Poor treatment of students, by nurses

Nursing Students General Students

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I can normally shrug a lot of stuff off and not let anything bother me, but I have noticed more and more lately that the nurses on the units we go to are just plain nasty....nasty to us, nasty to each other, nasty to anyone and everyone. Why in the world does management put up with this behavior? I don't care if they are a warm body filling a position, I personally would not want to work on a unit with these types of people. I have always said this, no matter what type of job or profession it is, but if you aren't happy in what you do for a living then GET OUT and find something else to do. Miserable making 35.00/hour on a weekend shift? Go try working retail for 8.00/hour and then maybe you'll appreciate that HUGE paycheck you're getting.

Okay, thanks for letting me vent. lol

My experiences have been overwhelmingly positive, but they've also almost all been at a teaching hospital which I truly think makes a difference. The ONE nurse I can think of who was truly nasty to me was just a generally unpleasant person to everyone, according to my instructor who I talked to after this nurse refused to even acknowledge me for a good half hour after I was assigned to her (didn't look at me, talk to me, answer questions, explain anything, etc). So I don't know, maybe I've been lucky but I just haven't had that problem so much. My point is, they're not all bad. I think they're mostly good. It really does depend on the unit and hospital though - every hospital has different expectations, and every unit has a different "feel" and set of unspoken rules about behavior, so I don't doubt that you really will find somewhere you do feel wanted and appreciated, either as a student or as a new grad.

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I've run into grumpy nurses during clinicals, and no way would I stay out of their way. The more attitude I felt from them, the bigger and more stupid my smiles would be as I approached them about our patients. They HAD to deal with me.

Most days ended well. My primary goal was providing the best care I could to my patients and their families that day. My next goal was to have the best learning experience I could. I could give a RIP what the nurse thought of me. I worked hard, and was professional every step of the way. I didn't sit in their chairs and I stayed out of their breakroom.

Again, there were few negative moments. I did keep in mind that some nurses just didn't care for students. I was respectful, but I didn't take their garbage, either.

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Thanks so much for the responses. We have actually had 2 students quit the program just because they can't stand the thought of having to deal with all the drama that goes on in the hospitals. I'm halfway through the program and wonder sometimes if I even want to be a nurse....as these women who have been treating us so poorly have definitely made me give things a second thought.

I was raised that you treat people the way you want to be treated, with respect, and to have to be treated like we are the dirt on the bottom of their shoes is just very degrading to me. You just have to wonder how they are raising their own children.......

I really hope that I don't sound nasty with this comment, but I cannot even imagine the level of immaturity in someone would would quit the nursing program for these reasons! I know that I've worked too hard and hoped too long for this opportunity to give up on it for ANY reason! If this treatment seems harsh, wait until you see how some patients will treat you! On the whole, nurses are overworked and underappreciated.

This would make anyone grouchy. And while it may seem that the presence of student nurses would relieve some of their workload, in reality, it probably increases it.

The comment about how they are raising their own children just plain makes me mad! :angryfire This should not even be a comparison! They aren't there to raise you! They are there to allow you to gain very needed experience and I for one plan to be grateful for the opportunity!

Sorry to have vented so much, but I guess having waited this many years to realize the dream of a lifetime gives me a little different perspective.

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I really hope that I don't sound nasty with this comment, but I cannot even imagine the level of immaturity in someone would would quit the nursing program for these reasons! I know that I've worked too hard and hoped too long for this opportunity to give up on it for ANY reason! If this treatment seems harsh, wait until you see how some patients will treat you! On the whole, nurses are overworked and underappreciated.

This would make anyone grouchy. And while it may seem that the presence of student nurses would relieve some of their workload, in reality, it probably increases it.

The comment about how they are raising their own children just plain makes me mad! :angryfire This should not even be a comparison! They aren't there to raise you! They are there to allow you to gain very needed experience and I for one plan to be grateful for the opportunity!

Sorry to have vented so much, but I guess having waited this many years to realize the dream of a lifetime gives me a little different perspective.

Pardon me, but I am 43 years old and don't expect anyone to RAISE me. These were both grown women, not children, so don't assume you know the situation. I did not generalize and say that EVERY nurse in EVERY hospital acts this way, what I did say was that MY experience has been AWFUL. My clinical group's experience has been awful. They have not been helpful to us in any way, shape, or form......and thankfully our clinical instructors have witnessed it.

Are you a nursing student currently?

Overworked and underappreciated and being paid 35.00 an hour........that should make anyone appreciate their job at this day and age.

I can go on and on, but as an adult I will choose to bite my tongue and end it here......

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Specializes in DOU.

The nurses in my first clinical rotation were mostly awful. One of them actually PUSHED one of my fellow students out of the way (not an emergency situation, just plain rude and aggressive). I was able to avoid their wrath, however. I think this was mostly because I was taller than most of them, and also older than most of the students.

That hospital is not on my list of places I am applying after school. I worked with *nice* nurses in other hospitals.

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.

Ah, yes, I remember it well:

Several of my classmates and I arrived for our first day of clinicals on a VERY busy Medical Unit, to find that the Charge Nurse had given us a full load of patients (we were only supposed to have one patient apiece and work from 6:45-10:00). When our Clinical Instructor found out, she HIT the ceiling. Her face was beet RED with anger as she coldly informed the Charge Nurse: "The ANA abolished staffing of hospitals by student nurses back in 1965". She was still fuming after we went to class later that morning, "sick of the abuse" of student nurses by this hospital's nursing staff. :angryfire

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Overworked and underappreciated and being paid 35.00 an hour........that should make anyone appreciate their job at this day and age.

Sometimes the salary is high because the job is miserable, for whatever reason. It wouldn't be worth it to me to work in such a toxic environment. I believe you said it yourself....you were not even considering working there due to the environment, regardless of the pay.

I'm no spring chicken, and like you I went to nursing school 'later'. I had a lot of experience in the work world. But I was very conscious of the fact that I knew NOTHING about the nursing world and I needed to learn from the professionals who were there. It was hard to remember that the 22 year old nurse knew more about it than I did, even though I was fifteen years older than she was. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it might behoove one to try to refrain from judgement and learn as much as possible about what one will want and not want in a nursing career.....A bad situation can teach us as much as a good one.

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Specializes in Cardiac.

Overworked and underappreciated and being paid 35.00 an hour........that should make anyone appreciate their job at this day and age.

Clueless.

Everyone thinks that they know what nursing is going to be like. Your statement that I've quoted is laughable. I wonder, how long have you been bedside nursing?

As a nurse, am I overworked? Yes.

Am I under appreciated? Absolutely.

Do I always appreciate the way my job makes me feel? Or do some nurses worry about how long they will be able to keep their licenses in most bedside work environments?

If you make it in beside nursing, you will be able to answer those questions on your own.

Until then, please refrain from the simplistic judgements of why we 'overpaid' nurses should be grateful. Wait until you see the real world, because it's a whole heck of a lot more stressful then your worst day in nursing school.

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On some clinical rotations I found staff nurses to be cold and unwelcoming but I also found the same treatment when new to the job. Take in your observations of how these nurses act, toward the students and in general, and remember this when you are applying for jobs once you graduate. But don't make the mistake of eliminating a place of employment based on your interactions with some nurses on some units at a certain point in time in a certain circumstance. You could miss out on the job of a lifetime.

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Clueless.

Everyone thinks that they know what nursing is going to be like. Your statement that I've quoted is laughable. I wonder, how long have you been bedside nursing?

As a nurse, am I overworked? Yes.

Am I under appreciated? Absolutely.

Do I always appreciate the way my job makes me feel? Or do some nurses worry about how long they will be able to keep their licenses in most bedside work environments?

If you make it in beside nursing, you will be able to answer those questions on your own.

Until then, please refrain from the simplistic judgements of why we 'overpaid' nurses should be grateful. Wait until you see the real world, because it's a whole heck of a lot more stressful then your worst day in nursing school.

You sound angry that I made a statement about what I have experienced. This was not directed at YOU personally, so please refrain from calling me clueless. As stated previously, I am 43 years old and have many LIFE experiences although they do not include bedside nursing....thus, the reason I am a nursing STUDENT. I currently work full time in the corporate world, in upper management, and I would be fired immediately and so would anyone who works on my team, for treating someone as disrespectfully as the things I have witnessed on clinicals. Every job and, for that matter, every situation in life can be stressful. Does that make it acceptable to be rude and condescending to others who are tying to learn?

So, on that note, I apologize for anyone who misreads or misunderstands my post. I am not generalizing and clumping all nurses into the same category.....go back and read through my postings to clarify what I have said.

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. You could miss out on the job of a lifetime.

I love this remark!

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Hey, it's entirely possible! Like maybe one chance out of a million! But still possible! He, he.

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