I have been a RN for 11 years now, have seen much as many of you have. One thing that continues to irk me are nurses that think because they are a nurse are somehow a cross between Florence Nightingale and Jesus--and act like it. You know, "super nurse syndrome"
I was at my local gym and saw the a T shirt that said:
I sacrificed my life, so I could save your life. I am a nurse.
Really? You sacrificed your life to be a nurse? WOW, I never realized that going to nursing school and getting a job involved life sacrifice.( like so many 100.000's people that go to college to get jobs).
GET OVER IT ALREADY, your a nurse, your not mother Theresa, you don't walk on water and you DID NOT sacrifice your life to become a nurse.
Nursing school and how hard it is, another thing that people want to whine/brag about I get tired of hearing about. Really? I'll bet becoming a chemical engineer is very hard, I'll be learning computer coding is very hard, in fact I'll bet most any college degree--they just don't hand them out for showing up. You have to work for them and earn them---just like nursing school.
What I am saying is being a nurse does not somehow set you apart from the rest of the world, or make you a better person---just because your a nurse.
Doing your job, being courteous to patients AND coworkers AND people in general is what we and everyone else on the planet should be doing----we are all members of the human family.
I guess I don't get the entire point of your post. It's an us vs. them mentality. So somebody wrore a shirt you don't agree with, honestly, so freaking what?????
I'm proud I survived nursing school. I'm proud I'm about to take NCLEX. I don't wear those cheesy Facebook shirts, but I could care less who does.
Seriously, stop judging people. Really. If you have that much time in life, find a hobby. I can refer you to many. Many are life-changing.
Some may have connections to a pyramid scheme, but you may need them.
I never felt I was a super anything. But studies have shown that the most difficult degree to earn is a BSN. I DID sacrifice holidays, weekends and time with my family in my 40 years of nursing. I was good at my job, and still was able to.communicate well, write and speak using proper grammar and spelling, and maintained a relatively positive attitude under duress from lab, xray, dietary, families, patients, doctors, and even housekeeping. So I can at least understand the sacrifice, even if I don't agree with it.
I never felt I was a super anything. But studies have shown that the most difficult degree to earn is a BSN. I DID sacrifice holidays, weekends and time with my family in my 40 years of nursing. I was good at my job, and still was able to.communicate well, write and speak using proper grammar and spelling, and maintained a relatively positive attitude under duress from lab, xray, dietary, families, patients, doctors, and even housekeeping. So I can at least understand the sacrifice, even if I don't agree with it.
I wonder what "studies" have been conducted, because I know of none.
And for those who been mentioning that The Guinness has rendered Nursing the toughest degree-if any posters have seen this recently, please share!-Snopes has the reality-IT's FALSE:
Specializes in Oncology, Rehab, Public Health, Med Surg.
I wonder what "studies" have been conducted, because I know of none.
And for those who been mentioning that The Guinness has rendered Nursing the toughest degree-if any posters have seen this recently, please share!-Snopes has the reality-IT's FALSE:
I never felt I was a super anything. But studies have shown that the most difficult degree to earn is a BSN. I DID sacrifice holidays, weekends and time with my family in my 40 years of nursing. I was good at my job, and still was able to.communicate well, write and speak using proper grammar and spelling, and maintained a relatively positive attitude under duress from lab, xray, dietary, families, patients, doctors, and even housekeeping. So I can at least understand the sacrifice, even if I don't agree with it.
At first I thought, yes that shirt is dramatic and over the top and I would definitely never wear it. Then I thought about it it a bit more and realized that we do in fact have nurse colleagues that have given their lives -nurses in war zones, nurses exposed to communicable diseases (remember Ebola?) etc. And those nurses that suffer on the job career ending injuries without hope of compensation may not find the t-shirt as dramatic as I did... Then there is the sacrifice of weekends, holidays, vacations, which in my opinion is probably the most annoying translation of the shirt because most of us know and accept this as part of the job. But still it does stink sometimes, right? Anyway first impression still was "drama" so this was def after much thought. Thought that most people probably wouldn't do and therefore would find it pretentious and annoying. Mostly though, I don't really care what someone wears, I'm really a live and let live sort of person. :)
I guess I am really lucky. All the nurses I work with are really awesome. Even one I work with who sortve is known to be a "know it all" she's really smart, wise, and I like it when she corrects me. I actually learn.
hopefully I do not have to work with any bag-of-chips any time soon
Those shirts are really based off of the medic or firefighter shirts that I saw popping up a lot. I saw them popping up on Facebook and only weeks later the nurses ones popped up. Apparently they even have a CNA version now.
To be fair, nursing has made a culture where we are supposed to be motherly, sacrificial, etc. It's built into the culture. Heck, potential nursing school applicants will cry over why it is unfair that so and so is doing better or got into school and they don't have the culture of self-sacrifice.
I hate it.
Another thing I hate is when nurses act like it's okay for nurses not to get a break. That the nurse shouldn't get a break because their patient is sick. It's some unforgivable sin to utilize the lunch break (forget about the 15 minute breaks). If a nurse makes 26 an hour and doesn't take a lunch but has it deducted, they lose close to 2,000 a year.
guilty!! I don't take my full breaks. I take a 5 minute one about twice.. And I eat while i chart. It's not okay. But I wouldn't get out on time :/
I'm with you on this one. I see this a lot with the younger generation of nurses coming in to the field. I think they are proud of the accomplishment but haven't been around long enough... they're still feeling the new. As far as self-sacrifice goes, I get it. The endless number of calls every morning begging for help. When I first started I felt an obligation to help and show up 6 or 7 days a week. Now days... nah. I do my thing and call it good. It's more important to have a life outside of work.
im really glad this topic has been posted.iv been an stna for more than no care to say. I decided two years ago to become a PTA and no way in HELL would ever become a nurse or have anything to do with that industry and the ego and self righteous know it all attitudes I saw so much of is why. ok yeah u gotta know a lot to be a nurse bit the majority of what they do on the floor is give patients their addictive narcotics and pain pills and chart like HELL. the whole field is all about saving ur ass and making other people look incompetent so you can look better. honestly iv lost my respect for nurses except for the 4 or 5 I know who are great people with or without the nurse title
NurseGirl525, ASN, RN
3,663 Posts
I guess I don't get the entire point of your post. It's an us vs. them mentality. So somebody wrore a shirt you don't agree with, honestly, so freaking what?????
I'm proud I survived nursing school. I'm proud I'm about to take NCLEX. I don't wear those cheesy Facebook shirts, but I could care less who does.
Seriously, stop judging people. Really. If you have that much time in life, find a hobby. I can refer you to many. Many are life-changing.
Some may have connections to a pyramid scheme, but you may need them.