Why do nurses "eat their young"?

[hope4ccns]

I'm in my last semester of nursing school and have met so many amazing nurses in my clinical experiences. These nurses were patient and willing to take a minute in their busy day to teach or allow me observe.

Of course I have also met nurses who wanted nothing to do with us students. I've had nurses roll their eyes at me when being assigned a student, nurses introduce themselves by telling me "stay outta my way", nurses that don't want me to do anything with their patients, nurses that say "your assessments don't count, you're just a student", I've had nurses say "I don't get paid to teach", nurses that have been mean and rude. Why??? Haven't these nurses been new? Students Eager to learn?

So last week on Medsurge unit in our "teaching hospital" I knew I was in for a long day when I saw my assignment. I worked with this nurse once and had heard nothing but horror stories from other students. I started by introducing myself [received an eye roll], and let her know my assignment included med administration, labs (blood draw from central line), general nursing care, and of course shift assessments. Her response a sarcastic "great". I prepared my meds and discussed them with my instructor. As we headed into the room to administer the nurse was already there giving meds. "You took too long" she said. I apologized and explained I needed to do them with my instructor. She also did the blood draw. My day went on like this.

Frustrated I caught her at the nurses station and asked if we could talk. I asked her "what made you want to be a nurse? Do you remember being a student?" She didn't answer. Then I said " I feel like I am an inconvenience, I want nothing more to be a great nurse and in order to do so I need to learn from someone with the same passion". I then walked away. 30 minutes later she came up to me and said that she thinks we have it easy. Computers and nclex prep courses we are just taught to pass an exam. Although I don't fully disagree I did explain that the nursing field is growing and medical advances, increasing comorbitities, and advancing technology does not make it any easier to learn. She then said "I wanted to be a nurse to take care of people, to be respected, and to make a change... I almost forgot". Aside from my end of shift report we didn't talk again.

Since this day my fellow students have said she's a great nurse, willing to teach and patient.

Moral of my king story -- stick up for yourself and never forget why you want to be a nurse.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I have to say....that after many years in the nursing profession. I have yet to see any nurse eat the young. I really do not like this grouping that "Nurses" meaning the collective...do not like nursing students. That is not true I love students and I spend a phenomenal amount of time here, for free, mentoring students.

You have encountered some nurses that have made learning difficult and don't enjoy teaching. To imply that "NURSES" pleural meaning all....is incorrect.

I don't think all nurses are cut out to teach. It's not that they don't like students...they just don't have the patience nor the aptitude. As nurses have been increasingly pressured by administration and working conditions become more difficult....nurses are over burdened and stressed. (If you think nurses eat their young never go to med school or CRNA school.....those guys are BRUTAL!)

I also think that the schools dependence upon the staff nurses who push the students upon them without warning or preparation adds to this stress. I think that if the schools and the hospitals got together and got a mentoring program together...it would better prepare the nurses to mentor the new nurses.

I think you handled it well. You got your point across in a professional manner and changed the way she approached students in a positive manner. You affected change......Well done.

[hope4ccns]

You are absolutely right. I did not mean to imply ALL nurses. I started by saying that I have met so many amazing nurses, they far outweigh the ones that have been difficult to work/learn from. You have helped me on this site before and your knowledge and experience is admirable. I also understand that they don't all need to "teach" but professionalism is expected.

I guess my title was a bit general. I just returned from a seminar at the hospital regarding lateral violence amongst nurses as well. This is a topic that as a pre-nursing student didn't even know existed but I've seen it on the floor especially with novice nurses. My point was not to bash any nurse or the profession but recalling what being/becoming a nurse means to each individual.

[RunBabyRN]

Good for you for standing up to this nurse. It sounds like you remained respectful in your approach, which is important, and you made her think.

I haven't seen a lot of this, but it does exist, and standing up for yourself is very important.

While I agree with her point that certain things DO make our jobs easier, the job now is also harder in other respects. Patient are significantly more acute, when people are in the hospital for only a few days after surgery, rather than for a few weeks, as one example.

I agree with Esme that not all nurses are cut out to teach, and it's too bad your instructor isn't pairing you up with nurses who are more willing to teach (though it sounds like this nurse has changed her tune a bit). I also agree that the added burden of a student can be a lot for many nurses (no excuse to treat students with disrespect), which can stress them out.

I, too, have learned that standing up for myself is important as a student. I've learned a lot from it, and I feel like I've earned the respect of the nurses on the floors because of it. I'm sure you have earned a lot of respect from this nurse.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

"NETY!" is also the rallying cry for the perpetually aggrieved, and it annoys the heck out of many of us who don't shoot rainbows and unicorns of unconditional love and acceptance out the leg bands of our Depends. :) So when we see a thread entitled "Why do NETY?" we reflexively feel our hackles rise.

There are a number of us who, with our colleague Esme, spend inordinate amounts of time here, for free, counseling and teaching the student nurses who will grow up to care for us in hospitals when we are even older and crustier, or our parents, or our children, or our grandchildren. We do not cut a lot of slack here because we sure as hell don't want slack cut out there.

You (the generic you, not the OP specifically, who sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders) may not like what you hear from us. However, it is always, always given with genuine best wishes to help you be the best nurse you can be in an environment that is a lot more foreign to you than you think now. Nurses don't eat their young any more than sailors, architects, choral directors, or anybody else. SOME people are mean. SOME people unconstructively, intentionally, are hurtful just for the sake of being hurtful.

On the other hand, SOME people are too sensitive by half, or inexperienced with any performance feedback more critical than, "Nice job! Good for you!" They are in for a world of hurt if they don't toughen up and learn the ropes. AN is a safe place to do that, again, even if SOME people don't give or receive feedback the way SOME people would like.

We wish you well. Be good, we need you. Nobody will chew on you if you are tough.

[%63theend]

I could be wrong but part of the problem may be a lot of us go into nursing because we're big ol' bleeding hearts. Very sensitive people in general. The previous poster said "no one will chew on you if you are tough". I think that's true. But I think most sensitive people are not tough innately. So nurses who stick it out grow thick skin over time. The new nurses don't have it yet. So some of the "eating their young" is perception. I also think a lot of older nurses hate nursing and wish they could do something else so they are unhappy watching someone else walk into a land mine willingly.

[adnstudent44]

The OP said nothing about the nurse giving her constructive criticism in her experience, it was clear the nurse just wanted to make her shift easier for herself and disregarded the student nurse and her instructor. That is appalling. Honestly, when you apply to jobs you know if the hospital is a teaching hospital so why do you take the job there if you don't want to deal with students? The OP wasn't asking to be cut any slack she was asking to be allowed to do what she was there to do, which btw is work that the nurse would have had to do. At the LTC facility where I am doing my clinical the CNAs are jumping with joy to have us all do as much of, if not all of their work for them. Unfortunately, they often aren't obeying facility rules or protocols, so they often get frustrated at us for doing it "the right way" instead of the fast way. Our instructor told us however, that they are in the wrong, not us. Just the other day a CNA asked me to help her bring a meal tray to a resident who is in isolation, but told me not to bother putting on a full gown and gloves because I am just dropping a tray off real quick....ARE YOU KIDDING ME? So yes I do think there are nurses who eat their young, as well as CNAs, and LPNS. They are just people who are burnt out, incompetent, or just people who shouldn't have taken a job at a teaching hospital or site. I have talked to many RNs who have been practicing for years who say the same.

[springchick1, ADN, RN]

The OP said nothing about the nurse giving her constructive criticism in her experience, it was clear the nurse just wanted to make her shift easier for herself and disregarded the student nurse and her instructor. That is appalling.

But at the same time, put yourself in the nurse's shoes. Maybe the nurse has a huge workload. Or maybe the nurse had a patient die two hours before the students showed up. Or maybe this nurse was working her 5 12 hour shift of the week. The nurses aren't there to babysit nursing students. We don't have the experience, confidence, or knowledge of a nurse who has been in the field for years and years. We slow nurses down and when they have meds to pass to 10 patients in a certain amount of time, we DO slow them down. Maybe the OP took the nurse's response as sarcastic because she had heard things about the nurse. I think we as nursing student are super quick to say, "Nurses eat their young" because things didn't go our way. I think we need to cut these experienced nurses some slack and try to look at things from their point of view every now and then instead of expecting them to see things from ours.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

I think we as nursing student are super quick to say, "Nurses eat their young" because things didn't go our way. I think we need to cut these experienced nurses some slack and try to look at things from their point of view every now and then instead of expecting them to see things from ours.

Bless your heart, dear. Remember: We have been students, but students have never been experienced nurses.

[diana13122]

AMEN! You made a difference for the students going forward.. I too found other Nurses full of the "Oh No hear they come" attitude in my clinicals.

There is still a stigma with being the "New Nurse" and its challenging. Like you said tho, keeping in mind why we became Nurses gets us through the bad to hopfeully continue to practice and learn!!

[LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN]

I could be wrong but part of the problem may be a lot of us go into nursing because we're big ol' bleeding hearts. Very sensitive people in general. The previous poster said "no one will chew on you if you are tough". I think that's true. But I think most sensitive people are not tough innately. So nurses who stick it out grow thick skin over time. The new nurses don't have it yet. So some of the "eating their young" is perception. I also think a lot of older nurses hate nursing and wish they could do something else so they are unhappy watching someone else walk into a land mine willingly.

Interesting analysis!

[gummi bear]

Some students are incredibly sensitive and the "culture" of nursing is a complete shock for them. However, let's not act as if some nurses and instructors don't actively participate in eating their young. My clinical instructors actually warned our clinical group and admitted to "eating their young", and have continued to do so since day one. It does exist in some nursing programs because the instructors are comfortable doing so and some encourage the behavior. It's extremely counterproductive and a waste of negative energy in my opinion. And most are doing it because it was done to them in the past, and some of my instructors have admitted this fact as well.