KelRN24

I totally agree with Ruby Vee....it also has been my experience that there has been a shift in nursing - to some extent gone are the days where people chose to be a nurse becasue they had a desire to care for patients and were truly there at the bedside for others not themselves. I have had several student nurses and new grads tell me they went to nursing school because the money is good and there will always be a need for nurses - "they won't get laid off." with this kind of mentality and believing that being a nurse is easy and having unrealistic expectations when they finally get to their first nursing job sets them up for believing that constructive criticism is nurses being mean or hateful. Nursing school does not teach you everything you need to know about nursing! Conversely, I have seen seasoned nurses with solid experience start a new position and the nurses (young and old) being difficult, unsupportive and down right mean. It happens at all levels. It baffles my mind that in a climate of very acutely ill patients, high acuity assignments and short staffing, why nurses would not be supportive of others and welcoming a new nurse to their unit. The challenge for us is being the nurse that does not participate in this behavior and standing up for the new nurse or intervene when witnessing a situation.

Nurse Smiley and others, my CNO is in the midst of getting that book out to the clinical leadership for us to read. I have read experts and it sounds great!

Great points and it is bas as it sounds...in fact the profession has often joked that nurses eat their young, as if it is a positive thing, a badge of strength and power. I agree that there is a fear component to this behavior and often the nurses that are guilty of being mean and unsupportive are insecure or lack confidence in their practice and a new fresh perspective threatens their reality. Do these nurses truly advocate for their patients? Do they promote clinical excellence and evidence-based practice? Do they work collaboratively with all healthcare members to ensure the best possible outcomes? I think experienced nurses are in a great position to grow and cultivate nursing practice and professionalism with new and even seasoned nurses. Unfortunately it is not only nurses that suffer, but patients also.

apparently, tweety men may not have dress codes in all places. and after reviewing the dress code policy in my own facility it is more geared to women than men without stating genders. they only reason i brought up the past was regarding the post that some men have replied to regarding being 'forced' to wear something such as a t-shirt. my only point is that it should be free of gender biases and apply to all. ~kelrn24 :redbeathe

i never said that wearing undergarments such as red underwear or no underwear at all was appropriate. i was being realistic; any person, male or female that does not follow the established dress code should be made aware per the occurrence. i think if nurses want to increase the amount of respect they receive perhaps appearing professional may improve their chances. ~kelrn24

now that is mature. my point is that dress-codes must not have gender biases like they have in the past. men do not take kindly to the mandates that women have had to conform to. ~kelrn24

it seems the men balk at being 'made' to wear an undershirt or mandated regarding their uniforms, but they forget that women have been mandated for years to wear certain things or more correctly not wear certain items with uniforms. how about nursing caps? have you ever seen a man wear one? i have seen women nurses be sent home for not wearing underwear (yes, it's true) or wearing inappropriate garments underneath white scrubs, shirts too low cut so that cleavage shows....so i am not sure it is much different. i don't think exposing cleavage inparticular is appropriate by nurses. it just asks for trouble not too mention the respect factor for the profession... ~kelrn24 whether a person is a male or female, a nurse is a nurse. ~gary veale

i too have learned to stay out of the way - when i was newer to ed nursing i was in the middle of the scuffle but now after being kicked in the head, grabbed by a drunk guy who would not let go and others, i have learned that it is not worth it. i recently had shoulder surgery which was most likely due to catching a patient that had a syncopal episode while trying to stand. he was a lot taller and heavier than i and i foolishly thought i could catch him! i would definitely think twice how i handle any of those situations...i am much too small in comparison to most patients to abuse my body the way i have in the past. i am certainly paying for it now. oh and by the way, workman's comp did not cover it either. :) ~kelrn24

meeshellrn, it is unfortunate that your employer did not provide the support that you needed. in a time where staffing is critical one would think that supporting staff would be a priority; certainly ensuring they are safe. verbal and physical abuse/violence is not apart of nursing. we as nurses should not have to take sefl-defense classes in order to care for their patients while protecting ourselves. ~kelrn24 "some people think that doctors and nurse can put scrambled eggs back into the shell" dorothy canfield fisher

good point avalonlake. i think it is all a matter of context. certainly a medical issue is quite different than that of a beligerent drunk or mean-spirited person that refuses to be cooperative and abuses the very people that are taking are of them. i had to have a man arrested that repeated hit and kick me and then proceeded to stalk me outside the er. unfortunately this line of work subjects nurses to patients' worse sides at time and in the ed especially it is commonplace, which it shouldn't be. ~kelrn24

chadash makes a good point....and that is why communication is so important. if any staff of any level do not know what the expectation is, then how can they be expected what and what not to say? [color=#483d8b]education and communiation....they go hand and hand. [color=#483d8b]~kelrn24 [color=#483d8b]life is better at the beach!

i agree with the posts on this thread. not only are patients' right to privacy with their health information being compromised, but can put patients in a position to be harmed or make poor medical decisions. i too have worked with cnas and techs in the ed more recently that have done this and it is very inappropriate. if something happened to the patient - a bad outcome due to their meddling, i am sure that a court of law what frown upon it as well. what always bothers me about situations like this, is that these people are working under the auspices of our license and we are ultimately responsibile for the patients and the unlicensed personnel that are working with us. i would have to lean towards writing episodes like this up...occurrence report in a factual manner. document, document, document! especially if it something that keeps happening. ~kelrn24 life is better at the beach!

hisblueskies, [color=#483d8b]i am also a cns student and live in an area where cnss are not utilized...yet. but anyway, my instructor/school allows us to work with cnss of course but also mds to get as many clinical experiences as we can. i am in my final year and am beginning to look for a preceptor for next fall now...don't give up! [color=#483d8b]~kelrn24 [color=#483d8b]life is better at the beach!

this is the funniest thing i have read in a long time that is actually related to nursing!!!!!!! what is worse i totally have been getting visuals in my head of chest hair hanging out of scrub tops! [ugh] i personally am not into hairy chests and prefer to see a t-shirt taming the fur :) [color=#483d8b]oh and thanks for teaching me a new term: manscaping....are you serious? lol [color=#483d8b]~kelrn24 [color=#483d8b]life is better at the beach!

mayana, [color=#483d8b]i can appreciate your interest in nursing and think that some of your personality traits would be 'positives' for beginning a nursing career. having said that i think it is wise to really explore nursing before you begin studying and preparing to be a nurse. please know that i am a self-appointed spokesperson/recruiter for nursing....we need more nurses! :) nursing school takes committment and time; it is not merely taking classes - its tough. but when you get finished and pass the nclex it is worth the hard work. [color=#483d8b]nursing itself is a challenging career but can be very rewarding. be prepared to do things you never thought you would do and see things you never could imagine. long shifts, short breaks, physical work and mentally challenging at times....but it can be the best thing you ever do. one patient can change your life. a family can push you and test your patience more than you know. ushering a new life in or watching another life die. there is so much more to nursing that i could not possibly write it all here. [color=#483d8b]my best advice to you would be to shadow a nurse. volunteer at a hospital. do something that puts you in a position to see for yourself what nursing is about. then ask yourself am i cut out for this? yes you can travel, you can work almost anywhere, doing many kinds of nursing. the nursing shortage is national. you'll know if it is for you...i promise you'll know. [color=#483d8b]i hope this helps... [color=#483d8b]~kelrn24 [color=#483d8b]life is better at the beach!