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 It is such an outdated notion.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.
There are the neurotic OVER carers, the completely selfless...there are the non-carers and completely selfish. I am neither. I strive for a happy medium between those continuums. And I recognize and value other colleagues that live in that place as well. It is very difficult to work with those of the other 2 groups mentioned. Climbing out of this sandbox now. Big concept, I know....
Not a big concept at all that is the exact place from which I work. I do see some that seem to work solely for money and appear to be uncaring, I guess I am very fortunate indeed because, I really have not been exposed to any of the Over carer type that seem to make a production of caring. I will politely agree to disagree about Angels perpetuating a sterotype and leave it at that.
This discussion got heated....really hit some nerves. (I need some more coffee.) It's good in that we're thinking and hashing it out. For as many different personalities out there don't you think we will find as many different nurses and approaches out there? We need all and each of us in one capacity or another. I have noticed that often the more technically gifted people wind up in high-tech units and the more touchy feely ones wind up in areas where they have time to use their gifts. I worked acute and chronic dialysis for 8 years and we ran at the speed of light. It was Mach 1 every day. When I switched to home health my coworkers happily conngratulated and laughed because they knew I'd have time to sit down and talk with the patients which I love to do. I can do the tech stuff but am more of a psych nurse deep down.
Has anyone ever read the book, "Thank you for Being Such a Pain?" I read it about once a year. It is a wonderful spiritual/psychological book (non denominational; written by a Rabbi I think)that reminds us when someone (ANYone: we can each fill in the blank as to who pushes our buttons: angel, brat, do-gooder, rude, arrogant etc) really GETS to us the trick is to look inwards and realize WHY this person is aggravating us so much and to see it as a chance for personal growth. In other words....flip it upside down and see the pain in the a** as a blessing. I know....it ain't easy but it does make you think.
I know our (capitalist) society rewards with $$$$$ but there has to be more than $$$ to bring inner peace. Hopefully each of us here is able to pay our heating and food bills etc. And hopefully when we go to bed at night (or morning!) we can say we made some sort of difference in someone's life.
One more comment....yeah, nursing may be prone to attracting martyrs but they are around in all professions(maybe except lawyers, lol). Didn't this start in elementary school with the teacher's pet? OK, more coffee please... :)
"It is my opinion that you must be selfless to some extent in order to care, if we were only self involved then we could not provide care at all! While performing tasks that releive pain, and sooth suffering, are we being completely self involved? Can we? Isn't it necessary to have consideration, and compassion for those you use your skill base to serve? Yes I said serve. Are you now going to tell me that we in no way shape or form provide a service? The more you attempt to make a case against the Angel sterotype you force me to wish that more nurses were providing selfless service. I guess the way I feel about the Pts in my care is that I do care I care if they live or die, I care if they feel better after I give pain medicine, I care that the nausea and vomitting stop. A post like this seems to advocate being completely uncaring, not just Non-denominational, not just attempting to be competent and professional but devoid of feelings at all. Should we have a non-committal relationship and serve as automatons? I know I can not. The deep bitterness at anyone even thinking that nurses care and have feelings and compassion, and that compassion could in any possiblilty be religion based is overboard to the extent of militant!"
YES! You and I are on the same page. Beautifully expressed. Thank you.
OK this may be falling on deaf ears but what is an angel? Technically speaking angels are God's messengers...sent to earth to carry out/ensure HIS mandate. Just where has all this fuzzy bear, cutesy little angel wings and its relation to nurses come from anyway?
This opens up a can of worms and we're seeing this in our discussion. It isn't so cut and dried, this stereotype stuff.
And I must agree with Traumatized...all these cutsiepie images DO lower us...its paternalistic at best and juvinilizing our role at worst. JMHO. I'm not a Care Bear and I don't play one in my ICU. Yeah caring is part of my job and I wouldn't have likely gone into this field if I did not care about my felow man, but good grief lets get a grip.
CCUNurse ...(and you know by now I work ICU...hope your comment was not supposed to be a slam) OF COURSE we ARE a caring profession...but there are limits and we must be cognizant of the manipulation that goes with the 'selfless' angel nurse concept perpetuated today...as I look back over 28 yrs in nursing I see how this has hurt us as a profession and kept us from recognizing our power and influence, and effecting real change. It keeps us from using our professional voices, keeps us from unionizing and speaking out, and keeps us victims in too many cases. Some of the codependence and dysfunction I see in the workplace today IS IMO related to the selfless expectation..some of the bootlicker backstabing young eating behavior a result of the unrealistic expectations on us...a coping mechanism.
Its not mutually exclusive to be professional AND caring. But the excessive, selfless stuff has to go, along with the cutsiepie nurse bears and angels, IMHO. Even J and J is trying to dispel sterotypes in their own way, thank goodness, portraying guys as nurses. I think the 'cutsiepie' image has repelled many men away from nursing and is why so many patients wonder if their male nurses are gay...a 'real man' wouldn't want this image. So...sterotypes are out there, we can't pretend they're not...but we CAN speak against them.
Those here who don't understand think of this: professional is as professional does right? Well how does 'Nurse Angel Bear' promote professionalism?
Good discussion here by the way...I'm enjoying it.
OK this may be falling on deaf ears but what is an angel? Technically speaking angels are God's messengers...sent to earth to carry out/ensure HIS mandate. Just where has all this fuzzy bear, cutesy little angel wings and its relation to nurses come from anyway?
This opens up a can of worms and we're seeing this in our discussion. It isn't so cut and dried, this stereotype stuff.
And I must agree with Traumatized...all these cutsiepie images DO lower us...its paternalistic at best and juvinilizing our role at worst. JMHO. I'm not a Care Bear and I don't play one in my ICU. Yeah caring is part of my job and I wouldn't have likely gone into this field if I did not care about my felow man, but good grief lets get a grip.
CCUNurse ...(and you know by now I work ICU...hope your comment was not supposed to be a slam) OF COURSE we ARE a caring profession...but there are limits and we must be cognizant of the manipulation that goes with the 'selfless' angel nurse concept perpetuated today...as I look back over 28 yrs in nursing I see how this has hurt us as a profession and kept us from recognizing our power and influence, and effecting real change. It keeps us from using our professional voices, keeps us from unionizing and speaking out, and keeps us victims in too many cases. Some of the codependence and dysfunction I see in the workplace today IS IMO related to the selfless expectation..some of the bootlicker backstabing young eating behavior a result of the unrealistic expectations on us...a coping mechanism.
Its not mutually exclusive to be professional AND caring. But the excessive, selfless stuff has to go, along with the cutsiepie nurse bears and angels, IMHO. Even J and J is trying to dispel sterotypes in their own way, thank goodness, portraying guys as nurses. I think the 'cutsiepie' image has repelled many men away from nursing and is why so many patients wonder if their male nurses are gay...a 'real man' wouldn't want this image. So...sterotypes are out there, we can't pretend they're not...but we CAN speak against them.
Those here who don't understand think of this: professional is as professional does right? Well how does 'Nurse Angel Bear' promote professionalism?
Good discussion here by the way...I'm enjoying it.
I think a few of the things you mentioned are accurate. I think it took non gay males a while to enter the nursing field D/T the sterotype of all male nurses are gay. This is far from Angelic however because most people of religious beleif feel being homosexual is against God and religion, so How can we think that the same people that would see nursing as an Angelic practice, see Gays as Angels? I do think though that the entrance of males in larger numbers into the profession has had a positive affect. I know that males are by nature more aggressive when it comes to demanding bonuses, benefits, pay raises and higher wages in general. No offense to anyone I know there are plenty of women that will go to bat and and stand up to management for their raises etc. But as history has shown males automaticly generate higher wages(unfair but true) now if you wanted to be against males earning higher wages than females in all professions I could get behind that. I just do not see "Angelic sterotypes" perpetuating a decline to nursing. I mentioned in an earlier post(much earlier) that I really can't imagine that people today really think nurses are so much bedside fluff and docotrs are almighty omnipotent healers just keeping nurses around to hold the hands of the sick and issue hugs. The information age has brought with it the ability to research all aspects of a topic and the informed masses today KNOW nurses are providing the care, and perform most if not all of the tasks required during a hospitalization.
I guess I may be one of those Nurses that you spoke of as being "Pathetic".
So sad to hear that you feel that way. I believe that Nursing is truly a calling and often find myself thinking about one patient or another and hoping that they are doing well. Sad to see Nursing listed as just a job and pay check. There is far more to the profession than that. Why not go back and readThe Nightengale Pledge? Macspuds
this reminds me of a time I complained when everyone told me I was "cute." I was a grown woman (well, over 18) and cute describes babies! then I realized I should just accept it as the COMPLIMENT it is! when a pt. says a nurse is an Angel, it's because you've made their stay a lot more relaxing and tolerable. besides, who ever said doctors were GODS?!! matter of fact, I think they mean you're an Angel in contrast to what the doctors are!
Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.
Oh it was too funny today! I went to work and one of our CNA's makes the greatest beaded earrings and necklaces! She brought in a bunch of earrings she is working on and they are little beaded angels! Everyone wanted one because they were so cute, and they said "now our residents will know we are angels"..I busted up laughing because I remembered all the responses here! LOL!
They asked if I wanted one, I said no...but if she ever made a set of earrings with a winged foot like Apolo, that would be more like me...run run run! LOL!!!! Or a cup of coffee! LOL!
I guess I may be one of those Nurses that you spoke of as being "Pathetic".
So sad to hear that you feel that way. I believe that Nursing is truly a calling and often find myself thinking about one patient or another and hoping that they are doing well. Sad to see Nursing listed as just a job and pay check. There is far more to the profession than that. Why not go back and readThe Nightengale Pledge? Macspuds
I dislike being "quoted" that I made reference to anyone being pathetic. Check your references before you make these claims. You may not like my opinion, and that's ok, but please don't make up "quotes".
I am lol....I looked up "angel" in The American Heritage Dictionary and way down there(after all the definitions we are relating to here I found.....under def #6: a. enemy aircraft; b.a radar echo of unknown origin :)
Also...in Catholic teaching there are male angels: St Michael the Archangel for ex.
And finally.....I have been guilty of at one time or another pinning a tiny angel pin on my collar but I did that to remind me that (hopefully) I have a guardian angel watching over me. I really don't think it took anything away from my professionalism but who knows! Hopefully I'm more than a pin.(Don't say pin head...i know, i set myself up for that)
I used to wear fuzzy bears on my stethoscope but that was when I worked in PEds. We all did there, nurses, residents, attendings etc. It was fun.
OK guys...tell ya what. I'm tired of arguing ...we wil have to agree to disagree. Count me as one who wants to portray a more professional image, because that is how I will be perceived (and likely treated.) Sorry some of you don't get the message, but there are entire organizations out there dedicated to trying to dispel stereotypes and help nurses. I believe its sorely needed. Over and out.
OK guys...tell ya what. I'm tired of arguing ...we wil have to agree to disagree. Count me as one who wants to portray a more professional image, because that is how I will be perceived (and likely treated.) Sorry some of you don't get the message, but there are entire organizations out there dedicated to trying to dispel stereotypes and help nurses. I believe its sorely needed. Over and out.
Ok I can respect that and let me just say that I too feel it is important to portray a professional image. I just don't see how my feeling nursing is a calling or someone calling me an Angel can detract from that. I will stand by the former posts stating that I DO NOT SEE THIS ANGEL STEROTYPE perpetuated in my area. Perhaps it is around and possibly it in some way can harm nursing I would believe at most though only a small percentage of the population could or would actually buy into such a sterotype.
I think fighting the sterotype that nurses eat their young, and the sterotype that nurse are our own worse enemy are much truer and much more important that we overcome. It is imperitive that we find a way to stand together as a unified coalition. As professionals and as people we need to find a way to share our experiences and make one another stronger rather than tear each other down!
I guess I may be one of those Nurses that you spoke of as being "Pathetic". 
CCU NRS
1,245 Posts
Not a big concept at all that is the exact place from which I work. I do see some that seem to work solely for money and appear to be uncaring, I guess I am very fortunate indeed because, I really have not been exposed to any of the Over carer type that seem to make a production of caring. I will politely agree to disagree about Angels perpetuating a sterotype and leave it at that.