Nurse Stereotypes and the White Cap...

Welcome to our family, Ron!
It really is a kinship.


Kathy
sharpeimom

I don't understand why everyone gets so hyped up over the so-called nurse stereotypes. I for one have only been treated by my family, friends, and especially my patients with the upmost dignity and repect for being a nurse. I feel I am an educated professional, & would not still be in school if I did not love what I do and did not feel that it was very important, or did not feel that my time spent helping people was special & meaningful. WE save lives & heal people. But I don't feel that the items listed thus far should be considered stereotypes, I think that they are very real traits that PEOPLE who happened to be nurses have. Why do so many nurses feel like they are above others, perfect, saints, etc. Trust me, those are definitely not qualifications of becoming a nurse. And most of the nurses I know/work with are far from those things (myself included). We ARE butt-wipers, doesn't bother me. I work with many nurses who I would consider to have lower than average IQs. I have worked with many drug addicts over the years, some were great, very caring nurses. I have worked with several nurses who are 'sleazy' & have affairs (sometimes while at work). I also have worked with theives, cruel people, etc. I myself like to drink & party whenever I can- has never affected my job. I also consider myself to be a very sexual person-sorry if this is too much-LOL-I like the naughty nurse image (so does my husband) and he thinks that I am the smartest person in the world and tells me all of the time that he doesn't know how I deal with what I see-he thinks I am a saint). In fact myself & 3 of my co-workers are dressing up as naughty nurses for a halloween party. My co-workers/BFFs and I do a lot of things outside of work that apparently a lot of people here would disagree with. However we are highly honored nurses with masters degrees working at the bedside. I even have a big box full of personal 'thank you' letters that patients have given me over the years.

So, what the big deal? In actuality, nursing is just a job, and their are no specific traits or angelic qualities required to do it. Haven't you ever worked with someone who was just in it for the money, and seriously lacked compassion? Haven't you met some nurses who convinced you that they must have surely slept their way to the top. Why do we think we are so deserving of everyone respect- moreso than other professionals.Side note. I LOVE nurse jackie!! Never miss it, IMO never has their been a better show on tv. Why- because she is real! That show more accurately portrays my ER than any other tv DRAMA out there. Yeah, it sucks that she is a drug addict, but remember nurses-it is an illness, and she needs help. I am sure the good people at HBO have planned some sort of rock bottom for her. Everyone on allnurses states that they want to see a tv show that really is like reality, but I don't think they do, if what they want to see is a bunch of boobless, virgin, saints, who spend all of their days off in church, and never make mistakes or act like the other 95 percent of the world.IMO, if nurses would stop pointing out the stereotypes all of time, people wouldn't make such a big deal about it.

If they think that all we are is white caps and "helpers" then lets all have a day when the RN's just don't show up to work and see what happens. They are going to find out real quick that the RN is a lot more than a "helper". Everyday I keep people from getting killed or from having to stay longer in the hospital than they need to because I am the person (charge nurse) who checks and verifies all the doctors orders for my shift. I have to fix all the screw up's that they right or call them to verify what they right because their handwriting is so bad. Organizing care, getting things done in the correct manner at the correct time, keeps things going. Nurses on the floor double checking orders again. Checking doses and orders. Do they make sense? Is the dose too high? Just last week we had a doctor come in and "see" a patient. This consisted of his standing outside the room and glancing into the room. He then went to the desk, wrote a page of orders and left. None of the orders could be done on this patient and of course we had to call me to get it all corrected. He did not speak with the nurse, did not lay a hand on the patient. I wonder how much he billed the patient for that visit. Don't talk to me about being a helper. People that write crap like that have no idea what we do.