Welcome!

[All41]

Thank-you for reading (and hopefully getting involved in) this forum. There are no stupid questions and "there are many streets leading to the same town". Don't be shy about bringing up anything. You may have the answer to a problem no one else has been able to solve!

[Aaron C.]

I love that signature!

[All41]

What have you tried to do to address this so far? My mother gave me a piece of sage advice, "everyone has a boss". If you follow the chain of command with this concern you must keep documentation. This is very important. I don't care where you are on the "food chain" administration 9x out of 10 will let you hang in the event of a sentinal event. Record date, time, converstation on your issue. Put it in an envelope and mail it to yourself. Keep it in a safe place-sealed. This will be a trememdous asset to you in the event something goes wrong and you are made a scapegoat. That is worst scenario. The best is to be proactive. Ask to begin a task force to address staffing concerns. Ask that administration on down the ranks be represented. Voice concerns with examples. I continue to hear this when verbalizing concerns-"Well, I didn't know it was that bad, or I would have done something". Well, administration should be proactive and make themselves aware but they don't. There are more solutions out there, these are just a few off the top of my head. Great Question!!!!

[Aaron C.]

yes, those could be some effective preventative measures, but what are you going to do when/if it happens?

Consulting the pixis for your own benefit and then laughing as you run out the door isn't a viable or morally sound solution, unfortunately...

[All41]

Bottom line, there is no work nirvana. You are the only one going downtown if something goes wrong. It is OK to cut your losses and seek employment with better patient/nurse ratios. It is a really difficult solution but sometimes the best one. I am not advocating going down without attempting to solve the problem. In my state (NC), it is not considered abandonment if you refuse to take an assignment which you know to be unsafe or one which you are not adequately trained to carry out, but if you take the assignment you must make whatever adjustments to make it work for your shift. What do other nurses think about these options?

[kim77077]

You should be able to go to your director or Administer and let them know that you must have the staff in order to provide good patient care that is going to please the families and the
residents. That their is going to be a lot of incidents that are going to happen with out having enough nurses on the unit that families are going to start asking questions as to way their love one is not getting the care that they are paying for and that you will not be put in the middle of telling a lie if a resident gets hurt because of the lack of staff to care for all 30 patients.I would say you need at least two more C.N.A.in order to give good patient care.If the director of nursing will not do it then it is up to the asminister to see that their are changes made in the nursing home she as the administer has the right to over ride the Director of nursing.

[mssnurse]

[ QUOTE ]
What can we do about the nursing shortage? What are you going to do when you go to work, find out your unit has 30 patients, someone called in and House can't find anyone to fill the shift. You are the RN, you have one LPN and one CNA to take care of 30 patients? You need another licensed nurse and another CNA just to be safe? What are your alternatives as a nurse?

[/ QUOTE ]

I am busy here in Kentucky, promoting mandated minimum staffing standards. Us nurses need to unite and raise our voices! We can do it!

[KiddieRN03]

Its nice to see a 'welcome' somewhere. I just graduated from nursing school and found out that its true that 'nurses eat their young'. My preceptor was....well...not exactly supportive. I love the job, I love taking care of kids (I'm a peds nurse), I love teaching parents and kids about whats going on with them and how they can help themselves feel better, I love advocating and doing what is right for children and their families, but the hospital politics and cattiness on the unit kills me. Any advice?

[nursinghumor]

Seems like a rite of passage doesn't it? Graduate from school, energetic, enthusiastic and motivated, then it seems you hit a brick wall and are left to sink/swim.

Best I can say is that not all nurses agree with that philosophy and if you "call it when you see it" you'll get past it much sooner. Realize you don't have to simply accept nurse-abuse.

These sites discuss it further.

AARN Discussion Forum: General Discussion: Nurses who eat their young:"In response to Nurses eating their young. Unfortunately this issue is universal. I trained and worked in the Canadian system for many years. I now live and work in Australia. The same issues arise downunder. What are the characteristics of a nurse? Is it something learned by the level of education? I know many well educated nurses who have graduated from university programs many have the same identified traits you have described. I know it is easy to blame increased work loads and staff constraints or lack of education. Mentoring, respecting,supporting and valuing each other irregardless of work or educational experience are the beginnings of finding a resolution. Whether you are a graduate from a 2 yr or 4 yr program then becomes irrelevant."
http://www.nurses.ab.ca/discus/messa...tml?1017629135
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Do Men Have a Role in Maternal-Newborn Nursing? The Male Student Nurse Experience, Gayle Cudé, PhD, RN:"The well-discussed nursing phenomenon known as "eating our young" refers to the lack of support provided to new graduates by experienced nurses. Is there also a phenomenon of "eating our young male students" in the obstetrics rotation before they graduate? Such gender issues became acute in one nursing research seminar in which half the enrolled students were male. Three of these men expressed interest in careers in maternal-newborn nursing. This article offers personal insight from these male students in addition to a summary of the literature."
Lifelines@awhonn.org
Patricia Chojnicki Sage Publications
2455 Teller Rd. Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
Phone: (805) 499-0721 X7160 Fax: (805) 499-8096
E-mail: advertising@sagepub.com
http://awhonnlifelines.awhonn.org/cg...t/full/8/4/342

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Frances Johnson, ND, RNC, NNP, Andrew's University:"All of us had to learn the ropes sometime. Nursing is sometimes acused of "eating our young" because we are not very patient with the novice. When students complete our program I hope they can say they went to a school where Jesus was present in every class and clinical, and in the manner of each faculty."
Frances Johnson, ND, RNC, NNP
Assistant Professor, Director of Undergraduate Programs
Marsh Hall (Second Floor)
Office: 211 Phone Ext. 3192
Berrien Springs, Michigan 49104
francesj@andrews.edu
1-800-253-2874
http://www.andrews.edu/NRSG/fjohnson.html

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Students' Corner: Nurses eating nurses: The caring profession which fails to nurture its own! Leanne Davey, Contemporary Nurse:"Experienced nurses who are already working in stressful conditions with continuous staff shortages and poor recognition of service see the student nurse sometimes as an extra hindrance to their already increasing workload. Student nurses are theoretically competent but lack the clinical expertise and experience to complement this knowledge which can also add to the professional pressure that experience nurses encounter. Most nurses would like to see themselves, as promoters of nursing but are frustrated and disillusioned with their profession. It would seem then that student nurses as a result of this dissatisfaction are often devoured by some nurses instead of being encouraged and nurtured in their enthusiasm for nursing."
http://www.contemporarynurse.com/13-2p192.htm

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Taking "bold voices" home—and to heart - In Our Unit Critical Care Nurse:"Because of the nursing shortage, nursing must depend on new or less experienced nurses for staffing. Our unit wanted to provide an atmosphere that transitioned the newer staff in a safe, nurturing way. We wanted to ensure that nursing's reputation for "eating their young" didn't carry over into our unit and that new nurses wouldn't be allowed to simply "sink or swim." We wanted our new colleagues to be recognized immediately as a part of the team."
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...3/ai_111697013

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Singular Outlook, Barbara Sheeler, John Hopkins Nursing:"I was scared as a new grad going on that unit," admits Sheeler. "It's intimidating. You know nothing. School is not anything like the real world. And you hear all these stories about nurses eating their young, that it's sink or swim, and pay your dues. That it's very cut-throat and make-you-cry time." But her fears were quickly calmed. "Honestly, I was embraced, I was nurtured," says Sheeler. Her preceptors even wanted to cut short her 12-week orientation.
The Johns Hopkins University and Health System
720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21205 USA
careers@jhmi.edu
http://www.hopkinsnursing.org/meet-nurses/singular.html

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Choosing Nursing, Anne Katz, RN, PhD, Editor, Lifelines:"We talk glibly about nurses eating our young—but why do we not try to stop these behaviors? When we focus exclusively on the negative aspects of the workplace, are we destroying the spirits of our young colleagues? Yes, there are problems in our hospitals and clinics. Many of these have been created by forces over which we as nurses have no control. By complaining without working toward the solution, we become part of the problem. How could we possibly expect our sons and daughters to be interested in becoming nurses if all they hear is how terrible it is?"
Lifelines@awhonn.org
Patricia Chojnicki Sage Publications
2455 Teller Rd. Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
Phone: (805) 499-0721 X7160 Fax: (805) 499-8096
E-mail: advertising@sagepub.com
http://awhonnlifelines.awhonn.org/cg...nt/full/8/2/97

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Why Do Authors Eat Their Young? Commentary by Laurel Johnson, Funeral Associates:"How can we hope to continue attracting nurses to the field when nursing has such a history of 'eating their young'?" By that, the nursing hierarchy meant that historically, experienced nurses do not nurture and mentor new graduates. Instead, inexperienced nurses were the object of gossip and ridicule, to their faces and behind their backs. Already insecure new graduates were often devastated by such treatment and moved from job to job or left the field altogether. That had not changed when I retired from Nursing and moved on to literary pursuits. My thinking at the time was that at least writers would be supportive of each other and share their experiences in a positive way, give new writers a leg up so to speak. In many cases, I was wrong. Many in the literary field are no more inclined than nursing to nurture their young."
http://www.funeralassociates.com/authorarticle.htm

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Interior Rededication Rita H. Losee, RN, ScD, NursingSpectrum.com:"Recently, I spoke at the Nursing Spectrum Career Fitness® Expo in Boston. As part of the session, I asked participants to name the number one problem that they saw in nursing. The responses were almost evenly divided between those who saw the staffing shortage as primary and those who saw the "nurses eat their young" attitude as being the most problematic. My own response to these perceptions was that these problems are the ying and yang of the nursing shortage. One feeds the other in an ever-downward spiral."
Nursing Spectrum- Continuing Education
2002 Renaissance Blvd. #120 King of Prussia, PA 19406
(610) 275-4100
http://nsweb.nursingspectrum.com/cff...dedication.cfm

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Things You Can Do to Help Relieve the RN Shortage Rita H. Losee, RN, MEd, ScD, NursingSpectrum.com:"Stop denigrating nursing and nurses. Many nurses focus on how terrible nursing is as a career. Even worse, they bad-mouth other nurses, spreading a virus of disrespect and dishonor to the profession. Yes, there are huge problems that need to be overcome, but the energy expended in denigrating others could be positively focused. Comments like "Nurses eat their young" — often uttered with a perverse sense of pride — deter others from entering the profession. We nurses have spent far too much time arguing about issues dividing us and too little time learning how we can support and encourage one another."
Nursing Spectrum- Continuing Education
2002 Renaissance Blvd. #120 King of Prussia, PA 19406
(610) 275-4100
http://nsweb.nursingspectrum.com/cff...gsYouCanDo.cfm

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The Spirit Within, Cynthia Saver, RN, MS, NursingSpectrum.com:"Despite all the talk about nurses "eating their young," I'm optimistic that we'll pick the nurturing over the destroying option. Once again I trace my optimism back to our nominees for Nurse of the Year. It's as easy to catch the spirit that they, and many other nurses, show as it is to catch a cold in a roomful of people with the sniffles and a raspy cough."
Nursing Spectrum- Continuing Education
2002 Renaissance Blvd. #120 King of Prussia, PA 19406
(610) 275-4100
http://nsweb.nursingspectrum.com/cff...iritWithin.cfm

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Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.com