Tough skin with a side order of a grain of salt please?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in SICU.

Anyone else notice:

That a poster comes to AN asking for an opinion...

They are given an opinion...

They don't agree with the opinion...

They get defensive and threaten to leave....

Speaking from a personal point of view, i have been flammed many many times on All Nurses (hello graduate nurse is a nurse thread)

But far from taking it extremely personally, i have taken it with a grain of salt and yes, some posters have written upsetting things, but all in all, i learned more about the reality of Nursing from this message board than from any other media.

All i can say is for the new nurses/students/post lurkers with a nursing dream:

Its not easy during/after school and you HAVE to grow tougher skin and not take everything personally...

otherwise you will be chewed up and spit out by everyone...from environmental services to the highest level of hospital management... (and not by 'nurses eating their young')

On a happier note, if the general nursing threads are too depressing, hop over to the nursing humor! HILARIOUS!!!!!!

Totally agree. People want to hear that nurses are all about skipping through wildflower fields in calico dresses and floppy hats. NOT.

Hey we are sorry about that, but you do need to know that TV is not where to get your info. That image is something that some people hang on to dear life trying to believe while they enter the college process - for some, this whole "floppy-hat" deal is all they want out of nursing, (nursing can't be hard now can it?) and when you tell them straight up, they vomit all over the forum.

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

I have noticed a lot of non-nurses come here to complain about something that happened to them in the hospital. In some cases, their complaints are justified; however, many are not.

Most of the complaints about the ED seem to fall in the latter category. However, rather than threatening to leave (or, better yet, actually leaving) they dig their heels in and make their story even more elaborate and bizzare to prove their point. "I was in V-fib and I sat the the room for half an hour before someone came to check on me." OK, so not that bad, but some seem that they are getting close...

Yes, they are practically mother to all children, and then they say how much AN sux, state they will NOW LEAVE the forum for good.... but, alas they're still heeeerrrrrreeee! PMO.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I've said this before, and I'll gladly say it again: people prefer kindness over bluntness. When people are forced to pick between the real person who is honest and overly straightforward, and the fake person who falsely reassures while behaving as sweet as pie, they'll typically pick the sweet person who gives false reassurances. We all say that we want the truth, but many people cannot handle the truth without getting defensive or melting down. This is part of the reason why some replies are not welcomed by all members despite the excellent points being raised by the blunt person. It is natural for some people to prefer to digest a candy-coated version of reality.

Totally agree. People want to hear that nurses are all about skipping through wildflower fields in calico dresses and floppy hats. NOT.

Hey we are sorry about that, but you do need to know that TV is not where to get your info. That image is something that some people hang on to dear life trying to believe while they enter the college process - for some, this whole "floppy-hat" deal is all they want out of nursing, (nursing can't be hard now can it?) and when you tell them straight up, they vomit all over the forum.

I seriously cannot stop laughing - needed more than a kudo.

Specializes in LTC.
"I was in V-fib and I sat the the room for half an hour before someone came to check on me." OK, so not that bad, but some seem that they are getting close...

Or "I lost half of my blood volume from a booboo on my finger."

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
i've said this before, and i'll gladly say it again: people prefer kindness over bluntness. when people are forced to pick between the real person who is honest and overly straightforward, and the fake person who falsely reassures while behaving as sweet as pie, they'll typically pick the sweet person who gives false reassurances. we all say that we want the truth, but many people cannot handle the truth without getting defensive or melting down. this is part of the reason why some replies are not welcomed by all members despite the excellent points being raised by the blunt person. it is natural for some people to prefer to digest a candy-coated version of reality.

sad but true and i don't really get the need for histrionic "goodbye cruel board" posts. :confused:

Two cents on the spin-off topic:

To have balance we need the 'calico dresses/floppy hats' and the Nurse Ratcheds. It just seems that as of late, there are an abundance of Ratcheds. Does everyone just skim the threads and not realize that an 'honest, blunt' post has already been submitted? Why kick someone when they're down? I admire confrontational people but some in this forum, I believe, are looking for an outlet to their bad day and taking it out on a 'naive new nursing student.'

An example of this is:

Thread: Yay, I finally got into nursing school!!

Typical 'honest' AN response: Great, find a new career.

How is this helping anyone? Why reply in the first place? Obviously, we all know the job situation.

For those of you who have forgotten how to wear calico dresses and floppy hats and run through a field of daisies, I will pray that you find hope again.

P.S. Don't presume to think that my entire life has been a bowl of cherries. I jsut have hope, faith and trust in my God who strengthens me.

Gatormommy,

Uh, RNs don't wear calico dresses and floppy hats (No, never. Not even sometimes).

Gatormommy,

Uh, RNs don't wear calico dresses and floppy hats (No, never. Not even sometimes).

Ooops..........that must be just me. When I become an RN, I'm keepin' my calico dress and floppy hat.

Ooops..........that must be just me. When I become an RN, I'm keepin' my calico dress and floppy hat.

I love it.....

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