Anti-Intellectualism in Nursing

[fakenurse]

I went into nursing because I love science and medicine, and thought working with like-minded people to deliver high-quality care sounded like a great job. Since entering the profession, however, I've discovered that there is widespread mistrust and criticism of education and research in nursing. Nurses who are curious and love to ask questions are sneered at, and nurses who pursue further education are labeled "book smart" and lacking the prized "street smarts", which seems to equate to knowing how to start an IV. I've never heard of any other profession where furthering one's education is seen as a bad thing. I'm feeling so disappointed about this attitude, and really disenchanted with nursing. I loved school, I love learning, and I think more education is always, always, always a good thing. Will I always be an outcast in nursing because of this? If we want to be taken seriously as professionals, shouldn't we be embracing theory and knowledge and intellectual curiosity?

[Nonetheless]

I agree completely, and this is what makes me doubt nursing. Nothing irks me more when people say things like "you ask too many questions" or "you should know this by now".

I want to work somewhere I am encouraged to ask questions. Where if I need help, I don't get brushed off as an idiot. I also don't want to work somewhere where research is discouraged. At academic institutions, I know that my desire to learn will be fostered. But what if I get hired into a small community hospital where my desire to participate in research and get certifications (like CCRN) and teach patients and the community is seen as a nuisance?

edit; not to say that community hospitals don't do research.

[Gentleman_nurse, MSN]

[h=1]"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." [/h]Mark Twain

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I agree completely, and this is what makes me doubt nursing. Nothing irks me more when people say things like "you ask too many questions" or "you should know this by now".

Nothing irks me more than when a new employee asks the same questions over and over without, apparently, retaining the answer. This is what we crusty old bats usually mean when we say someone asks too many questions.

Carry a notebook with you and write down the answers. If I've had to tell you the phone number for the blood bank more than once (or where to find that phone number), you're asking too many questions. If I've told you three times where to find the procedure for Foley catheters and you ask me what supplies you need to gather before you insert one, that's too many questions. The supply list is right on the procedure. Look it up.

There are always new and different questions to ask -- I love answering those.

[Gentleman_nurse, MSN]

But what if I get hired into a small community hospital where my desire to participate in research and get certifications (like CCRN) and teach patients and the community is seen as a nuisance?

Less competition to work your agenda.

[Gentleman_nurse, MSN]

Nothing irks me more than when a new employee asks the same questions over and over without, apparently, retaining the answer. This is what we crusty old bats usually mean when we say someone asks too many questions.

Carry a notebook with you and write down the answers. If I've had to tell you the phone number for the blood bank more than once (or where to find that phone number), you're asking too many questions. If I've told you three times where to find the procedure for Foley catheters and you ask me what supplies you need to gather before you insert one, that's too many questions. The supply list is right on the procedure. Look it up.

There are always new and different questions to ask -- I love answering those.

Information overload and anxiety. Symptom of being the new person. Also some people are not auditory learners. Your specific workcenter should consider creating a written document to go along with the OJT.

[gypsyd8]

Nursing is my 3rd career. I have found that those that wrap themselves in research and theory usually can't understand the nuances of practical application, regardless of the field. If they were every exposed to the practical application of bedside nursing, they probably got turned off from their exposure, hence why they chose to move on. They live in a different world. Ideally, like in the military, you had to pay your dues before you could profess your knowledge and it worked very well. Nowadays, you can bypass the whole bedside nursing thing and never appreciate what a staff nurse has to go through. It creates resentment on both sides. The best NPs and managers that I have seen, spent 15 - 20 years at the bedside and then chose to move on. They have common sense and their knowledge base is deep as well as wide. I always remember my nursing instructors' adage, (behind the backs of the A students, of course) C students made better nurses.

I was agreeing with everything until the last sentence. If your instructors were saying C students make better nurses well, I guess that proves the point.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/media/Californialegislation/Documents/Linda%20Aiken%20in%20the%20News%20PDFs/BSNJAMA.pdf

I know this is an exceptionally belated response, but doesn't much of the data in this report indicate that the correlation does not equal causation?

The hospitals in this study with higher ratios of BSN RNs had substantially lower nurse/patient ratios. They had more "high technology". And were far more likely to be teaching hospitals. Of course nurses with vastly greater reesources and smaller patient loads will have better patient outcomes. Of course they will.