Are you my waitress today?

[adria37]

I work in an oncology clinic and this was the question ask to me. How would you have responded? My response was "I did not go to school for 10 years to be called a waitress. I am now 4 courses away from my second master's degree in nursing so I can provide you the best care possible. What do you need."

Tell me how you deal with these kind of comments.

[gsd4me]

And then there's the other extreme, with the idea of nurses as something like nuns. There is some precedence for this one, though: there are nuns who are also nurses, and, in fact, the concept of the nursing sister is so embedded in Australian culture that many nurses are still addressed as "sister", and a sort of veil is to them what the white cap is to American nurses.

But, like I said, there is a precedent for that. I don't get where the whole "naughty nursey" thing came from. There's nothing sexy about being admitted to a hospital!

Actually, in the 18th & 19th century, most "nurses" were prostitutes. Who better to take care of men, especially in war, than a women who were not uncomfortable seeing a naked man and caring for the needs of his body. "Ladies" would never deem this a proper vocation...until Florence Nightengale during the Crimean War. Even then, the "new" nurses got no respect because most nurses were still prostitiues who received most of their pay in liquor.

[ArmyMSN]

[ArmyMSN]

So they base their choices on how rude they can be and how much abuse the staff will take? I highly doubt it.

Nobody here is complaining about taking a patient a cup of coffee or a meal. They just want common courtesy and respect.

I am not saying that anyone is complaining, but I think that people should realize that customer service and nursing go hand in hand. I know loads of people who DO rate a hospital based on how friendly and courteous the staff is to them while they are there. I know many people that will not go to facilities anymore for that reason alone. Do I think that PR should replace competent nurses? Absolutely not. I do think that people should not take offense at someone calling them a waitress. A little humor can go a long way. Joke it off and get them what they are asking for.

Just keep in mind pts DO have a choice.

Jackie

Agree 100%.

[ArmyMSN]

[LPN_Aries]

well i have previously been a waitress for 10 years, it put me through my first medical college course, so in this case i would have said... "i once was and it put me through college to server you in a medical way" then i would :monkeydance: and put on a smile and carry on and go from there. i think to some people being in the hospital is a scary ordeal so therefore, they may say things that they do not mean or that do come out in the wrong way. so remember these patients/customers are scared and unsure of what is going on with them, laughter is the best medicine

[KLeigh]

During the last year of my BSN program, we studied the progression of the nursing profession over the years. I remember one of my instructors gave us a handout that listed what the responsibilities of the nurse used to be several decades ago (I want to say it was from the 1950s or something, but I'm not positive about the date). Anyway, it included--no joke--"sweeping the floor", among other "household" tasks (some of which we nurses do sometimes still take care of when necessary, like changing bed linens, but this list certainly didn't mention anything that sounded like today's skilled nursing duties).

Although we all just laughed at the time, it was/is pretty insulting and frustrating that much of the public still remains so ignorant about the nursing profession.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

It absolutley chaps my hide when I read or hear comments from people that they will not come to my facility because they had a bad experience. Only to find out later that their experience was that no one cared enough to bring them comfort items and simple things.

Lazy boogers were probably down the hall treating a chest pain, or a bleeding incision. Chaps me too- fluffing a pillow only takes a minute, surely they have the time.

[dauschundlover]

I loved Angie O'Plasty's comments. I'm not insulted be these remarks in the least. And I take the time to educate the patient. They can't help what their perception of the nursing community is. Just look at the TV shows and it's no wonder that we are given little respect. And mostly it's because of the lack of knowledge the public has for what we really do. I was working in a CCU one day and a patient was starting to go bad, respiratory compromise. It was a private hospital so no teaching staff, before the days of hospitalist, so you had to rely on contacting the MD and the standard orders for particular situations. The patient made a turn for the worse and ended up being intubated. We were never able to contact the MD and just followed hospital procedure for what to do. When the patient improved and was finally transferred to the step down unit I went to say hello. She had nothing but praise for her MD for saving her live. Never once did she mention the nursing care that actually saved her life. In my head I was thinking oh yeah great doc, wouldn't even return our calls, probably on the golf course. It was a hard lesson to learn that no matter what the credit will always be given to the person held to higher esteem in the eyes of the patient. What we as nurses need to do is address our professional organizations to educate the public on what we really do. We need to finally put the rest the debate over the minimum level of education to become an RN. We need to get a voice to the public ear to stop turning hospitals into overpriced hotels with valet parking, and tremendous lobbies with cascading water falls. The trend in hospitals today does nothing to educate the public to the long hours we put in. When I walk into some of the hospitals in my community it's no wonder patients ask if we're their waitress. There treated like they checked into a hotel. It won't be long before we will be expected to place mints on their pillows at night. How many more nurses do you think a hospital could hire if money wasn't wasted on these extravagant renovations. Administration is setting the tone for how we are treated within the hospital and our professional organizations owe to us to set the public straight. Instead of finding more ways for the hospital to be recognized, ie magnet status, we need to find ways to promote nursing nation wide through advertisement. Patients will go where their MD's send them, they'll keep going back to that hospital based on the nursing care they received. Administration needs to wake up.

[rhum57]

what we nurses must do is assess the patient condition, Behavior of some patient to disease and from a new environment varies from that of the normal state. As to "Are you my waitress today?" as verbalized by the patient, The Nurse should respond to correct the Misconception by telling, "Oh, Mr.(Client) i am not a waitress, I am your nurse for the day", build rapport and communicate therapeutically, assess his feelings of his being and hospitalization.

[imenid37]

"is the doctor your waitor?"

Are you kidding? That's the chef!:wink2:

[justavolunteer]

Regarding the comments from some about early nurses being mostly prostitutes: remember what society was like at the time of Florence Nightingale. So-called 'respectable' women didn't do much of anything, except get married and raise children. Miss Nightingale faced vehement opposition from her own family over her work in the Crimean War. The idea that she would work at all, let alone care for male strangers, was simply not considered.

If you automatically say that 'respectable' women can't enter a certain field, who does that leave? Prostitutes, drug addicts and others on society's fringe are what's left.

[tridil2000, MSN, RN]

you're fogetting the ALL important 15 - 20% tip!

i was at dinner last week. we spent about $60. we left a $10 tip. the waitress had 6 tables that i could see. in 90 minutes, she made about $60 cash.

$60 x 2 (180 minutes for dinner rush) = $120.

not bad for 3 hours of work.

of course not everyone leaves a decent tip, but considering the level of training and responsibility, you can't compare the two.

just to add, you don't choose a career only based on salary. you could work the corner for a lot more cash too.... but most of us pass on that opportunity