Many students will have already taken their first steps into nursing this new academic year. They have entered our profession with great expectations. This September will see undergraduate nursing students working towards entry on to the professional register and newly qualified nurses in their first jobs.
Those who are new to nursing can very often be treated with open hostility and not open arms, and they can sometimes be shocked by the way the ‘caring’ profession demonstrates how it cares. This topic was raised by Meissner in 1986, who asked the question, ‘Are we eating our young?’ Her conclusion was, overwhelmingly, ‘Yes’. Thirteen years later she revisited the question and she unfortunately concluded that the answer was still ‘Yes’ (Meissner, 1999).
Meissner (1999) suggested that many nurses, at all levels, were committing a type of genocide—an insidious type of cannibalism from within that will damage the profession more than any outside forces. Bullying behaviours that are experienced by nurses are not only inflicted by nurses but also by doctors and others. According to Gillespie et al (2017) bullying is a known and continuing problem. Brunsworth (2015) asks, ‘Are we full yet?’, and adds that our ‘dirty little secret’ is often seen as a rite of passage, a test of character, ‘earning your pips’ and an experience that has to be endured.
No matter how or where it is done, bullying acts are a deliberate attempt to undermine, alienate and isolate the subject. Sometimes its use is subtle, devious and sophisticated. Although it is the newly qualified nurse who is the predominant recipient of the abuse, nurses at all levels in all settings can experience this abhorrent activity.
The newly qualified nurse has worked hard to achieve their goals, and we need to treat them with the respect they deserve, offer them our support and share with them our wisdom. It is about understanding that newly qualified nurses and student nurses do not have the tried and tested ability to make clinical decisions or judgements that the experienced nurse has. The organisational skills of the veteran nurse take years to hone, so give the newcomers a chance. A wise nurse would reflect on their own experiences and remember what it was like to be a student or newly qualified. Those who have forgotten should reconsider whether they are still fit to remain in our profession.
Kindness and compassion have long been considered synonymous with nursing; however, they are behaviours that are too often noteworthy because of their absence. Failing to demonstrate compassion and kindness contributes significantly to disappointment, dissatisfaction, burnout and dropout of the next generation of nurses. Nursing is intimidating enough without the bullying, lack of care and absence of kindness that some nurses experience. The student and newly qualified nurse then wonder if this is what nursing is all about and if it is really for them. Eliminating bullying would not only improve the wellbeing and work productivity of the nursing workforce but also care delivery and patient outcomes.
If we are all committed to maintaining professional standards (and this is not an opt-out clause in the (Nursing and Midwifery Council Code (2018)), all of us have to take time to review how we interact with students and newly qualified nurses. We have to put a stop to feasting on our young. It will cause unpleasant indigestion for all and more so for the people to whom we have the privilege to offer care and support. Small acts of kindness can have a big impact—as any patient can tell you.