Young nurse exposes the dark reality very few know about Australian hospitals

A junior nurse has claimed that tall poppy syndrome is rife within the Australian healthcare system as she opened up on the ‘toxic’ work culture in hospitals. 

Saida claimed in a TikTok video on Sunday that she had been relentlessly bullied by some of her colleagues.

She said she had spoken to one nurse for consolation and claimed she was told she was being targeted because she was ‘doing really well’.

Saida said she had taken a break for her wedding and honeymoon and that she was feeling anxious about her return to work.

‘I have prepared my uniform, my meals for the rest of the week. I’m just full of anxiety because tall poppy syndrome is so prevalent in the nursing field,’ she said.

‘I came in bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, optimistic, wanting to learn everything that I can learn; like, asking all the questions.’

Saida said her attitude changed when she started experiencing bullying. 

The young nurse added she had ‘cried countless times’ and that her working environment had ‘got worse’. 

Saida claimed in a TikTok video on Sunday that she had been relentlessly bullied by some of her colleagues 

The nurse explained she would be berated for trivial things like taking a walk during her designated lunch breaks. 

She said one colleague questioned why she even took her meal break as other nurses would not regularly take them.

‘I was like, you know what? I think you have a lot of pent-up energy because you’re hungry. You get no sunlight and you have no movement,’ the nurse said.

‘I do not want to keep perpetuating this cycle of this nursing culture, that you think is like this. It’s not essential to who we are or what we do.’

Saida claimed her concerns had been dismissed and that she was told this is ‘just how nursing is’.

She explained she then saw an older nurse to ask her why this was happening.

‘There was one nurse who was so lovely, and I was like, “listen, I’m having these issues, like I don’t know what this means, I don’t know what I should do”,’ she said.

‘She’s like, “No. You’re just doing really well, that’s the only problem”.’

Saida said she had spoken to one nurse for consolation and claimed she was told she was being targeted because she was ‘doing really well’ (stock image)

The nurse said she was upset by the notion, saying she had a nursing licence to defend and protect which she pays a hefty sum each year for.

‘They’re all very cliquey, nobody is nice,’ the nurse said.

‘I’m genuinely scared that by being in this environment for long enough that I will become a by-product of my environment and I’ll become a bit of a bi*** as well.

‘If you are a (graduate), if you’re new in the nursing world, take your walks, take your meals, take your break. You do not have to be overworked and burned out.

‘You do what you need to do, you make sure that your patients are safe, you do all your documentation, [ensure] your meds are done correctly, [but] no one’s paying you to be overworked and underappreciated.’

Many social media users agreed the culture in the industry was off-putting.

‘I’m a student nurse and I had to stop my placement because my teacher and some registered nurses were so rude … [it] scares me even though I want this career so bad,’ one wrote.

‘I knew I was getting bullied during placement when a patient told me she felt bad for me with the way the nurse was talking to me and that she saw I was about to cry,’ another wrote.

‘“Eat the young” is so deeply ingrained and culturally normalised within nursing through hierarchical bullying,’ a third said.

Some international viewers said the environment was similar in their countries.

‘So nursing is toxic worldwide? Noted!’ one wrote.

One said she had found a role with a good workplace culture.

‘Depends on what hospital in Australia. My current hospital is brilliant with students and new grads,’ she wrote.

‘I would’ve loved to have been a student there but agree as a general rule horrible with students and juniors.’

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