Are We "Glorifying" Nurses?

nynursey_ · Jul 12, 2015

My brother is a chemical engineer, and I must agree that his college courses were far harder than mine! It is an extremely hard major, unless you are a mathematics whiz. I also do not make twice as much as teachers do. My best friend obtained her teaching degree the same year I graduated nursing school. She is now retired with state benefits, because she has put her 25 years in. My first nursing job paid me $25k per year; her first teaching job paid her $35k per year. Granted, she made $45k her last year, but she got all holidays off, and 2 months off during summer, and no weekends or nights. I end up working almost every holiday; I haven't had Christmas or Thanksgiving off in years. I also do not receive any type of retirement at my current job. Her retirement benefits are wonderful. I actually worked as a school teacher for a year myself, and I fail to see why so many complain about having to bring work home with them. Grading papers is simply not that hard. When I was in nursing school, an 83 was a big fat F. We had to make an 84 or better on everything. The student teachers could make 70 and pass. We could not fail anything, or else we were out of the program. Not to mention it was drilled into us that we held lives in our hands. Whoever wrote that article was trying to compare things that simply weren't comparable.

Engingeering, like most hard sciences, is difficult. But, again, like many of the author's points, what's "harder" or "more difficult" to learn is subjective. There is no qualitative way to measure that. What's difficult for some to learn is not difficult for all and vice versa.

Frankly, if someone thinks their ASN/BSN/MSN was easy, then I shudder to think of the things they're truly missing.

nynursey_ · Jul 12, 2015

I don't know I am thanked almost daily by most of my patients. Very few are mean surly and rude. The world is full of thankless jobs and they are that way because we as a culture do not thank the people who do them. I was taught to thank people who help me or teach me or protect my rights and freedom and I have passed this on to my child. The other day a gentleman visitor of a patient came to the desk to thank us all for what we do. He was wearing a Korean war service hat and I thanked him for his service! He said it was a privilege and an honor. What goes around comes around.
Hppy

That's a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing!

I feel I'm thanked far more than not thanked. And not just by the patient but family members and others involved in the multidisciplinary team. Not that I require a physical "thank you," but it's always nice to hear.

nynursey_ · Jul 12, 2015

And the sad thing is that some of them actually appear o BE nurses!

Perhaps the most irritating point of all. How can those comments come from real life actual nurses? Are they asleep at the wheel of their job on a daily basis?

nynursey_ · Jul 12, 2015

I deliberately skipped the comments. I know they're just going to make me mad.
That being said... I actually agree with the author on 99% of the points. Granted, there no CNAs in my unit so I actually do the dirty work, so that part of the article doesn't apply to me.
Nursing school really is not that difficult. Most nursing students I feel are first time students and haven't gotten any other degrees, so they're just like, "Nursing school is soooooo haaaaard" when in reality, university education in general is hard. I had a much rougher time with my BA in Psych than I did my BSN. The intellectual level of that material made nursing school look like middle school - nursing school was just a lot more content, which is why nursing school took so much work.

I respectfully disagree. I had earned three college degrees prior to nursing school and I found it extremely stressful and difficult.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Jul 12, 2015

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ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 12, 2015

As the daughter of a physics major...I will say that there are much more challenging pursuits of study than nursing. My mother is a genius and I could never comprehend that level of thinking and intellect. But that isn't to say nursing is easy. It isn't. My mom states she could never get through my major with all the blood, feces and other nasty things nurses and doctors encounter.

What makes nursing school so difficult is the sheer amount of material one needs to know and all the hoops to jump through in order to make it into nursing. Then there are the nursing instructors who are Satan incarnate and all the politics of healthcare. It never ends.

nynursey_ · Jul 12, 2015

As the daughter of a physics major...I will say that there are much more challenging pursuits of study than nursing. My mother is a genius and I could never comprehend that level of thinking and intellect. But that isn't to say nursing is easy. It isn't. My mom states she could never get through my major with all the blood, feces and other nasty things nurses and doctors encounter.
What makes nursing school so difficult is the sheer amount of material one needs to know and all the hoops to jump through in order to make it into nursing. Then there are the nursing instructors who are Satan incarnate and all the politics of healthcare. It never ends.

I reiterate again that a level of difficulty is purely subjective. What is difficult for one is not difficult for another and vice versa. Nursing has its own set of difficulties beyond the sheer amount of knowledge one is required to know in a short period of time.

canigraduate · Jul 12, 2015

Everything is easy to the people who are good at it.

My brother couldn't get through nursing school to save his life, but I probably couldn't do an MBA like he did.

It's pointless comparing different industries and saying how "hard" they are. It's purely subjective. Well, except for medicine. That really is hard, but mainly because they make docs have stupid hours. Really, except in war time or in disasters, there is ZERO need for a 24 hour shift. ZERO. Unless you just want them to kill people. Mini-rant over.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 12, 2015

I reiterate again that a level of difficulty is purely subjective. What is difficult for one is not difficult for another and vice versa. Nursing has its own set of difficulties beyond the sheer amount of knowledge one is required to know in a short period of time.

My post also pointed out that what is difficult for one person may not be so difficult in vice versa in case you didn't catch that...

But I bet people would have different reactions if person A stated he/she is a physicist from person B being a nurse. I have jokingly told my mother that one can't claim to be a physicist without coming off as bragging. Because very few people have the intellect to comprehend that level of abstract thinking.

Hence why there is a huge shortage of physics majors and a glut of wannabe nurses. Saying one is more difficult doesn't make it better or more important.

klone, MSN, RN · Jul 12, 2015

For the most part, I agree with the message in the article. I get quickly bored with martyr nurses and Facebook pages with nursing memes.

That said, I do occasionally go home and cry about a patient, but I consider that a fault, not a virtue.

klone, MSN, RN · Jul 12, 2015

If nursing school were REALLY that hard, we would not have such a glut of new grad nurses. (Or, what PrincessBride said)

Purple_roses · Jul 12, 2015

Thing is ... none of that matters. I didn't get into nursing for the pay. I truly didn't. And I don't complain about the pay until someone makes a sly remark about how well off nurses must be. It's the most uninformed comment of all.

Yes.

I've had people make comments to me along the lines of, "Oh, you went for where the money is." Ummm....no.