Are nurses really respected???

[Nolander]

I constantly hear stories of how doctors, fellow employees, supervisors, and disgruntled patients alike always uses nurses as a punching bag. So despite those issues, do nurses really get respect for anything they do, by anyone? Another question is are nurses really even viewed as "professionals" or are they just lap dogs and ass wipers to those above them?

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

No, No, and No.

[healthstar, BSN, RN]

The problem is that many people cannot separate work from personal issues at home !! They bring all the anger from private life and take it out on coworkers! The negative , miserable person will always want to make others miserable!

[SleeepyRN]

i will grant you that in pedi everyone wears or should wear nonthreatening clothing, given the patient population. sorry for the overgeneralization. but pedi is it. i don't wanna see care bears in the icu or oncology, or in management meetings.

I don't think its appropriate in ICU or oncology, but on med-surg floors I've heard grown adult patients say how much they like the nurse's scrubs. I've heard this many many times. It can also be an ice breaker. ....

[SaoirseRN]

I don't wear bears or cartoon characters, but I do like patterned tops. I don't see how a nice patterned scrub top that looks tidy and fits well on a med-surg nurse is different from a nice patterned blouse on, for example, a female physician. Obviously they are different types of garments, but the appropriate "uniform" for our work environments.

[MN-Nurse, ASN, RN]

I constantly hear stories of how doctors, fellow employees, supervisors, and disgruntled patients alike always uses nurses as a punching bag. So despite those issues, do nurses really get respect for anything they do, by anyone? Another question is are nurses really even viewed as "professionals" or are they just lap dogs and ass wipers to those above them?

I love what I do and have great respect for myself.

If others don't respect me, to hell with them.

[Nacki, MSN, NP]

Sometimes, but not often.

[leslie :-D]

I love what I do and have great respect for myself.

If others don't respect me, to hell with them.

this is pretty much my sentiment as well.

with the nurse title or without it, i have a lot of respect for myself...

and have found that respect is generated for who the person is, vs what they do.

still, *we* overall, seem to be respected by the public and not so much by mgmt, and drs. (again, a gen'l statement)

as for the ongoing debate about whether we are professionals or not, again, it goes back to how you see yourself.

if you see yourself as a professional, then you will treat yourself and others the same way.

from that perspective, it seldom matters how others perceive you.

whether it is a personal or public perception, it always starts with yourself. :)

leslie