What is up with the level of entitlement?

[sofla98]

I’m a seasoned nurse with a lot of years of experience. I work hard to take care of my patients and their basic needs, and then some. But what is up with these newer grads, like in their younger 20’s? The ones who started 2019-2020, bc something is way different. 

We’re all wondering what it is. 

They expect the charge nurses and other nurses to do their tasks/work for them and I’ve seen some actually whine, roll their eyes, etc. when they don’t get their way or they’re a little bit busy. 

It’s really starting to aggravate those of us over the age of 30, especially because if they don’t get their way they go to the manager and say “so and so didn’t help me enough” or “so and so wasn’t available and I couldn’t find them for an hour.”

I think it’s time I leave the hospital, to be honest. They are also incredibly hard to train. They don’t listen, get offended if you try to explain to them why something didn’t go well, or go complain to the manager. 

Our management is tired of it too. Is it the same personalities? Are they really that easily offended? Someone ELI5. Thanx. 

Don’t believe this is an issue? Just wait for the responses! LOL! 

[Guest856929]

17 hours ago, GS ED RN said:

it is appalling to complain about certain assignments - this is what we signed up for! we took an oath to care for everyone and anyone -- I was a new grad only 5 years ago and let me tell you... I was scared *** but never argued or complained... we all need to put in our time and work 

This is the type of thinking that the company loves. How's that working for you? I am thankful that people have stood up in the past and continue to do so. It is the only way that nurses were able to get safe staffing ratios that we are still fighting for today. If there is a valid reason to complain, one must. If you are in the ICU and have a 1:1 patient on CRRT, balloon pump and an insulin gtt, it is unacceptable for them to give you a trauma admit that needs to be stabilized. In such a scenario, with the line of thought that you are touting, the patients will certainly receive subpar/mediocre care. Unless the provision of care bar is below excellence in your facility, you must speak up.  

[JKL33]

On 12/30/2020 at 2:54 AM, GS ED RN said:

it is appalling to complain about certain assignments - this is what we signed up for! we took an oath to care for everyone and anyone -- I was a new grad only 5 years ago and let me tell you... I was scared *** but never argued or complained... we all need to put in our time and work 

Not sarcasm: I'm not sure what oath you took but whatever it was you seem to be conflating your duty to patients with your beliefs related to how a worker should work. I hope you realize that although serving patients' best interests sometimes also serves employers' interests and vice versa, they are not one and the same. Not at all.

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

13 hours ago, cynical-RN said:

Each subsequent generation starting with the boomers have become more unencumbered with accountability. 

I have had the unpleasant experience of having to visit "The Villages" multiple times (an over 55 city) and I have to agree with you. (Especially if you add 'entitled' after the 'more' in your sentence.)

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

The door swings both ways. I've seen older nurses act entitled simply because of how long they have been a nurse. While I have nothing against seniority it does not give you the right to not do your job or to justify behavior toward newer, younger nurses.

 

[imenid37]

17 hours ago, londonflo said:

 

I am not sure I uderstand you here...students in the ADN program are also taking 'RN to BSN courses?' Don't they need the RN license to continue? I have never known a student in an ADN program to have more time  for other thinngs than what the ADN program requires.

 

It is called dual enrollment. Our college has an agreement with several state and private universities to take some BSN classes while finishing their ADN. For some students, it is great. Others cannot handle it. They cannot get the BSN degree until they graduate with the ADN . They can take most of the BSN courses, with their ADN coursework. Many can graduate with the BSN 1-2 semesters after they finish the ADN.  Others don’t finish either degree.

The student complaining about the virtual sim, was taking a physical assessment course from a university, while she was barely squeeking through two 200 level ADN courses. 

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

1 hour ago, OUxPhys said:

The door swings both ways. I've seen older nurses act entitled simply because of how long they have been a nurse. While I have nothing against seniority it does not give you the right to not do your job or to justify behavior toward newer, younger nurses.

 

So true. Sometimes seniority means fossilized behaviors and practice (and more protection from the consequences of poor work productivity), instead of increased value to the unit.

[MarkMyWords]

Entitlement ideas are everywhere nowadays especially in the last 35 years. In college classes  from experience with older nontraditional students. The attitude increased after strong feminist resentments. No one is really entitled to a good job. 

So how many nurses is the OP referring to?  Are you jumping to conclusions?

 

 

[londonflo]

47 minutes ago, imenid37 said:

They can take most of the BSN courses, with their ADN coursework.

Thank you for the information. 

[speedynurse, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

On 12/27/2020 at 12:44 PM, CalicoKitty said:

I've had plenty of older/experienced nurses complain about "unfair" assignments ("I had xyz patient LAST WEEK already").... Others complain about "punishing competence" (which is probably more realistic, where the sicker patients go to the nurses that will actually do their job well. People don't like to work hard overall.

I think there is a difference too between being “entitled” and “drawing boundaries”. As someone who is on the quiet side, I am finally learning how to draw boundaries....and still learning. Sometimes drawing boundaries is being honest and stating your limits before being placed in incredibly unsafe situations. Entitlement is constantly complaining and not wanting to work. Drawing boundaries is pulling your own weight, being positive as much as possible, but also setting limits when placed in repeated unsafe situations in order to prevent repeated situations in the future.

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

On 12/28/2020 at 7:57 PM, CommunityRNBSN said:

I am 37 but have only been a nurse for 2 years. There is one aspect that I really respect among the younger group— they will stand up for themselves and they are VERY aware that the organization we work for does not have our backs. Like, my default setting is: “Well I should just accept whatever assignment is given me and keep my head down and be a good little worker.”  Many of the younger employees are aware that: the organization doesn’t have our backs. They will throw us under the bus at the first opportunity!  We’ve seen it happen. So, therefore, the young nurses will go in and insist on the hours they want, insist on hazard pay, insist on time off, etc. They are not worried about rocking the boat because they see the relationship between us and the administration as adversarial. It’s unfortunate, and it probably shouldn’t be adversarial, but I think it’s a pretty reality-based perspective. 
 

So then, when “they” get their way, it’s easy for me to fall into a response of “Well why did she get XYZ and I didn’t?!”  She went in and insisted on it, and I didn’t, that’s why. 

After a potentially career ending incident a few years ago in another type of work, I've been learning to be more like them.  Right now, I work in a nursing home.  A new job is as simple as a phone call.  Being an RN, they're willing to throw jobs at us because it ultimately saves them a ton of money.

I've heard that I'm entitled, but I don't agree.  I agreed to work on our sub-acute unit.  I get that the nature of the job means I'll have to work on the long-term care floor sometimes, but I also understand that it means EVERYONE on my floor will have to do that.  So if I'm constantly pulled and other people aren't, I'm speaking up.  If I'm written up to make an example from something I didn't even know there was a rule against, while the entire rest of the staff breaks that rule right in front of management, yeah, I'm saying something.  Getting my BSN is a requirement for my job.  If I don't get it in time, I'm fired.  So when my school starts scheduling all my tests on weekends, guess who isn't following the weekend policy.  That's right, the guy that they're forcing to keep taking classes.

And I'm going to be verbal about staffing, and how there is no reason to staff so short.  I'm going to keep demanding that we get more nurses to help on my shift.  Is it because I'm lazy?  No.  It's because when something eventually goes wrong, I'll lose my license, while my job just pays a small fine and replaces me.  My career ends, while my administrator, DON, and unit managers all get to keep working.

Everyone: Go to your state's BON website.  Somewhere on there, there should be a list of all the actions they've taken against licenses.  Read them.  And then really let it sink in how many nurses are losing their licenses because of what everyone is considered being "entitled" when they speak up against the situations they're put in.

[imenid37]

Dude you bring up some good points.  I worked in OB for years. We did  L/D, OB triage,  nursery, GYNs. We even went on ambulance transports with patients.  I was fine to take whatever type of those patients. There were nurses who  only did labor or always wanted the nursery. If they did not get what they preferred, there was often a lot of complaining.  

My only real gripe about our assignments was when we got pulled to med surg.  Our policy was to do NA type functions:  VS, clean up, ambulation, blood sugars, I/O. We needed to be able to go back to OB ASAP.  We did not take C. Diff patients.  
 
Every time, I was pulled to one particular unit, They attempted to assign me 8 med surg patients.  One night, I even said I would be an NA and take the 4 GYN patients they had. No go. This charge RN  insisted I take a team of 8 elderly patients. I said no way. Call the supervisor. She backed off. When the sup made rounds, she b——d about me to her.

  She got the same answer that OB nurses acted  as an NA. I had not done M/S for about 20+ years. Mostly our GYN patients were not complex. No way in Hell would I risk my license charting on 8  older people  with multiple conditions and  unfamiliar meds.  The kicker was they had the usual # of nurses, but were down for NAs. 

I don’t agree with entitlement.  I also don’t agree with dumping or bullying.  Though as I said above, our newest nurses, whatever their ages,  may not have had the prep in school they usually get. They are going to be very green and possibly legitimately hesitant. The seasoned folks will need to define clear exceptions and provide intense mentoring. Many have a great attitude, but a select number are happy to do as little as possible. I suppose that is just some people’s nature. When you orient new nurses, teamwork needs to be part of the plan. 

[C_M_L_R18]

As far as complaining about floating as a

newer nurse, I wonder if  it has less

to do with “ugh this assignment”’and a lot more to do with being new and not yet feeling like you’ve got your footing on your home floor yet let alone a new department. Probably the first time I get floated I’m gonna be internally panicking that I’m gonna miss something. I’m wondering if the people complaining are not saying what the actual reason is that they’re reluctant to take the assignment so that they don’t look incompetent as a new nurse and as a result sounding like a whiner. 
 

my school did a really good job though of

pointing out “NCLEX and tests are ideal scenarios. “. I’m wondering if too, those of us who have graduated mid pandemic might actually do OK as new grad nurses because we know that everything can change super quick. (Though my cohort was super adaptive, we’d grouse about stuff and our frustrations cause we were human and stressed out but we’d accept the changes)