Swearing: hugely unprofessional, mildly irritating or a normal part of speech.

[loveoutloud]

I am a nursing student and I have noticed soo much swearing within my program. NOt only is it my peers but also teachers and buddy nurses. It is one thing to swear on occasion when something horrendous happens, but another to be saying f this f'n s and so on. I find that it seems to be a normal part of speech with several of my peers, even my teachers use it on occasion. I find this to be unprofessional behaviour, especially infront of patients. What is your opinion?

[opossum]

I definitely swear more than I should, both at work and at home. As far as cursing in front of patients, while as a general rule, it's not professional, I think it depends on your patient. There are times when I'm establishing a rapport with a patient and my speech will sometimes mirror theirs (to a point...) - to help alleviate the stress of hospitalization and let them know I'm trying to understand where they're coming from.

Am I going to Nursing Hell?

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

For what it's worth, I barely cussed at all until I'd been a nurse for about five years, no rap music to blame there.

Personally, I believe it depends on context. If I'm with my nurse colleagues, and we're shooting the breeze, no problem. In front of a patient or when discussing a patient with a doc, never. Some of the docs we have a very friendly relationship with, and if a 5-cent word (as opposed to a 5-dollar one) slipped out in casual conversation, I wouldn't think less of them. I did kind of do a double take recently when a resident said the f-word when I told her how much pain medicine a pt had gotten through the night, though. Was I offended enough to call her on it? Nah. We weren't in front of any patients and she wasn't calling anyone ugly names. Not that I hold myself to a different standard than those around me, just that while I may or may not cuss, it doesn't really bother me when others do.

I had an instructor use a swear word once in clinical. I still think very highly of that particular instructor; she was one of the best I had, and very respected in her field (psych), and IMO she used it in a very appropriate way. I wrote out my first 'therapeutic communication' transcript and showed it to her. She told me it was very clear to her that my patient (in with multiple addiction issues) was BSing me. Looking back, she was absolutely right.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

Nobody swears around pts where I work. I just wish my younger counterparts felt I was as deserving of the same consideration.

I'm no saint, but there is something base about using the f word ten times in a 5 minute verbal exchange.

I'm not talking about being angry or upset. I'm not talking about venting. I'm talking about a normal conversation and the descriptive word of choice is "f".

Maybe it's just a generational thing.

[Annachu512, BSN, RN]

I myself swear like a sailor. Not a habit I am proud of, but it is that, a habit. However, I do have an off switch and know where and when I can turn the switch back on. In front of patients is a big NEVER and certain co-workers it would just depend. If someone swears with me (in a convo, not AT me), then I know this is a person I can relax my speech with.

[MaryAnn_RN]

I went for a job interview yesterday and was waiting to be seen. First thing I heard was the support working shrieking the length of the unit, at the top of her voice 'bloody hell, we forgot to give XXXXX her meal' and this was in direct earshot of the matron and senior sister. It just sounded very unprofessional but might well be the norm for that unit because nobody said a word about it. It certainly gave me a bad impression. But you know what, I don't care if people swear in the break room; what really gets my goat is when people start giving intimate details of their love life.

[KatePasa]

It's unprofessional. I use have a few substitutes I use in a pinch. Shoot, fraggle, and mother of frogs are three I use. However, I try not to use those around patients, even.

[Hygiene Queen]

Sorry... Deleted my post... I can't seem to make paragraphs happen on an iPad...dang! Carry on....

[nursel56]

I But you know what, I don't care if people swear in the break room; what really gets my goat is when people start giving intimate details of their love life.

What is up with that?? And it's generally not the guys who do this! Ewwww please! I'm trying to get away from the dscussion of body fluids when I'm on my break!

[CheesePotato, BSN, RN]

Now, in my little corner of the nursing globe, swearing is the same as breathing. It is so commonplace that, to be honest, I don't even hear it anymore.

To be fair, our patients are under and, anesthesia gods willing, completely incoherent of their surroundings (though anesthesia awareness is a real phenomenon, ladies and gentlemen), and our physicians find themselves in some immensely stressful situations. I forgive them their long winded, rambling barrages of profanity and, in many cases, find myself smirking behind my mask in private agreement.

However, although I, myself, dabble in a tirade of Sailor's Native Tongue every now and again, I never do such a thing in front of my patients or their families. My language is professional once I am re-released back into the wild at the end of a work day and I am in the halls of my facility. I choose to represent my facility as well as myself with a higher standard of communication.

It has been my experience on numerous occasions and during multiple varieties of confrontation with staff, physicians and even patients, that well chosen, calm, sincere, and yes, when necessary, cutting--professional, but cutting, and yes, it can be done-- vocabulary garners much more interest and successful results than anything peppered with profanity. After all, I have never been one to mince words.

In summation, profanity, when done to excess, can make one seem ignorant and poorly educated...even with an MD at the end of one's name.

I prefer to use it as a garnish--a metaphorical sprig of parsley on the plate of dialogue.

Besides, sometimes there is no more appropriate word in the world than a good old fashioned curse of, shall we say, size F proportions.

I just make it a point to refrain from getting on the overhead PA system to make my declaration.

My heaven, could you imagine?

::intercom fizzle:: Attention all staff members....attention all staff members..... @#$&!!!! Thank you....that is all. ::intercom fizzle::

[Wrench Party]

I don't swear around the patients in clinicals, or in front of my instructors, but around my classmates

or co-workers we cuss like sailors. Especially because my boss regularly drops the f-bomb in conversation.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

CheesePotato - :yeah:

[Clovery]

I don't really have a problem with curse words. Of course I would never use them around patients or my instructors, but around my peers it's the norm to use an occasional profane word. Sometimes my instructors use the words in lecture, for example, when covering epiglottitis in peds lecture, our instructor said if you see the symptoms of the sudden onset of fever with the posturing it's an "OH SH - " moment. This really helped me remember what was a medical emergency on the exams, since she didn't usually curse so it stood out in my mind.

It bugs me when people think it's totally acceptable to substitute another word in a curse phrase. Like "mother brother I broke a nail" or "that test was fudging hard". My mind automatically fills in the word that they meant to say. So instead of committing the "sin" themselves, they're passing it on to me