A Nurse CAN be both sexy & smart

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I am skipping a bunch of posts so I'm not sure if someone said this already: I think the biggest problem may be nurses' portrayal by the media. Nurses are portrayed as sex objects or as physicians' handmaidens on TV and movies and no one understands what we actually do. People do not know that nurses are educated professionals, work independently from physicians, are both men AND women, and are not sex objects. Once people understand health care and what nurses do I think nurses will be treated better and respected more.

It does not have to be an either or situation.Dowdy does not always equate to smart.

A nurse can be both smart/educated professional and sexy as heck!:yeah:

Why does one taking care of oneself lead to the dumbo comment? You can't hide sex appeal.So yup,nurses can have it both ways.

Three cheers for sexy smart nurses:up:

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Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

There is a time and place for being sexy, whatever your profession is. But your place of employment isn't one of them.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

There is a difference between attractive and beautiful, and sexy or sex object.

There is also a difference between being sexy or a sex object in real life/personal relationships and being sexy or a sex object at work as a professional nurse. And quite honestly, while all of these can be book smart or educated, that does not mean that they are wise or intelligent.

Wisdom and intelligence can separate these issues and keeps the "sexy" at home and sticks to the "attractive" at work.

Unfortunately, too many people, even educated ones cannot ascertain the difference.

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Specializes in Mental Health, Medical Research, Periop.

Hi. Did you mean to post this under the OP? I see you quoted someone. I could be wrong, I've just never seen a thread post with a quote from another post. Just asking.

Ok, found the post: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/what-do-you-561487-page3.html

But to answer your question, where I work I try to be the least sexy as possible, LoL! I work in Mental Health and without trying you get the inappropriate comments from patients, who have to be repeatly told its inappropriate. Which can be very uncomfortable.

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Specializes in School Nurse.

I believe the original quote is from this thread:

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/offensive-portrayal-nurses-560207.html

I do agree there is a big difference between the sexy nurse and a woman who happens to be beautiful and is a nurse. Sexy doesn't belong in the work place as far as I'm concerned.

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confidence is sexy.

leslie

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Intelligence is attractive in and of itself.

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Specializes in LTC.

Oh please ! There is nothing wrong with being sexy and smart. Some of the sexiest nurses are I know are smart and competent.

Besides I rather the media portray us as sexy than Fat and Ugly.

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In my younger and single days it was a rare evening (or sometimes morning) that I was without 'company'. Most of my companions said it was my intelligence, and good humor, as well as my good looks that drew them to me.

Did I flirt at work? When there was time!!! I sure miss those days.....(sigh)!

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.

No, sexy does not belong in the workplace, I agree Heidi.

Just the other day, I was scrubbed in and the circulating nurse (relatively new, had moved from place to place although she is not a travel nurse...she said that it was "just time to move on" when some of the staff asked why she moved around so much) was having trouble with the bovie pad sticking. We had already prepped and draped, and the bovie kept alarming. Finally the surgeon asked her to just replace the pad. She crawls up under the drapes and places a new pad on the patient. When she got up, she said breathlessly, "Dr. X, I know you just wanted to see me on my knees." Oh. Em. Gee. The surgeon was silent, and gave me this "What the heck?" look. I just shook my head, and the resident rolled his eyes.

I see this nurse constantly touching, flirting and acting "familiar" with attending surgeons and residents. I am embarrassed FOR her. I believe that this nurse is the epitome of Trashy Barbie, and I hope that she decides that it is "time to move on" shortly!

While it is one thing to comment on something that could be construed as "inappropriate" (we all giggle in the corner laughing when our surgeons tell us that he needs a very long screw for his calcaneal fx case), it is entirely another thing to make DIRECTLY inappropriate comments such as this nurse made.

My husband tells me that my sexiest moments are when I am concentrating really hard on something and focusing on a task. I kinda doubt it, but if it floats his boat, then give me another task, hubby! :)

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Specializes in LTC.
No, sexy does not belong in the workplace, I agree Heidi.

Just the other day, I was scrubbed in and the circulating nurse (relatively new, had moved from place to place although she is not a travel nurse...she said that it was "just time to move on" when some of the staff asked why she moved around so much) was having trouble with the bovie pad sticking. We had already prepped and draped, and the bovie kept alarming. Finally the surgeon asked her to just replace the pad. She crawls up under the drapes and places a new pad on the patient. When she got up, she said breathlessly, "Dr. X, I know you just wanted to see me on my knees." Oh. Em. Gee. The surgeon was silent, and gave me this "What the heck?" look. I just shook my head, and the resident rolled his eyes.

I see this nurse constantly touching, flirting and acting "familiar" with attending surgeons and residents. I am embarrassed FOR her. I believe that this nurse is the epitome of Trashy Barbie, and I hope that she decides that it is "time to move on" shortly!

While it is one thing to comment on something that could be construed as "inappropriate" (we all giggle in the corner laughing when our surgeons tell us that he needs a very long screw for his calcaneal fx case), it is entirely another thing to make DIRECTLY inappropriate comments such as this nurse made.

My husband tells me that my sexiest moments are when I am concentrating really hard on something and focusing on a task. I kinda doubt it, but if it floats his boat, then give me another task, hubby! :)

I think what the nurse did was NOT SEXY but the complete opposite. Sexiness comes from with in. Once again nurses can be sexy and smart however flirting at work is not the time to ACT sexy.

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Specializes in pediatrics, public health.
I see this nurse constantly touching, flirting and acting "familiar" with attending surgeons and residents. I am embarrassed FOR her. I believe that this nurse is the epitome of Trashy Barbie, and I hope that she decides that it is "time to move on" shortly!

While it is one thing to comment on something that could be construed as "inappropriate" (we all giggle in the corner laughing when our surgeons tell us that he needs a very long screw for his calcaneal fx case), it is entirely another thing to make DIRECTLY inappropriate comments such as this nurse made.

Has anyone tried talking to this nurse yet, and letting her know that others consider her behavior to be inappropriate and offensive? Of course she should already know, but since apparently she doesn't, it seems worth a try to me for someone to talk to her at least once. Maybe she'll tone it down -- it's worth a shot. (then if she doesn't change, go back to hoping she moves on shortly!).

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