Jun 22, 2017

5 Reasons Staff Nurses Should Stop Bullying Travel Nurses

Okay, sorry for the drama, we know that it is a small percentage of staff nurses who bully travel nurses. We also understand that nurse bullying happens between all variations of nurses in all health care settings, there is not one victim. Thankfully, our travelers rave about our fantastic hospitals and their nurses, but I have five reasons why everyone needs to end nurse on nurse bullying and violence.

1. Remember why you got into nursing

You didn’t become a nurse to pick on people, gossip, start drama, or offend. You became a nurse to help people. We are a caring profession, one that takes care of other people—ESPECIALLY our own. Ego down, kindness up.

2. Everybody is new once

If you’re the experienced nurse who loves to make sure that everyone knows how experienced you are, you are doing this profession a disservice. Your experience deserves to be respected, and you are a valuable resource. That being said, by intimidating or being unwelcoming towards newbies you are creating an unsafe environment. You don’t want to push people so far away that they can’t count on you in an emergency. You were new once too, lend a helping hand. Someday you won’t be able to work anymore, don’t you want the ones taking care of you to have the same standards of care you set for yourself? Food for thought.

3. We are all nurses

This one seems super self-explanatory, but I will elaborate. Nurses have a hard-enough time receiving the respect that we deserve from the general public (because they do not fully understand all of the intricacies of our license and scope of practice), and if we start to disrespect each other on top of that, we are in for a really rough road. We are all nurses, a very special profession, let’s protect each other. We need to work together, not against each other. It doesn’t matter where another nurse came from, the fact is he or she is there to remove responsibility from your shoulders. Be nice.

4. Nobody likes a bully

Nobody. Everyone wants to work with the nurse who always willing to help, educate, and advise. Nobody wants to work with the nurse who makes them feel small or inadequate. Many of my coworkers have also been my Zumba partners, Friday night dates, and listening ears. I promise you, it is way more fun to get along with your team than to hold a grudge.

5. All nurses show up to work to work

There isn’t one travel nurse or staff nurse that I have ever met that shows up to work to make anyone else’s life harder. Sure, maybe it is more difficult to work someone who is still learning, but they are there nonetheless there to work. They are there to take care of complete strangers, just like you. That deserves some serious credit for simply being selfless. We shouldn’t be so tough on people who are learning. If we scare them all away, it’s only going to increase our personal workload. Help them get more efficient quicker, don’t discourage.

“Treat others how you wish to be treated.”

Be kind,

Nurse Kelley

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