To be put off nursing because of the 'bitchiness'

[Blahdyblahblahblahblah]

Not my words but those of people I know who either still are or who have been and then left.

I'd love to do this but the thought of this really puts me off. Anyone who does nursing have you found it's a particular difficult environment for this sort of thing?

One of my best friends qualified a couple of years ago and said it's very cliquey and bullying / nastiness between colleagues seems to be rife. She's leaving and has said most people she qualified with have left too for a mix of reasons, this being one of them.

I'm a solicitor myself but have been wanting a career change and have always wanted to do this but it never worked out. I can take crap from the public, but I don't think I'd cope well with it from colleagues.

Many people said this to me about teaching but I'm yet to find these super bitchy/cliquey schools, although I'm sure they do exist. Don't let your friend's words put you off if nursing is something you dream of- it just might be a case of finding the clinic/hospital that is the right fit for you.

I worked as an HCA for 6 years (about 20 years ago), on various hosputal wards. Of course there was a lot of really nice staff, but there was a level of bitchyness I have never seen in any other job. I presumed at the time that it was because the staff were predominantly women, but I now work in education and have never seen anything like it is a school.

I can't comment from experience, but there is a trend I've seen online where people claim all the girls who were bitchy bullies at school, went on to become nurses. So, it seems it is a common generalisation.

I'm a nurse and now in a specialised role. I did notice that it was very cliquey on the wards at times and if your face didn't fit you were seen as an outsider. My role now in a smaller team is so much better and its so refreshing.

I've worked on the same ward for 16 years. We all get on pretty well. Not noticed any bitchiness. And agency staff like working with us and come back. So we can't be that bad!

I done my midwifery training and my best friend was doing nursing. Normally a bubbly positive person I literally saw her self esteem and enthusiasm plummet because of the bitchiness of her mentors and other nursing staff at her placements. She qualified (barely) and decided not to work as a nurse because she couldn't take it.

Not saying this will happen to you just have your wits about you if and when you do decide to do it

Good luck OP

This isn't just reserved for nurses. It's the entire culture in the NHS unfortunately. I'd call it cliquey rather than bitchyness. Lots of gossiping and 'politics' involved. And heaven forbid someone of a higher banding makes friends with a Band 2 or 3! If your face fits you're fine, if not you'll be miserable.

As an NHS nurse I don't agree with this bitchy narrative, I have met the odd unpleasant person but they are generally disliked by all. NHS work is the worst I have ever known, physically and mentally, it takes everything out of you. However it's the people I work with that keep me coming back, it's the team and camaraderie. We do support each other.

I have friends on nursing. Individualist everyone is fine but I find the group a bit high school and immature really

Same as any workplace. You get cliques, bitchiness and at times bullying.
I wouldn’t say it’s any worse in the nhs.

Oh yes @differential
The amount of times I would hear "do you know so and so? Yeah she's a band 7" gasp.

So weird

Not a nurse, do work in a hospital, often on the wards. My experience is that the ward nursing teams are welcoming and supportive, and if there is an unusual level of bitchiness they must be very discreet indeed.

I would however say that in my hospital your chances of promotion appear to be determined more by how your face fits than by an objective measure of your management skills, but that's not quite the same thing.

That is what I was trying to say!

I'm a nurse and it's really not great. I would strongly discourage anyone from nursing at present unless you are absolutely passionate about it. If I could walk into another job that pays the same as I'm on now I would in a heartbeat.
It's cliquey, it's understaffed, your unappreciated by the hospital.
The patients are amazing and I love my actual job, i am lucky enough to work in a specialism that is my absolute passion but with how things are at the moment im burnt out. If I could go to work and do my job as per job description I would be ecstatic but the nhs is absolutely fucked atm. Barely recovering from pandemic stressors, losing staff quicker than it can recruit, pay is average at best when you compare it to your responsibilities (life or death of your patients).
I could honestly go on for days with my negatives. You have to be 100% in it for the right reasons or you won't last/want to last.

You're mostly going to get anecdotal stories here OP. As you can see there are already opposing views of the NHS's bitch/cliquey ness. The only way to know if nursing something you truly want to do, is try volunteering on different nursing wards. Or you could try being a HCA for 12 months before you decided to enrol on the degree program but I suspect you don't have any healthcare qualifications to enable you to do so?

This is the best fitting description of what it's like.

You don't have to have qualifications to be a HCA. I started as a midwifery assistant in 2009 They trained me to take blood and do vitals. I loved it and then went on to do my midwifery degree in 2013.
(Again this was 2009 so I don't know if the entry requirements for HCA is different now) but that's definitely a good idea the PP suggested

I hate the term 'bitchy' - which is only ever used about girls and women.

There are plenty of male staff in nursing these days - what's the equivalent term for them, I wonder?

@VickyEadieofThigh - "testosterone-y" maybe?! 🤣

It takes a few bad apples to spoil the bunch! I've had a few jobs, retail, health care and you do find that there are often cliques or people that bitch behind your back or even too/about you. It's not nice at all so it's hard to say if you take up nursing it'll be different from what you're friend has said, if you know you can rise above it then I'd go for it ☺️ good luck if you do!

@sorrysaythatagain most trusts ask HCA applicants to have an NVQ 2. It's 'desirable'. A lot of application forms won't proceed without you declaring one.

@VickyEadieofThigh there are plenty of bitchy men around. I'd use the term for both sexes.

Well there's not plenty of men in nursing but bitchy still applies.

I have been a nurse for 24 years and not noticed it in the teams I have worked in. I currently work directly with 5 other nurses and we have known each other for 8 years - brilliant bunch, always have each others backs and a very supportive environment to be in. Our wider team is made up of Physios, OTs, Social Workers, HCAs, Admin staff, this was a team that was thrown together during Covid and again they are on the whole brilliant. Maybe I have been lucky during my career.

Everywhere is like this.

This is very strange. I had a close friend. We would sleep over at each others houses, go to the cinema etc. She was horrible to me in school. Well to lots of people. She's a nurse and I just can't imagine her being sympathetic to anyone.