Staff nurses and their bad attitudes

[ShellyRSRN]

Hi everyone. I have been a nurse a little over a year. My first hospital RN job had me commuting 60 miles one way, 3 times a week because I was determined to get the coveted hospital experience. I loved the hospital, the people, the unit and the hours but the commute was exhausting and the salary was less to be desired. After I hit the one year mark, I began to apply to hospitals closer to home. I was hired as a staff RN at a community hospital (similar to my first hospital) that was 20 minutes away and a significant salary increase.

I work full time nights and my co-workers are pleasant enough. My problem starts once the day shift rolls around. Keep in mind, my first RN job was a day position so I understand the dynamics of the shift. These nurses are the most rude and arrogant women I have dealt with. When giving report, they sigh and roll their eyes at you. They purposely question the most minuet information to try to trip you up. They love to write people up and they flat out gossip about you. I always leave in a bad mood because the last 30 minutes of my shift is just hell. It's been 2 months. The manager says, "Don't take it personally, that's how they are." It's my understanding that this type of attitude is the norm at the hospital. I want to stick it out as I am getting married and buying a house next fall. In addition to the great pay, I do not want to job hop as it will reflect negatively once I begin to look for a mortgage.

Any advice or suggestions on how to deal with this? At least for the next year.

[GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

I HATE getting report from the day shift nurses. It puts me in a bad mood for a good hour. I learned to just get through it and let it go. If you like the job otherwise, stick with it.

[Ayeloflo]

Ignore, be grateful you're not on their shift, and make that money!!!!

I couldn't agree more. Maintain your standards of professionalism. MAKE THAT MONEY!!!

[Ayeloflo]

My advice since I have worked days and nights and YES Day shift nurses have a MEAN streak. They will ususally treat Night shift bad becasue they think nights does nothing all night. I personally think night shift is harder because of the not sleeping and trying to stay awake. The workload is much easier. Anyway, the best way to deal with this is REALLY know your stuff and when then day shift make a mistake bring it up. Day shift will back down once they know you won't back down either.

So true. I would like to add that I have worked both shifts before, and I understand CONTINUITY OF CARE. Oncoming day nurse was trying to find "fault" while I was giving her report. She did her thing to make me look bad, I quickly flipped through the chart to show prove to her that the pt with a present right pedal pulse that she had taken care of the previous day, already had right below the knee amputation (BKA). We laughed, and she became very humble and repectful since then. Btw she was new and she learned the bad habit from her preceptor

[heron, ASN, RN]

I kind of tend towards the "ignore and do your job" side of things. Sarcasm can turn around and bite you in the butt because, although it might suppress some behavior in the short term, it can escalate hostility over the long term. It completely shuts down communication.

Easier said than done, I know.

[lpn83]

feel very bad on your predicament. i had an experience somewhat like yours i was working in a ob/gyn outpatient clinic. the rn's and lpn's in the private area were not too easy working with. the hospital i worked for 25ys is a county hospital. once i started in the clinic i was making a lot of trips to the managers office. mind you the write up. and back stabbing was terrible. my orientation was not the greatest but i lwas expected to read minds. i didn't have the same preceptor. being an lpn i was working in a medical assistant level. if a mistake was done no soon it was made, the unit manager was right behind me asking how is it going. i stuck it out for 3 years. before i transferred to a different department. i've never been so dazzled in the nursing field, the sad thing is that the manager was in with the inconsiderate nurses. being in the position to be terminated due to the paper trail of write up or resigned , retirement was my way out. maybe a transfer to another area in the hospital would be your best bet, good luck

[Spikey9001, BSN, RN]

Stop letting others' bad attitudes affect your attitude. Point blank period. I'll be damned if someone rolls their eyes or does something disrespectful in nature while I'm DOING MY JOB and talking to them and giving report.

When someone does that, address that behavior IMMEDIATELY! I'd say "Hey, I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop interrupting me because that's very rude..." "And if you feel some type of way, then tell me instead of beating around the bush." The last one was a bit too harsh... but either way you have to stand your ground and let them know that their little nuances aren't going to affect you personally... It takes all the "fun" out of having a bad attitude if the person you're directing it doesn't give a ****.

Just gotta learn to put your foot down and stop that kind of behavior ASAP. Because it'll only get worse. And for the manager to say "they're always like that" is just unprofessional in and itself. If my manager said something to me in that kind of situation, I'd tell my manager that they should work in a position where they don't have to talk to people because frankly they lack the most basic forms of respect when talking to people.

I hate people like that.

Summary: Stop letting their attitude affect you. Do your job. If their attitudes affect your job performance, speak to someone about it immediately so it doesn't come back to bite you.

[dance4life]

This is when you see the same jobs being placed in the job boards online and in the paper over and over again, because no one wants to take initiative. I don't want to blame the managers, because it is the staff actions. But, then again it would be nice if she would do something about it.

I was pushed out of a job that I liked because of staff like this, GOSSIP and people who just don't well act professional. Goodness you know? Well low and behold I see that they are hiring for the same floor I worked on Unit Manager and ALL. Duh, I told you DON, but you wanted to stick up for the wrong people. Karma stinks... and now she has to start all over and train. Time and money.

Anyhow, I hope you do stick it out. See if I would of (shoulda, coulda, woulda) I wouldn't of had to work with the same nurses. They aren't even their anymore. I really did like the floor I worked on and the patients. Stay strong and take advice of the previous posters who say keep your head up. :heartbeat

[lovingtheunloved, ASN, RN]

People will treat you the way you let them treat you. That stuff would never fly with me. That's just how I am.

[jjnmrsmom]

i have the same problem with the unit i'm on. i work with these day nurses that think they know everything and that the night nurses are incompetent and lazy. they don't think twice about rolling their eyes or making ignorant glances at each other during report. i usually try and give a reassuring smile to the nurse being bullied. or i will say something in their defense if it's warranted.

i would not suggestion getting into a battle of words with these nurses because things would only get worse. my suggestion to you is to maintain a united front with the nurses you work with. bullies usually go for the weak strays; rarely do they attack a pack. support each other and lead by example.

[ErinS, BSN, RN]

Gosh I used to hate that stupid crap. 5 am in the morning and someone has the nerve to ask me some stupid little thing that doesn't matter. It was always something stupid that they could spend 10 minutes arguing about. One time a day nurse had the audacity to quiz me for 20 minutes about why a patient's daughter did not stay the night, and so we had a sitter at night (and had got one for the day also). 'Well why didn't the daughter stay? Is there abuse? Doesn't she know her mom is a fall risk?' I wanted to throttle her- none of that matters, and besides that, it is MY job to care for my patients, not their exhausted family members! Gosh, I am glad I work in hospice!

[KarmaComesAround]

I have worked day shift and night shift. I have seen it go both ways. It does seem like day vs night shift for some reason. In a perfect nursing world, nurses need to work together, be respectful of one another, and realize nursing is a 24/7 job. Although, I love the advice on ways to handle it by commenting back or sarcasm, I would tend to just ignore it...do not stoop to their level, unless they kept on and on with comments that you cannot get through your report, then a response back to address it would probably be an absolute must. You just do not want to become a doormat. They will continue to treat you this way.

I have a quote I read regarding rude people..."Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength". Just keep that quote in your head, and do not let those coworkers ruin the end of your shift. Easier said than done, but practice makes perfect. Good Luck to you. :)

[wooh, BSN, RN]

If you work days, you'll have some like that at night. If you work nights, you'll have some like that on days. We can whine about "lateral violence" and "lack of professionalism" but it in the end, it's just rudeness, and the best way to fight it is to just ignore it. They WANT a reaction, and if you give it to them, they WIN. It's how they feel superior, and it works, because people let it work.

Don't let them play 20 questions. Give report. Don't let them interrupt. If they ask a legitimate question, answer it. If they just want to argue over minutiae, "I don't know, it wasn't an issue for me, perhaps you'll find the answer in the chart." Eventually, they'll realize you aren't going to play, and they'll move on to someone else they can try to feel superior to.

Finding a place you like to work for 12 of the 12.5 hours is difficult thing to come by. Especially if the pay and commute are good. You're being tested, don't play their game, and eventually you may not like that 1/2 hour, but it will be tolerable.