Male Nurses Confronting Stereotypes and Discrimination: Part 1, The Issues

Male Nurses Confronting Stereotypes and Discrimination: Part 1, The Issues

Many people experience some kind of discrimination, stereotyping, or even prejudice against them at some point in their lives because of their race, sex, sexual orientation—and even sometimes because of their jobs.

While more and more men are entering the nursing field, it’s still a profession that is primarily comprised of women. So we asked a number of male nurses what they’ve experienced, how they’ve dealt with it, and their advice for other nurses who may experience something similar.

In this article, we begin with what kinds of stereotypes they’ve experienced.

Are You the Doctor?

Nearly every male nurse we interviewed said that he had, at least at one time, been mistaken for a doctor. They all, though, handle it in their own ways.

“I have walked into an exam room where a patient is waiting, and before I had a chance to introduce myself, they said, ‘I thought I was seeing Dr. Weber.’ I just smile and say, ‘You are seeing Dr. Weber. You just get to see me first. I’m Jonathan. I’m a nurse, and I’m going to check your INR before he comes in,’” explains Jonathan S. Basler, RN, a clinical nurse at West Front Primary Care in Traverse City, Michigan. “Then they usually say, ‘You’re not as pretty as his old nurse.’ When I worked in nursing homes, it was common for me to hear, ‘Thanks, Doc!’ as I was leaving a room—and it didn’t matter how many times I introduced myself as their nurse.”

Keynan Hobbs, MSN, RN, PMHCNS-BC, a clinical nurse on the PTSD Clinical Team at VA San Diego Healthcare in California, says that he is mistaken for a doctor all the time and was even back in nursing school. “It happened even more when I moved into an advanced-practice nursing role and wore a white lab coat every day,” he says. Because he works in psychotherapy now, he is often called “doctor.” His response is, “I’m not a doctor; I’m an advanced-practice nurse, and you can call me Keynan or Mr. Hobbs.” Although he doesn’t find this now in psychotherapy, he says that when working in a hospital, “People would look right past me when I told them I was a nurse because some see nurses as less powerful in that setting.”

Sometimes, nurses use humor. Jeremy Scott, MSN, RN, CCRN, a resource pool nurse at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, says that patients will sometimes be on the phone, and when he walks into a room they say to the person they’re talking to, “My doctor is here. I have to go.” He then tells them that he is their nurse. “People have asked, ‘When will you go back to become a doctor?’ and I jokingly tell them, ‘I’m not interested in all those loans. I enjoy being a nurse.’”

It’s Not You, It’s Me

Sometimes, patients or their family members don’t want a male nurse—simply because he’s a guy.

“I’ve experienced stereotyping as a male nurse. I’ve had patients tell me they don’t want me to be their nurse. I’ve been called gay. I’ve been told by family members that they don’t want me to care for their loved one,” says Carl A. Brown, RN, BSN, director of patient care services for BrightStar Care of Western Riverside County in Sun City, California. “As a nurse—but especially as a male nurse—you need to have a strong outside to let those comments bounce off. But you also need to have a warm heart for those who hold the prejudices. I think it is important for people to know that my gender does not prevent me from providing quality care to each of my clients.”

There are instances in which patients will request a female nurse because of religious reasons. “I respect patients’ wishes because they are in control of the management of their health, so I simply switch assignments. I’m never offended by this,” says Donnell Carter, MBA, MS, CRNA, a clinical staff nurse anesthetist for Northstar Anesthesia at Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Robert Whigham, RN, a staff nurse at Doctors Hospital in Augusta, Georgia says that it’s common for patients to have preconceived notions about his level of compassion because he is a guy. He’s found that patients in maternity wards and pediatrics may ask for someone else. “They are sometimes uncomfortable with a male nurse helping them,” he says.

In the psychological setting, Hobbs says that “someone who has experienced sexual trauma and doesn’t feel comfortable talking to a man about it” may ask for a female therapist. If they later want to talk with a male, he says that he will be available for them.

Specific Stereotypes for Male Nurses

Les Rodriguez, MSN, MPH, RN, ACNS-BC, APRN, clinical nurse specialist/clinical education specialist pain management at Methodist Richardson Medical Center in Richardson, Texas, says that while in his more than 30-year career as a nurse he hasn’t experienced discrimination, he has come across stereotypes that people think regarding male nurses. They are: all male nurses are gay, men only get into nursing so they can see women naked, men who become nurses are failed doctors, and men go into nursing because it’s easy.

Rodriguez disputes all of them: “In my experience, the number of male nurses who identify as gay is not greater than that reported in the general population. [Re: Seeing women naked] That is an expensive and long, drawn out way just to see what you could see in magazines or strip bars. [Re: Failed doctors] This has to do with relegating the physician to a higher order of professional…Yes, there are some individuals who were in medical school and didn’t survive the program for various reasons, and so they took their academic credits and directed them towards nursing. That does not make them ‘failed doctors.’ It makes them very knowledgeable nurses. [Re: It’s easy] That nursing is easy is a major myth. You are required to learn a lot of detailed information in a very short time…Nursing is not an easy profession, and many males that I have encountered go into nursing because they have a caring disposition.”

Now that we’ve outlined what some of the prejudices and/or stereotypes are regarding male nurses, the next step is to educate them on what they can do. Stay tuned for part two of our series next week where we’ll explore the actions that male nurses can take.

Why Women in Healthcare Are An Endangered Species

Why Women in Healthcare Are An Endangered Species

Women represent nearly 80% of the healthcare workforce, and they represent 77% of hospital employees. Also, 26% of hospital and health system CEOs were women in 2014. Statistics show the number of women in healthcare is rising, but there are still challenges. One of the most widely talked about challenge is gender inequality, including the lack of women in leadership positions. While gender inequality is important, this issue is not why women in healthcare are an endangered species.

Women in the healthcare industry are just as likely (if not more) to suffer from anxiety, stress, depression and other mental and emotional issues. Like most healthcare workers, women who are physicians, registered nurses, home health aides and more enter the field with a passion to help others. But if you fall into these categories, how many times have you neglected your own needs? Shouldn’t you treat yourself with the same care as a patient?

While the term endangered is normally used in reference to animals, you’re surrounded by just as many threats as a leopard in the wild. For decades, women in healthcare have suffered from stress, fatigue, strain due to schedule, insufficiency in internal training, and injuries from physical tasks. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, female physicians die by suicide at a 400 percent higher rate than women in other professions. One article posed the question “who takes care of the caregivers?”

The answer is YOU!

There are some issues in healthcare that is a work in process, but you have the power to positively influence your well-being today. Your patients need you. Your family needs you. And, you need you. So, treat yourself with proper rest, prayer, stress management techniques, supportive relationships, and be the first thing on your to-do list by adhering to your discovery checklist.

 

 

Surviving Your First Year as a Nurse

Surviving Your First Year as a Nurse

Nursing school is difficult, no doubt, but it pales in comparison to the first year working as a nurse. New nurses face many obstacles they may not have even fathomed while in school. Whether you landed a position in your dream unit or had difficulty securing the first job, the first year out for any nurse is challenging.

Once out of school, many wonder if their first job will be anything like their professors taught. Unfortunately, it’s not, but there are ways to cope with learning the ropes of nursing. A nurse of just over one year, Kelsea Bice, BSN, RN, an emergency room staff nurse at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, realized her first-year nurse training was much different than school. “Most came from preceptor roles. I found it extremely difficult to rationalize my book training with the experience of my preceptors and my own thoughts,” she recalls. “It was very overwhelming at times.” Although it can be overwhelming, here are some key points for newbie nurses to remember when transitioning from student nurse to nurse.

1. Remember that School and NCLEX Do Not Reflect the Real World

Many new graduates struggle with the sheltered environment of school and the hypothetical world of NCLEX when they are in their first job working with real patients. The ultimate goal of nursing school is to teach one how to pass NCLEX. A nurse’s first year on the job teaches the individual how to become a nurse. The two realms massively collide with the first job after school. “The most difficult part of the first year is taking critical thinking from a theoretical/hypothetical situation to a real person in a real bed in front of you,” states Bice.

As a student, the first-year nurse is not exposed to all of the internal policies and systems of a clinical facility. In a new environment, reports may be conducted differently from the ways one was previously exposed to, some common procedures may be completed in an unfamiliar manner, and, when a patient is crashing in a real-life setting, it isn’t always “textbook” like NCLEX. These nuances can be hard for new graduates to grasp without their own experiences to pull from. Once out of school, new nurses soon realize that patient ratios will often be higher than they were while in school. Nurses, especially new nurses, have to really work on honing their time-management skills. When asked how nursing schools can better prepare students, Arthandreale Nicholas, BSN, RN, a nurse at Harris Health Outpatient Medicine Clinic in Houston, Texas, says, “[M]ore clinical hours with realistic nurse-to-patient ratio staffing [are needed] so new nurses can be prepared to have more patients and develop time-management skills.” As any experienced nurse knows, time-management skills will improve with time.

Prioritization also serves a vital role in a nurse’s first year on the job. Prioritization and time management go hand-in-hand; once one is mastered, the other will become easier and vice versa. Nicholas, a nurse of five years, recalls her most valuable lesson in her first year was prioritization of duties. “Make sure to see sickest patients first and get meds passed ASAP,” she suggests. New nurses may not realize how long 12-hour shifts really are—or that they may not get the desired shift they want to work directly out of school. Typical 12-hour shifts turn out to be longer when you factor in commute times, codes at shift change, or a lengthy report. In addition, nursing schools don’t prepare students for difficulty finding their first job in an oversaturated market. Nicholas experienced long days and an undesirable shift firsthand; her commute to her first job, a neuro step-down unit, was 60 miles each way and she worked a “swingshift,” meaning she alternated between night and day shifts. “I only stayed at my first job for four months. The schedule with the commute made me very discouraged, so I actually went months without working until a local hospital gave me a chance,” says Nicholas. New nurses are ill-prepared for these realities since the average nursing school does not typically have students complete a full 12-hour clinical day. In addition, the clinical sites are typically in close proximity to the school.

2. Respect Your Elders

We’ve all heard the phrase “Nurses Eat Their Young” (or “N.E.T.Y.”) when referring to the way some seasoned nurses communicate with newer nurses. Sometimes, there are personality conflicts between people, but most of the time seasoned nurses are just frustrated with the newer generation thinking they know more than they actually do directly out of school. As the saying goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Seasoned nurses on the unit have a wealth of information to share with you—just be willing to listen.

Bice has her own take on the relationship between newer and more experienced nurses: “Older or ‘more experienced’ nurses say new nurses are coming out of school really cocky or with bad attitudes, but I truly think that’s just the generation gap in the workforce showing through.” Bice believes new nurses can thrive in their first year with more encouragement from seasoned nurses. “I think if new nurses are nurtured through their orientation and supported and offered a safe environment to ask questions, make mistakes, and figure it out, they could be successful on any unit,” she adds.

Newer nurses should also understand that there are multiple ways to carry out nursing duties. Their preceptors may have a different way of doing certain asks. Not all nursing tasks are textbook like they were in school, and this may be a hard concept to grasp when just starting out. Be willing to understand why particular individuals carry out their nursing responsibilities the way they do. And if you don’t like it, put your own spin on it later. Be open to others’ opinions when you first start out—you may realize you have learned something you may not have known otherwise. Take it all as a learning experience.

3. Don’t Cause Waves

One of the quickest ways to become the unpopular nurse on the unit is to act like a know-it-all. No one cares that you had a 3.9 GPA in school or that you passed the NCLEX with 75 questions. All anyone—including colleagues, patients, and family members—really cares about is how you can safely and effectively deliver care to patients. Remember, the first job is to learn how to become a real nurse.

Another way to cause waves during the first year of nursing is to actively complain about your chosen profession. The story plays out time and time again—a new grad comes into the unit and continuously vocalizes how much he or she hates bedside nursing and declares plans to be out of there in one year—on to NP or CRNA school. Doing this usually causes a deep divide between you and other seasoned nurses on the unit.  This may be where some of the N.E.T.Y. comes into play.

Newer nurses may feel isolated due to their inexperience, but it’s imperative to ask for help from others when needed. Nursing involves teamwork. In addition, starting a new job and attempting to be a martyr by making fellow coworkers look bad only actually makes you look bad in the long run. One day, you will be on the other end and won’t appreciate the lack of compassion. Everybody makes mistakes, and you don’t want to be thrown under the bus because of one. Learn to speak to your colleagues when a problem arises; it could uncover a learning experience for both of you.

4. Continue Your Education

Just because you have finished nursing school and passed your boards doesn’t mean your education should cease. The real education has actually just begun. Continuing education doesn’t mean you immediately go back to school for an advanced degree; it means continuing to learn in your new role. Jonanna Bryant, MSN, MS, RN, a veteran nurse of 24 years, who is currently working on her doctorate, wholeheartedly agrees. “Learning doesn’t stop after one leaves school, and you don’t have to return to school in order to learn,” she says. As a new nurse, you should be constantly looking up medications, medical terms, and diagnoses that you don’t know. It’s uncomfortable being asked a question for which you don’t know the answer. Not knowing the answers should bother you to the point that you want to seek additional knowledge.

It’s imperative that you continue to educate yourself in your chosen specialty—meaning that if you work in the ER, brush up on triage or work towards your trauma certification. Get your Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications. Read nursing journals, re-read your nursing textbooks, and become involved in professional nursing organizations—anything that will enhance your knowledge base. The education of a nurse never stops.

In addition to learning job-specific skills, learn more about the roles of other health care professionals. Learn the role of a respiratory therapist, physical therapist, and radiation tech—these are all professionals you will work with on a daily basis. Education provides opportunities for you to grow not only as a nurse, but also as a person. Enhancing yourself through education makes you a better nurse and allows you to educate your patients, their family members, and your colleagues.

If you do eventually decide to go back to school for an advanced degree, make sure you master your role in your current position before doing so. Regardless of what some may say, an experienced nurse has an advantage when heading into graduate school. Concepts covered in grad school can be easily grasped with the experience one gains from working as a nurse.

5. Find a Mentor

Many nurses, if not all, may feel they were not adequately prepared for the real world even after finishing school and passing the NCLEX. The type of treatment new nurses receive in their first year can negatively or positively affect their overall career trajectory. This leaves a new nurse either loving the profession and wanting to stay in for the long haul or loathing the profession and trying to leave altogether.

“The first year was hard,” says Nicholas. “I honestly almost broke and thought about other career paths. I’m thankful for the good shifts and grateful patients who encouraged me to keep going.”

Potential challenges one may face in nursing should be discussed and support should be given to newer nurses, both in school before they graduate and on the job. Bice believes having more open, honest discussions with preceptors and other experienced nurses on the job would be beneficial. “Debriefing after incidents, like ‘what could I have done better?’ [and] ‘what will I do differently next time?’ This way, gaps in learning are realized and bridged,” she says.

New nurses should not only be oriented to their new career, but also mentored by seasoned nurses. A mentor serves as an experienced and trusted adviser. Mentorship should be a part of orientation for all nurses new to the profession. Bryant, a nurse consultant for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also believes in new nurses having a preceptor or mentor for the first year, “…someone who they will follow and be able to ask questions and talk to regarding concerns with their new job,” she says.

The first year of nursing is tough, but manageable with the right mindset. Bice advises the newer generation of nurses starting out to “chill out and listen,” which is in line with Bryant’s recommendations for the first year: “Pace yourself, be thorough, and communicate.” Nicholas wishes she could have told her first-year self to be “more confident” and to not be afraid to question orders she was unsure about. Use their advice to successfully integrate into your new role. Soon enough, you’ll be a seasoned nurse and will be able to give tips to the newbies on your unit.

How Do You Know It’s Nurse Bullying?

How Do You Know It’s Nurse Bullying?

Nurse bullying is a big problem in the profession, but it’s under reported and not addressed as effectively as possible. And the reason isn’t as simple as nurses not wanting to speak up.

Sometimes nurses aren’t even sure the horrible behavior they are being subject to is actually bullying, says Dr. Renee Thompson, DNP, RN, CMSRN, and CEO and president of RT Connections, LLC, and author of “Do No Harm” Applies to Nurses, Too!,.

Bullying behavior can be quite obvious, but it’s just as often something so subtle the target isn’t even sure if the actions are intended. “Bullies will test the waters,” she says. “They will do something and see the reaction they get. If they are resisted, they will usually, but not always, stop it.” But if the behavior isn’t addressed immediately, the bully takes on power and the behavior can escalate.

What are some things to watch out for?

True nurse bullying behaviors and unintended coincidences can be separated by the pattern and the repetition you will see over time.

The most obvious, and for some nurses easiest to deal with, bullying is the in-your-face colleague who is yelling at you and insulting you. There’s no doubt what’s going on there.

But other things are much harder to really pin down. Dr. Thompson recalls hearing a story from a nurse who won an award and soon found herself with the most acute patients and more cases than any other nurses on the floor during her shifts. The nurse wasn’t sure if she just had a bad luck of the draw, but then she overheard a charge nurse indicating that it was on purpose to bring her down a few notches from her award. Startled, the nurse identified what was really happening.

Other times, nurses create situations to have other nurses fail. Maybe during hand off you weren’t given all the information you needed. “They set you up to make a mistake and then write you up for it,” says Dr. Thompson.

And what about the times when all the nurses wear the same jacket or they all order out lunch together and exclude one person? Or if a few nurses gossip at work and spread rumors? All these behaviors seem petty, but they really happen at some workplaces.

If you have ever seen or experienced these behaviors, Dr. Thompson says it’s a good idea to track what you see. Carry a small notebook and jot things down over a couple of weeks. “You are looking for a pattern,” she says, “not a one-time incident.” Even if you end up doing nothing with the information, Dr. Thompson says the very act of documenting can help you because it can help you establish a clear pattern of bullying. It can be a relief to know it’s not just your imagination.

Then you can choose a few options. You can confront the person in a respectful manner that’s supported with facts (which you now have thanks to that handy notebook!). You can say something like, “I noticed this is the fifth time in a row when you were in charge that I got all the patients with the highest acuity. Can you help me to understand why that is?”

If you aren’t comfortable going to your direct supervisor, you can consider going to your supervisor’s supervisor. You can also approach human resources, says Dr. Thompson. Check your company’s policy on destructive behaviors so you can present a clear case on what specific behaviors have been violated.

And, of course, if you can relate what is happening to how it impacts patient safety or patient care, you have a greater chance of someone doing something about it, says Dr. Thompson. If you went to a charge nurse at 2 am and asked about a patient in crisis and were told to handle it yourself, you have a clear example of how the actions are impacting patient care.

And Dr. Thompson doesn’t wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to nurse bullying. If your boss is best friends with the VP of human resources or with everyone in her line of command, you might want to just leave. “Get out,” says Dr. Thompson. “It’s just not worth it and you can go find a better place. You deserve to work in a great place.”

Nurse Bullying: What’s Going On?

Nurse Bullying: What’s Going On?

If nurse bullying is such a problem, why aren’t nurses talking more about it with each other?

According to Dr. Renee Thompson, DNP, RN, CMSRN, and CEO and president of RT Connections, LLC, and author of “Do No Harm” Applies to Nurses, Too!, most nurses don’t openly discuss bullying in the workplace because of some really basic reasons.

We don’t talk about it because we are afraid,” she says. “We don’t talk about it because of the fear of retaliation, because we fear we might get terminated, and because we don’t know what to say.” And while nurses want to hear they won’t lose their jobs or they won’t get the worst assignments if they speak up, in reality, those very things could happen.

Nurse bullying isn’t new, says Dr. Thompson, although it seems to be getting worse. And while nurse bullying is a hot topic in the industry, it pops up in the media sometimes. Why? Well, the public has a hard time digesting the topic and they don’t want to think the nurses taking care of them could be tormenting each other. “A lot of people are shocked that nurses who are so caring and compassionate to their patients can be so horrible to each other,” says Dr. Thompson.

But if bullying isn’t halted, what happens? The industry feels the effects already, says Dr. Thompson. “Sixty percent of new nurses quit their first job within the first six months because of bullying behavior,” she says. “Forty eight percent of graduating nurses are afraid they will become the target of bullying.”

Just like the nursing profession, the roots of nurse bullying are complex, says Dr. Thompson.

Competition

Part of the problem, she says, is competitive nature that turns negative. “Instead of celebrating others’ accomplishments, we are thinking of ways to downplay or sabotage,” says Dr. Thompson. That means a promotion for a nurse could make other nurses turn on her.

Jealousy

And there’s plain old jealousy and envy. Lots of nurses, says Dr. Thompson, won’t even tell colleagues when they are going back to school. In fact, she says, some even forgo tuition assistance from work to keep it under wraps. Their ambition can make them a target of bullying behaviors.

Stress

And nurses are under increasing pressure at work, making an atmosphere that can turn tense. “Nurses are being asked to do more with less,” says Thompson. If they don’t have effective coping skills, some nurses can lash out at others.

Generations

Nurses have been tagged with the unfortunate label of “nurses eat their young,” but Dr. Thompson says that’s not always the case. She hears frequently from older nurses who are targets because of their age, because they aren’t as adept with technology, and because younger nurses see them as out of date. “This is the first time we have four generations in the same workplace,” says Dr. Thompson. “Now we are seeing bullying across all generations.”

Diversity

Nurses who are different from the norm might find more bullying as well, says Dr. Thompson. She remembers being a new nurse and overhearing some of the older women complaining about a new young male nurse. “One said, ‘I don’t think men should be nurses, and I will do everything I can to make sure he doesn’t last here,’” recalls Dr. Thompson. So although men aren’t immune to the bullying among nurses, Dr. Thompson says they tend to react in a different manner. Men, she says, will often address the behavior immediately where many women won’t.

The cause of nurse bullying has many layers, and few of them are easy to navigate. Knowing the causes, being alert to behaviors, and talking with other nurses about bullying can help halt the problem in the long run.

Dealing With New-Nurse Drama

Dealing With New-Nurse Drama

Congratulations! You’ve managed to graduate from nursing school and pass the NCLEX-RN exam. In addition to that, you have successfully obtained a new-grad RN position after submitting thousands of applications. You’re now gainfully employed and about to embark on your new journey as a registered nurse. You’re very elated and excited to embark on this journey—and you deserve it. You have worked very hard to get here. However, that elation and excitement is short-lived due to the fact that you’re a new registered nurse, and as the saying goes, nurses eat their young.

Bullying towards new nurses isn’t new, and it’s a major problem. There have been many documented occurrences of new-grad bullying, but it’s not alleviating the problem. Unfortunately, this action is accepted and often swept underneath the rug. It’s as if the field of nursing is a sorority and new grads have to undergo a pledging process. It’s not enough that you’ve battled the trenches of nursing school and proven yourself to be a safe and sufficient nurse via passing boards. Now, you have to undergo the brutality and wrath of a negative, experienced nurse who sees you as an annoyance and, at times, a threat.

During my second week of orientation as a registered nurse, I was told by one of the nurse supervisors to watch my back because the experienced nurses could be “vengeful” at times. Her saying this to me was shocking for two reasons: 1) I couldn’t believe she acknowledged the fact that being vengeful towards a fellow nurse was happening on the unit. 2) As a nurse manager, wouldn’t you want to put an end to this behavior happening on your unit in order to maintain peace and order for the sake of patient safety?

Sad to say, this is a game, and new-grad RNs need to know how to play it. I come from a long line of nurses in my family, and when I spoke to them about this situation, they acknowledged that it happens and that I need to take special precautions to protect myself. Here are 10 tips to deal with new-nurse drama that they shared with me:

Keep a journal and document your days at work. In this journal, keep a record of the date and time of specific events. This way, if you’re ever called into a meeting and/or you’re challenged concerning a situation, you will have a personal record of what was said and done.

Come to work early and give yourself enough time to get organized. Being organized is key to nursing—and when you’re a new nurse, your coworkers are going to try to find any reason to be negative towards you. Being early and organized helps to alleviate this.

Maintain a locker with a lock on it. It’s really unfortunate, but your coworkers could be the kind of people who would be “vengeful” and try to steal your items or tamper with your equipment.

• Don’t share any personal information. If you’re talkative like I am, this might be hard to do, but do it. You’re there to work, not to become best friends with anyone. Gaining friendships is fine, but your main priorities should be to protect your patients and yourself.

Don’t be afraid to speak up and defend yourself. Often, new-grad RNs are made to feel inferior and fear speaking up due to retaliation. Don’t feel that way. You have a right to speak up and defend yourself, especially if you’re being threatened. Legally, you can’t get fired for that. Additionally, you can’t change whatever you tolerate. Therefore, you should acknowledge you deserve respect by standing up for yourself.

Don’t do anything that is uncomfortable and/or wrong. During my orientation, one of the experienced nurses wanted me to help her distribute medications because she was late. She didn’t want me to look at the Medication Administration Record or any other vital information about the patient. Instead, she wanted to hand me the medications and give them to her patients. I told her no because that was a threat to safe patient care and my license. She became upset and irate with me. Did I care? No. Patient safety and the safety of my license come first. The fear of harming someone or losing my license was greater than the fear of making her upset by denying her request.

Know your rights. This is important on any job, but new-grad RNs fail to understand their rights because they’re so consumed with learning the rules and regulations of their employed facilities. During your orientation, take the time to speak to Human Resources about your legal rights. It never hurts to know what legal protections you have at your place of employment.

• Mind your business. When you hear other nurses speak badly of a coworker, don’t join them. Walk away and divert your attention to something else. Entertaining the conversation not only makes you look bad, but is also an easy way for you to get trapped into the role of being negative. Besides, what goes around comes around, and if you start talking negatively about someone, you’re going to be the target eventually as well.

Always take the time to learn something new. This is a great time to be a human sponge. Doing this makes you look like a team player, and it’s a great way to advance in your career. This also makes you too busy to entertain negative thoughts and/or conversations. Learning isn’t limited to learning nursing skills. You should also take the time to learn about the environment in which you work. Learn what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable. Also, observe and be mindful of the different personality traits of your coworkers. You may like some and you may not. It’s better to learn in order to be prepared.

Leave work at work. When you come home, it’s time to relax. Nursing is hard work, and you don’t need to worry and stress about it when you’re at home. Whatever happens at work isn’t to be brought into your personal life. Bringing your work home is a sure way to burn yourself out quicker, and it will make you not want to work at all.

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