Dealing with well-meaning but stupid questions?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hey there! I've made a few posts on this website, but I've been lurking for ages and want to state first off how grateful I am for such an awesome community with so much information available to read about. For every person who makes a post or leaves a comment, I guarantee there's one or two someones like me who reads avidly for 2+ years before finally making an account and contributing. So! On to my question.

I just turned 30 this year. 3 years ago I decided I really wanted to go back to school for something in the health care field, and after much wrestling and weighing of options and soul-searching, I am firmly on the course to becoming a nurse. This was a big decision for me, particularly because both my parents are physicians (dermatologist and pediatrician), and I'm still relatively young with no life responsibilities (no spouse, no kids, no house). But I'm really attracted to the hands-on approach of nursing, nursing philosophy, the flexibility and opportunities for growth & education within the nursing field (not to mention not having to wait till I'm 40 to start my full income potential, not to mention avoiding the 300k of debt...) so I know I've made the right choice. I've taken 2 years of prerequisites already with just 2 or so classes left, and I'm applying to programs this fall, so I'm very excited.

Now, of course, I'm getting the dumb questions. Mostly from totally well-meaning people in my life who are familiar with what I've been debating the past few years, but sometimes from virtual strangers in class or at work (I bartend part-time right now).

"Why not just go to medical school? You're smart enough to be a doctor!" (Excuse you, what? And I suppose nursing school is all underwater basket-weaving and ouija board reading?)

"Have you thought about being a physician instead? You can do it if you really want to!" (No, it has NEVER ONCE OCCURRED TO ME to go to medical school. Certainly neither of my physician parents has ever suggested it. Repeatedly. With that hopeful expression in their eyes.)

"Why are you settling for nursing?" (Why did you leave your brain at home when you left the house this morning?)

Has anybody else encountered this? What do you say? I usually just laugh politely and either brush it off or give a vague response, but it's really shocking and frustrating how much virtual strangers love to tell me that I'm wrong and really, you should go to medical school/PA school, dear! ​

Specializes in ICU Stepdown.

I wouldn't have a good response for them without using a few choice words. All I'm wondering now is how stupid can people get? Imagine being cared for purely by a doctor...the horror

:nailbiting:

Right? It's hard. I can't really cuss anyone out at work, not without losing my job (which I will be all too happy to kiss good-bye when I'm finally licensed and have a nursing job offer), but boy do I want to. In my parents' defense, my dad actually told me that he thought nursing would be a much better fit for me than any other choice, no matter how badly he personally wishes I would follow in his and my moms' footsteps. But peoples' casual condescension amazes me.

When someone tells me I'm smart enough to have been a doctor I say,"that's why I'm becoming a nurse" lol! Some get it, some don't. I just smile :)

When I tell people I want to be a nurse and will be starting in the Spring..I think the most often thing I hear is "Why? Just be a doctor." :banghead:

It's no different then asking a ADN why they didn't go for a BSN. Or an LPN why they didn't Go for at LEAST their ADN. Of course, why would a person want to be a CNA then a LPN.

For those not in the field, it's a matter of who is on top and who is on bottom. It is the only way they can relate to the topic. Why be the minion, when you can be the boss? It seems like a logical question.

For those in the field, it's a matter of what each job focus on. Not everyone is suited to be everything. We each have our own personal skills that would shine in one role, but be wasted in a different one. But only those in the field can 'get' that.

Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
When someone tells me I'm smart enough to have been a doctor I say,"that's why I'm becoming a nurse" lol! Some get it, some don't. I just smile :)

This would be your best comeback line...let those who are a non factor in your life with the low information level they are communicating with occupy your space...most people have NO idea how much knowledge and the skill set we possess UNTIL they or a love one needs our business, THEN they have SOME idea what we do. :)

OP...are you a male? Just curious because I would think this question would be directed more to a man just because of the stereotype of nursing mainly being a female profession.

I wouldn't think women would be questioned about becoming a nurse.

I am not! But I do live in a university town with a well-respected state medical school, as well as a company that manages & produces a widely-used EMR. I don't know how much those things impact it, but I'm not sure what else to contribute it to. Hopefully I don't come across as a know-it-all or something.

"When researching career paths I found that I was drawn to the nursing system theory developed by Newman. Her framework of the individual as an open system which responds to stressors in a dynamic way to achieve wellness fascinates me. What prompted you to choose your career?"

Havent had a follow up yet ;)

It was either a nurse or astronaut, "where did doctor come from?"

NICE. I'm totally stealing that. Thanks!

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