Lack of respect for nurses

[nicuRN2007]

Hi everyone. I'm very frustrated with the lack of knowledge of the general public of what being a nurse means. My own mother doesn't even seem to get it. When I told my father that I had been accepted into the nursing program he seemed excited, but before getting off the phone he asked, "So do you think you'll become a doctor some day?" If I wanted to be a doctor, I would go to med school. Being a doctor and being a nurse are two totally different things. A nurse is not a step-down from a doctor. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that doctor's aren't necessary or that they don't deserve respect for their knowledge because they absolutely are necessary, and they do deserve every bit of respect they've earned. I just think that nurses deserve respect too, so much more than they get. People just have no idea what being a nurse is all about. I hate the perception that all nurses do is change bedpans, bring patients something to drink ,and follow doctor's orders. I mean, yes, these things are part of the job and I don't mind doing them, but there is so much more to it. The problem is, I don't even know how to put into words the job of a nurse. How can I explain to people what nurses do and the amount of knowledge required to perform their jobs? Any suggestions? Is anyone else frustrated by this, or is it just me and should I just not care about what everyone else thinks? Thanks for letting me vent.

[callmekipling]

I have had this happen to me. I prefer to say, and you may quote me on this:smokin:

"The details are technical and boring to someone uninvolved in the field.. Needless to say it's more involved than you may think."

And then maybe wow them with a discussion of clotting factors, electrolytes, fluid balance, and the massive monolithic migraine that is med administration.

Though lately I've been thinking (channeling betty neuman here) that doctors focus on treating an ailment, where nurses promote wellness in general. We double check what the doctors do, while keeping an eye on everything else. Is that legit, ya think?

[squirtle]

I used to have this frustration, especially when I was first accepted in to nursing school and then even more so when I landed my SICU position. I wanted to share my excitement with everyone I knew... I was proud of myself! Then I realized that people outside of the medical field just don't get it and most of them never will. I ended up so upset that my friends and even my parents weren't as proud of me as I had expected. I decided to leave it alone and not let it get to me.

A little side note, I do crack a bit of a smile when I receive the phone calls such as "my son has this" or "I have pain here", and then my favorite was then my friend's daughter asked me a question and said "you're a nurse so I know that you know what you are talking about".

[CuriousMe]

My favorite two are actually both from my Dad. The first was just a few days into starting nursing school. I love our faculty...they're really just amazing folks. I was telling him about a Prof I had met that day. She's so accomplished, and just freaking brilliant. I also mentioned to him that she has her PhD in nursing. His comment? "Wow, so do you think she'll be going to med school soon to become a Doctor?" I just shook my head before trying again to explain that she HAD a Doctorate, in nursing...he then clarified (in case I misunderstood I guess) that he meant a real doctor.

He's getting better :-)

The other happened a year or so before hand. I had been planning to go to nursing school for a couple years. The plan was to become a FNP and be a PCP in a rural area. My Dad knew all of this, we had spoken of it a couple times. So, he moved to a new area and found a new health clinic that he liked. He specifically like the new Doc he saw. She was (as he put it) a younger gal (which could mean anyone under 40 :) ) he thought she was fantastic, very thorough, and really listened to what he said. There was just one thing he didn't understand....she had written a prescription for him and instead of MD, it said FNP after her name I explained that she was a nurse practitioner...he quickly corrected me, that she wasn't a nurse....she was who he went to see and that she wrote him a script....it took about 10 minutes of explaining before he realized that not only was she a nurse....but that's what I had been going to school to eventually be!

He really is getting better :-D

[Super_RN, BSN, RN]

No one can truly understand what is involved with nursing unless they experience it firsthand themselves. Even now (I have my BSN, which I was pretty dang proud of!) I hear from my dad, "Are you ever going to get your Master's?" Ugh. Others will just never get it!

[BmoreCRNP]

Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news..........but it doesn't get any better when you become an NP. Even though that role is totally different from the role of an RN or LPN, people can't seem to wrap their minds around it. To them, only a doctor should be diagnosing and treating acute and chronic illnesses. Believe it or not, I seem to get the same attitude from other nurses! I am a new grad NP so I got this rude awakening fairly recently. Needless to say I was very disheartened to find out that other nurses saw me as competition. My decisions are constantly being challenged. The other day someone tried to explain the pathophysiology of wound healing....as if I didn't already learn this as an RN, much less an NP!! I just looked at her like "Really? For real? You think this wasn't covered in NP school? I mean you learned it and you're an LPN. Don't you think I know that already?" But I digress. I feel that a lot of them have a chip on their shoulder because they feel that nurses with advanced degrees undermine their knowledge because they didn't get more than an Associates degree. I started as an Associates degree RN. I certainly didn't see myself as an idiot back then, so there's no way I would look down on another nurse with undergraduate education! I also respect nurses with years of experience. I always tell people that I learned more on the job than nursing school could ever teach me in 4 years. As an NP I definately know that I will be learning a whole lot on the job. There's no way 2 years of grad school can teach you everything there is to know about treating patients. This whole profession needs to just GET A GRIP!! No one is going to respect us or take us seriously if we don't get it together within the ranks. We need to stop eating our young, stop being defensive when younger nurses decide to go for advanced degrees, stop assuming that nurses with less formal education aren't knowledgable, and stop seeing ourselves as being in competition with doctors.

[SoundofMusic]

Heck, most nurses don't even respect EACH OTHER.

I have a manager that consistently berates me if I forget even the smallest detail. It's just her way to do this, and she does it to everybody on the staff. Nevermind that I have a higher educational level than she does. It's just how nurses are.

Perhaps even they started to respect each other, they'd garner the respect they deserve from those outside the profession.