Why are nurses disrespected so much?

JinnSchlajfertig · Sep 16, 2017

As others have noted, it could be the clinical site. I noted the culture of each unit where I was placed in nursing school so I would know which places to avoid in the future. The culture of the units can make your experience as different as night from day!

Good for you for noting this and questioning it.

learner1108 · Sep 16, 2017

Posters, She is new to the profession. She is asking a question based on her observations. The question shows she is worried and probably scared. She is probably asking herself has she wasted all that money taking prerequisites and nursing school tuition.

She needs reassurance that all nurses are not "mean girls" or guys. Reassure her that she may not understand what she is seeing and the next time she has clinical, she may see a different scene. Please DON"T jump on her and tell her to suck it up or get out of the career. She is new to the profession.

If she were a 1yo who could talk and was beginning to walk, she might ask, "Why is the ground outside so bumpy?" That would not be disrespectful and the attitude and answers of those who are answering her would not be like some of these answers to this student.

She is new and scared. Nursing school is hard. Instructors can be scary to students because the students' whole future careers and incomes depend on those instructors' opinions. Be kind to her. She is new. She will learn and become accustomed to the various hospital scenarios and units. Please don't be so hard on her at this stage of her development. We are the experienced nurses and know how to calm those who are scared, generalizing a few happenings to a whole set of people, and making untrue assumptions. So let's do it.

To the OP: Not all nurses are hateful to each other. You will be fine because you seem sensitive to those around you and their attitudes. Use this sensitivity to learn ways to positively react to people. The why they are that way at this time (perhaps this is a terrible time) is not as important as you learning how to react to the negative activity and/or words.

Talk with one of your instructors who is a calming, nurturing person and get some tips from him/her on how to react during such behaviors. You will be fine and as someone already said, notice what you don't like and try not to be like that throughout your nursing school experience and career. I wish you the best, sweet new nursing school student.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 16, 2017

Kcarolynne1 said:
I believe that being in the profession for 27 years the answer is simple. We are a female dominated profession. Women do not stick together and do not work towards solidarity in a belief.

Your misogyny is showing. Some women do work together. If your experience is otherwise, one wonders what you were bringing to the table.

Dafabb, LPN · Sep 16, 2017

nicuguy said:
I generally walk around like I own the place. It's amazing how a little body language goes a long way in the responses you get. Head up, eye contact, walk as if your hips are driving you, and just OWN IT. Of course, this has to be combined with some diplomacy and nursing school will not teach you that. Actually, required reading should be "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. Read it and learn. If nothing else you will take on situations like this in a whole new way. Also, be like a duck and let stupid things just slide right off your back...learn this now...not kidding.

LMBO This sounds so like me!...As a Nurse who has done about 25 years in agency with a few employed jobs I can truly hold my own. It was show me the med room, dirty laundry room and what kind of charting do you do and I'll ask if I need to. Most Nurses are a good group the select few need to find other jobs...After 40 years I have worked with the best and a few that need daily B12 shots. To know me is just to listen to me talk. I am an open book. Barring the fact you have worked with your friends for many years( did that a long time ago) I do not trust anyone. As agency you go too many places..or I have. After a number of years I finally learned to keep my mouth shut and just do my job. I will help anyone at any time but never tell me no. I had to learn diplomacy and always took constructive criticism from people I truly respect and learned from it because I know my faults. It is a learning curve to let thing fly over your head and just smile. Find a Nurse that you like an emulate her but also make your own ways......

AngelKissed857, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2017

I think you're ok on your username, you make it clear you are a nurse2b, you're not claiming an unearned degree, licensure, or certification. Some places are incredibly toxic, some are awful to Stine s and new grads in particular. I'm a new grad, and in a part time job because I'm also now in a full time BSN program. One of my favorite things about my job is that there is NO backbiting, no politics, it's a true team effort, with everyone supporting everyone else. I feel respected, supported, and appreciated. I sure didn't feel that way in school, except that one special rotation. You'll get through, keep your head down, your mouth mostly shut. Learn everything you can, and move on. Good luck to you!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Sep 17, 2017

AngelKissed857 said:
I think you're ok on your username, you make it clear you are a nurse2b, you're not claiming an unearned degree, licensure, or certification. Some places are incredibly toxic, some are awful to Stine s and new grads in particular. I'm a new grad, and in a part time job because I'm also now in a full time BSN program. One of my favorite things about my job is that there is NO backbiting, no politics, it's a true team effort, with everyone supporting everyone else. I feel respected, supported, and appreciated. I sure didn't feel that way in school, except that one special rotation. You'll get through, keep your head down, your mouth mostly shut. Learn everything you can, and move on. Good luck to you!

The OP just added the "2b" to the username. I assume that was in response to comments made regarding the inappropriate use of the word "nurse in the username.

shaymc33, LVN · Sep 17, 2017

I have to say all the experience I have had as a nurse has been very positive! I am an LVN, so some say they are faced with "not a real nurse", but again, I have never faced this! I suppose it depends on where you work. Don't let clinicals define how you think others see you! I LOVE my job and the doctors and other nurses (RN's) I work with!

honeybee_23 · Sep 17, 2017

Hi OP! I would have to agree with you. Something I've noticed is that you have to be a certain type of individual to make it through nursing school and to be a successful nurse. These people are thick skinned, assertive, independent, strong willed, and smart. If you group these people all together obviously some people will clash. It was actually funny observing the nursing educators who were teaching classes during my orientation to the hospital - they would constantly interrupt each other! No one was backing down for the other to speak. I guess this is just how nurses are. You just learn how to stand your ground. I don't think it's personal though - if a nurse is busy and you have to ask her something and she snaps at you, maybe it's because she didn't mean to but she was just busy thinking about a lot of things. You haven't experienced it yet, but when you're on the job, it may not look like it, but you're constantly thinking about what you're going to next, what this patient needs right now, what the latest set of vital signs and labs were, what you need to call the doctor for, and when someone interrupts, it's easy to get irritated. Also during handoff, the oncoming nurse has to be thorough and assertive. If something wasn't done during the previous shift, it's understandable that the oncoming nurse would get mad, because then if something happens to the patient, then part of it could possibly be her fault as well! As for being mean to new nurses, unless it's actual bullying, I think it's normal for someone to get impatient when they have been doing something for years and years, and then having to get back to a basic level and teach it to someone step by step. Good luck OP, I'm a very sensitive individual as well, but I've learned how to just not take anything personally. If I'm doing something wrong and someone gets mad, I understand, because the patient's safety is above all else.

Skippingtowork · Sep 17, 2017

sevensonnets said:
I'm in my 38th year of nursing (CVICU/ Open Heart) and have never even once felt disrespected or been treated like a slave.

There is no one alive who has not felt disrespected or been treated like a slave. Not even Jesus:)

Zyprexa · Sep 17, 2017

Nurses can be disrespected by patients and family because "patient satisfaction comes first," before anything...staff safety, evidence-based practice, and even what's best for the patient. God forbid we do anything to offend a patient, or they'll give us poor reviews.

Nursing = the ultimate blame profession. If you want to be blamed for things that you have no control over and get yelled at constantly, go into nursing. :up:

ETA: However, some of the best people I've ever met have been my nursing coworkers. I've never been "eaten" by any other healthcare staff. They are amazing and are really the only reason I still work as a nurse (aside from the $$ aspect). I need a new career.

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Sep 17, 2017

Tammi123 said:
Seriously, ever heard of eating your young? Give the poor kid a break about the user name. Are we really SO insecure that a student that is working towards being a nurse is such a threat? They are very concerned about the way that patients treat nurses. This is a very valid concern and one we should address and help them to find their way toward resolving. Making the user name the issue is a coup out. Avoiding an issue that all "nurses"- experienced, newbie or student need to unite to address. This is part of the problem. We let levels of experience and ego get in the way of a united front that makes us all stronger. Support this individual and offer up your own experience, don't be threatened by someone that is seeing things with fresh eyes.

Telling her she should change her username and I believe one poster kindly pointed out that a mod could help her with that was not disrespectful nor does it make us insecure. It is pointing out that OP is breaking this sites terms of service by using the title nurse in her username when she is not yet a nurse. It is also actually illegal in many states to call yourself a nurse before you pass the NCLEX and become a nurse. Granted I can't think of a single time I've heard of somebody being arrested for this crime but that doesn't mean that a whole community of nurses that have legally earned the right to call themselves nurse shouldn't call somebody out that is using the title before it is earned no matter how innocently.

ETA: I see that after I posted this the OP did indeed change her username, so thank you OP for listening.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2017

Skippingtowork said:
There is no one alive who has not felt disrespected or been treated like a slave. Not even Jesus:)

Speak for yourself. I've never been treated like "a slave' at any of my jobs. The times I've ever been treated with disrespect have been very few. But "slave"? Nope.