You won't believe.....

HappyWife77, BSN, RN · Oct 10, 2013

You could have said.....Your safe i just had lunch!! :yeah:

Bortaz, MSN, RN · Oct 10, 2013

Absolutley correct. It doesn't cost you anything to be polite and spare someone a few seconds of your time. A mumbled, disinterested greeting just makes you look like an AH.

In defense of the student....I would have looked up and smiled and said "Hi.... I'm Esme, is there something I can help you with?"....she is after all a stranger in your breakroom.
I tell my kids, manners matter......as my daughter enters the nursing world I also explain to her to remain polite regardless of any rudeness she may perceive or encounter as she enters the adult world.

OCNRN63, RN · Oct 10, 2013

Oh boy. And I congratulate you on your ability to restrain yourself for pounding that clueless twit into next week.
Did I say that out loud??

I'd have gladly lent a hand. I've got a sturdy cane.

OCNRN63, RN · Oct 10, 2013

I am with Esme here. I go way way WAY out of my way for students. Many times the make the difference between a horrible shift and a bearable shift. Plus I love the chance to help shape a new nurse and show them the way things are done properly. We just got a fresh crop yesterday...first semester, very first time on a hospital floor. By the end of the day they were all thrilled and super excited and super motivated. They thanked us for being so kind to them. When I was a student I was frequently treated horribly. Every nurse out there was once a student. It is a shame that some of them have forgotten where they came from......

If I am working on something that requires my full attention, I may not be able to stop in the middle of what I'm doing to have a chat. In defense of the OP, the student should have recognized that she was working and gone about her business quietly. Nothing the OP did warranted a full-on attack from a student who doesn't know her.

doppelganger2 · Oct 10, 2013

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"

FlorenceNtheMachine · Oct 10, 2013

Maybe the student would have still been rude if you have fully greeted her. Maybe not. You'll never know.

I tend to be very friendly with any and all newcomers, even if I'm busy. It's good manners.

BUT, her response to the silence is rude and kinda outspoken. I would never say that to anyone, especially as a student.

chickpea7 · Oct 10, 2013

I think a mumbling 'hi' while still reading your document is rude, and a nicer hello wouldn't have been so hard and it would have been a lot more professional.

llg, PhD, RN · Oct 10, 2013

I think it is time for popcorn.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Oct 10, 2013

I go way way WAY out of my way for students.

But just because a nurse does not (especially when he/she is in the middle of work) does not mean that he/she is eating his/her young.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Oct 10, 2013

I think a mumbling 'hi' while still reading your document is rude, and a nicer hello wouldn't have been so hard and it would have been a lot more professional.

Is a hardy "hello" nicer than a mumbled "hi?" Of course. But do you really think it was proof that nurses eat their young? What's more, did the 'mumbler' deserve such and accusation? No way!

TheMoonisMyLantern, ADN, LPN, RN · Oct 10, 2013

Oh please, the OP gave an uninterested "Hi." to the student she didn't smack her in the face and say "How dare you disrupt me peon!", after all if you're THAT sensitive then how do you even make it through the day?

Julesmama28 · Oct 10, 2013

I am a student right now and although I would not have said that, I probably would have thought it! I hope that you don't forget how awkward it is to walk into a strange place, with strange people and have to introduce yourself as the "student". It's very hard for some people!