17 replies to this topic

[fellownurse]

I have returned to institutional nursing after a few years break, and found that moral has really sunk! What disturbs me most is that instead of supporting and helping each other, nurses will now go after each other, and write each other up wherever possible. I sometimes feel like I live in war-like conditions and need a hardhat... somebody give me some explanations, please! :cry:

[Patricia Mees]

I'd like to find out how your training as a nurse emphasized "team nursing".
I am in Nursing SChool now and find that we get along as a group. But, a
year ago I worked as a CNA and found a lot of backbiting. I'm leary of getting
a job someplace where I don't know anyone. My mentor in nursing lives in
another town, but I might just drive where she works so I can work with her.

There are so many work-related issues, i.e., taking breaks when one doesn't
smoke. Do you get one every time the snokers do?

Also, is there really a nursing shortage. Or is that just nurses wanting help
with the load. Please respond.

[bettyboop61]

I am an older nurse and i agree wih you. Team nursiing is out the window.

[FSU/RN]

Yes, nurse at times eat their young and yes, we can be our own worse enemies. Those of us that do not agree with this type of behavior have to lead by example! I work in a very busy ICU and a few nurses have horrible attitudes. I am happy to say that it is changing because a few of us got sick of it and said no more. If you need a pick-me-up, please try to see a nurse speak by the name of Debra Townsend. Her email is www.debratownsend.com and she is full of life and inspiration!

[Nurse Leo]

We need her to do an inservice where I work. Moral is in the toilet....

[tubby]

caring profession - what a joke! some nurses can't even be civil to their colleagues

[DAHSRecruiter1]

In all the years that I worked clinically, there are some things that apparently never change. One is backbiting. Nurses always do it, and sadly the ones who are helping you today, are usually telling somebody tomorrow that they had to carry you for the shift. Another is that team nursing works, but only when its applied properly. Every Hospital and Nursing home think that they have the answer to how it should be done, but they all do it their own way. I've seen some pretty bad examples of that over the years. I remember when it first went big, we sent employees to St. Louis to learn it from St. Joseph's Hospital, and it worked! I just don't ever see it being done correctly anymore.

[EDRNINCT]

Lead by example and ignore the negatives. . .it amazes me the impact this has had on our unit. The staff have over time gravitated to the weekend of the more positive output and left the negative oldtimers in their own ---- They have responded by first becoming angry but then becoming a little softer in their relationships. There is always some cbitizing stress does that but it is amazing how one positive can be as pervasive as one negative if it is continuously fed

[ReallyNuts96]

All depends on where you work. I have worked in places where everyone was wonderful, and we really did help each other out. The place I work now is pretty good. We get along well, and there is not a lot of backstabbing. We had a nurse who was always talking about whoever was not there that day, but, you will find that everywhere in every field. I have worked as an agency nurse, and had to go to a lot of facilities where I did not know anyone, and the nurses, and especially the nursing assistants were so helpful to me. When someone wants to talk about someone else at work, I try to change the subject, or point out the person's strong points. And, I pray.

[EDRNINCT]

People are people, nurses or not. . .who do you want to be. . .be that. .we can't change anyone but ourselves. . .the good thing though is that sometimes our kindnesses beget the same.

[KarpiWoo]

I completely agree about the backbiting between nurses. It's sad. The main reason I wanted to be a nurse in the first place was because I wanted to make a difference, and work with people who actually cared about others. I have another year left of nursing school, and during my first hospital clinical I seriously had to reconsider my decision. I was thinking, "Is this the way nursing is supposed to be? Will I always be treated like this?" Everyone had something to say about everyone else, and it was hard to find someone who was genuinely nice without trashing you behind your back. Hardly anyone had a smile on their face. It seemed that most of the staff had attitudes, or were constantly in a bad mood. Maybe it was due to burnout or personal issues. I don't know. Regardless, however burnt-out you are, it is no excuse to "eat your young" and make it hard for the newer nurses starting out, or any nurse or fellow staff member for that matter. Luckily, the hospital I have clinicals at now (and worked at over the summer), has a lot less backbiting and egos than the last one I was in. This hospital is a lot larger and has been around longer. Maybe the first hospital was having a hard time getting into the swing of things. The nurses always seemed to be worked to death, and unable to carry the load they were given. Has anyone had any similar experiences? I'm just curious at to how the staff at one smaller hospital can be so different from the staff at another larger one.

[Smacki]

I have been a nurse for 18 years and haven't found the way nurses treat each other change much. What I do have control over however is the way I react to each situation. I have spent 6 years doing agency work because I didn't want to be part of their problems. I went to work, gave my patients all I had to give and went home satisfied. Then I got married and decided to actually be part of one hospital. There are pros and cons. I joined the float pool and found every department had their share of problem makers and solution makers. How I react to the problem makers is up to me. It's always my choice how I react to the negative. I have learned it takes more energy to be negative, therefore, I choose to remain positive. It makes people wonder how I can always be happy. For me, it's easier. I prefer to be a positive influence. I have other nurses as well as CNA's tell me they love to work with me because I don't add to the drain on moral. Understand, I am no saint, I have my moments when I am required to do the silent scream. I never accepted any position that I thought it was a popularity contest. I am there to care for the patient, assist other medical staff when able, and to fulfill something in me that I can't do in other areas of my life. I do miss talking with others in my profession as I don't have much time after work to share outside activities. So if there are others who wish to email and talk about work I would love to hear from you. SherryMackintosh@aol.com

[lberghood]

I have been a nurse for 18 years and haven't found the way nurses treat each other change much. What I do have control over however is the way I react to each situation. I have spent 6 years doing agency work because I didn't want to be part of their problems. I went to work, gave my patients all I had to give and went home satisfied. Then I got married and decided to actually be part of one hospital. There are pros and cons. I joined the float pool and found every department had their share of problem makers and solution makers. How I react to the problem makers is up to me. It's always my choice how I react to the negative. I have learned it takes more energy to be negative, therefore, I choose to remain positive. It makes people wonder how I can always be happy. For me, it's easier. I prefer to be a positive influence. I have other nurses as well as CNA's tell me they love to work with me because I don't add to the drain on moral. Understand, I am no saint, I have my moments when I am required to do the silent scream. I never accepted any position that I thought it was a popularity contest. I am there to care for the patient, assist other medical staff when able, and to fulfill something in me that I can't do in other areas of my life. I do miss talking with others in my profession as I don't have much time after work to share outside activities. So if there are others who wish to email and talk about work I would love to hear from you. SherryMackintosh@aol.com

[lberghood]

I have found that when i am in a new position the staff sort of "tests you" as to how you will react. It is probably not even a conscious thing. I have found that by not feeding into the backbiting and gossip you may not be the most popular at first but that most people will respect you. I believe that this behavior stems from ignorance and frustration and that people may not even be aware of how damagin and nonproductive these behaviors are. I also feel that the traditional styles of management in health care organizations tend to support these behaviors. Traditionally nurses have been managed in a "top down" authoritative punitive way. "Cover you a**" You can't trust anyone and if something goes wrong it's your license! While the nurse has an enormous amount of responsibility and certain things must can get done, there is a lot of stress and we are so busy that we don't think about our coworkers and how we treat them. I don't think nurses go into the profession with the intention of becoming this way, it just happens as this is the natural response in a hospital to deal with stress, make ourselves feel we are competent and can handle it and therefore we have to put the other people down Nursing is not easy and a lot of us probably don't feel as secure or confident as we would like to and i can bet that very few if any felt this way when we started. This is what we learned and were exposed to so many of us have adopted these behaviors and may not even be aware of them. I think that a collaborative style of management where we worked side by side with managers whose goals are to make things better for us and look at the reasons mistakes happen would foster an environment of mutual trust and respect and do a lot to change the culture of the hospital workplace. I see some of this already happening with the new philosophy of nonpunitive reporting of medication errors. I also see a lack of direct effective communication skills and instead of directly communicating concerns expectations etc to coworkers we tend to get frustrated and complain about them.
Given the nature of the nurse's responsibility and the high stress of the job,(where else does a new graduate who is 21,22yrs old(usually) have the responsibility of knowing that if s/he makes an error it could cost someone their life) i think we need to incorporate effective coping skills communication skills and professional codes of conduct into the nursing curriculum and start providing that education to our staff.
I also believe that hospital administrators need to realize the incredible amount of responsibility that is put on nurses and that most of the time, most of them are able to meet the demands and aknwledging this and helping the staff to feel valued.
I also believe that the seasoned professionals need to look honsetly at themselves and even if this was the way they were treated aknowledge that it was not professional or humane and start to lead by example. All in all nursing is a young profession and if we really want to be considered a profession, nursing has got to start growing up
We are the ones that have to band together and make things better for ourselve as a profession. No one else is going to do it for us and we have already done so much. A lot has changed in the 17years that i have been a nurse and i am ashamed to report that i have not been involved with any of it. Thank you to the people that have. It is never too late to start and i have recently becom very interested in becoming more involved and doing my part for my profession. I am proud to be a nurse and belong to such a wonderful profession that values the "whole person " We have to start valuing each other more and work to help create better nurses who will go even further than we have. Isn't this the most important mark that we, as individuals and a group, can leave with this world after we have gone.