Nurses Eat Their Young

Not_A_Hat_Person, RN · Oct 20, 2018

In 10 years of nursing, I saw and experienced peer to peer bullying several times, particularly when I worked in Assisted Living and in Nursing Home Hell.

Yes, really. It happened. Call me a snowflake all you want.

angeloublue22, BSN, RN · Oct 20, 2018

I've had them try on me multiple times but very quickly fail and not try again. I've also seen it happen to other nurses and I shut that down too. I don't stand for it, for me or my teammates, whether it's another RN, LPN, CNA, etc. It's ridiculous. These are your team members that will have your back. Why some people feel that need to bully or yell at there coworkers is beyond me and it helps no one. I've seen absolute screaming matches take place. It's a bad situation for everyone.

Kaylight, MSN · Oct 20, 2018

I have been bullied multiple times. One job that I worked at was notorious for bullying. The whole hospital was toxic, and at my new job I have a charge nurse that likes to make my life miserable. It happens. Some hospitals are more toxic than others.

allnurses Guide · Oct 20, 2018

I have never been bullied either in nursing school or 15 years of nursing. I am not the sort of person who allows myself to be bullied. I confront bad behavior immediately and personally with the bad actor, a practice that has served me well.

Hppy

Chrispy11, ASN, RN · Oct 20, 2018

I've read about it in books and one here. Once with a Professor in nursing school, but it was a misogynist professor doing the bullying. I've been very fortunate in my new job, no bullies. I have seen threads on here and as a "newish" nurse concerned me over what I'd gotten myself into. I like the cartoon on page one of this thread. :)

HelloWish, ADN, BSN · Oct 20, 2018

I've been a nurse for 2.5 years. I have not experienced this except with one nursing professor to a small degree, but I also stood my ground and would not allow it. Otherwise, I think much of it has to do with the nurses attitude towards other people and their perspective of the world. Of course, I know there are real cases of this happening too.

OldDude · Oct 20, 2018

I think you might need to add more to this in order for us to help.
I've been in nursing for 26 years and nope never been bullied.

True this...it's up to the individual. Some people may think they've been bullied, some people may think they've received an ass chewing or some other negative interaction.

I work on the elementary school level. Although bullying is a serious subject, and with good intentions, the kids are being taught to identify and report it, but the pendulum has swung and the term is being applied to general discontent to where a student claims they've been bullied if someone cuts into their lunch line.

As new nurses grow and enter the work force...so too will these students. Hmmmm

Oldmahubbard · Oct 20, 2018

Yes. My response was to try harder and harder to please the bullies. It flopped. I was fired, thankfully.

Two nights later, the union called. They said that I was the sixth person in 2 years that didn't last in that position, and they wanted to know why.

I told them and gave names but it did no good.

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Oct 20, 2018

I was bullied once by a clinical nursing instructor that clearly had it out for a small group of us that were friends. She did mange to fail one of the four of us during clinical's in the group, the rest of us survived her lunacy despite all the obstacles she put in our way. This instructor even went so far as to question the credits we had already earned in an effort to get some disallowed and prevent our graduation. This was the fatal mistake the bully made. Questioning previous credits the final semester of school resulted in the three of us students that remained in her targeted group having meetings with the Dean of the program and the school Chancellor. Final result was we three graduated just fine, the student she failed in clinical's was readmitted the following semester to finish her last remaining clinical requirement and the instructor was not invited back.

brownbook · Oct 20, 2018

I spent so much time pondering this that I am now so hungry, I could literally eat a horse (or a new nurse, I suppose).

What a minute...now you've confused me. Did I use literally wrong?

decotes · Oct 20, 2018

I feel like some older nurses might have never been taught the social skills/conflict resolution that we as new nurses are now taught. I've worked with many nurses who recognize that their fellow older nurses are bullies. Just because younger generations have been taught that everyone deserves respect when spoken to does not constitute being called a snowflake. Respect is earned, not blindly given because you were here first. There are constructive ways to say things and there are rude ways to say things. Just because it's advice doesn't mean it's automatically kindly said.

JKL33 · Oct 20, 2018

I feel like some older nurses might have never been taught the social skills/conflict resolution that we as new nurses are now taught. I've worked with many nurses who recognize that their fellow older nurses are bullies. Just because younger generations have been taught that everyone deserves respect when spoken to does not constitute being called a snowflake. Respect is earned, not blindly given because you were here first. There are constructive ways to say things and there are rude ways to say things. Just because it's advice doesn't mean it's automatically kindly said.

I'm not sure I understand - you feel that problems with communication are because nurses who were trained before you were not trained with the kind of skills you were?

I don't want to put words in your mouth - are you saying that newer nurses are able to successfully avoid inappropriate forms of communication because of their training? And they are better able to do this than previously trained nurses?

Thanks.