Nurses Who Bully
gh, nurses who bully…. I have commented several times on the phrase “nurses eat their young” and how annoying I find it. It really is unfortunate that out of the most trust professional in the world, nurses do not trust each other. Nurses do not cultivate and nurture the newest group of nurses. Well some do. One of my personal nurse goals is to cultivate and nurture new nurses that work with me. However, I have seen and I have personally been on the wrong end of bullying.
If bullying is some sort of hazing ritual, it has to stop. Not only is it hurtful and destructive, it does no increase nurse productivity. It does not increase nurse retention among new nurses. I mean, we are nurses. We are supposed to be caring and compassionate. Hazing a new nurse or flat out make his or her work day difficult does not sound caring or compassion to me.
And it is more than just intimidating the new kid on the block, it is also not taking the time to help build up the new nurses skills. There is a big step between what you learned in nursing school in a safe environment and what you are learning in the hospital. Is the nurse mentor, explaining it well enough or just rushing through the technique and hope the new nurse picked it up. That is also setting the new nurse up for failure.
My advice to new nurses and nurses working on a new floor or new position, is to take a stand against this type of work culture. Reach out to your charge nurse and inform them what is exactly going on. It may be helpful to write events down so you can full recall what was said or done. Keep a log if these bullying incidents occur regularly. Your charge nurse is going to want to you keep you. They do not want a swinging door of new nurses coming in every 3 months because of someone intimidating the new help.
Second, find a buddy to relay your concerns too. Whether this is new nurse as well, or a seasoned nurse that you feel comfortable with, find someone who you can confide in. I recommend going on a bashing spree with your “buddy” but someone who can help build your confidence with. Another new nurse can be great to help work on skills together. A seasoned nurse can help you hone your skills without criticism.
Third…if you feel like this particular nurse or group of nurses who bully you are unrelenting in their mistreatment of you, then go up to them directly and ask them what their issue is. When you approach them, have some examples of when you felt mistreated and state that you want to learn to be a confident nurse. You can say, “I would appreciate your support through constructive criticism.” Also remember to be confident! Approaching your bully can be scary. However, if they have not been told by you that enough is enough they will continue to bully. The nurse profession can lose good nurses to do somebody’s power trip.
Find ways to work together. Not going to lie, working with a team is hard. There are many different personalities, opinions, and ways of approaching a problem but just like that acronym of T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Achieves More), nurses need to work together to achieve better health out comes for our patients.
At the end of the day, nursing is not about you. It is about our patients. Our patients do not care about the nursing drama. They care about getting better and you should too. Start developing your confidence. Start standing up for yourself. Start developing a new kind of nurse culture that cultivates and nurtures the new group of nurses. Let’s really be a team. You have the power to create this new culture of togetherness. You do! And I can not wait to see how this culture fuels new life into the nursing profession.