MY mother has a business, and deals with other businesses on a daily basis. I have seen how she treats her staff, even the ones who don't perform as she would like. Everyone is entitled to being treated fairly and with dignity. I have worked in other places and environments and I've never experienced the backstabbing, the degrading, the gossiping, the rudeness in any other profession to the degree it happens in Nursing.

I have had several nurses who have witnessed how I have been treated, who have come up to me QUIETLY and said its horrible what has been going on here. I have witnessed other nurses being in my position. Yes it happens, it happens to a lot of nurses, but that doesn't make it right.

I don't give a flying **** about nursing traditions, and how it used to be. We have evolved, in Canada every nurse that graduates has a four Year Degree. It makes me so angry when I see how badly nurses treat each other. Its just not right, we are professionals, we work hard, and we deserve better.

You can close, and delete all the posts, but they will only keep coming back, unless we start doing somethign about this issue. It is a huge issue, and needs to be dealt with, NOT SWEPT UNDER THE RUG, OR JUST ACCEPTED AS JUST BEING THE WAY IT IS (As my nurse educator advised me to do.)

user_online.gif report.gif progress.gif edit.gif

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Perpetuating the stereotype (nurses eating their young) does nothing to solve the problem.

And as Tweey pointed out on the closed thread, there are numerous threads on the subject.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I appreciate your comments and didn't mean for you to interpret as a stifling of the discussion.

See my post there, I linked quite a few ongoing discussions.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Here's the post I made to that thread:

A good thread is here:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f118/survey-do-nurses-eat-their-young-15543.html?highlight=eat+their+young

Other threads are here. Obviously it's a widely heald perception, and indeed a problem worthy of discussion. However, we did decide to close this one with reference to the above and below threads, as well as others. Carry on. :)

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/my-first-young-eating-experience-210698.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f50/eating-their-young-just-mater-perception-210772.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/why-do-nurses-eat-their-young-195959.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/do-nurses-eat-their-young-189201.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f50/nurses-eat-their-young-rant-188764.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f15/eating-our-young-168288.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/nurses-dont-eat-their-young-179806.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f224/nurse-ate-me-her-young-im-still-paying-176897.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f17/eating-your-young-150337.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f224/older-nurses-jealous-new-young-nurses-159780.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/eating-their-young-12732.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/eating-our-young-ethics-180.html?highlight=eat+their+young

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/nurses-eat-their-young-138886.html?highlight=eat+their+young

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Why was SuzieSunshine's thread closed? She made a very valid point. I feel the same way and I know several other young nurses who feel this way. I go to work to do my job, and I am in this profession to help my PATIENTS, not to deal with the dramas, intimidations, and schoolgirl games of nurses who eat their young.

I was told, when I approached my Nurse Educator about this during my orientation, that this is just how it is in the OR and if I couldn't hack it perhaps it wasn't for me. Who are these people to tell me what I can do and not do. My job description DID NOT state that I would have to feel degraded in front of residents and surgeons (whom may do whatever behind closed doors but never undermine each other in the OR). I fulfilled all the duties outlined by my job description and dealing with difficult personalities of some of the older nurses was no where in there.

This is a great forum for us, where we can share our experiences and support one another. This is GREATLY LACKING in the nursing profession. Yes this type of stuff happens in other professions, but not to this degree. MY mother has a business, and deals with other businesses on a daily basis. I have seen how she treats her staff, even the ones who don't perform as she would like. Everyone is entitled to being treated fairly and with dignity. I have worked in other places and environments and I've never experienced the backstabbing, the degrading, the gossiping, the rudeness in any other profession to the degree it happens in Nursing.

I have had several nurses who have witnessed how I have been treated, who have come up to me QUIETLY and said its horrible what has been going on here. I have witnessed other nurses being in my position. Yes it happens, it happens to a lot of nurses, but that doesn't make it right.

I don't give a flying **** about nursing traditions, and how it used to be. We have evolved, in Canada every nurse that graduates has a four Year Degree. It makes me so angry when I see how badly nurses treat each other. Its just not right, we are professionals, we work hard, and we deserve better.

You can close, and delete all the posts, but they will only keep coming back, unless we start doing somethign about this issue. It is a huge issue, and needs to be dealt with, NOT SWEPT UNDER THE RUG, OR JUST ACCEPTED AS JUST BEING THE WAY IT IS (As my nurse educator advised me to do.)

user_online.gif report.gif progress.gif edit.gif

Sandlewood:

This is my take, as well. It truly is part of the nursing environment and I would suspect, very hard to change it. (Could you change all the swearing that goes on with auto mechanics?) I think if it's hard to take, and I agree it is, try to find a work environment where these screaming harpies don't exist. Not everybody is this way. Definitely, there is a lot of "interactional dysfunction" out there. Let's face it, lots of people have personal issues that make them abusive to other people. If the environment is one in which they can get away with it, they will. Some will even if the environment doesn't tolerate it. A lot of people are unhappy, a lot of people are mean. It's a blessing to work with sweet, kind people. It can be done! I don't buy that it's because nursing is a stressful job for one minute. Being a human being, particularly in this society is also very stressful. But I can honestly say I have never met as many nasty people as I have in nursing school, mostly the instructors. I have also made life-long friends whom I adore. It's very hard to deal with people who don't feel that being pleasant to other people is very important. Just imagine how hard it is to be one of those people! Admittedly, this doesn't help very much, though. I've heard that ER staffs are particularly congenial, though I don't know. Now, here's a good thread to start: Which departments in a hospital have the best and worst environments in which to work? If Only I could locate that "New Thread" icon! Meanwhile, at the end of the day, the most important thing in life, I believe, is how we treat other people.

Diahni

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I appreciate your comments and didn't mean for you to interpret as a stifling of the discussion.

See my post there, I linked quite a few ongoing discussions.

Hello,

Thank you for your response. I don't like stereotypes myself. I don't believe all experiened or even most experienced nurses eat their young. But it is part of "the culture" I have repeatedly been told. Thats not good enough for me, someone who is relatively new to nursing. In school we were taught to act as professionals, which I do.

Really my concern is about talking opening about this issue, so that more nurses (including experienced nurses who don't like bieng stereotyped) will have confidence in standing up for themselves AND EACH OTHER!! Its nice when a nurse will come up and tell me quietly that another nurse behaved very badly towards me, and she sympathizes. Its another thing to stand up for each other and say thats not acceptable, this is a professional place of work and harassment of coworkers will not be tolerated, regardless of experience. It would be nice if they could say this and not feel threatened about their job, as I have been told by nurses who feel bad about how newer nurses, or other coworkers are treated in general.

You are right, there are many posts on this already however, and I do urge people to look at those before making new posts.

I hope this clears up any misunderstanding.

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