Are nurses blue or white collar workers?

Are nurses considered blue collar or white collar workers? My co-workers and I were having this conversation and there was no consensus.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I'm an ADN, but consider myself white-collar because I'm in management......that is, when I think about pigeon-holing people at all.

[Aurora77]

Been there,done that said:

The difference is... drum roll..Even if they have the same NUMBER of years in their education.. they do not have the same RESPONSIBILITY!!.

LIFE and DEATH!

I mostly agree with you. However, a bad mechanic can kill you. Brakes fail--not a pretty sight; then those people become our problem. When you take your car in, you're trusting him or her with your life. Kinda scary when you think about it. Just nit picking, like I said, I mostly agree..

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Aurora77 said:

I mostly agree with you. However, a bad mechanic can kill you. Brakes fail--not a pretty sight; then those people become our problem. When you take your car in, you're trusting him or her with your life. Kinda scary when you think about it. Just nit picking, like I said, I mostly agree..

Umm,, look at car. Look at brakes, put in correct brakes.

Yes , the need for the brakes can lead to a life or death situation.

However.. it does NOT require critical thinking skills, or an instantaneous decision as to how to intervene when a life is on the line.

Please, don't compare us to mechanics.

[obprof]

Pink-collar. A women's dominated service profession. I used Wikepedia for my definition. White-collar usually refers to office workers and Blue-collar refers to manufacturing.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

I think of white collar as more management/supervisory positions. So as nurses, I consider us blue collar since we are in the trenches doing physical work. If I were a nurse manager or a chief nursing officer I would consider it white collar.

Not that the distinction really matters at all. it's just semantics.

[Stephalump]

\ said:

Umm,, look at car. Look at brakes, put in correct brakes.

Actually, the two things are quite similar. Both automobiles and bodies are complex machines. Health of vehicles and living things rely on a million tiny things to go right, and the smallest malfunction can cause a huge problem. And, I'm sorry, but critical thinking is the very essence of being a mechanic.

Obviously the life or death aspect is a bit further removed from us than actual medicine, but I think you'd be surprised how many similarities there are between the two.

Perhaps the men complaining about the name "nurse" should consider calling themselves "Body Mechanics!"

[PMFB-RN, RN]

Uh, most of us punch time clocks and wear work uniforms just like any other blue collar factory worker. Without a doubt we are blue collar.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

obprof said:

Pink-collar. A women's dominated service profession. I used Wikepedia for my definition. White-collar usually refers to office workers and Blue-collar refers to manufacturing.

Do not ever tell me nursing is a "Service profession" right up there with waiting tables like pink collar implies.

[PMFB-RN, RN]

Been there,done that said:

However.. it does NOT require critical thinking skills, or an instantaneous decision as to how to intervene when a life is on the line.

Please, don't compare us to mechanics.

*** To be fair most nurses will never make instantaneous decisions to save a life. If we subtract those nurses who work ICU & ER type jobs most nurses just arn't often faced with life or death situations.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Do-over said:

I get paid by the hour, and wear my name on my shirt (or badge, anyway). I clean up nasty, nasty things. I work nights, weekends and holidays. I am a blue-collar worker. And I have no issue with that label. I don't consider what I do a "profession" I consider it a "skilled-trade" and I am finally feeling like a journeyman (or journeywoman, I suppose).

I wouldn't say that ALL nurses are blue-collar though. Professors, manglement, researchers, etc. I would say are white-collar.

The doctors I work with have the exact same name tag I do, often have to deal with nasty things (rectal exams, gross wound abscesses, etc), work nights, weekends, and holidays. Are they not professionals?

A skilled trade is something that can be learned on the job or in grad school. It's also something you generally stop learned after you know how to do it. I have a bachelor's degree, almost a master's degree, and am learning new things constantly.

To replace me with someone off the streets would take a minimum of 4.5 years (4 years to get a BSN- my facility doesn't even look at ADNs anymore) and 6 months of orientation. That doesn't account for my experience or my OCN or my ACLS or any of the classes toward my master's degree. That is because I am an educated, professional.

[caliotter3]

My client treats me like a baby sitter, I've never had managers who treated me like a professional, more like a door mat, and a stupid one at that. (Yes, there are stupid door mats!) So, there is no way I would wrangle "professional" into my definition, although I have a professional education. What a waste of time and money, that was!

[Stephalump]

\ said:

Do not ever tell me nursing is a "Service profession" right up there with waiting tables like pink collar implies.

Pink collar implies the profession is dominated by women. At the time the terms were relevant, teachers, nurses, and secretaries were all "pink collar" jobs.