T.h.e. C.a.l.l.i.n.g

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Sep 28, 2003

Yaaaay, Cwissy ! A woman after my own heart. :)

I can't add much to this because you have put it so well.

All the negatives aside, it remains ultimately up to each one of us as individuals to improve our own personal nursing experience, the experience of those who follow in our footsteps, and the experience of our patients.

Yes, things really suk sometimes, are far from ideal, and we find ourselves wishing we co be and do so much more. But to be all we can be individually in any given circumstance and to be accountable for our OWN actions or misactions, our attitudes, and the manner in which we treat others is one thing we CAN control.

If I do THIS well, then I can feel good about myself at the end of the day... regardless of all the negatives.

Pride in nursing is closely tied to how we feel about ourselves in general... and it DOES reflect in our work, our professionalism, and how we treat others... patients, coworkers, and students alike.

renerian, BSN, RN · Sep 28, 2003

Nicely stated. renerian

cwazycwissyRN, RN · Sep 28, 2003

Originally posted by jnette

Pride in nursing is closely tied to how we feel about ourselves in general... and it DOES reflect in our work, our professionalism, and how we treat others... patients, coworkers, and students alike.

I agree wholeheartedly. It is so easy to get this backwards. It is so easy to allow our work, the lack of professionalism, the way we are treated, to damage the way we feel about ourselves as nurses. Not to mention what it does to our own personal self image.

I am curious. Do the students out there feel they are a reflection of nursing. Do you see yourselves as nurses (student nurse) Do you relize you too reflect who we are. Each individual does carry a reflection. Are you holding yourselves accountable for the reflection you carry?

SmilingBluEyes · Sep 28, 2003

excellent thoughts, Chrissy!

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Sep 28, 2003

I couldn't have said this any better myself, Chrissy! Kudos to you for bringing it up for discussion.

I share your passion for nursing, and each day I strive as you do to make my little part in it as rewarding as possible for my patients and my co-workers, as well as for myself. I can't do everything, but I can do SOMETHING to bolster the image of nursing and to help improve my work environment, even if it's being extra kind to a patient who's been labeled "difficult", or stepping up to take the next admit (even if it's not my "turn") when my load isn't quite as heavy as my co-worker's. That doesn't mean putting up with being used or abused......if a patient load is unsafe, I will stand up for myself and my patients and demand additional help. But it does mean working hard, and it means realizing that we're all on the same team and we need each other to survive. We can't afford to eat our young or let our more experienced nurses burn out........but the only people who can help us is US. And maybe that's the biggest factor in whether nursing survives as a profession: we simply MUST take responsibility for ourselves and our own practice.

cwazycwissyRN, RN · Sep 28, 2003

originally posted by mjlrn97
i can't do everything, but i can do something to bolster the image of nursing and to help improve my work environment, even if it's being extra kind to a patient who's been labeled "difficult", or stepping up to take the next admit (even if it's not my "turn") when my load isn't quite as heavy as my co-worker's. that doesn't mean putting up with being used or abused......if a patient load is unsafe, i will stand up for myself and my patients and demand additional help. but it does mean working hard, and it means realizing that we're all on the same team and we need each other to survive. we can't afford to eat our young or let our more experienced nurses burn out........but the only people who can help us is us. and maybe that's the biggest factor in whether nursing survives as a profession: we simply must take responsibility for ourselves and our own practice.

wow, you all have such a gift when it comes to expressing youselves, so well worded, and i agree with your thoughts

i particularly like the part here about working hard and realizing that we are all on the same team and we need each other to survive. also taking responsibility for ourselves and our own practice. gee you an jnette said so much in such a short space. that is something i really need to work on......i have a tendency to ramble.:chair:

pickledpepperRN · Sep 28, 2003

yes! yes! YES!

I think setting the best possible example and praising others for specific actions creates the pride we need to continue.

A young man was dying. He would doze and make me wonder if he was unconcious. The he would open his eyes and thank the first person he saw.

He thanked his Dad for taking him on errands when he was a little boy.

Less than an hour before he dies he thanked me for making him hot chocolate in the middle of a night.

That was 20 years ago and I think all of us learned from him.

Many of us work together still. We are kind to new nurses, travelers, and registry.

I wish all could experience our team. We still have the same problems but working together makes a BIG difference. I get teased but the honesty is such that my fellow nurses can just tell me when I get on their nerves. We take a LOT of CE classes and share what we learn. Quality care is expected and we truly help each other.

Many places where I go as registry have similar units.

No, we don't have openings on the night shift.

Todd SPN · Sep 28, 2003

Originally posted by cwazycwissyRN
I am curious. Do the students out there feel they are a reflection of nursing. Do you see yourselves as nurses (student nurse) Do you relize you too reflect who we are. Each individual does carry a reflection. Are you holding yourselves accountable for the reflection you carry?

Personally, I would say student nurses, on a percentage basis, do a much better job of reflecting what nursing is. We are new, just instilled with what our instructors have told us about how important nurses are. We are sacrificing our time and money to learn a profession where we feel we matter and can make a difference to the sick. We are excited and want to do right. And then we go to clinicals and are assigned to the burned out, beaten up by management nurse who believes the only way to do things is her way. She treats us like management treats her. She says I spend too much time with each pt while giving meds. I ask each resident how they are feeling today (I am assessing while giving meds). Instead of waiting for a reply, the nurse thinks that as soon as they open their mouth to reply you are to stuff the meds down their gullet. No, I am not a student that knows it all, but I have learned in class some of the "shortcuts" you are telling me to do are not safe and I refuse to do them. So, just like management, you get even with me by what you write on my eval. But the following week, same facility, I am assigned a nurse that still remembers what being a nurse means. She teaches, listens to my questions and doesn't view me as a waste of her time. I am in heaven learning what she has to teach me. Her eval is opposite from the first.

So, now I would like to know from all you burned out, chewed up and spit out, thought of as know nothings and given no respect nurses, is the idea presented by the originator of this thread enough for you? Can Maslow be digested to this?

jnette, ASN, EMT-I · Sep 28, 2003

Todd...

Sadly, much of what you state here is true. But I believe the intent of the OP was to addresse ALL nurses... yes, even those of us who do as you described in your first example.

There are good and not so good in "lifers", "newbies", and student nurses alike.

This is why it is so important for EACH of us to take a look inside... for that which is inside us does slip out in our words and actions... or lack thereof.

I do believe most student nurses ARE filled with that refreshing idealism, eager to do right, to learn, and to be all that they are being taught they should be. Then again, I have seen a few come through our doors that have made me wonder.... what ARE they thinking? The attitude displayed is one of total disinterest, boredom, and "is it time to go yet"?

So as you see, it is an INDIVIDUAL thing... no way can we generalize or label nurses and/or students as a whole.

I believe Cwissy is attempting to get each of us to evaluate or RE-evaluate what makes us passionate about what we do... and to rekindle that flame of our "first love" of nursing.

To recognize that who we are as nurses, how we fullfill that role in ALL aspects of the profession should never be soley dependant on external circumstances or on "others"... but on who WE are as individuals, and on our own values.

pickledpepperRN · Sep 28, 2003

Patient care must ALWAYS be the first priority!

cwazycwissyRN, RN · Sep 28, 2003

Originally posted by spacenurse
Patient care must ALWAYS be the first priority!

So very true, so much of my self worth as a nurse, has come directly from my patients. When things were getting tough I would remind myself what I was there for........to give the best care I could give, in a time effective, intelligent, compassionate, attentive manner as I could. The praise from my patients has kept me afloat in my carreer when I was drowning . They ARE the reason I am a nurse. THEY are the reason I would like to improve the environment we work in. If one thinks that the patient can not see in our eyes our attitudes.....I think one is mistaking.