Hello. I am just about to finish my first semester in an LPN program. I hope no one will take this the wrong way, but I never knew there was so much negativity between LPN's and RN's, and in the work place with employees and bosses. When I joined this site it was to meet other nurses and receive support. I had no idea there is so much disagreement between each other. It is almost like a prejudice against certain groups because of the letters behind the name. I want to be a nurse to take care of patients, I really enjoy helping people. I didn't know all the stress I hear about nursing would be compounded by my peers. I guess I just had rose colored glasses on. I talked with my instructor about this and she told me it's true unfortunately. Doctors stick together and have a special bond because they are doctors, but nurses eat their young. She said it could be because we are mainly women, and women are catty. The males I have seen so far don't seem to be this way. Right now we are doing clinicals in a nursing home, and do the same job as the nurses aides. I would never consider myself above them.
I am happy to learn from them. When I first found out I would be doing clinicals in a nursing home I was scared. I thought ok I'll just get through it until I get to the part of nursing I really want to do. I found out that I love taking care of the patients so much that if I was just allowed to do that, I would be happy. It is very rewarding to be apart of their lives. We should all just pitch in where we can. (In our scope of practice) But certainly never consider ourselves above someone else. Maybe part of the nursing burnout is the lack of support from each other. I know there are alot of you who do not feel this way and express it here in your responses to the negative comments, but the fact that the animosity exists, I guess is just beyond my comprehension. Maybe it's because I am going the LPN route to get to my RN could be why I don't see it. I am just happy to be here till I get to the next step. I respect people where they are and the choices they make. Anyway just my 2 cents.
Kim Z. -SPN - SCC (Just 2 more semesters to go!!! YAA!!!)
There's negativity in just about every career/work place. What matters is your reaction to it & how to handle it so that it doesn't stress you. Attitude is everything....don't let the naysayers bring you down. If you want to be a nurse, go for it.
I have run into instructors & fellow nurses that "try to eat their young." They are out there, but it doesn't mean you have to remain a punching bag in that type of environment. There are many quality people that treat their co-workers humanely...seek out a work environment that supports one another rather than one that allows negativity to thrive.
Kim, dn't give up the dream. One more good nurse, regardless of the initials behind the name is better for all of us. I'm a male nursing student and I see the same thing but naturally hang out with the guys. I know great nurses, male and female and stick close to them. You'll find those that appreciate all you do and want to teach you more. Stick close to them, the rest will fade away.
Thank you everyone who has commented. You have made some great points.
I am usually the glass half full kind of girl. I know that every career has the ups and downs and positive and negative people. I am an idealistic person (my husband says too much so), and I was just surprised by the negative overtones. It could also be the stress of school that is making me look at the negative instead of seeing the positive here. My instructors are really great, but at the same time they are breaking us down so we will have the critical thinking skills we need. It can be an emotional roller coaster that makes you feel very confident in your abilities one minute, to feeling like you are a total idiot the next. This is not a course you can just get by on (not that I do that anyway), you really need to know your stuff and remember every step. I am loving all of it but it can make you a little crazy sometimes. I take everyone at face value and will go into the workforce with a positive attitude, expecting the best. Thanks once again for all your support.
kimmyz, it's good to see your attitude is not all that bad. You're not the first person who has said this site discourages them.
Many people will come across 99 good nurses and one will be catty and come to this board and scream "why are nurses so catty!".
A student or new grad will work with 9 nurses all minding their own business and come across one snotty nurse and come to this board and scream "why do nurses eat their young??".
I confess to do not coming here often and posting the positives. When I have a real bad day I'll come here and vent that I had a real bad day.
I know you meant that in a positive way in regards to respect but I would like to say that a lot of the cohesiveness among physicians often comes at the expense of others, in particular the healthcare consumer. As a group, physicians will protect their $$$ first. Case in point, their support for medical malpractice legislation. Second case in point, their support for anti advanced practice nurse legislation. So I can admire their respect for each other but I hope we nurses (as a group) do not become so concerned with our own needs that we neglect the very people we are supposed to be caring for. And as an aside, I doubt we will ever will become like that.
And I was thinking about this when I typed that particular sentence. I figure that as a group, we could choose to be selective about which traits to emulate!! I agree with all the above you have said about MDs, but I also think that a lot of the general practioners in small private practice have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to insurance reimbursement and malpractice premiums - that in and of itself explains why we (as patients and consumers) get a mere seven minutes of the doc's time, whether we are sick with the flu or need teaching with regards to new blood pressure or diabetes meds!
But I do wonder about why so many nurses see putting the needs of nurses in the forefront as a negative thing. I think that this can be done without stepping on the toes of other medical professionals, and perhaps end the stereotype of the "angel of mercy". That's a tough title to live up to!!
So here's the question that I've been thinking about - can nurses rise about the "catty" stereotype, become a force to be heard and respected, without stepping on the toes of the consumer and other medical professionals?
Kim, dn't give up the dream. One more good nurse, regardless of the initials behind the name is better for all of us. I'm a male nursing student and I see the same thing but naturally hang out with the guys. I know great nurses, male and female and stick close to them. You'll find those that appreciate all you do and want to teach you more. Stick close to them, the rest will fade away.
gdean - Finally, a warm & positive reply.
Sounds like you will make an outstanding nurse. Good luck in your studies & nursing career to follow.
kimmyz, it's good to see your attitude is not all that bad. You're not the first person who has said this site discourages them.
Many people will come across 99 good nurses and one will be catty and come to this board and scream "why are nurses so catty!".
A student or new grad will work with 9 nurses all minding their own business and come across one snotty nurse and come to this board and scream "why do nurses eat their young??".
I confess to do not coming here often and posting the positives. When I have a real bad day I'll come here and vent that I had a real bad day.
KWIM?
Good luck to you in school!
IMHO, kimmyz's post never reflected a bad atty. Actually, I thought some of the replies she received were a little harsh. She was venting, nothing more, and nothing less.
Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.
I always take many posts with a grain of salt, well when I know they are a vent at least...because I know it is a healthy release of things that bug us in this profession.
This is a good lesson in people skills, which is something necessary for working with people in heathcare. We all need to vent, if it is the patient in pain and scared and doesn't want to show it...to the patient NOT complaining even though you know they need to and are bottling it up. Being here is just as much people skills and understanding as patient care, and if you want a good lesson...really read the posts and examine them for the person that created it! Are they sad, frustrated, happy, enlightened, feeling helpless, depressed, joyful...it is all a part of the job as well as something in daily life!
I too had rose colored glasses! I thought people got along professionally...and well I have seen the cliques of Docs, RN's, LPN's, CNA's..and have had to learn to overcome those and keep with my personal theories of teamwork for a common goal...the patient!!! I wished I had known about that before going into school...then I could have spent more time learning my tactics to overcome the frustration of it in school vs having to do it as a new grad having already so much to learn and emotions flying high! SO it is a good thing to learn the pitfalls and the joys of the job while you are in learning mode...because learning them as a new grad...oh man, thought my head was going to explode!!!!!!
Good luck to you, stick with your personal ideals about teamwork...and remember the people you are doing all this for...yourself, your family, and your patients in the future...and focus on that instead of some of the reality of negativity there is in having a professional job in any area of employement!!!!!! :)
I always take many posts with a grain of salt, well when I know they are a vent at least...because I know it is a healthy release of things that bug us in this profession.
This is a good lesson in people skills, which is something necessary for working with people in heathcare. We all need to vent, if it is the patient in pain and scared and doesn't want to show it...to the patient NOT complaining even though you know they need to and are bottling it up. Being here is just as much people skills and understanding as patient care, and if you want a good lesson...really read the posts and examine them for the person that created it! Are they sad, frustrated, happy, enlightened, feeling helpless, depressed, joyful...it is all a part of the job as well as something in daily life!
I too had rose colored glasses! I thought people got along professionally...and well I have seen the cliques of Docs, RN's, LPN's, CNA's..and have had to learn to overcome those and keep with my personal theories of teamwork for a common goal...the patient!!! I wished I had known about that before going into school...then I could have spent more time learning my tactics to overcome the frustration of it in school vs having to do it as a new grad having already so much to learn and emotions flying high! SO it is a good thing to learn the pitfalls and the joys of the job while you are in learning mode...because learning them as a new grad...oh man, thought my head was going to explode!!!!!!
Good luck to you, stick with your personal ideals about teamwork...and remember the people you are doing all this for...yourself, your family, and your patients in the future...and focus on that instead of some of the reality of negativity there is in having a professional job in any area of employement!!!!!! :)
:yelclap: ... excellent post [except, the rose colored glasses reference]. I have seen & heard other RNs put down LVNs. Yet, again you made some excellent pointers.
BTW, the weather here in the South Puget Sound area is gorgeous. How's your part of Oregon right now doing?
IMHO, kimmyz's post never reflected a bad atty. Actually, I thought some of the replies she received were a little harsh. She was venting, nothing more, and nothing less.
You're right, I didn't mean to indicate that the op had a bad attitude. I was commenting that her 2nd post seemed a bit better in spirit than the first.
The original post saddened me that someone not even yet a nurse was thinking such negative thoughts about the profession. I did see the original post as the beginning steps of buying into the "nurses are catty because they are female" "nurses eat their young", "nurses have no teamwork" blah blah blah myths on top of venting her/his frustrations.
My main point that I hope the OP understands is that the overwhelming majority of us are good people. One RN out of 10 may mistreat and LPN, but no need to judge the entire RN workforce on that one person and go around thinking "RNs mistreat LPNs because they think they are better than us.", or the one catty nurse out of the dozens you work with "Nurses are catty, and it's funny how it's always a women, woman are catty, that's why nurses are catty."
That kind of stuff drives me crazy. My apologizies to the op if I sounded like a troll or too harsh. I didn't mean to go off on such a tangent.
Best not to have rose colored glasses as was said above. Best to know you're going to run into all kinds of personalities. That's life. That's nursing.
We are not bad people. It's just that sometimes everyone is in a survival mode and sometimes we are pitted against each other. Knowing that we have to make a special effort to rise above that and try to be civilized.
Hello. I am just about to finish my first semester in an LPN program. I hope no one will take this the wrong way, but I never knew there was so much negativity between LPN's and RN's, and in the work place with employees and bosses. When I joined this site it was to meet other nurses and receive support. I had no idea there is so much disagreement between each other. It is almost like a prejudice against certain groups because of the letters behind the name. I want to be a nurse to take care of patients, I really enjoy helping people. I didn't know all the stress I hear about nursing would be compounded by my peers. I guess I just had rose colored glasses on. I talked with my instructor about this and she told me it's true unfortunately. Doctors stick together and have a special bond because they are doctors, but nurses eat their young. She said it could be because we are mainly women, and women are catty. The males I have seen so far don't seem to be this way. Right now we are doing clinicals in a nursing home, and do the same job as the nurses aides. I would never consider myself above them.
I am happy to learn from them. When I first found out I would be doing clinicals in a nursing home I was scared. I thought ok I'll just get through it until I get to the part of nursing I really want to do. I found out that I love taking care of the patients so much that if I was just allowed to do that, I would be happy. It is very rewarding to be apart of their lives. We should all just pitch in where we can. (In our scope of practice) But certainly never consider ourselves above someone else. Maybe part of the nursing burnout is the lack of support from each other. I know there are alot of you who do not feel this way and express it here in your responses to the negative comments, but the fact that the animosity exists, I guess is just beyond my comprehension. Maybe it's because I am going the LPN route to get to my RN could be why I don't see it. I am just happy to be here till I get to the next step. I respect people where they are and the choices they make. Anyway just my 2 cents.
Kim Z. -SPN - SCC (Just 2 more semesters to go!!! YAA!!!)
you're right, i didn't mean to indicate that the op had a bad attitude. i was commenting that her 2nd post seemed a bit better in spirit than the first.
understood! yes, she was in much better spirits on her second post.
the original post saddened me that someone not even yet a nurse was thinking such negative thoughts about the profession. i did see the original post as the beginning steps of buying into the "nurses are catty because they are female" "nurses eat their young", "nurses have no teamwork" blah blah blah myths on top of venting her/his frustrations.
imho, it is not a myth. however, only true to a small degree, and not to the majority of female nurses. for the majority, female nurses are a credit to all females in the workforce. female nurses have done so much for the good of the nursing profession. imho, male nurses can learn from female nurses in so many ways regards to behavior modification.
i, too, was saddened by the prospect of an upcoming nurse with a dark outlook.
my main point that i hope the op understands is that the overwhelming majority of us are good people. one rn out of 10 may mistreat and lpn, but no need to judge the entire rn workforce on that one person and go around thinking "rns mistreat lpns because they think they are better than us.
Jennerizer, ASN, RN
728 Posts
There's negativity in just about every career/work place. What matters is your reaction to it & how to handle it so that it doesn't stress you. Attitude is everything....don't let the naysayers bring you down. If you want to be a nurse, go for it.
I have run into instructors & fellow nurses that "try to eat their young." They are out there, but it doesn't mean you have to remain a punching bag in that type of environment. There are many quality people that treat their co-workers humanely...seek out a work environment that supports one another rather than one that allows negativity to thrive.