Yep. Nurses do "eat their young"

[Dianna11]

Having started posting here after I graduated, I've seen it first hand. Its not just a "say". Its the truth.

Maybe it's a blessing in disguise, to know what awaits us on the floor. But neverthelsss, extremely unprofessional of some, who think GNs or new floor nurses deserve "no respect" or that "the respect should be earned".

On edit: do patients need to "earn your respect" as well???

SMH!

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

Your point about respecting authority is a good one, but I would add a caveat. Unquestioning respect, compliance, and the idea ANYONE above you is beyond critiscism can lead to terrible results.

I would say this though there is a certain time, place, and manner that is appropriate to voice your concerns. It is an incredibly fine line to walk, but that is true of every one including the people above you.

I guess I would say try not to be a doormat, but don't be a porcupine either.

I believe you've missed the point of the post entirely.

It seems the conclusion has been drawn that it's all about authority. No, it's not - and having served as an enlisted individual in the past I realize that more than many of my commissioned counterparts. I think the examples were partially lost on a mostly civilian audience. My fault.

My point was that there is a basic respect that everyone is entitled to. In my world, it's primarily based on rank - but in reality, in everyone's world, it's based on the fact that you're human and you're here. Drawing conclusions about people because of limited knowledge in one area (here, nursing) and projecting that onto them as a whole person is uncalled for. They deserve respect for what they know, where they are, and what they've experienced.

That's not something you earn. It's something you're given. It's basic regard for other people and the space they occupy.

This isn't about authority, and I hope your conclusions aren't being projected on me, someone you don't know. I move in what is most likely a very different world from what you do. My examples and experiences are a bit different too. I've been a civilian as well - longer than I've been active duty, actually, though that's very close to flipping as I approach the sixteen year mark.

And I'm Air Force. We leave the hardlining and the being "ate up" to the Marines. LOL.

[canigraduate]

By this line of thinking, rudeness on first meeting is allowed until respect is earned.

Respect isn't just "deep admiration". It's treating someone with, well, basic respect: they are a person with separate skills and abilities and viewpoints they bring to the table, along with their own personal foibles and shortcomings (we all have them).

This notion that all respect is earned is fairly disrespectful in and of itself.

This is what I was talking about earlier. What you are describing is basic courtesy, which is different from respect. Some people just have no manners, and have to be taught how to interact with others.

[canigraduate]

Respect for your nursing capabilities, yes. But there seems to a be a wide swath of disregard for basic respect. And when people quote ONE definition of respect (the one about esteem and high regard and admiration - which is all that was noted in the thread up to my own post pointing out there are multiple facets to the word) then it does indeed appear as though there's an implicit disregard for respecting people in general.

That is what is unacceptable. And when people talk about feeling bullied and overpowered and disregarded, they seem to mean they're being disrespected in general. Just because you know little about nursing doesn't mean you're not deserving of consideration for what you DO know and what you HAVE experienced.

I'm active duty military. I outrank most of the people I work with. I expect that rank to be respected regardless of what someone's personal opinion of me is (and I'm hoping they have a good one!). I expect some respect for my experience and my age. But if I'm a complete douche of an RN, I deserve no respect for that at all.

I have colonels above me who are absolute louses. But I stand up when they walk in because I respect their rank. I might not like who's in the White House, but I don't speak against them because my position demands I respect the office.

There's more than one meaning to this word. We would all do better to realize that.

Yeah, I bolded that part for emphasis, but there were like 17 different definitions of respect.

I personally treat everyone as part of the privileged class of humanity, but I was also raised in a very genteel culture that teaches manners and civility.

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

OP, by your definition, I suppose that nurses do eat their young... as do firefighters and police officers and engineers and pilots and physicians (to mention the professions that I'm quite familiar with).

I must presume that the I&D thread played a large role in your posts and I therefore challenge your basic premise given that you took a mildly dismissive statement and declared it a personal attack when it was nothing of the kind.

Do bullies exist in the nursing profession? Most definitely. Is there, though, some broad base of nurses who chew up the newbies and spit them out? Not in my experience.

You were not attacked personally in that thread, you views were simply dismissed when you challenged an expert provider. That is not anything near what I would define as NETY behavior.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Please remain respectful...