Young nurse

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Hello to all the lovely nurses

I am 22 years old and a new graduate nurse in District nursing. I have really enjoyed my job so far but recently I have noticed that quite a few patients talk down to me, disrespect me and are generally rude to me due to my age. They often will talk to me like I am a child. I understand that I am young but I still believe I should be respected just as the older nurses are. Has anyone else had an experience like this?

Thanks so much in advance 😊

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Specializes in M/S, Pulmonary, Travel, Homecare, Psych..

I'm interested in why you believe it is because of your age they act that way.

Many people in general act that way towards others, even when the person they are talking to is older. Misery loves company.

I dealt with it as well when I was a new nurse. It ended quickly enough though. I never made any special efforts to help the situation improve, it just did.

I can say this though: People who act like that are looking for a reaction. Borrow a page from Pavlov's book and don't give said reaction. It seems to me, people who enjoy acting this way know who to do it to and when it will be fruitless. If you exude a presence that says you don't care that you are younger or new, they will pick up on it. How to go about doing that though is another story and probably not something that is teachable.

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They will talk down to you and treat you just as poorly when you're 92. :cat:

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Specializes in Med-surg, telemetry, oncology, rehab, LTC, ALF.

I started working as a nurse at 23, but I looked (and actually still look) like I'm maybe 16.

I just politely remind them that I am an RN, and not a student. At some point though, I started modeling my coworkers behavior, so my behavior portrayed that even though I looked really young, I knew what I was doing. Then people stopped making comments about my age or insinuating that I wasn't capable of taking care of them.

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Thanks for your reply!

I have comments on my age daily, such as 'you can't be my nurse you look like you are in school' or a regular 'Are you my shower lady'.

I totally agree with what you are saying and I will take it all on board. :)

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