[URO-RN]

Nope! No angel here.

[cheerfuldoer]

Just wanted to post the article to make it easier for others to read:


VIEWPOINT: I’m No Angel: I am a nurse—and that’s enough.

Margaret C. Belcher BSN, RN, CCRN

AJN, American Journal of Nursing
July 2004
Volume 104 Number 7
Pages 13 - 13 PDF Version Available!

Graphics

• FIGURE. I dont exist...

When nurses are referred to as angels, as sometimes happens in popular and professional literature, on television, and in advertising, it doesn’t make me proud. When writers in nursing journals state that it takes compassion to be a nurse, that nursing is the sacrifice of oneself for others, and that nursing is a noble profession, I disagree. But I seem to be alone in this. Was I really the only one offended by the subtitle of the professional seminar I attended last summer—“The Magic and Wisdom of Nursing”? Nursing, in my experience, isn’t magic.

When nurses see stereotyped media portrayals unbecoming to us, many write letters and sign petitions. But the angelic, noble, or magical nurse is also a stereotype. We sent letters when ER showed doctors firing nurses, but how many letters were sent in response to the JAG episode that focused on World War II nurses, entitled “Each of Us Angels”? Not many, which says to me that nurses prefer not to talk about who we really are.

And who are we, really? Nursing pays us to place the needs of others before our own. Over time, putting others first can lead to self-pity and resentment. But nurses don’t talk about that, nor have I seen it written about in any nursing journal. Nurses’ silence on this issue perpetuates not only the false image of the angelic nurse, but also our own dysfunction. Self-sacrifice as the road to nobility has never been good for nurses. It causes burnout and compassion fatigue. We don’t talk about the cost of that self-sacrifice; nursing requires its members to keep its secrets.



FIGURE. I don’t exist on a higher plane because I work at the bedside. I learned about being a nurse from the “Cherry Ames” books I read as a child. In the 1943 book, Cherry Ames, Student Nurse, author Helen Wells wrote: “Cherry wanted a profession of her own. More than that, she wanted to do vital work, work that the world urgently needs. She honest-to-goodness cared about people and she wanted to help them on a grand and practical scale. But did she have all it takes to be a nurse?” Nursing schools, hospital administrators, physicians, and patients all expect us to help “on a grand and practical scale.” We expect it of ourselves. That so many nurses see nursing as a calling is a longstanding tradition that has nothing to do with the work we do. What is truly noble and beneficial is to put oneself first—to eat when hungry, rest when tired. But so many nurses don’t even go to the bathroom when they need to.

I am a nurse. It is my job. I put on a uniform and comfortable shoes and punch a time clock. I have the education and experience to do for others what they cannot do for themselves. But it’s the intimacy of the work that feeds the angel myth. I listen to patients, touch them, reassure them, help them eat and drink, assist them with bodily functions. They are often ashamed of their need for help, and they’re grateful to be treated with respect. What patients don’t understand is that to me theirs are just a bowel movement to document and emesis to measure, a routine part of my day. I don’t exist on a higher plane because I work at the bedside. The work and the flexibility suit me. I meet interesting people from all over the world, and I learn something new every day. Sometimes it’s clinical information critical to my work. Sometimes it’s about what movie I should see.

But to call nursing a job rather than a calling isn’t to diminish it. I will not stop touching lives if I refuse to call the work magic. I will not be a failure if I give up self-sacrifice for self-care. Nurses have not learned this lesson well. If we indeed were to put ourselves first, perhaps there wouldn’t be a nursing shortage.

For many reasons, women and men choose nursing. What a radical notion: nurses claiming the human choice of a profession rather than giving angels the credit for our good works. Try this: take a look in the mirror, and repeat after me. “I am a nurse. I do a good job. That is enough.”

[cheerfuldoer]

Okay....now that the article is posted for others to read, I'll comment on it.

From as far back as I can remember (at least to age nine or ten, and I'm 52), I've heard people refer to others as "angels"....I do it myself.

When I say to someone, You're an angel, I am saying "What a God-send you are!"
That - to me - is paying that person a compliment out of gratitude for what they have done for me that no one else even bothered to do for me -- even after seeing my need.

I am not the least bit offended when people say to me, "You're an angel!" To me, they are saying "What a God-send you are", or "You are a God-send!"

I've been a nurse since March 1987, and I've only had perhaps a handful of patients say to me "You're an angel". Those that did, did not offend me because the word has a "different meaning" to me -- obviously -- than it does to many of you who are offended by it.

I am NOT saying that others are not offended by it, I am saying that I am not. The word does not demean me or who I am or what I do in anyway, shape, or form. It's a word of "respect" to me....not one that defames or belittles.

I respect those of you who are offended by it.

What a blessing it is to be able to have the energy, the physical stamina, the mental endurance, a brain that works, a body that is not crippled, a heart that loves, and a spirit that thrives. I am all these things whether I am at home or at work. I am I.

(Gotta go feed my grandbaby. Parents are out for the day,so I'm in charge for once.) :hatparty:

[Trauma-tizedRN]

Originally Posted by cheerfuldoer

Okay....now that the article is posted for others to read, I'll comment on it.

From as far back as I can remember (at least to age nine or ten, and I'm 52), I've heard people refer to others as "angels"....I do it myself.

When I say to someone, You're an angel, I am saying "What a God-send you are!"
That - to me - is paying that person a compliment out of gratitude for what they have done for me that no one else even bothered to do for me -- even after seeing my need.

I am not the least bit offended when people say to me, "You're an angel!" To me, they are saying "What a God-send you are", or "You are a God-send!"

I've been a nurse since March 1987, and I've only had perhaps a handful of patients say to me "You're an angel". Those that did, did not offend me because the world has a "different meaning" to me -- obviously -- than it does to many of you who are offended by it.

I am NOT saying that others are not offended by it, I am saying that I am not. The word does not demean me or who I am or what I do in anyway, shape, or form. It's a word of "respect" to me....not one that defames or belittles.

I respect those of you who are offended by it.

What a blessing it is to be able to have the energy, the physical stamina, the mental endurance, a brain that works, a body that is not crippled, a heart that loves, and a spirit that thrives. I am all these things whether I am at home or at work. I am I.

(Gotta go feed my grandbaby. Parents are out for the day,so I'm in charge for once.) :hatparty:

Thanks angel, dollface, cutie pie, sweetheart....No...not demeaning or offensive in that context. I am referring to the BIG picture, not the microcosmic honey-pie niceties. BIG picture meaning that nurses are angelic, brainless but sweet taskdoers here at your bedside due to a calling. The docs provide the brainpower behind the curtain....you know, out at the desk thinking everything thru and making all the decisions. The stale myth.
How many handwritten thank you cards does your unit get that go something like this:
Thank you to all the COMPETENT yada yada Doctors that saved our dad and to all the caring wonderful angel nurses sent from heaven...yada yada...you know the ones. Wonderful intentions....but sorely misguided by myth and lack of knowledge about the Nursing Profession. Heck, i've even been gifted with little angel pins I can proudly display on my badge.
I LOVE the ones that get it right....Thankyou to all the competent DOCS and NURSES....and about our professionalism. I love the patients that say things like.."you must have had alot of training to do what you do" or "the doctor suggested this, what do you think?"

[mattsmom81]

I think a lot of this angel crap is still sexual stereotying rearing its ugly head personally.

Male nurses don't get called honey, sweetie or angel in my experience.

But then I've always been the kind of woman who most appreciated comments about my intelligence vs my other attributes...not all among us think this way do they.

[talaxandra]

I wouldn't say that the angel concept offends me - that's too strong. What concerns me is the underlying ideology is embodies, so well articualted by Trauma-tized: angels are not competent, or professional, or individual. Most of all, they are not human - angels don't have hangovers, illnesses, families concerns, or the base needs actual people do.
How many of us postpone having a glass of water, eating something on a busy shift, or een going to the toilet, because they're too busy? I'd say all of us, at least occasionally. Now think - how often is that patient-centred care not urgent, but running around getting blankets and glasses of water (with not quite so much ice, dear) or answering the phone?
I don't know about you, but sometimes I get to the end of a ten hour shift and realise I didn't drink anything all night - something I'd be very unhappy with from my patients. Renal nurse, hydrate thyself! I don't think of myself as an angel at all, but this thread has made me realise that my role as a nurse, complementing my roles as dutiful daughter/oldest sister/female, means that I often prioritise the needs of others over myself, even when my need (to empty a disturbingly full bladder) is more urgent than my patient's. Waiting for a drink the three minutes going to the bathroom takes won't hurt my patient, and will help me, but I tend to think of it as "Can't go until I've finished caring for all my patients."
Who knew one words (angel) could carry so much subtext?!

[Trauma-tizedRN]

Originally Posted by LPNtoRN

Actually, I think what FN did in her day was probably a lot more trying and difficult than the way we nurse today.

Actually, I think that if Florence Nightengale woke up to day and put in a shift....She might think she had died and come back a DOCTOR!
LOL

Not that nurses are doctors....comparing her role and todays nursing roles.....it's like comparing apples and oranges. Is it harder to mop floors, can pickles and bathe patients or to maintain vents, monitor hemodynamics and titrate drips? BOTH are challenging. Maybe she had longer hours.....only because she was trapped by her "angelic calling", and was a woman with much less power or control than we have today. I'm not saying her work wasn't hard....but so is ours....AND very different. Today, I choose how many hours to work.....have more control, am NOT the image of FN. Isn't it funny when staffing or sups try to make you feel guilty for not working your day off, or staying later in a shift? Interpretation: If you were a TRUE angel.... Flo would do it.... LOL!
Flo=selfless Me=Not selfless Be wary of nursing instructors with ice age ideals trying to instill the FN model of Nursing into your soul. Unless you want the burden of being both the apple AND orange....

[weetziebat]

Originally Posted by Trauma-tizedRN

Not that nurses are doctors....comparing her role and todays nursing roles.....it's like comparing apples and oranges. Is it harder to mop floors, can pickles and bathe patients or to maintain vents, monitor hemodynamics and titrate drips? BOTH are challenging. Maybe she had longer hours.....only because she was trapped by her "angelic calling", and was a woman with much less power or control than we have today. I'm not saying her work wasn't hard....but so is ours....AND very different. Today, I choose how many hours to work.....have more control, am NOT the image of FN. Isn't it funny when staffing or sups try to make you feel guilty for not working your day off, or staying later in a shift? Interpretation: If you were a TRUE angel.... Flo would do it.... LOL!
Flo=selfless Me=Not selfless Be wary of nursing instructors with ice age ideals trying to instill the FN model of Nursing into your soul. Unless you want the burden of being both the apple AND orange....

Very well said! I also had never thought of it like that, but you are so right on. I recently had an accountant tell me how she envied me and wished she could have been a nurse - but it was a calling. When I told her that it was simply a job, the look she gave me made me feel like a serial killer. And I actually felt guilty about having said that! Felt like I must be in the wrong profession cause I hadn't be "called"

Great thread. Thanks for making me think and for pointing out that I don't have to feel guilty for not being Florence.

[RN4NICU]

Originally Posted by weetziebat

Very well said! I also had never thought of it like that, but you are so right on. I recently had an accountant tell me how she envied me and wished she could have been a nurse - but it was a calling. When I told her that it was simply a job, the look she gave me made me feel like a serial killer. And I actually felt guilty about having said that! Felt like I must be in the wrong profession cause I hadn't be "called"

Great thread. Thanks for making me think and for pointing out that I don't have to feel guilty for not being Florence.

It would be nice if the general public would get a clue and join us here in the 21st century wouldn't it?

I have never had ANY desire to be like Flo. I have never had ANY desire to make my career the most important part of my life. I don't (and WON'T) feel one bit guilty for being a nurse because it puts money in the bank. My patients still get the best of care AND I get to have nice things and a life of my own.

[CCU NRS]

perhaps it is being taken too literally. Maybe the people that are using Angel
are using it to mean a caring entity that is devoting time to them. I am no Angel either but would never complain about being called one. I also don't complain when people tell me they appreciate me or thank me for handing them something or any of the thousands of things I do daily. Some people are just courteous and some people just feel very blessed to be recieving adequate to above average care. Some people just use words like Angel as a compliment.


Then again I call Pt's bubba, sweety, sir, Maam etc. so I guess they can call me whatever they want.

forget the flames for using sweety and bubba I really don't care what you think as long as the Pt doesn't mind