“Nurses are so mean." ~ Anonymous PCT

Most of you have probably heard of the “golden rule”. This basic guide to ethical behavior states that we should treat others as we would like to be treated.  You can find this sentiment in countless ancient writings, including the New Testament, Talmud, Koran, and the Analects of Confucius.  The reason why I am bringing this up is because of a recent email from a student taking one of our review courses. 

This person wrote about how unhappy she was to be working as a patient care tech (PCT) and felt the nurses were treating her badly. She has been unable to pass NCLEX and had started to question whether she really wanted to be a nurse. Does this sound familiar to you?

Luck of the draw?

Maybe I was lucky, but I had nothing but good experiences working as a PCT.  And when I was a staff nurse, everyone on our floor loved our PCTs; we even implemented the concept of patient care teams in the hospital (a team = 1 RN and 1 or 2 PCTs who always worked together). 

However, when I was teaching nursing assistant students, the nurses in many of the clinical settings (usually long term care) did not regard PCTs as a valued member of the nursing team.  So, in developing a nursing program, we decided that a prerequisite was for all incoming nursing students to be certified nursing assistants (CNAs). Our reasons for this requirement were simple:

• They would not be afraid of touching others and should be used to cleaning up you know what …
• They would become more caring and understanding nurses, who will be better at empathizing with and delegating to (and helping) CNAs

Are they simply afraid?

Now I know that we all say things we shouldn’t sometimes, especially when we are tired or stressed (but really, what nursing student or nurse isn’t stressed?)  Maybe the RNs who communicate poorly and don’t help with tasks never worked as a PCT. Maybe they don’t know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of frustrated words and never-ending tasks and assignments. One resource I read suggested that "mean" nurses are simply … afraid.

• Afraid of... change
• Afraid of... being perceived as something less than or inferior to who you are
• Afraid of... a shift in the hierarchy of the unit
• Afraid of... growth
• Afraid of... the unexpected

The best piece of advice I can give you is to be secure in who you are and all that you have learned in nursing school. And always be kind to new nurses and to treat others as you, yourself, wish to be treated!

Now it’s your turn!

What has been your experience as a nursing student working as a PCT?

Do you think nurses who were formerly PCTs make better nurses?

What’s been your experience as a new grad?

More images like the one at the top of the page can be found online at: http://www.zazzle.com/harrygensler