I've always thought the "nurses eating their young" phenomenon was somewhat of a misnomer, since we're not their children and I know students can impose a lot of burdens on nurses. But, when you're pretty functional and helping out with most of the work, and some nurses still beat you down to a pulp, I just don't get it.
What's the point of being so mean? I'm running my butt off all day, I'm giving all of the meds, doing all of the charting, aide work, etc. for most of the patients. Yet, no matter how hard I work, there's still a constant barrage of criticism ...
Of course, I make mistakes and I definitely need to improve in a lot of areas. No question about it. Nevertheless, I am not a total novice and, despite my shortcomings, I do know I'm making their day a hellava lot easier.
But ... I'm only human, and I do tend to make even more mistakes when I know I'm going to get slammed no matter what I do. After awhile, no matter how tough you are, it's difficult to concentrate and do everything the nurse wants when you know she's hostile and looking for any opportunity to jump on your case ... even when you do things right.
I actually don't need nor do I expect praise or reassurance but, like a lot of people, I don't tend do well when I getting slammed all the time either.
I can't wait to get out of there and let them get back to doing all the work. Thankfully, my days of slave labor will soon be over. I hope they got their jollies because if this is how they make themselves feel better or whatever it is ... good riddance.
