Questions

Hi Konni,
I see what you are saying. Thanks for your input on this.

The Director of Nursing at that health clinic did NOT want nurses who "did not fit in" per se to her female clientele because we would be doing field service...visitations in their homes. She felt this was much different than our caring for patients within the hospital setting. The way she explained to me what I posted in my post above made me rethink taking the job. I have a "low tolerance level" with moms who smoke, especially seeing them smoke right in their babies faces, so if something like this bothers me, I know it would eat me up inside to visit homes where I would want to strangle the mom, and remove the kids from that environment. I hate to see a child abused in any way shape or form, therefore, could not have done that job the way it should have been done.

Even when I did home health, I woud have Emphysema, Lung Cancer, and COPD patients who chained smoked regardless of how much they choked on their own air, I had a hard time keeping my mouth shut in regards to their continuous abuse of their bodies. Some nursing areas are better than others for me, so I steer clear of the ones I know I can't be "fair" in.

Renee, I do see your point. I remember in nursing school the few home health visits we had to do just killed me. And some of my classmates saw even worse things than I did, no more visits than we had to make. So I can understand where you are coming from.

But if someone could truly be nonjudgemental, I think they could do the job just fine without having been there themselves.

Psst.

Knock 'em dead.

Ask questions and, if possible, look at the detailed job description so you can make an informed decision. Interviews work both ways, they're interviewing you for the position, and you're interviewing them as an employer. You may also want to ask about the compatibility of work and school schedules.

I wish you the best of luck

Good luck with the interview, Suzy. Having been a neonatal CNS for 14 years in a variety of different settings ... I say, "If the job feels right to you after you have seen the place, talked to your prosective new colleagues, etc., then go for it." It's really a "gut level" issue and besides, you won't really have lost much if it doesn't work out in the long run. You will have gotten some valuable experience and learned a lot.

The situation reminds me a one I was in many years ago, working as a neonatal CNS in Charleston, SC. The Head Nurse and I were both white and from the North. Some of our impoverished, African-American patients would not accept anything we said in regards to discharge planning, teaching about caring for their babies at home, etc. They would just tune us out and ignore us because to them, we came from a different world. Fortunately, we had a team of African-American LPN's who would reinforce our teaching -- sometimes even scolding our patients vigorously (like a mother would) for not listening to us. "How dare you not pay attention to her! She was just trying to help you keep your baby safe! You better start growing up fast because you have a child to take care of now!" etc. So, a lot of our efforts were directed to supporting those LPN's in THEIR influential teaching role and helping THEM to help the patients we could not reach.

Sometimes, as a CNS, you have to help the patients indirectly rather than do everything yourself. But that doesn't mean you can't help those patients with whom you may have trouble establishing that connection.

llg

Suzy, I don't know if you've had the interview yet, but if you haven't, good luck, and if you have, then I hope you get the job (if you want it ). I think it sounds like an interesting job.