Do people really look up at nurses?

I don't know if they look up to us, but judging by the Gallup surveys on public opinion on professional integrity and honesty - nurses consistently are at number one, usually by a margin of over 75-79%.

The only year in the last decade we were knocked out of first place was 2001 (after 9/11) when Firefighters took first prize and we dropped to #2.

Whereas MD's, who are still in the top ten, tend toward the 4th, 5th, or 6th places in any given year.

It's my own personal hypothesis that those who tend to 'look up at nurses' do so for the very reasons why I sometimes despise the profession. I've come across many people who are non nurses who seem to have a very condescending attitude towards us. You know, 'those poor overworked nurses god bless 'em, ministering angels, never complaining and would work for less pay just to help save lives'. Yet the minute we stand up for more pay and better conditions the public turns against us because we are stepping out of this mould we've been stuck in thanks to media stereoptype.

Quite frankly the majority of nurses I know including myself complain frequently about working conditions, did NOT have a calling or if we did work up to the real world within the first year out of nursing school. Nursing needs to move out of this antiquated opinion. The media needs to be depict nurses as professionals who have earned a degree through tertiary education.

Anyway that's my

Please don't focus so much on the negative. Yes, depending on where you come from and work nurses are revered. Yes, people really do luck up to you. I mean you always have the idiots out there with those stupid thoughts of the "sexy nurse," but in reality we very much respected for our skills, knowledge and compassion. Where I come from nurses are a HUGE deal!!!!

We are just being realistic. This is the real world, afterall.