Hello fellow nurses. I have been an intermediate care nurse for 7 years- work on a very busy floor. I originally pursued nursing in my early '30s after having my kids. The nurse that I knew growing up were all very wonderful women (it was the '70s), who always had great senses of humor, and just were a joy to be around. They seemed to "get it". I aspired to be like them. Nursing seemed to have something of everything, and was a great opportunity to give to others, and also receive good things.
I have found in my time as a nursing student and also as a nurse, that my view was probably naïve. Most of the people I have encountered in my field are not very self-actualized, professionals who are great to be around.
My biggest complaint is what I have to go through at the shift report/hand-off. When I am reporting off to co-workers, I encounter some of the ugliest behavior in the form of passive-aggressiveness, eye-rolling, questioning, fixating on something that is beyond my control, quizzing me on something that I may not know the answer to- you get it.
I try to tweak my reports and individualize to the nurse I am handing off to, but sometimes, there is just no pleasing certain people.
I get that it isn't fun to leave our families and come in to work. I get that shift work is hard, and nursing is also hard work. I just don't understand why we are so horrible to each other. I also observe by listening to some of these co-workers talk about themselves, that I'm dealing with big egos. I love what I do- the patients are great. Just a little difficult to deal with the immature, too much ego or lack thereof in the co-workers. Can anyone offer how I can improve myself? Ways to make this easier?
Hello fellow nurses. I have been an intermediate care nurse for 7 years- work on a very busy floor. I originally pursued nursing in my early '30s after having my kids. The nurse that I knew growing up were all very wonderful women (it was the '70s), who always had great senses of humor, and just were a joy to be around. They seemed to "get it". I aspired to be like them. Nursing seemed to have something of everything, and was a great opportunity to give to others, and also receive good things.
I have found in my time as a nursing student and also as a nurse, that my view was probably naïve. Most of the people I have encountered in my field are not very self-actualized, professionals who are great to be around.
My biggest complaint is what I have to go through at the shift report/hand-off. When I am reporting off to co-workers, I encounter some of the ugliest behavior in the form of passive-aggressiveness, eye-rolling, questioning, fixating on something that is beyond my control, quizzing me on something that I may not know the answer to- you get it.
I try to tweak my reports and individualize to the nurse I am handing off to, but sometimes, there is just no pleasing certain people.
I get that it isn't fun to leave our families and come in to work. I get that shift work is hard, and nursing is also hard work. I just don't understand why we are so horrible to each other. I also observe by listening to some of these co-workers talk about themselves, that I'm dealing with big egos. I love what I do- the patients are great. Just a little difficult to deal with the immature, too much ego or lack thereof in the co-workers. Can anyone offer how I can improve myself? Ways to make this easier?