" Older nurses make better nurses "

well you only have a few weeks left there till you start right? they sound horrible anyway, i only get 1 or 2 like that on every ward (always the one HCA who considers themselves to know more than matron) but a whole team of them...dear god

I'm beginning to get more quick with come backs now but its hard because its such a busy place people normally say something then walk out the room! So can't exactly follow them and have a go! and to be honest I don't want them to know that i'm annoyed by it but maybe I should let them know... So they will stop.

I think you should report what they're saying. Noone deserves having snide comments directed at them and if they had a serious reason to say something about your work they should tell whoevers in charge rather than undermine your work. I don't think you should make comments back because they could sneakily report you and get you in trouble.

you could complain, but don't think it'd be taken seriously- its considered banter! My friend complained about one of the HCA's on her placement, as the HCA said 'go on show me what you've got, i won't expect a baby to do much here' and the university just told her to deal with it like an adult..

I work in a care home and am in charge of dealing with complaints such as this and other types of complaints. In my care home it would be taken seriously and dealt with.

I think you should report what they're saying. Noone deserves having snide comments directed at them and if they had a serious reason to say something about your work they should tell whoevers in charge rather than undermine your work. I don't think you should make comments back because they could sneakily report you and get you in trouble.

I don't think I could report it because it would make me look pathetic and petty. It wouldnt bother me if these things were just said once but its contant little snide/patronizing comments nearly everyday!!

I think the problem is a lot of them have sons/daughters similar ages to me and they do try and mother me a bit! Which I don't need. It just annoys me when I know i'm very capable of giving personal care, I was simply brushing a residents hair and one of the older carers said ' you can do it much harder than that hun, i don't know.. young people these days!' and said other things showing me up in front of the resident. its like - what on earth has being gentle got to do with someone being young??
Another one said ' i'll do that, you need to pick up your pace love' I had only just come back from my lunch break and stayed in the room while another carer went to go and get something from the kitchen! So it looked like I was in there! arghh I know for a fact she wouldnt have said that other carer because she was older than her.

older nursing student tend to be better in the class room and on placement mainly because they are more organised and can readily apply life experiance, however the type of studnt nurse who always raises above others is the one who has a lot of nursing experiance (eg HCA worker, social worker and dental nurses or anyone who has come from a caring profession into nursing- which usually makes them older, but it is not their age that makes them better its their experience). sometimes it can be a huge strain on the teaching staff and hospitals if nurse student starts their trainning with little hospital experiance and it can offen take them to 3rd year til they are at a acceptable standard. (this i imagin is the reason uni look for good experiance)
at the end of the day to pass your degree/AvDip you have to be of a good standard so all nursing graduates are of pretty much the same standard and thier professional development after trainning is usually what determins weather they will be a 'good' or 'bad' nurse.

I know but it just annoys me because I work in a care home at the moment and I know that some of the carers there think they are better than me just because they are a lot older.. even when some of them have only been in the job for a couple of years! There's a few who are always patronizing and coming out with comments about my age.

I work in a care home and am in charge of dealing with complaints such as this and other types of complaints. In my care home it would be taken seriously and dealt with.

You are joking? This is what put me off nursing all this professionalism c***. If someone said to me what was said to that student Id just think the cheeky git who does she think she is then Id think well maybe its just the way she talks/expresses herself I wouldn't think much of it.

You are joking? This is what put me off nursing all this professionalism c***. If someone said to me what was said to that student Id just think the cheeky git who does she think she is then Id think well maybe its just the way she talks/expresses herself I wouldn't think much of it.

Eurgh, from my experience in the care home I was working at it was the oldest staff who were the worst! They didn't give a damn for the residents' free will, they wanted to do things in whichever way made their job easier, they were cynical and had long ago lost their love for the job and were simply hanging around cos they had no experience in other lines of work. I once had to formally complain about a staff member who went busting into the rooms turning on lights and getting people up without ever asking them whether they wanted to get up yet! She would always go down the corridor in the same order at the same time in the morning ignoring any personal requests and would spend the whole time whilst she was getting people ready complaining about how much her back hurt and telling them off for not being more helpful for her! (She didn't think much of me criticizing her either, what do I know? I'm just a young new staff member, obviously that means I know nothing about how common courtesy can be ignored once you're at work ) In the end I got so fed up of it that I refused to do any overtime shifts where I'd end up working with her.

Now, that's not to say that all older nurses or care home staff are like that, and I agree with the sentiment of the original discussion, but I think it comes down to experience not age. I'd rather be treated by a 28y/o nurse who has 5 years experience than a 40 year old nurse who's just qualified. The essential thing really is personality and attitude, whilst for some people experience and age will improve these things, for others it will make them bitter and cynical.

There's no right or wrong answer, but I think if you meet someone with more experience than you then generally you should treat it as an opportunity to learn, regardless of their age.

Exactly what its like where I work! There are some that you can tell just shouldn't be working there anymore - you know that they have lost the love of their job and are simply doing it for the money.

The majority of carers just switch the light on and say ' you're getting up' or 'you're going to the toilet' without actually asking them.
It also upsets me how they are treated just like a task!! Like this one carer who does EVERYTHING quickly and you can tell the resident is feeling rushed etc.. When it shouldn't be like that.
When I take someone to the toilet/get them washed dressed I ALWAYS ask them if they are comfortable or what would they like to wear etc. I guess some members of staff just don't see them as 'people' more like someone they have to dress/wash.
I will make sure I never become like that.

Exactly what its like where I work! There are some that you can tell just shouldn't be working there anymore - you know that they have lost the love of their job and are simply doing it for the money.

The majority of carers just switch the light on and say ' you're getting up' or 'you're going to the toilet' without actually asking them.
It also upsets me how they are treated just like a task!! Like this one carer who does EVERYTHING quickly and you can tell the resident is feeling rushed etc.. When it shouldn't be like that.
When I take someone to the toilet/get them washed dressed I ALWAYS ask them if they are comfortable or what would they like to wear etc. I guess some members of staff just don't see them as 'people' more like someone they have to dress/wash.
I will make sure I never become like that.

Exactly what its like where I work! There are some that you can tell just shouldn't be working there anymore - you know that they have lost the love of their job and are simply doing it for the money.

The majority of carers just switch the light on and say ' you're getting up' or 'you're going to the toilet' without actually asking them.
It also upsets me how they are treated just like a task!! Like this one carer who does EVERYTHING quickly and you can tell the resident is feeling rushed etc.. When it shouldn't be like that.
When I take someone to the toilet/get them washed dressed I ALWAYS ask them if they are comfortable or what would they like to wear etc. I guess some members of staff just don't see them as 'people' more like someone they have to dress/wash.
I will make sure I never become like that.

Its really sad that so many people do this The care system really needs to be changed so theres better training.

I bet you also get loads of people not moving and handling people properly too. It makes me so mad when I catch people getting someone to stand by hooking their arms under that persons armpits etc, it doesn't take any more time to get get the green belt And the thing is they know what they're doing is wrong because if they have to work with people who do do things properly, like me, you can hear them moan to each other "ugh better get the hoist because kamc's in today" and stuff. Or instead of encouraging to feed, they'll just feed the resident themselves, and they won't provide a choice of what to wear they'll just grab something out the wardrobe

Just remember you're doing things properly and giving that person the best care you can and maintaining their dignity and independance

I don't know if its just me but Ive noticed men can get away with it more easily because they are seen as the less emotional/more laid back gender if you know what I mean. Ive always thought that if I, or a woman hca, imitated the laid back attitude/behaviour of a lot of the older male hca's Id be seen as lazy.

The moving and handling is one of the worse problems!!! i've not long finished my 3-day passport course so I was watching out for how people do it - i'd say 80-90% don't use the correct methods!
Loads use the arm under the armpit and lift - no wonder there are 3 staff off sick at the moment because of their backs! :O
And what annoys me the most is i'll try and support someone when they get up - but some just can't do it(and i'm not prepared to lift them like others do) so I'll go and get one of the other carers and they will go 1,2,3 and lift them!!! and then go 'there you go, its not too hard' or a comment like it where they think they are doing the job better. ARGH and when its majority of staff who do - it's hard, and makes me feel like i'm doing a crap job but I will stil refuse to lift someone!
Hardly anyone uses the hoists/standing aids! only when someone falls.

Training for care assistants is terrible so I think its often not that they don't care its just that they don't understand why its bad for the resident, and bad for themselves.

Training at my home is 2 days shadowing - one morning shift and one evening shift, the next day you're on your own! Luckily I started a nursing course and dropped out (am going back in Sept hopefully ) so had already learned how to move and handle and other things properly.

When I first started, if someone saw me moving and handling correctly they'd sigh loudly and come over and almost pull them up and tell me "thats how you do" it but eventually when I became more confident, whenever it happened around me I would say that I'm not pulling someone up and if I see them doing it again I will report them. Eventually they stopped doing it around me when I started reporting people, but of course they still do it when I'm not there

erg another thing, LOADS of the people I work with never wash their hands!!