I don’t quite believe this, but since I quit my last position and started my new one within the same hospital system, I’ve been offered 2 positions: OR and Radiology.
OR is interesting because they work with so many active ingredients, they monitor patients constantly, they get to interpret ECG and electrolyte imbalances. You can learn and work with cool stuff.
Most of the coworkers there are mature: they do their job, they explain the rationale, they teach me stuff. I like it.
There are 2 childish gossips incapable of shutting their mouths to talk about the most inane stuff thinkable. I like using downtime to learn, not to talk about boring stuff. These kind of people have always wasted my time and energy.
This is what I wanted to tell the charge: I see a future with you, only if these 2 people do not take part in my orientation (3 to 6 months) and if during downtime they do not pester me with inane stuff, but let me learn. I do not talk about my private life at work, I’m on the introverted side and when people force me to talk to them it drains me. I’ve worked at units where managers promised a genuine and serious orientation, but the staff were more focused on gossip than on teaching me. I don’t need that. I want to be around people who take orientation as seriously as I do.
Radiology would be similar I guess.
reasons to say yes: you do you, you tell them what they need to provide so you can excel at your job.
reasons to say no: I become the asshole, as I’d be breaking the peace.
Almost every place I’ve worked I’ve had to deal with people as you describe. If you want to advance you need to develop strategies to deal with disruption. Depending on the situation you could; explain you are trying to learn a specific topic and ask them for their experienced insights (a little flattery never hurts and they might share helpful information), enforce your boundaries and say the question is a bit personal and makes you uncomfortable, say the day has you frazzled and you need quiet time to concentrate/regroup (again maybe flattery, I don’t know how you are so calm on a day like today), redirect the question back on them (you don’t actually have to care and listen, just some fake active listening nodding, say really, wow and make some eye contact), occasionally give some tidbits to appease them and not appear too stand-off ish, could be real or just make shit up) Consider what Jordanlund said, it might be their way of dealing with pressure, be more understanding, everyone has different coping mechanisms. Also tell yourself the situation is temporary, it is a stepping stone to your next goal and you will not have to deal with them forever.