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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Health Care |
Has anyone ever heard the expression "Nurses eat their young"? |
I thought this expression was about nurses being mean and not helping new nurses. It seems that it applies to anyone "inferior" to a nurse (secretaries, housekeepers, etc.) Anyone have any thoughts or experiences on this? OMG, nurses definitely eat their young. I am now 40 and became an RN when I was 21. Unfortunately, I have seen this phenomena more than I would like to remember and was probably guilty of it as well. When I was a new nurse, I saw first hand how prevalent this was. I have been eaten alive. It is part power, and part co-dependency. Many nurses go into health care because of the need to care for others (to an unhealthy degree) and this backfires into a need for control and power. To a lesser degree, nurses are in short supply...are overworked and underpaid, and tend not to care for themselves enough to "let go" of the small stuff. With that said, I entered the nursing field 20+ years ago and nothing has really changed. If you are a new nurse, hang in there, and always take the high road. Ask yourself "what can I learn from this?" Don't take it personally but be open to learn and grow from good and bad feedback. If it gets really bad or if you are singled out, take that person aside and ask (gently with humility) if there is a problem. Many times, the willingness to learn and grow and admit your humanness is enough to make the other nurse stop in her tracks and find someone else to "eat". All the Best, Angie Source(s): http://www.AngieMilhous.com I don't know what kind of settings you have been in but, I have never found that saying to be true. Some of my best friends are the office people and housekeepers. Just because i am a nurse does not mean that their jobs are any less important than mine. I have found my staff to conduct themselves in the same way I do, no need for trying to act superior. It all depends on the individual nurse. I have been fortunate enough to work at facilities where this is not the culture. The "seasoned" RNs are very helpful to the new RNs and treat them with respect, because they know that since those older nurses went to school, a lot has changed in nursing education, especially with technology and computer documentation, etc. Those older nurses are smart enough to realize that learning is a two-way street and there is much insight to be gained from the fresh perspective of a new grad. And our unit is very cohesive with all the staff. All our CNAs, housekeepers, HUCs, etc. get along very well. We attend social gatherings together. There is no clique or division between the different classes of employees. If you find yourself in a facility that functions in any other way, you should look for a new place to work. :) RN |
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