Did ya catch the article in July AJN called "I'm No Angel" written by Margaret C. Belchers MSN, RN, CCRN ? Alot of follow-up opinions in this October issue as well. If you read it....what's your opinion?
She sure gets bashed for the article in follow-ups. I agree with her totally. I smile and cringe when I get called an angel. Sorry folks. I'd take solid, reality-based praise like "You are so competent" or "You are so smart" or "I trust my family member in your hands because you are so knowledgeable" over being an "angel" any day of the week. It is such an outdated notion. So Florence Nightengale-ish. We've come along way baby. It takes away from what we really are doing as nurses and what we are capable of, and how much responsibility we carry. Nice yes, caring yes, compassionate yes....but here on earth as a fellow HUMAN BEINGS....not magical angels. YUCK. EEK. SAPPY. This to me is not bad to feel this way. It is not a gruff, old, burnt-out nurse attitude. To me it is enriching thought and a foundation for a more pleasing and rewarding career platform for the future. We all need to work towards eliminating the Doctor=God and Nurse=Angel mentality built in to this profession. It is a dysfunctional illness that only serves to make us loosen our grasp on reality and to minimize our true worth. It makes for poor doc/nurse relationships. Our patients see us as pillow-fluffing angels of the past...as if the docs are in the hall 24/7 handling every ticking moment. And we, as nurses are OK with that? Feel good and valued about that? Public education....long overdue. But to get the right message out, we have to LIVE the part. EDUCATED NURSE. NOT ANGEL. I am a good nurse and that is what is necessary to do a good job. (Besides, wings and halos tend to get all tangled up in privacy curtains) Tell me i'm thoughtful, sweet, caring...just don't put me on the Angel pedestal.
Thanks for this hour of your life. I will step off of my soapbox now.
One more thing and then I have to go watch E.R. (LOL) Nursing as a profession is NOT ABOUT ME. That's kinda the whole point for me. The day it's about ME (or whatever they call me, lol) I need to make a change. And now it's time for some popcorn........see ya!
the best RN i know, hands down, got into it simply because she figured her advanced age would not hurt her and she would make a good living. so i guess my point is, nobody has to feel a calling to be a good nurse. weirdly, from the viewpoint of someone who observes her, she is... she is pretty awesome and nursing seems to complete her. but she would never say that. i think the "angel" stereotype-- if there is one, and i suspect there is-- may hurt the profession by encouraging an impossible amount of self sacrifice (working through lunch, breaks) and a certain neurotic perfectionism in some individuals. remember the post about the woman who felt consumptively guilty about using her facility's tylenol? what was that about? (we are not talking vicodin or percocet here). (just tylenol, during the time she worked there). i have seen a couple other posts that made me wonder what kind of people get drawn to nursing in the first place-- i think there was a study at one time that said many nurses had alcoholic parents, so they figured a caretaking personality. i have not much of an opinion, except i think it is really healthy to discuss and be able to entertain different ideas-- i imagine it can be very cathartic.
With such selfless, giving (dare I say codependent) 'angels' out there...guess the rest of us who ask for a little common courtesy, respect for clinical competence, and professional teamwork...and dare to believe in professional boundaries and drawing a few lines just DON'T 'deserve' to be nurses eh?
One old nurses' look now at some 'angels among us' I've worked with PLUS comments I've heard from our manipulative management teams:
"Just look at______...she comes to work and helps so many people and she is not feeling well herself" (of course she makes sure EVERYBODY knows this) (she also is very manipulative herself, crosses boundaries of professionalism, and is innappropriate with coworkers but who cares??) "She's 'such an angel' and her patients LOVE her" ( Well, yah, they love her cuz she caters to whims..never mind she's not clinically competent.) "She has personality. THE PATIENTS LOVE HER and you should ALL aspire to be the same kind of 'angel' " (and be thankful you have jobs too.) 'She is what ALL nurses SHOULD aspire to. ' Hmmm guess 'customer service' wins over competent care...again..until the doodoo hits the fan anyway. But...it won't be the angel's fault, they'll find another scapegoat if possible because her patients love her so much, she overextends and is a workhorse for management, never refuses OT of course......
This so often is MY experience with 'angel nurses' among us. I'll settle for a competent teamplayer (which these 'angels' usually are NOT BTW...they're far too concerned with getting 'above and beyond' letters from their patients) And of course they do such a good job there they will expect the rest to pick up the slack of the workload...(left to us because they were 'meeting their patient's psychosocial needs and that overrides any physical tasks needing to be done...other nurses should be happy to pick up her slack) Anybody else see the arrogance in this angelic attitude?? Its fairly obvious to me after so many years of working with a few of these 'angels' that they meet their own needs in promoting this sterotype.
To those who love to say to nurses 'Its NOT about you'...well guess what...it IS a little about us too...IF we're healthy that is.
I think whoever you are is the person and personality you bring to nursing. In no way do I think being called an angel could ever hurt the nursing profession because being called an angel is just that, a term. There is nothing deep, dark or debilitating in a transitory term for me..I don't have time to analyze something that deeply which to me , is very simple. I love nurses day and don't much care what managers do or don't make out of it any more than I think less of Christmas because business has elected to capitilize on it..It just is...If I am called an angel, good for me ...If someone is offfended by that, oh well..I don't lose sleep over such things these days...Interesting points of view. Not my intention or job to change other peoples ideas.
On nurses day I make sure I remember in some way every nurse I work with or know or at least am in touch with..Doesn't have to be much, but it doesn't hurt to remind them that they are important as people first, and nurses second...Whether they are "angels" business people, stay at home people, infirm people, long gone but forever remembered people, thats something I consider important, but that is a personal thing. If someone here doesn't, oh well..To each his or her own....
Good post; good points. Yes, you are right, It IS about me (each of us) in that we bring our unique SELVES to work and we are interacting with people who have specific needs.....But I still think I get my me time at home :) and I consider myself "healthy",lol. I love work because I love my time off. I enjoy my patients because I enjoy my family and friends. I'm fortunate because as an extroverted people person nursing has been a good fit for me.....it's about balance: if I'm playing hard at home with my family then I can work hard. I do have boundaries: I only work (3) 8 hr shifts during the week but I give it my all when I'm there. I don't watch the clock because I consider myself a professional. But my boss also understands I have a child to pick up from school after work. I've always thought one of the coolest aspects of Nursing is all the choices we have in different areas to work in. There is somewhere for each of us. I feel successful now because I am a Cardiac Rehab nurse and I work in a gym. I get paid to preach what I've practiced my whole adult life.This may sound funny but I have very little interaction with management....kinda get to run my own show...no doctors etc so I feel autonomous. I agree that if there is not a feeling of teamwork or common courtesy and we've done our best it's time to move on. Life's too short to be unhappy at work. Good luck from this nurse who is no angel, but just try to be a decent human being, warts and all, and care for people how I'd want them to care for me and am cool with that.
"In no way do I think being called an angel could ever hurt the nursing profession because being called an angel is just that, a term.
Yes! Exactly. :)
"If I am called an angel, good for me ...If someone is offfended by that, oh well..I don't lose sleep over such things these days....
Me too, :)
"..Whether they are "angels" business people, stay at home people, infirm people, long gone but forever remembered people, thats something I consider important."
With such selfless, giving (dare I say codependent) 'angels' out there...guess the rest of us who ask for a little common courtesy, respect for clinical competence, and professional teamwork...and dare to believe in professional boundaries and drawing a few lines just DON'T 'deserve' to be nurses eh?
One old nurses' look now at some 'angels among us' I've worked with PLUS comments I've heard from our manipulative management teams:
"Just look at______...she comes to work and helps so many people and she is not feeling well herself" (of course she makes sure EVERYBODY knows this) (she also is very manipulative herself, crosses boundaries of professionalism, and is innappropriate with coworkers but who cares??) "She's 'such an angel' and her patients LOVE her" ( Well, yah, they love her cuz she caters to whims..never mind she's not clinically competent.) "She has personality. THE PATIENTS LOVE HER and you should ALL aspire to be the same kind of 'angel' " (and be thankful you have jobs too.) 'She is what ALL nurses SHOULD aspire to. ' Hmmm guess 'customer service' wins over competent care...again..until the doodoo hits the fan anyway. But...it won't be the angel's fault, they'll find another scapegoat if possible because her patients love her so much, she overextends and is a workhorse for management, never refuses OT of course......
This so often is MY experience with 'angel nurses' among us. I'll settle for a competent teamplayer (which these 'angels' usually are NOT BTW...they're far too concerned with getting 'above and beyond' letters from their patients) And of course they do such a good job there they will expect the rest to pick up the slack of the workload...(left to us because they were 'meeting their patient's psychosocial needs and that overrides any physical tasks needing to be done...other nurses should be happy to pick up her slack) Anybody else see the arrogance in this angelic attitude?? Its fairly obvious to me after so many years of working with a few of these 'angels' that they meet their own needs in promoting this sterotype.
To those who love to say to nurses 'Its NOT about you'...well guess what...it IS a little about us too...IF we're healthy that is.
You must work in a realy strange place...it's not psych is it? N E way as I mentioned this is a non-issue at my place of work.
You must work in a realy strange place...it's not psych is it? N E way as I mentioned this is a non-issue at my place of work.
YOU must work in a really strange place....i've been working ICU/CCU/ER and stepdown for the past 18 years...and there's a handful of these self-serving angelic traumadrama queens in every bunch.....get real buddy....take off the rose-tinted glasses. They are there....
YOU must work in a really strange place....i've been working ICU/CCU/ER and stepdown for the past 18 years...and there's a handful of these self-serving angelic traumadrama queens in every bunch.....get real buddy....take off the rose-tinted glasses. They are there....
Sorry but you are wrong, no rose colored glasses here, there just ins't any of that goofy shite going on where I am. I guess since you are not here then you really can't say, I mean unless perhap you are omnipotent, oh no that might make you an Angel and we know how you feel about that!
Co-workers with their head up mgmt's butt....run to them and tell all for brownie points....always suggesting new things to do or different ways to do...gotta be the star ya know...never take a break, but whine about it constantly so EVERYONE knows..even when you've offerred to help or cover them....cry when patients don't like them...it's so personal-gotta be the perfect nurse....eat the young...to feel superior....play other staff off of each other starts rumors...loves the drama and likes to appear better than other nurses...more concerned about psychosocial issues and is drawn to dysfunctional family dynamics....weak skilled care and could care less about learning more (unless you can get brownie points for it)...always out for an atta girl...at everyone elses expense-likes to take credit for everything.....LOVES TO HEAR YOU ARE SUCH A SAINT! A true martyr. Awwwk.....hate this part of the job. I like to work with healthy, grounded PROFESSIONALS. Everyone has issues...but this behavior is ridiculous.
Sorry but you are wrong, no rose colored glasses here, there just ins't any of that goofy shite going on where I am. I guess since you are not here then you really can't say, I mean unless perhap you are omnipotent, oh no that might make you an Angel and we know how you feel about that!
Perhaps you just have a skewed, microcosmic view and are missing the whole picture. I have worked as a traveler for some time now and have been in many settings......funny thing...I can spot em within the first day. They are at every assignment. Ever worked anywhere else? I'll forgive your naive opinion if that is the case.
BTW....if you actually DO work in an environment without all the "goofy ****" (which i doubt)....congratulations....a VERY rare occurence and not the general norm.
Elspeth
25 Posts
One more thing and then I have to go watch E.R. (LOL) Nursing as a profession is NOT ABOUT ME. That's kinda the whole point for me. The day it's about ME (or whatever they call me, lol) I need to make a change. And now it's time for some popcorn........see ya!