Why do unit nurses have bad reps?

Published

I will be transferring to ICU from general surg next week. When I told one of my co-workers (whom I respect) that I was going to the unit, she said "Just promise me you won't go up there and turn into a B***H." I asked around my unit and got the same type of response. I have not had many interactions with our ICU nurses, so I don't have much to go on, but my co-workers seem to think that unit nurses are holier-than-thou and that they all look down on "floor nurses", talking down to us. I realize that these are opinions, and are in all probabilty, stemming from isolated incidents, but I just wanted to get some perspective on what you all thought of this.

I think you might encounter some frustration working here. Nurses have limits and your used to calling the shots.

misswoosie....you should be right up there with mother theresa, and

be 'knighted' by the queen.:rolleyes:

in the usa you would be quite bored.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in critical care, med/surg.

Fergus51 hit the nail on the head. Icu atracts those of us who think we are a cut above those on the floor and what's wrong with that? To be a ***** is unfortunate but the attitude that says "I can save this persons life because of my training" is priceless!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg.
.........the attitude that says "I can save this persons life because of my training" is priceless!

Nothing wrong with that attitude. That's the attitude as a med-surg nurse that I approach my practice. I may have to send the patient to ICU when they are critical, but it's my skill and training that recognized the situation and rescued them.

It's what nurses do. ICU, med-surg, and long-term care. We save lives with our training and education. No one is a "cut above" the other in that department in my opinion.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, ER.
Fergus51 hit the nail on the head. Icu atracts those of us who think we are a cut above those on the floor and what's wrong with that? To be a ***** is unfortunate but the attitude that says "I can save this persons life because of my training" is priceless!

You're kidding, right? :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in critical care, med/surg.

You're kidding, right? :)

Maybe, but think about it.Most of the unit nurses I know are of a different breed of nurse and deal with pt decompensations on a daily basis. I'm just saying that as in the military when under fire and extreme conditions, some people rise up and do more than the average Joe. And yes, I am a WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant), if that helps you understand the arrogance.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, ER.
You're kidding, right? :)

Maybe, but think about it.Most of the unit nurses I know are of a different breed of nurse and deal with pt decompensations on a daily basis. I'm just saying that as in the military when under fire and extreme conditions, some people rise up and do more than the average Joe. And yes, I am a WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant), if that helps you understand the arrogance.

Well, I'm a SICU nurse. I have found that the very best nurses on my unit are the ones who are humble and open-minded... because they are the ones who never stop looking for opportunities to learn. Many of the holier-than-thou folks have egoes that are way larger than their competence if you ask me. For example, one nurse who had been on my unit for about 20 yrs was well known for always having a right answer and perfect looking pts at report... well she was a tough broad and acted like she always knew everything. YET, I once took a non-vented pt over from her that she left on 5 of Dex... oooops. Another time she gave me report on a patient she and I traded off onwith a trach resection who magically experienced only 1/10 pain her whole shift yet 9/10 with hemodynamic shifts on my shifts before and after hers. Another time, she just didn't feel like ambulating a 2/3 lung resection (there's only 90% mortality there) on a pt I had successfully ambulated prior. Yet this woman ruled the roost, intimidated everyone and influenced the group-think behavior of her weekend night clique. She would regularly manipulate the assignments to her taste (forget continuity of care) and I for one had the guts to angrily confront her one day. Bad move of course and the culture and that unit was just sooooo putrid that I had to leave after one year, 3 months.

I don't feel that the acuity of pts in the ICU should give us license to act any old way towards each other and floor nurses. In fact, we should be that much more humbled that we are entrusted with so great a responsibility. It is a priviledge, not a passport to ego-land.

Furthermore, I once volunteered to float to cardiac step-down which was a real eye-opening experience. One of my pts decompensated and had a PE, another was a hot belly on TPN (don't ask me what she was doing in cardiac), and I had three other patients! And try to get a resident or attending to respond to a page or give you decent orders... not !!! I realized how spoiled I was and how I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.

Maybe, but think about it.Most of the unit nurses I know are of a different breed of nurse and deal with pt decompensations on a daily basis. I'm just saying that as in the military when under fire and extreme conditions, some people rise up and do more than the average Joe. And yes, I am a WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant), if that helps you understand the arrogance.

Unit nurses may be a different "breed," but that doesn't mean med-surg nurses are "average Joe." That's very insulting. We're all different breeds. We all have skills unique to our own kind of nursing. Different priorities. Different skills. There is NO excuse for behaving arrogantly. A cut above?? Being a b**** is not an "unfortunate" side-effect of being a good ICU nurse. It's the sign of a small person who is narcissistic.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Unit nurses may be a different "breed," but that doesn't mean med-surg nurses are "average Joe." That's very insulting. We're all different breeds. We all have skills unique to our own kind of nursing. Different priorities. Different skills. There is NO excuse for behaving arrogantly. A cut above?? Being a b**** is not an "unfortunate" side-effect of being a good ICU nurse. It's the sign of a small person who is narcissistic. Amen!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
And yes, I am a WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant), if that helps you understand the arrogance.

And WHAT does that have to do with anything whatsoever?

(isn't there a bit of irony given the hispanic cyber tag?)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Completely lost now....

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psych.
It seems you can never get away from it:

When I worked Med/Surg I always heard how LTC nurses don't know anything.

Then I moved to ICU and heard how the "floor nurses" are clueless.

Then I floated to SICU from my home MICU and constantly heard how MICU wasn't a "real" ICU like SICU is, only SICU and CVICU can take the "really sick" patients.

Then I moved to PACU, and apparantly from the feedback I got from my ICU and Med/Surg colleagues, PACU is the biggest prima donna of them all and I was going to end up like one of "them" if I stayed there because PACU nurses apparantly don't do anything because it's beneath them.

It's also an ICU overflow unit but apparantly I'm not a real ICU nurse anymore even though I can take their patients when they are full.

It doesn't matter where you work, somebody will always be more of a "real nurse" than you and someone will always be less than you.

This is too sad. A general plea to all nurses . . .SUPPORT YOUR COLLEAGUES!!! We all have SOMETHING to learn from each other. Even non-nurses! Never be afraid to ask questions! To those of you who are being asked questions. . . this is a compliment. It means someone respects your hard-won knowledge and now YOU are the expert. People, please, drop the jr-high attitudes and realize that NO ONE can know everything about everything. We are put on this earth to HELP each other. Knowledge that is not disseminated is USELESS!:)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psych.

:yeahthat: :yeahthat:

Nothing wrong with that attitude. That's the attitude as a med-surg nurse that I approach my practice. I may have to send the patient to ICU when they are critical, but it's my skill and training that recognized the situation and rescued them.

It's what nurses do. ICU, med-surg, and long-term care. We save lives with our training and education. No one is a "cut above" the other in that department in my opinion.

Yeah, that. (Smilies don't seem to be working)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion