Where are the professionals?

Don't trip over this. You will see this type of nonsense in all work settings. RN are humans, not saints.

no, i disagree 50caliber... you do not see this type of behavior in all work settings. i have never worked in other industries where i have heard people (within ear shot) gossiping about me. i have never worked with people prior to nursing who confront me in front of customers (patients in our case). i have never seen the bold display of disrespect or insults toward co-workers within the work place when i worked in two other industries. the kind of behaviors written about on this forum is described as horizontal workplace harassment and abuse and in other industries and is not tolerated. i have known people to be fired for less then what i have seen nurses get away with day in and day out. yes, every work setting gossips and has clicks etc, but the blatant harassment by nurses toward other nurses is outrageous!!

op: i do not know the answer to your question. personally i am hoping that when i join the military again i will be surrounded by professionals in nursing. at least that is what the recruiting advertisements say!!! gl!

In my institution, it is considered to be an act of harassment if one professional speaks in a manner that belittles or denigrates a coworker or subordinate. These individuals are then subject to progressive discipline; up to and including termination. While idle gossip pervades just about every employment arena, anyone who discovers another verbally spreading rumors or insults about them, or specifically, questions about their abilities as a professional, may have grounds to sue both the institution AND the individual for slander.

Consult your attorney.

no, i disagree 50caliber... you do not see this type of behavior in all work settings. i have never worked in other industries where i have heard people (within ear shot) gossiping about me. i have never worked with people prior to nursing who confront me in front of customers (patients in our case). i have never seen the bold display of disrespect or insults toward co-workers within the work place when i worked in two other industries. the kind of behaviors written about on this forum is described as horizontal workplace harassment and abuse and in other industries and is not tolerated. i have known people to be fired for less then what i have seen nurses get away with day in and day out. yes, every work setting gossips and has clicks etc, but the blatant harassment by nurses toward other nurses is outrageous!!

weird, i've seen in it nearly every job i've had outside of nursing. in fact, as a former waitress, i'd say it's much worse in the restaurant industry.

my mom works for a large, internationally known financial institution. her stories, my goodness...i ask her if she works with adults or if she's in middle school.

I am so glad you posted this. When I was a CNA, working in ICU, ER. There was nurses working together working with eachother. In Med Surge, they were a little more selfish, but still working together. OMG, in nursing homes, there are times I don't want to go to work, not because of the patients, they are what makes my job special. It is some of the other nurses that worry me. Just waiting for a mistake, or putting you in a bad position just to report you.

Don't get me wrong, there are some that also want to be team players, but it just seems like you need to be more concerned with crossing your t's and dotting your I's than continuity of care. Good luck.

I agree with CamaroNurse and 50caliber. The same problem existed in my previous, non-health-related profession, and during the time that I waitressed and worked at a bank in college - wow, it was awful! The problem exists in every industry as far as it's allowed to exist (and if people think it doesn't happen in male-dominated industries too, I'll just say that a lot of what would be termed "gossip" were it being discussed by females circulates through the old-boy network). If the leadership makes it clear such behavior won't be tolerated and backs up the words with action, people behave professionally. If not, a lot of workplaces in all different sorts of industries end up turning into hotbeds of gossip, cliques, and other unprofessional behavior adults associate with high school or even middle school.

If it's really driving you crazy or it's totally out of control to the point of endangering your career, your patients, or your license, look for another job. However, you should be aware that you'll probably find some level of this in just about every workplace (though hopefully not the "silent treatment" bull).

i happen to be one of the youngest nurses at my work place too and i see a lot of gossiping, whining, bad mouthing, ms know it all nurses, ********, insulting, mocking every single day. this kind of behavior is not healthy and very unprofessional. for someone like me who has not been in this profession for so long, what they are showing is not a good example. welcome to the real world, i guess

no, i disagree 50caliber... you do not see this type of behavior in all work settings. i have never worked in other industries where i have heard people (within ear shot) gossiping about me. i have never worked with people prior to nursing who confront me in front of customers (patients in our case). i have never seen the bold display of disrespect or insults toward co-workers within the work place when i worked in two other industries. the kind of behaviors written about on this forum is described as horizontal workplace harassment and abuse and in other industries and is not tolerated. i have known people to be fired for less then what i have seen nurses get away with day in and day out. yes, every work setting gossips and has clicks etc, but the blatant harassment by nurses toward other nurses is outrageous!!

op: i do not know the answer to your question. personally i am hoping that when i join the military again i will be surrounded by professionals in nursing. at least that is what the recruiting advertisements say!!! gl!

i use to work in pharmaceuticals where all my coworkers were college educated "bachelors/masters". education does not equate to professionalism or manners. trust me, this is the real world. you guys need to get this concept out of your head that nursing is a holy calling and everybody is out there to help the sick and bla bla. its cut throat. people are out there for themselves only. you have to look out for yourself and do your best. i prefer to be friendly and get along with everyone which makes the night go by easier. you can do your part and conduct yourself like a professional and hopefully people will treat you like one.

I agree with nursel56. I've had a lot of jobs in different industries. Toxic environments, be it in retail, IT, nursing, etc. has always been the fault of poor management/leadership. If it happens more in nursing I think it's because a lot of places don't train nurses to be managers. Good nursing skills does not equal good management skills. The place where I work per diem has gone through 5 managers in 2 years, the last one barely lasted a month.

I am in agreement with the post blaming management. The tone and work ethic of a unit or department is set by management. If management allows unacceptable and outrageous behavior it will continue and flourish...if they don't, it will go away.

Those managers with unprofessional behavior on the unit will come to a point where they are overwhelmed by the poor morale and lack of team work of their staff and they will begin to blame the staff for their bad attitudes....but it always STARTS with management and ENDS with management.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to unhappy work environments like this. I'm imagining that one or more of the following may be at play here:

- Constantly, daily stress

- Staff feeling disempowered

- Lack of good leadership

- Lack of enough staff (if people are having to stay over to work consistently)

- Lack of adequate compensation or recognition

Obviously I don't know all the details, but these are enough factors to equate a pretty unhappy workplace. There's not much you can personally do except to stick up for yourself and not allow yourself to get sucked into the negativity. I've worked in multiple units in the same hospital system, and let me tell you that there is a radical difference among different units, all due to the above factors. There are units where I would love love love to work. There are others in which I would gouge my eyes out if forced to work there. My advice to you is to get out and move to another unit as soon as possible. An alternative would be to stay and work on creating positive change, but as a new(er) nurse, it may be hard to get people to change and take you seriously. Most of the time in those situations, change has to come from above.