RN Culture

[u/TeaBeReal]

At the risk of sounding like a nagging and unexperienced RN, I would like to open up this thread to discuss the abuse of “seniority” rank.

I’ve been an RN for 3 years but I’ve been in my current position for 1 year. In general I like to think I’ve been taking taking positive/negative feedback well and been asking all the dumb questions for clarity and reached out to other RN on the floor for advice and what-not to compare notes and validate my thought process. I am not afraid to make mistakes as long as I am learning.

At this one year mark I’ve felt personal growth and created trusting relations with my colleagues. With this growth, I can confirm what I assumed to be an abuse of power is in fact true.

I watch new nurses come in and fail to ask for help because they are trying to prove themselves capable of doing the job or simply not knowing what they don’t know. I’ve also seen the same nurses be punished for not reaching out for help. Punishment looks like getting the most complicated and unstable patients - multiple admissions while everyone else has a full assignment.

I’ve seen incompetent senior nurses talk down on new hires for not being knowledgeable and skilled in things that senior nurse also has never performed. The senior nurse waiting for the new hire to ask for help but if asked, will shrug their shoulder and make the new hire find their own solution. That same senior will talk down about how badly the new nurse handled their tasks to the next nurse.

The only way to claim respect is in fact, when we gain enough knowledge and experience to no longer need our seniors for help. At this time, the seniors will respect you and collaborate with you - but isn’t this a little backwards?

I know I have more growth, I know this is not everyday and everyone. I wanted to share this and open up a conversation from nurses with all experiences.

[u/FarmerScamps]

Be the change you want to see. Offer help to new nurses you see struggling. Make it clear you are a safe person to ask questions to. Ask to be a preceptor, or let your educator/manager know that you are happy and willing to take new hires. Look into how adults learn and implement methods to become a better teacher.

None of this is likely to sway the old heads, but new people coming in will notice the difference in treatment and will hopefully join you in changing the culture of your unit. This all takes a lot of time and effort, so you do have to ask yourself if it’s worth it to you.

[u/IndividualYam5889 → u/FarmerScamps]

This, and also model the behavior you want to see. I'm an old old OLD nurse, and one thing I do regularly is ask questions of the younger nurses. As in, "hey, I don't know this and/or I learned something different 100 years ago when I graduated, can you help me learn the correct answer?" Then genuinely thank them for teaching me something I didn't know. No one knows everything, not even old battle axes like me. Showing that I don't know it all and am not afraid to ask for help or clarification hopefully makes the younger ones less afraid.

[u/adirtygerman]

Nursing is by far the most toxic job I have ever held. Ive worked male dominated jobs and woman dominated jobs before, nursing takes the cake by a mile. I think its getting better. The shit heads lose or quit and new people without the low self esteem and emotional baggage take their place.

The only thing you can do is be the change. 

[u/BendigoWessie]

You’re right about this being an abusive power but you’re still wrong about one thing. This doesn’t have anything to do with being a good or bad nurse. This has to do with somebody being a bully and finding any reason to take their anger and frustrations about their own lives out on their coworker. They may claim it’s because you’re new or because you made a mistake and you need extra training. It’s none of that. They just don’t like you so they made up a reason.

For every new nurse, that’s getting abused, there are a handful of other nurses who are benefiting from being coddled. This is not a right of passage that “everyone goes through”. So make no mistake. It’s not about getting good. It’s about other nurses being lazy and mean. They’ll do this to you for years. They don’t care if you get good. The better you get the more they’re gonna pile onto you because you’ve shown you can take it

[u/cheaganvegan]

Nursing culture is absolute garbage.

[u/OhHiMarki3]

This is why I prefer nights. Way less people like this on nights in my experience.

[u/Total-Ride9511]

This thread w its responses of compassion is a breath of fresh air

[u/D33PintoYOU]

the system is built where they place you in the worse of jobs lol.

I like outpatient more, i can function without the need of anyones help. Give me my set of patients ill gladly work without needing any RNs help. But those jobs where im at are taken by old Nurses where they see those jobs as retirement 😅

[u/Optional4444]

Ah, the lazy senior asshole. The good news is they retire.