Have you ever been referred to as Nurse Ratched? I have, and it really bothers me especially because I know I'm not that type of nurse. I am honest, caring, compassionate, and depended on by many. I was accused of being Nurse Ratched by a family member, because I am "firm and I make people do things they don't want to do." Nurse Ratched was so much more than just firm. She was cold, heartless, controlling, and humiliating. Definitely not someone any nurse wants to be compared to.
I have expressed how I feel about this, as it is an ongoing joke in my family, and I'm at my limit. The alternative could be that I don't give a care, let them eat and drink whatever they want, skip taking their medications, blow off doctor's recommendations, and slowly kill themselves. Then tell them don't come to me complaining of every little ailment and want advice, because I'm Nurse Ratched...remember?
I saw the movie long before I even thought about being a nurse and didn't really understand the negative comments about her. She absolutely wasn't therapeutic in some situations but overall I didn't find her to be some horrific villain.
I first saw the movie before I went into nursing, when I was an earnest young hippie, and I was horrified by how awful Nurse Ratched (and the entire hospital system) was. I saw the movie again after I had been a psychiatric nurse for a number of years (and had acquired a much better understanding of the history of mental health tx in the US), and was really rather surprised to find that, from my new perspective, apart, again, from being wrapped a little more tightly and being a little more controlling than I would like, she seemed perfectly reasonable to me.
I don't have authority over my patients. They do what they want, my job is to educate them if they have a lack of knowledge and provide the means to help the use the tools available to them. And be encouraging.
Only if they can't make their own decisions will I over ride request that are not in their best interest. I don't get the idea of people wanting authority of their patients. I feel there is a great chance they won't listen to your education if you force things on them versus showing them respect for their choices, good or bad.
The Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph Missouri (formerly known as State Hospital for the Insane No.2) is a worthy stopover if you're driving through the Midwest. Real Psych Nurses will appreciate the advances in modern psychiatry when lobotomy wasn't the worse thing we did to "crazy people".
One of the more popular exhibits is of the items surgically removed from a patient who swallowed things. It wasn't the things (spoons, buttons, nails, needles etc.) that killed him. It was the surgery.
Have you ever been referred to as Nurse Ratched? I have, and it really bothers me especially because I know I'm not that type of nurse. I am honest, caring, compassionate, and depended on by many. I was accused of being Nurse Ratched by a family member, because I am "firm and I make people do things they don't want to do." Nurse Ratched was so much more than just firm. She was cold, heartless, controlling, and humiliating. Definitely not someone any nurse wants to be compared to.
I have expressed how I feel about this, as it is an ongoing joke in my family, and I'm at my limit. The alternative could be that I don't give a care, let them eat and drink whatever they want, skip taking their medications, blow off doctor's recommendations, and slowly kill themselves. Then tell them don't come to me complaining of every little ailment and want advice, because I'm Nurse Ratched...remember?
"And where did you gather all this information Mother/Auntie/Cousin Bob? From someone who is still ALIVE? At what, church, the store, or lunch? How AWFUL that I was able to get back their function to do these things!! Shame on me....."
When one of your former patients can get on the phone, go to church, lunch, ladies/men's group, or the store--job well done. Period. Part of the process is moaning about how tough you were, but alas here we are at the Walmart......
We could argue the actions and motivations of Nurse Ratched (or McMurphy himself, or the Chief, for that matter) all day long, but I submit this question: what do we do to patients right now that is going to look positively barbaric 50 years from now?
Sometimes people outside of our little nursing bubble just don't get *IT*. They don't get what we do, and how we do it. I was told last week by a family member that I was lucky - my job is easy and I only work three days a week. Obviously as a peds nurse, all I do is kiss boo boos and tuck children in at night. I have often said I wish that my family could do a "ride along" just one night so they could appreciate what I do and how I do it. It's very frustrating when the people you love don't give you the respect that your job deserves. Like I said, they just don't get it. I'm sorry. Try not to take it too personally. (I know, easier said than done)
I have never been accused of being nurse Ractched but like you Peds RN I have been told things like "how cute, it must be so rewarding to be able to cure children and snuggle with babies for a living."
I have tried to explain my job in gentle terms, because it's a world only we nurses understand. If they keep asking more details I tell them the truth:
I work with very sick complex, often neurologically damaged, vent-dependent children who will probably be diapered for life, and won't live that long. Or I work with kids who have had terrible accidents (since I work PICU sometimes), and I work with stressed out parents, and some who are genuinely crazy and make our jobs very hard. Half my patients never have parents visiting, sometimes because they are in CPS custody and sometimes because they live in a nursing home for kids. I don't have to convince most of my patients to take meds because they all have feeding tubes. I have lost five patients so far this year because they were born with too many challenges and/or became too injured or sick. And if you read about a case of child abuse on the news, chances are that' child has been on our unit, and probably 10 more like it who didn't make the news. And none of my patients has been a poster child for the hospital's fundraising efforts. ;-)
That is a conversation killer. LOL! Especially at a dinner party.
Haven't watched this movie and never will I think.
I don't care if I'm called names as long as I'm doing my job right and I'm focusing on my patients' well being UNLESS they refuse then yeah but still, I will never care. It's easier said than done but hang in there! You're awesome!
I agree with GrnTea to not engage your family. I have come to the realization that I could be the top expert in the world of (fill in the blank), and my family will still treat me like I don't know anything and I'm 15 years old. So I choose not to engage anymore. I am the youngest of my siblings and I think there is great resistance to upsetting the power balance of so many decades, so I don't get involved anymore and life is much more pleasant for me and my immediate family:) My husband is also the youngest of his siblings and has had similar experiences.
Slightly off topic, but does anyone else find it ridiculous that students are assigned to watch this movie during psych rotation in nursing school? We had the choice between this movie and A Beautiful Mind, and we had to complete a personal reflection afterwards. I told my instructor I watched a documentary about John Nash instead because I didn't think that Hollywood portrayed his and his family's experience with mental health accurately. Since when do students watch ER episodes in Med/Surg or Nine Months in OB rotation?
I have often said I wish that my family could do a "ride along" just one night so they could appreciate what I do and how I do it. It's very frustrating when the people you love don't give you the respect that your job deserves. Like I said, they just don't get it. I'm sorry. 
Try not to take it too personally. (I know, easier said than done)
elkpark
14,633 Posts
I first saw the movie before I went into nursing, when I was an earnest young hippie, and I was horrified by how awful Nurse Ratched (and the entire hospital system) was. I saw the movie again after I had been a psychiatric nurse for a number of years (and had acquired a much better understanding of the history of mental health tx in the US), and was really rather surprised to find that, from my new perspective, apart, again, from being wrapped a little more tightly and being a little more controlling than I would like, she seemed perfectly reasonable to me.