Why so many tattletale nurses?

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NoviceRN10

901 Posts

I wish people would tattle on each other where I work. Would be less staff sleeping on the job and pt complaints if that were the case.

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN

1,398 Posts

Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.

I dunno.

By the way, what is that little yellow triangle down there in the lower left corner of all these posts for anyway?

:thankya:

Woodenpug, BSN

734 Posts

Specializes in MPCU.

The strategy is actually encouraged in nursing. It is uniquely powerful in nursing and I believe not a gender issue. Becoming influential: a guide for nurses by Eleanor J. Sullivan actually recommends that managers have "informants." The book suggests that new nurses provide this service to become more influential with the manager. My current manager encourages this behavior by deciding that the most accurate description of events is the first one to "tattle." A manager could stop this by having people begin by first talking with the offender. Then if that does not work, both talk to the charge nurse and so on up to the manager. The manager's first question should be "what did that person, the charge nurse and the assistant manager do and why was it not effective?"

In a nutshell, snitching is a leadership problem.

Specializes in Emergency.

As a new male entering the field, my first impression of working with a bunch of women in health care(not to offend...please hear me out)was that all the women I work with are a bunch of cutthroats b#$%$#@...then as a few months went by,I realized, having worked in many different fields over my life...construction, music, real estate, retail etc...that, simply put, there is going to be miserable people no matter where I work.( male or female) The old adage : "Misery loves company" is true. I could expound forever about this person shouldn't be in this field or this one in that etc...etc...but like several folx have already posted..what goes around comes around etc...there are a million cliche statements that could cover feeling good about yourself and what you do verses worrying about the people that, in my opinion, are going to be miserable... you know whats... no matter what they do or where they are working...You see these people all the time...they litter, they smoke with the kids or the pets in the car, they have children when they shouldn't!!!Yes I said that! You see them in line at the market blabbing on there wireless device etc...etc...someone just said... to them life is always going to be about me me me.. Like Einstein said: "do your work and keep your mouth shut" eventually those idiots do seem to weed themselves out of the game...I have seen it over and over again. Let them gossip and ***** and complain..they usually are not around very long. Know your work on that day helped even for a few minutes to make another human beings life more bearable...is that not what it really is all about??? Good Luck.

Nurses "tattle " on each other.. instead of supporting each other.

I agree with The Commuter. Female nurses lack self esteem, therefore.. when they view another nurse as being"weak"..

they will try to build that low self esteem at the cost of a colleague .

I do NOT agree that male nurses do not engage in that, they just go about it in a different manner.

The answer is to ignore this .. and continue to provide excellent care.

The strategy is actually encouraged in nursing. It is uniquely powerful in nursing and I believe not a gender issue. Becoming influential: a guide for nurses by Eleanor J. Sullivan actually recommends that managers have "informants." The book suggests that new nurses provide this service to become more influential with the manager. My current manager encourages this behavior by deciding that the most accurate description of events is the first one to "tattle." A manager could stop this by having people begin by first talking with the offender. Then if that does not work, both talk to the charge nurse and so on up to the manager. The manager's first question should be "what did that person, the charge nurse and the assistant manager do and why was it not effective?"

In a nutshell, snitching is a leadership problem.

yep, my manger too ENCOURAGES tattling and loves to have informants and routinely attempts to split staff. very interesting and entertaining

RNsRWe, ASN, RN

3 Articles; 10,428 Posts

By the way, what is that little yellow triangle down there in the lower left corner of all these posts for anyway?

:thankya:

If you roll your mouse over it, you'll see it says "Report Post". Spam, violations of TOS, whatever.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN

102 Articles; 27,612 Posts

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
If you roll your mouse over it, you'll see it says "Report Post". Spam, violations of TOS, whatever.
I think he already knew the purpose behind the triangles. I think it was a sarcastic question where one already knew the answer.

Click on the triangle = tattle (after all, this thread is about tattletales)

PeepnBiscuitsRN

419 Posts

Specializes in OB (with a history of cardiac).

It seems like it could be many factors: it could be that those kinds of people are everywhere, but when you work in a small unit or with a small staff, they're just more prominent. To use another example: I hate onions, can't stand 'em. If you make a dish that has onions very finley chopped- or maybe just 1/8 of an onion, finely chopped into teensy weensy pieces, amongst about 30 other ingredients, I'm not going to notice the onion so much. Sure I might catch a hint, but not to the point of nausea. But if you place that 1/8 of an onion in a dish with 2-3 other things I'm surely going to taste, smell and see that vile weed. (I'm going to go look outside for the torches and lynch mob lead by the Onion Lovers of America now).

It could be that you just work with a bunch of miserable people who want you to be miserable too. Misery loves company, right? That's a pretty crude way of putting it, but sometimes you have to just call an onion an onion.

In newer nurses I've noticed there is a hint of haughtieness, and I really need to watch myself because for what it's worth I'm still pretty new myself. Nursing school has become pretty competitive, and pretty harsh- even to get in. Some people have that attitude of having to be on top, regardless of who you step on to get there. It reminds me of the theater community- when I was involved with theater companies and auditioning, there was a lot of subtle wink wink's, a lot of haughty stares, and a lot of hysterical sobbing if your name wasn't on the cast/call back list. So, as someone said already, when a new nurse lands their first "role" "gig" or job- they're going to do whatever they have to do to keep it...no matter who they have to betray or screw over to accomplish this feat.

I've worked in settings where there's a lot of drama- usually initiated by one or two people. When I worked in day care that was one place for certain- and that was awful, these young children having to be exposed to that sort of crap. And the other time was when I was an LPN, there was 2 different ladies I worked with who just loved to be dramatic. One was a CMA, who has actually since died now, and another woman who took smoke breaks every 20 minutes and 9/10 times would come back on her cell phone, talking loudly and dramatically to either her husband or son, and would hang up with a huge huffy huff and then complain about how hard they have it, which was funny because they actually were the type who enjoyed the finer things.

So I don't know. It takes all kinds. My rule is to be nice to everyone, embrace peace, keep your head down and fly under the radar....waaay under the radar.

TheMediaLies

30 Posts

Hmmmm....Because hospitals are full of women? Ahh...oh...Now I've done it (lol here comes the Nazi PC police). I'm a dude. It's not in our nature to be gossipy. I'm also a city boy. We have a saying: Snitches get stitches! Just kidding. 10 more years...I can't wait.

TheMediaLies

30 Posts

I do NOT agree that male nurses do not engage in that, they just go about it in a different manner.

Definitely. I work with "men" like that. Whatever. 10 more years and as you get older, time flies. I won't miss these clowns when I retire my scrubs.

morte, LPN, LVN

7,015 Posts

any UNempowered group will do this.

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