You won't believe.....

Published

True story from this morning---

I'm in break room , reading document student comes in to use computer to preview pts for clinical tomorrow

Hi I'm Sally student

Me - still intent on document--mumbles hi

*silence *

Student --I guess you don't like students I've heard about nurses eating their young

Me: still reading--huhh?

Really? Give me a break

Geez.....she needs an attitude check.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in FNP, ONP.

I disagree with all of the "stop what you are doing and welcome the newcomer" stuff. I'm a professional, and it sounds as if in this instance, the professional was otherwise engaged. I'm strongly in favor of being polite, but I am neither the Welcome Wagon nor Julie the Cruise Director, and it isn't my responsibility to make everyone who wanders onto the unit feel all warm and fuzzy. The student was an idiot.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in FNP, ONP.

He says: "No, my wife isn't home right now. She's out taking umbrage."

a classic

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in FNP, ONP.
After the comment from the student about nurses eating their young my response would have been "now that you have my full attention let's go find your instructor and explain to her your rudeness and how interrupting me isn't a good way to introduce yourself to someone"

this is a good, and deserved, response.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in FNP, ONP.
She was brave! I agree with some others though, you could have been friendlier to her! Had she not been a student would you have greeted her in the same manor? She is right though, some nurses are so nasty to students! Some really get on my nerves (students) but I try to stay polite and remember we where all students at one time!

Not the OP, but I'll answer. It would not have mattered to me who it was, "Hey" is usually all anyone gets from me until noon. I will not just stop what I'm doing and make an effusive greeting every time someone walks into a room. There are 40 people working in my office, I'd never get anything finished! I come to work to WORK, not socialize, and I make small talk at lunch and at the end of the day. I've never eaten anyone.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in FNP, ONP.
OP I would be interested to hear what you think the student should have done?

Uh, get about her business without bothering anyone.

Would you rather she had turned around and left when she found you in the break room, thereby being underprepared for her clinical the next day?

Yes. Her work is her problem, not mine. No one did my work for me when I was a student. WTHeck?

Or on seeing you busy should she have gone ahead with her prep without speaking or introducing herself to you, which would no doubt have brought accusations of rudeness down on her head.

Not from me, I'm fine with live and let live. We can nod at each other, say "hey" when we aren't busy. Neither of us came there to make friends.

Seems to me she couldn't win and had annoyed you simply by being there. Which makes her observation about you disliking students seem not far off the mark.

I didn't get that at all from this scenario.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in FNP, ONP.
Ok, I'm floored that this debate has gone on this long. Especially since I can't even qualify the situation as debatable.

The OP gave a distracted acknowledgement that the student addressed her. She said "hi" and then continued with her reading. The student, in response, said an intensely stupid thing in stating that "I guess this is what they mean when they say nurses eat their young" (or something extremely similar, I'm paraphrasing).

How on earth can this be construed as a case of the nurse creating a situation in which an obnoxious comment from a stranger can be viewed as expected or acceptable? On what planet?

It's unfortunate the OP didn't give the 100 watt smile and bright fluffy tail of a greeting to the student (for those of you who think she should have). But explain to me how this equates with such a rude statement from the student? She deserved to have Miss Obnoxious verbally attack her because she had the audacity to "only" acknowledge her with a distracted 'Hi'?

How dare she. Flog her in the streets. And maybe that poor student could get an A for having put up with such a horrible encounter with a Young-Eating Nurse.

Absurd.

I feel compelled to ask if both parties in this exchange were women? I can not, for the life of me, imagine guys experiencing a similar conflict because guy #1 perceived guy #2 as being insufficiently welcoming/friendly on guy #1's first day. If guy #2 did say something that inane, Guy #1 would have pointedly asked "What the #$%^&*! is your problem, dude?" Guy #2 would have realized his social faux pas, and said, "Nothing man, just kidding." He'd have tucked his tail between his legs and left in a hurry. However, both of them would get over it and move on.

I live with 5 of them, but I don't get women.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology, Rehab, Public Health, Med Surg.
I feel compelled to ask if both parties in this exchange were women? I can not, for the life of me, imagine guys experiencing a similar conflict because guy #1 perceived guy #2 as being insufficiently welcoming/friendly on guy #1's first day. If guy #2 did say something that inane, Guy #1 would have pointedly asked "What the #$%^&*! is your problem, dude?" Guy #2 would have realized his social faux pas, and said, "Nothing man, just kidding." He'd have tucked his tail between his legs and left in a hurry. However, both of them would get over it and move on. I live with 5 of them, but I don't get women.

Op again--- yes both women. And what happened next is interesting.

After she made the nety comment, she DID have my attention. I asked her what made her think I disliked students and she just laughed. I again asked her what would make her say that to me and she laughed again Finally she said it was cause I didn't "talk more " to her

I told her I was busy and returned to reading ---not 50 shades of grey as suggested by bortaz--but a medical update of my stepdaughters mother who happens to be in a medically induced coma after a heart attack. She was asking me what different terms and values meant. I don't have much time for breaks and it was important to me to respond to my s/daughter to whom I am very close.

I never expected this kind of response---I thought it was ironic because of all the discussions on allnurses I appreciate those who understand my point of view and respect that others can see it differently

Up Vote Up Vote ×

wow, i thnk it is rude and presumptuous to expect a greeting from a stranger. exceptions being work related ( with customers, not coworkers). If people make eye contact or stare i say hello, otherwise I leave them alone.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I told her I was busy and returned to reading ---not 50 shades of grey as suggested by bortaz--but a medical update of my stepdaughters mother who happens to be in a medically induced coma after a heart attack. She was asking me what different terms and values meant. I don't have much time for breaks and it was important to me to respond to my s/daughter to whom I am very close.

How rude of you to spend your break time focused on something important to you and your family. How dare you not realize there are nursing students in desperate need of coddling! NETY NETY NETY!!!!!!!!!!

(You'll have to forgive Bortaz, I think he assumes everyone spends their breaks as he does. :) )

Break time is break time. For those upset OP wasn't welcoming enough while she was on break, do you all jump off the toilet when you overhear someone on the floor so you can run out mid-BM to make sure they feel welcome? After all, it would only take a second. Your bowels can wait. A nursing student's feelings cannot.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in FNP, ONP.
High Five Wooh. You nailed it.
Up Vote Up Vote ×

How is saying hi interrupting? Am I missing something here?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion