think before you speak ........

Nurses General Nursing

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Quick story....someone I know who is an RN (BSN), but volunteers with the food services department at our hospital just because she wants to. A really unique individual as I know no other RN’s that would do that in fear of being looked down on. Anyway, one day she was delivering meals to a med/surg floor ( she does not work on this unit so keep in mind no one knows shes is a nurse) and some smart a** nurse thought it would be funny to put her down in front of other staff and some p.t.’s telling her how "uneducated she is for doing this kind of work." My friend pulled out her badge that had RN all over it, and apparently this other nurse turned pale white ( probably just knowing what a colossal screw up she made:eek: ). Anyway long story short she turned her in to the Unit manager, and from what I understand was promptly " transferred". I personally have never seen this person again. Just a good reason why you should be careful how you talk to others .You never know who you are talking to.

Specializes in Critical Care, Pediatrics, Geriatrics.

Wow! I would never degrade anyone like that. How miserable does someone have to be with themselves to go out of their way to insult others like that?

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As a Phleb I will admit that people automatically think im un educated ( dont know why that is), but as soon as i tell them im in nursing school they do a 360 on me. Hippocrates.

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Specializes in med/surg.

Years ago the Chaplain at the hospital where I trained came in to see all of us student nurses in our first week of training. He asked us the simple question - "who is the most important person in this hospital?" Of course we all came back at him with answers such as "the patients". Every answer we gave he shook his head. Finally he asked us if we gave up, which we did.

Anyhow the real answer was that the most important person was the person who was needed next. You could be the best brain surgeon in the world but if the theatre lights failed then the electrician would become the most important person in the room. At some point everyone will be the most important person because they will be the one needed the most. Therefore, you should treat everyone with the respect & civility that they deserve because no-one is truly better than anyone else.

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Living in a small town, everyone seems to know everyone. Many times I've told my daughter to hush when in public and she was telling me something that so-and-so said or did..never really anything deragtory, just innocent chatter, always telling her later, you NEVER know who's listening!

And to quote my mother "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all"

It sad how people bash others they think are "below" them. I remember on RN in particular in a LTC that I worked at, she was a b*tch to anyone who didn't have the "education" she had. I felt so bad for dietary, housekeeping and laundry workers. She thought nothing of speaking badly to them in front of others. She did all she could to make them leave the floor in tears. She "went at" CNA's but it backfired when she realized we WERE her eyes and ears. Because she did have the most "education" she was the best in her eyes..until a wonderful nurse graced our floor. B*tch nurse didn't know who she was or anything about her. B*tch nurse was under the impression that nice nurse was an LPN..and in B*tch nurses eyes..just a glorified CNA. Imagine her surprise when she found out that nice nurse had so many degrees and so much education that she mad B*tch nurses education look like that of a 5th grader LOL

When I am finally throught school and working as a nurse, I know I'll remember "where I came from" and that no worker is below me no matter what their job or education. I have learned so much from those "uneducated" people..life lessons, something that you can'd get from a piece of paper with a "title".

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, transplant..
very interesting but the point should be not that you never know who you are talking to just don't talk that way to people in general. i always felt you should respect your coworkers, it doesn't matter if it's fellow nurses, dietary, housekeeping,md's, cashiers, rt's,etc.

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[color=#483d8b]i never spoke "down" to anyone i worked with. i darn well knew i needed our people in housekeeping and the kitchen, our pharmacists, heck once in a while even the administrators even came in handy:lol2: :lol2: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

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[color=#483d8b]but i get your point and good for your friend!

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i very much agree with you with an exeption of md's

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Specializes in ED, PACU, OB, Education.

Quite frankly, situations like this occur because of one simple fact. The people who put others down do so because they themselves are so insecure. Whether that's being out and out rude and hateful to coworkers with lesser degrees or running down one 'friend' to another during a conversation, or patting ourselves on the back because we would NEVER do anything like that! But boy didn't we have fun pointing out every one else's weakness ...

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Specializes in ICU, CCU, Trauma, neuro, Geriatrics.

Talk to everyone as you wish they would talk to you. Follow that and you will not have much trouble in life.

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Specializes in med/surg, ER, SDS.

Isn't it funny how so many people think they are better than everyone else. It takes a lot of people to run a hospital and negative behavior just makes it harder on everyone.

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Isn't it funny how so many people think they are better than everyone else. It takes a lot of people to run a hospital and negative behavior just makes it harder on everyone.
Why would anyone go out of their way to insult and humiliate another human being for no other reason that to make themselves look better? I mean, why even make the effort, it is wasted time and energy. Sometimes I am having a bad day, well a lot of times I am having bad day and I don't acknowledge and greet dietary or housekeeping like I should which means I certainly don't have time to give them grief for no reason
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Specializes in ER/Nuero/PHN/LTC/Skilled/Alzheimer's.

Ya know, I hate it when people look down on me for being "just the nurse", I don't want anyone else to feel like that. I've worked as a daycare aide, retail manager, cashier, bagger, secretary, CNA, LPN, and RN. I know how hard CNAs work and I know how hard the people that work at Walmart work.

Sometimes people just take others for granted. No one really pays attention to some people until they need something. Isn't that sad? I see it all the time. People in restaraunts won't even look at their servers until they need something and then they don't even know what they look like. Cashiers get treated horribly because they are right in front of the customers. Young people are disregarded because "they're so young, what do they know?".

And I am one of those annoying people who will walk up to someone with a bluetooth ear piece and ask them if they are psychotic because they seem to be having a conversation with no one.:chuckle

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Heres a trick. Next time you encounter a person who thinks they are god just remember they when they go home they have to s*** just like everyone else. They are nobody’s just another human being. Thats the great equalizer isn’t it? :) I always found people who put others down to be totally insecure.

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Specializes in Staff nurse.
It's always better to be kind, isn't it?

...and it doesn't cost any extra!!

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