Caring as Facade profession

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hello everyone,

I observe that most go to Nursing School to earn big and not entirely motivated by the traditional "caring" personality.

is it true that some Nurses put on a facade on being caring in their workplace but have entirely have uncaring personality outside their workplace ?

For example, a Janitor employee mops and cleans around but it does not mean he enjoys cleaning or have a neat personality. He is driven by financial need and similarly a Nurses could be driven by financial gain while masking a facade of a caring image at her workplace.

Everyone who works puts on a facade in some sense. You can't tell me when you have a ETOH withdrawal patient threatening you and constantly setting off his bed alarm that you don't want to kick his butt outside. If you have a smile on your smile throughout the whole shift you won the lottery or are just insane. We work to maintain out lives, no one in their right mind would go to a shift knowing they will work for free.

Nursing is a job,stop with this you have to be caring 24/7 blah blah blah holier than thou crap.

Well said, Dranger. :up:

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It is a job and paycheck that is more than minimum wage. There are less stressful jobs that pay more than nursing. You do not need to be caring all the time. Nor is it a duty to be caring to people outside of work. Just the standard of mutual respect and honesty.

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Hello GrnTea,

My thread may sound a kinda frown by our Nursing Culture but the facade image in my theory kinda explain some observations of uncivil behavior and bullying behavior towards their coworkers while putting a caring facade towards patients.

Well yeah, there are nurses like that, "My name is Susie, Susie Sweet", who are sweet to the patients while being uncivil and bullying to certain coworkers.

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Well yeah, there are nurses like that, "My name is Susie, Susie Sweet", who are sweet to the patients while being uncivil and bullying to certain coworkers.

True. And that goes for EVERY occupation in most every workplace that's ever existed. Nursing culture has nothing to do with it.

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Specializes in ICU + Infection Prevention.

You can get into and even through school motivated by money and success, but you won't last long in the field unless the work suits your personality. Burnout and all that jazz...

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Some of the "coldest" nurses I've seen are excellent nurses. They're just burnt out. But they do a great job in assessing and managing their patients. Of course, this isn't going to keep patient satisfaction surveys up. Most nurses I see atleast "pretend to care." By saying this, I don't mean they DON'T care, but they do put on an extra facade. I've had patients who were super annoying and mean to me, but I'm still extra nice to them. I'm not I don't have a "holier than thou" personality but the way I look at it is, whether I am nice or mean it doesn't make much of a difference. Oh, you're going to curse at me and refuse treatment? I will continue to be nice to you. I'm not going to stoop down to your level. Chances are, you're probably taking out your frustrations on me

I do feel as we're expected to be extra caring. And we do care. But let's be realistic, the job can be desensitizing. So I just throw on a smile regardless of how I'm feeling or being treated and do the best at my job. Kind of like any other job!

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Haha... you think this job pays enough to put up with the majority of the "stuff" I do? hahaha

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.
Haha... you think this job pays enough to put up with the majority of the "stuff" I do? hahaha

HAHA amen! My non-nurse friends always joke bout my "nurse salary" like I'm rich or something. We're all mid-twenties entry-level jobs, so most of them work in an office and get paid dirt to do one hour of work and play on facebook all day. Try my job out for a day if you think I'm "rich"!

Nursing wouldn't be able to pay for all the therapy I need! LOL

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Ya well souleater. Hopefully administration will get your drift and block any more of your souleating threads.

Sheesh..get a life.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

I invite you to come work a shift with me and Im sure you will have your answer :)

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Hello GrnTea,

My thread may sound a kinda frown by our Nursing Culture but the facade image in my theory kinda explain some observations of uncivil behavior and bullying behavior towards their coworkers while putting a caring facade towards patients.

Say what? If I am decoding this somewhat inchoate ramble properly, you think that you think nurses are nice to patients and not nice to their colleagues, is that right? Are you generalizing this to all nurses, some nurses, or ... ? Is this based on personal experience (limits of this?) or a selection of posts from AN, or a fever dream, or ... ?

There are so many holes in this it's hard to credit it, but do let me know what I'm missing.

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Honestly, there have been times where I have to put forth so much effort being nice and civil to rude and/or stupid patients, that I have little patience left over for some of my equally rude and/or stupid coworkers.

Not sure if that's what you meant, though.

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