Why do older olders nurses hate juniour nurses?

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Nov 3, 2011

Where r u working sweetie pie? Do u realise u have posted this in the Aussie thread and not the general nursing section?

The RN you handed over to may have had her mind on many things. Many people - here anyway - don't respond during h/over, you just rattle out all the info & they will ask questions if they want to.

If anyone belittles you, stand up for yourself. But some little things aren't worth a battle over - just laugh it off and try to do stuff after work that relaxes you & which u enjoy.

We are not all like that. I never humiliate students in front of other people - I think doing that shows an insecure and bullying personality.

Try doing this if someone humiliates u in front of others:

- Loudly state that u are there to learn. If they don't like what ur doing, could they teach you the right way please, or tell them the way u do things is how u were taught at university.

- Take them into a separate room & confront them. I can guarantee you they will bluster & belittle you still, but if u stay calm and keep repeating: 'I feel humiliated when you say so-and-so in front of others, please do not do that', they will back down after a while. Just be professional & smile (very hard I know!)

- Always smile when people laugh at you. Show them that no matter what they do, they are not bothering you. Alway be cheerful & wave goodbye and be friendly when u leave & when u turn up for work. The bullies will see that they can't get to you after a while, & will probly go pick another target.

- If they tell u to do something a certain way, & then complain about it, don't let it go. Reiterate that that is how they wanted u to do it.

- Always stick to your guns when speaking back to someone. Don't ever back down & say you were wrong - unless u really were.

- If they tell you off in front of others, tell them that is wrong, and they need to take u into a private room instead.

There are lots of anti-bullying websites u can google, but if the bullying gets worse, see the NUM or DON.

Let us know how u get on.

talaxandra · Nov 3, 2011

I'm both experienced and old. I don't hate anyone, and I certainly don't have an issue with my lerss experienced colleagues - we were all new once.

Obviously I can only go with my experiences. Though there are definitely some nurses who have issues, including bullying behaviour, they're in the minority. For the most part when I'm approached about these kinds of situations at least one person involved is seeing a personla component to something that's a professional issue for the other person.

There are a couple of things that lead me to think this could be a factor for you here, particularly the phrase "it seems to me that seniour nurses are always ready to pounce on the younger nurses for no apparent reason." It may feel like 'always' but is it really? Or are you feeling so 'pouncable' that you're misinterpreting the behaviour of more experienced nurses?

I suspect there'll always be tension between what students are taught to do and what's actually done in practice. Sometimes newer nurses have more up-to-date information, while older nurses have slipped into outdated or slipshod habits. And sometimes what's taught is an idealised version of practice that doesn't work in the real world. Working out which is which takes time, and being open to the idea that you can both learn from each other.

I'm a mentor to the preceptors of new grads, for a year. I'm assigned students, who we have for forty weeks of the year, and work with medical students who chose to do a nursing shadowing elective. I'm the most consulted resource on my ward. And I do this while I've got a full patient load, which includes educating patients and families.

For the most part I enjoy teaching - it's why I'm pursuing a career in academia.

But I have times, and I'm sure I'm not alone, when I'm tired to the bone of teaching. Tired of being given responsibility for people who aren't interested in taking it for themselves, and of working with people who don't learn by observation but need to be told everything.

I'm not saying any of this applies to you, but some of it might apply to the nurses you're venting about.

livv · Nov 3, 2011

Thanks guys for responding. I am actually in melbourne. I totally see your points. I will try not to take it personally. I can see how it would be frustrating to teach people who are not doing their part. I actually feel better now that i vented. Thanks

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2011

No worries. Vent away again if necessary.

Please come back & let us know how you fare though.

bulletproofbarb · Nov 5, 2011

Also, remember, you are not the only student who has come through. The RN may just be darn worn out..she's probably taught the same thing 100 times and still has patients and family plus other staff/graduates to support.

I have had students and grads who show interest and others who dont care..as an example one grad needed to learn a procedure, so I told them to read the hospital policy first and then i would explain it to them. I saw the grad chatting with the other nurses, it was a quiet shift HUGE learning opportunity and yet 2 hours later they had not read a 3 page dot point procedure and said "oh just tell me" I said I would do the procedure and they could do the other things until they read the procedure. I'm not there to spoon feed adults unless they are patients with a physical disability. I have zero patience for those who wont to put in very little effort to learn...and i know I am not the only one who feels like that. I have to read the policies as they change frequently..it's not only students who do and sometimes I think students forget that things change often so RN's are also always renewing their knowledge.

It's hard to step in someones shoes but when you get to be a RN and have taught the same thing over and over whilst supervising grads/students, caring for patients and relatives you will see what it can be like.

Regardless of how you are tuaght a procedure in school, just remember every hospital has their own policy and that is what has to be followed.

Lorodz · Feb 10, 2012

Oh that's sad...I've been nursing for almost 3 years, and whenever I encounter newbies on the floor, I'll be glad to teach them on how to do things, but I have to tell them that they must have a small notebook and pen with them so that they can jot down notes. I don't like to teach them things that I have taught them before. I think bullying doesn't only apply to nursing. Bullying us everywhere. I think the appropriate thing to do is to inform the person about how you feel and realize why she's acting that way. If she continues to treat you like that, it only means she have an attitude problem, better escalate to your nurse manager.