I just gradutated from RN school. My first job was on a cardiac unit. I work the evening shift. A couple of nurses including the one that I shadowed for the first two weeks were very nice and helpful. About 3-4 nurses were a nightmare and to this day still make me nauseated when I think about it. They rolled their eyes if I missed a vein during a blood draw the first time. They hissed when I asked them to help me with a chest tube. They walked the other way when my patient stopped breathing. I felt like I was on an island. How can they treat me like this? One of these MEAN nurses graduated one year prior, how could she forget how it was? It got to the point where I was so scared to ask for help. I cried most nights on the way home. I would never treat a new nurse like that, NEVER.
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I think this happens more than we talk about. “seasoned” nurses treat the new ones so terribly and care of the patient can be affected. Nurses “eating their young” is such a problem. Offices, Hospitals need a no tolerance policy to this type of treatment. Sometimes it can be so vague that others may not notice. I even see ICU nurses think that they are better than a MED/SURG or PSYCH nurse because they have ICU experience. We are all healthcare providers. Those types of individuals should not be in nursing.