grant88

Thanks again for your continued responses. I am reading them all and I appreciate the feedback. I wonder if I just put in my time things will get better over the years. I love what I do. It's tough out there right now. With the economy the way it is and with hospital cut backs to care, nurses are having to stay in their jobs longer than they first thought. I feel like there is a lot of tension on my floor, especially when patient ratios get low and people get called off work. How should it work? What is the ideal nursing environment for everyone when you need to get new and senior staff to work together? Is there such thing as great nurse management out there? Has anyone experienced it? Can anyone tell me any experiences you felt were good examples of management leadership?

Thank you, I appreciate the time you took to respond. I understand that I need to pay my dues and put in my time. I'm not trying to take anything away from any senior nurse. I hardly ask for a specific day off and I don't expect holidays off ever, I just feel like the approach has often been harsh. I feel like I am pretty nice to everyone and I support the senior staff. I always offer to help if they get behind in their assignment and I often even skip breaks to make sure the senior staff gets all of theirs. I guess the reality is that I can't really say anything. Thank you.

Hello, I am new to nursing (1 year) and I am working exactly in the field I want to. I love what I do and I try my best to be a great nurse. The majority of staff on my unit are very nice and supportive but I feel as though there is very little management support and feedback. On my unit, the people with most seniority rule and some of these people are so incredibly hostile that it overshadows all the other good people there and these people aren't even hostile about my nursing practice, but just angry in general and they outright tell me they don't like new people. Sometimes these people will even go as far as to request having different patient assignments because they say they only want to work near their friends. They also tell me outright how I should expect nothing as a new nurse and how I should be forced to work the hours they don't want. I don't feel like I can say anything to management because anytime I've approached them with anything they seem overwhelmed and irritated and some of them can be really mean as well. I'm also afraid that I could lose my job if I started complaining and I am not protected by any kind of union. My question is, how much is too much? Is this the normal environment for nurses out there who are new to nursing? What should I do? I don't feel like I am asking too much of anyone there. When I have sought back feedback from the few management that are nice, they have offered me nothing but positive feedback. At least, if I knew of things I could do better than maybe I could change that, but I really have nothing to go on. It's gotten to a point where I dread work. Maybe I am just not cut out for nursing? Am I suppose to just grow a thick skin and expect to have a career where I'll always be walked all over? And if not, what are my rights? Who do I go to? -grant88