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Lately I find myself becoming quite the cynic. I’m not a cynical nurse, I’m just discovering things throughout my ‘world’ that are cause for cynicism. Well, not everything in my world. Mostly the new nurses.
Now remember, I haven’t even been a nurse a decade yet! And here I am remembering the “good old days” of nursing. Scary. I know.
I guess what gets under my skin is I’m finding more and more ‘newer’ nurses who think they know everything. OR they think they’ve experienced everything simply because they’ve been a nurse ‘long enough’, to see the ‘same thing’ more than once. Complacency can infect all of us at one time or another. We get so comfortable with repetition that we find safety in it, and then we find braggadocio. I’ve been doing this for a mere seven years, and to this very day, I still learn something new, or appreciate a new concept every day.
I cannot shake the feeling that the ‘newer’ nurses scare me just a little. This hollow, yet inflated, ego is going to get them in trouble. So much trouble that I often wonder if their patients will suffer.
It was handed down to me in a very profound way that it’s our job, as nurses, to expect the unexpected. To think in terms of the ‘worst case scenario’. To prepare for the worst, but expect the best. To always have our ‘game’ face on, and to always play our ‘A’ game. I just don’t see that with these ‘newer’ nurses. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen plenty of awe-inspiring new nurses, that can and have put me and other experienced nurses to shame. I am humbled by their skills, I really am. But, I can’t remember the last time I felt humbled by a new nurse.
I’m not just talking about whom I’ve worked with shoulder-to-shoulder. I’m talking all facets of interaction (in-person & on-line). So it’s not just my small circle of the world.
Maybe I need a breather?
Maybe I need a change of scenery?
Maybe it’s not me at all?
I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s my responsibility to myself and my profession to continually challenge this new attitude. I’m not saying we need to ‘put’ anyone ‘in there place’, but we definitely need to educate and enlighten those that need it.
Am I alone on this, or have others come across this ‘Bo Jackson’ phenomena of ‘knowing everything’?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
RN
Registered Nurse
I have been a nurse since 1983. I’ve worked in med-surg, pulmonary ICU, cardiac ICU, and most recently home health before retiring from active nursing in 2009. I have yet to reach the point where I don’t find something new to learn. I sure don’t know how someone, especially one who has just graduated within the last year could possibly know everything. (Of course, we know they don’t really.) Medicine is not static and is an ever changing field so as nurses (and doctors too) we must be open to learning every day! IMHO!
Scrubs Blogger
Scrubs Blogger
@JaniceRN Well said, very well said.
As someone whose only been a nurse for 1 year and only been working med-surg for about a month, I find this really offensive. How can you be so judgmental about new nurses? I am terrified every day when I go to work that I’m going to screw something up or do something wrong, and I look forward to the day when I don’t feel so anxious at the mere thought of going to work. Sometimes, I feel so lost like I’m never going to get everything down! And I don’t know any nurse nurse who doesn’t feel the same way as me! So, I guess it is true that nurses really do eat their young…
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Scrubs Blogger
@teena1282 I’m sorry you interpreted this article in that way. Knowing that you feel the way you do, you will do great. It’s that unsettling feeling in your gut that makes you a top notch nurse in the end. To this day, I have never followed that horrible urban legend. Best of luck to you in your new career!
There are two kinds of new “scary nurses” out there: Ms. I know it all, and Ms. paralyzed by fear. I find both scare me in their own ways. I’m scared Ms. know it all won’t ask for help when she really needs it and will end up making a mistake. I’m scared Ms. paralyzed by fear won’t speak up and make the right call at the right time for their patient. They will sit in fear until they have to push the code light, all because they are afraid to speak up to an MD and trust what they know.
Then there are a glorious group of new nurses who just “get it”. They are confident it what they know and aren’t afraid to ask the right questions at the right time.
Scrubs Blogger
Scrubs Blogger
@NurseTessa I’m glad someone is at least validating my fears. Thanks for sharing. And you are absolutely correct.
RN
Registered Nurse
As a nursing student due to graduate in December I find this article very insulting! I don’t know a single person in my graduating class who his this super “I know it all!” ego like you’ve mentioned! Every last one of us knows that no matter how much we learn in school, we haven’t even touched the tip of the ice berg of what we need to know. We all know that we’re totally clueless and would be roadkill if it wasn’t for the older nurses, hopefully helping to educate us. Every clinical I make it a point to show respect for my betters and the senior nurses, to learn from them as much as I can. I always assume that ‘itll hit the fan’ and plan for it. If I have a question or I’m not a 100% sure (And I never am) I get a second opinion or stop and ‘check myself before I wreck myself; as it were. The day someone thinks they know it all, as the day they’re going to fall on their face. Boundless confidence is for actors and orthopedic surgeons, not for us newbie nurses.
I certainly pray that the nurses who I work with in clinical don’t think such horrible things about the new students. Teach us, help us to grow! If that means you need to slap us with a newspaper every so often, go right ahead, but know that if you teach it, we will learn it!
Scrubs Blogger
Scrubs Blogger
@hoopernurse reading your words tells me that you’re not someone I’d be worried about. Thank you for your honesty. And it’s not the fresh from graduation nurses I am generalizing about, but the nurses with a mere 1, possibly 2 years of experience. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts.
RN
Registered Nurse
Im a new nurse with only 6 months under my belt. Ive never ever acted like I know it all. In fact, there isnt a day that goes by that I dont ask another nurse for something (help, how to do something, a simple question I need reassurance on, etc). I look forward to learning something new each and every day,
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@JennRN Glad to hear you are on the right track! Be sure to pass on your passion to others.
RN
Registered Nurse
Sean, I completely agree with you. I have been a nurse 12 years, in many different settings (staff, agency, travel, telemetry, ICU) and I find whether it’s on a regular med-surg unit or ICU, I learn something new almost every shift. Medicine is NOT a static field, which is why I love it. Unfortunately, there are plenty of new-ish nurses who don’t ask questions and are not receptive to education. It’s a job, it’s a paycheck. In my opinion, nursing should be a PASSION, and a continuous journey of learning and caring. I think the students that are responding to this post are taking it too personally, and will understand more once they are out in the field and in contact with the types of people you are referring to. My advice? If you find yourself offended, or insulted, by this article, chances are you are not one of the nurses we are talking about!
Scrubs Blogger
Scrubs Blogger
@nurseleigh Thank you so very much for your insight. You hit the nail on the head on all accounts! I want to re-post your comment for everyone! Thanks again.