funmom

I hope you find a job soon. Have you tried looking at some other non-hospital settings like community health centers, group homes, health department clinics, or schools?

Sadly, not really. There are more learning opportunities in the way of degrees, continuing education, and inservices available. I still see a major lack of professionalism among some nurses. How can anything improve if this doesn't change? Nursing can be a great career if you are lucky enough to be able to make it work for you.

Just wanted to offer you some support. It seems like horizontal violence is becoming so widespread in nursing. It's sickening. Remember to take care of yourself and know how much you'll put up with. Your health should come first. If possible see if you can stick it out for the full year. After that, maybe you can find a better place to work at. To tyvin, I have also seen a case where other nurses tried to make it look like another nurse had become mentally unstable. What they did was much worse and scared the heck out of alot of people on our floor.

Laddering can be worth it. In my case, it gave me an extra pay raise after awhile. I would rather get the advanced degree though. A degree travels with you. Your education can never be taken away from you.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think that I will go ahead and put BSN on my nametag. It reminds me of how hard I worked for it and what I went through to get it.

What do you think about having 'BSN' put on your badge? My hospital never used to automatically put it on nurses' badges. Now, the new grads with BSNs have that automatically printed on. Other BSNs have decided to have this credential printed on their badges. It never made a difference to me but some people make a big deal about it. I'm trying to decide if I want to get my BSN credential printed on my badge. I heard one nurse say that it's snobbish. The nurse that said that was an LPN.

A coworker friend of mine is currently being harassed by a few nurses at work. I refused to participate in this and almost found myself a target too. Luckily my coworker has a good reputation at work and has friends there. I see what she's going through and it makes me sick to my stomach. I'm asking all other nurses to please watch the way you treat others. My friend carried this home with her and it affected her work, husband and kids, and career satisfaction. If you see this happening to other people, don't join in.

If you ever leave nursing, what career area would you go into? Or if you've ever picked up a second non-nursing job, what types of jobs have they been?

Cookie Monster, Going back for your BSN may be a good idea. The economy may have picked up by the time you graduate. As for job options, maybe you could try non-clinical positions or areas where you may not have envisioned yourself working until the hospitals and nursing homes in your areas have openings. Have you looked into insurance companies, clinics, doctors' offices, or corrections? Any nursing experience can be helpful. Good luck.

Some of the kindest people I have ever met have been nurses. However, some of the nastiest and most underhanded people I have ever met have been nurses, too. I know that backstabbing happens everywhere, but why is it so prevalent in nursing, especially hospital nursing? Is it the kind of people that are attracted to the profession or is the problem rooted in the the hospitals or management? I'm curious. Just wanted to throw this question out there.

I don't know if there are any online PhD Nursing programs for non-nurses. However, the University of Washington offers an on-campus PhD in Nursing for non-nurses. Is relocating an option?

I'm thinking about going into psych nursing. Has anyone ever heard of something called Trauma-Informed Care? Two places that I applied to mentioned this. Does this mean that staff wouldn't be able to use different holds to restrain a violent patient? What if there was a situation where a patient is out of control and trying to assault somebody, like another patient or any of the staff or struggling to escape? Would nurses get in trouble for placing a patient in a hold on the ground? I admit I don't know much about pscyh nursing and do not have any experience in this area. I just remember that I found my nursing school psych rotation to be very interesting. Would I be safe working with something like this? My husband is very worried about this and doesn't want me to get a part-time job in psych.

I'm thinking about going into psych nursing. Has anyone ever heard of something called Trauma-Informed Care? Two places that I applied to mentioned this. Does this mean that staff wouldn't be able to use different holds to restrain a violent patient? What if there was a situation where a patient is out of control and trying to assault somebody, like another patient or any of the staff or struggling to escape? Would nurses get in trouble for placing a patient in a hold on the ground? I admit I don't know much about pscyh nursing and do not have any experience in this area. I just remember that I found my nursing school psych rotation to be very interesting. Would I be safe working with something like this? My husband is very worried about this and doesn't want me to get a part-time job in psych.

My sister in law is an LPN. She's looking for another job because of nasty working conditions --- vicious coworkers, administration, etc. She asked me if I thought she should tell management why she's leaving (after putting in a notice) or just keep quiet and leave. I told her to just leave. She thinks that her telling them could help change things for other nurses who choose to remain there.

We have one on our unit. Her patient care is terrible. Instead of trying to improve things, she lies to cover her butt. The worst part is that she doesn't seem like she cares one bit. She's been spoken to, written up, etc. She just doesn't care. That's part of the reason I think she's dangerous.

Have any of you ever worked with a nurse you would classify as dangerous ---- dangerous as a nurse and as a person?

Try to hang in there so you can get the most out of your degree. Not all places are like this. My first nursing job was a hellish experience. Did i like my job? Yes. Did I like all of my coworkers? No. Many of them were nasty, horrible, and malicious. I gained weight and dreaded going to work. I just kept looking until I finally found a place that was okay and tolerable. It took me a while, but I recently found it. Your health is more important than money. Do what you feel is right for you, even if it means leaving nursing. Though, I would look around at some other nursing specialties first. There are a few places that don't put up with this kind of horizontal violence. You could always advance your education to increase your opportunities too. You have my sympathy.

I forgot to ask something. Any of you other nurses have any ideas on how to create a positive atmosphere? Do you think team building activities would work? We have staff meetings every two weeks. Is it appropriate for us nurses and not our director to bring up the problem then? We always have a few minutes at the end for nursing questions and concerns. Well, I've got to got to head to work now. Wish me luck in surviving that place another morning.

The problem seems to be that a few nurses are bent on spreading negativity and targeting other nurses. Malicious rumors and just other hateful behavior is going on. These nurses are in with management so the rest of us don't really stand a chance to defend ourselves. I' ve heard them lie about someone's performance and purposely not pass nursing information along to other nurses. Some of their nursing practices and charting are questionable. In our setup we all share the same patients on shift, so everyone is held liable for the patients even if information was not passed along or if there are bad practices going on. Over the last few years, it has become such a mentally and emotionally drainage position. My co-worker "Rachel" told me that she is so drained and bitter that it's affecting her home life with her husband and son. I don't want to start taking this stuff home with me too. I've got a family and more important things I should be worrying about. It's such an uncomfortable environment for everyone, except those other nurses. A lot of us have gone to the department director to try to deal with this. We're still waiting for something to happen.

I work on a chaotic progressive care unit. It's stressful enough without horizontal violence added to the mix. We can't keep anyone. All the new grads keep quitting because of it. Even two of our seasoned nurses switched departments because of all the in-fighting. Everyone else has to keep working short. Management is aware of the problem, but doesn't seem to care as long as the shifts are covered. It got so bad that one nurse said she couldn't take nursing anymore and left to become a real estate agent. She's been a nurse for 15 years! What do you do, keep switching jobs? I've been working on this unit for over 4 years. I like PCU and don't want to leave. If nurses keep treating each other like crud, then what is this shortage going to be like when we get old?