Why are others nurses rude to agency nurses?

I have just started agency nursing and I'm just wondering why the staff is so mean to a agency nurse. If we were not available to help they would be short? I have encountered rude people and just wondering what is up with that?

Wow, just asking for support and understanding as this is new for me and I feel people have blamed me for how I am sometimes treated as an agency nurse.I can assure you I am very good nurse and have good communication skills with many years of expericence, always makes me wonder why we have compassion for others but for our peers we are backbiting, judgemental etc...I never did understand this throughout my career...

Specializes in Med-Surg.
Wow, just asking for support and understanding as this is new for me and I feel people have blamed me for how I am sometimes treated as an agency nurse.I can assure you I am very good nurse and have good communication skills with many years of expericence, always makes me wonder why we have compassion for others but for our peers we are backbiting, judgemental etc...I never did understand this throughout my career...

I'm sorry that you've taken it this way.

My intention was to shed some light on why you are treated rudely since you asked. I don't think anyone here said you personally are a bad nurse.

There is no excuse for backbiting, judgementalism and rudeness in nursing. I don't understand it either. It makes for a bad day, but you just have to rise above, do your best for the patients and leave the drama alone.

I'm sorry that you've taken it this way.

My intention was to shed some light on why you are treated rudely since you asked. I don't think anyone here said you personally are a bad nurse.

There is no excuse for backbiting, judgementalism and rudeness in nursing. I don't understand it either. It makes for a bad day, but you just have to rise above, do your best for the patients and leave the drama alone.

My feeling exactly. Some posters may have been rather harsh in their opinions of Agency Nurses but that is thier experience or perception. I agree with the observation that to be an Agency Nurse you do need to be top notch in your field.

My observation is that when a facility has a consistent need it usually means the facility has problems.

Know that we ARE a supportive group of Nurses. We posters and Volunteer Staff Members like to Nurture each other and raise the bar, so to speak, of Nursing. Some of us need to vent and speak aloud our concerns, as you have. I hope you have better and better expeiences and can share in the spirit of Modeling supportive behavior in our field.

:welcome: to AllNurses.com ;)

I have just started agency nursing and just wondering why the staff is so mean to a agency nurse when if we werent there to help they would be short?? I have encountered rude people and just wondering what is up with that??

Frankly, many nurses have low self esteem, and just look for a reason to be nasty to anyone. They want to make themselves better than others, but it never works out for people like that. Just smile, and say "how nice ".

SueBee RN-BSN said:
Frankly, many nurses have low self esteem, and just look for a reason to be nasty to anyone. They want to make themselves better than others, but it never works out for people like that. Just smile, and say "how nice ".

Now I know, you're nice. You're a wonderful person and what I hear from you now makes me happy. What we say , how we feel and how we see people and events is a projection of ourselves. ;) Keep it up!

Specializes in Critical Care.

For the record, the OP asked 'why?' and I listed some of my observations over the years. But, that should not in any way be conferred to be MY opinions.

~faith,

Timothy.

Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

As a native Floridian and Southerner and as a traveler nurse:

- I have always been treated poorly, at least initially, in Florida. I could be the sweetest most abiding nurse on a unit, and at least initially, will get the "she gets paid more, so lets dump on her" attitude. And bad attitude begets bad attitude. If you continually dump on agency, NO ONE good will want to work with you. There are some facilities in Florida that NO ONE with any experience and an in with grapevine, will work (thinking of "Hellray" or "Deathray" Beach).

- No matter how much that YOU THINK we make, very few of us make that much. The only reason that I ever work Florida is to visit family and friends, not for any "so called" big bucks.

- Virtually EVERY facilitiy that I go to, I am designated first to float over regular staff. Which means if for 5 straight shifts in a row, someone has to be floated and I am on duty, I will be floated for 5 shifts in a row. If your facility has designated otherwise, that is a decision made BY YOUR FACILITY'S MANAGEMENT...and you need to be talking to them about that, as it is not "our" fault. YOU are responsible for what YOU put up with.

At my last Florida assignment, I was required by the contract SET DOWN BY THE FACILITY, to work a certain amount of overtime, which griped some of my coworkers. I personally would rather not work OT. I made it clear that OT was not my choice, but that of the hospital's management and that they should address it with them.

- Do you think that we do not earn any extra dollars that we make? You try it for a year or two. Try giving up your car, shipping your things, and flying into a city where you know absolutely no one, find your way around, set up cable/phone. Try finding a MD (especially if you have a complicated medical history), dentist, lawyer (for any legal matters), laundromat, without the close assistance of friends. Try doing reciprocity paoperwork - if you think life was difficult enough trying to get one license, try doing over and over again.

How many of you cannot eat, shop or tour by yourself? There is nothing quite like when coworkers are setting up lunch schedules, so that they go down in groups....as they cannot even think of eating by theirselves in the cafeteria.

And we have to do it all the time. And with a smile on our faces and a good attitude.

- We should not compare things to our previous facilities and we should not quote pay rates. By the same token, WHY DO YOU THE STAFFER ASK US:

What we think of you compared to others?

Is this the best/worst place that you have been?

What do YOU get paid?

What is you favorite place to work?

To answer any of these would be unspeakabley rude. Unless you have a very close relationship with me (have seen me naked in locker room, gone to the beach with me, eat at least 4 meals per week w/me, know my mom's maiden name, or have known me for at least 4 years straight.....it's close enough), you have no business asking that question and I have no business answering it.

- There are highly dysfunctional agency nurses, that can't get a job otherwise. And for each of them, there are several highly dysfunctional nurses that have worked at your facility for ages.....because there is absolutely no chance in heck that any other place would hire them.

- We will have to work most major holidays (unless contracted otherwise) and will get the crappiest schedule. Most places don't recognize us during the holidays or nurse's week. Last Christmas Eve, I got floated. The floor that I was floated had NO REGULAR STAFF nurse on it except the Charge for 50 some odd beds. We couldn't find anything, had no codes to enter the lockups...it was a dangerous nightmare.

- No vacation pay, no sick pay....enough said.

- No security - we can be fired for any reason. And then have to pack up all we own and get outta town within 24-48 hours.

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As to why staffers treat agency badly....they do it because they haven't figured that agency is not the "Enemy".

The "Enemy" is the lousy management practices that lead nurses to working agency and that result in lack of staff, leading to use of agency.

I'm not sure why anyone would treat you poorly. At our facility we don't get to use any agency nurses. And if we ever had the privelege to get one to help us out... I do know this... NOT one of us would be rude to him/her. We would be SO SO thankful for the additional pair of hands we would bring him/her coffee and be nice and welcoming so he/she would want to come back to help again sometime.

If ONLY we could get some agency relief once in awhile!!! But Noooo!! Those tight fisted CEO's wouldn't let loose of a buck to even hire another nurse for the facility much less an agency one. JERKS! It's the elderly that suffer. Just think of it... $90 grand x 300 residents That's 27 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A think they could get another nurse or two in there?????????? GEESH!!!!!!!!!

I love it when we are able to have an agency nurse work with us. They are able to bring fresh air to our floor. I guess I work with a really good group of people, we all reach out and try to help the agency person know where our supplies are, how to reach pharmacy, check with them to see if they need help. There have been several times where we would have been up a creek if it wasn't for our agency nurses. There are several who work with our hospital, so at times it's like catching up with old friends that you haven't seen for a while.

We currently have a traveling nurse on our floor who is there on a 13 week assignment. We have accepted her and gotten to know her, and it's going to be sad when she does leave. Maybe we can talk her into another contract....

All that being said, I guess not only each hospital, but each unit of the hospital will have a different outlook on agency nurses.

I have worked as a agency nurse and the majority of nurses are glad to see you. But, there are some nurses for personel reasons doe not like agency nurses. Some have sterotyped all agency nurses. and the simple fact that they are making more money don't like agency nurses.

As a travel or agency nurse myself, I can only tell you of my experience. I am lucky enough to have a travel assignment 70 miles from home. I have been at this particular facility for 4 years! I have been treated very well by my coworkers, but the management is another story. Not that they have treated me horribly either, they want to treat me as staff when it suits them, and as "agency" when it doesn't. But all in all I have enjoyed my time with them. I am getting ready to move on now though and will miss most of my coworkers.

1. The staff resent the high wages agency RNs get

2. Tha agency/contract nurse is gaurenteed their hours

3. The agency nurses generally do not go the extra mile in helping staff or the patients.

This the complaints that I see and hear from my staff

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