Common Nursing Themes

[nurselsteele]

I might be out of my mind but the more i read & the more i talk to my co-workers & friends the more i sense trends with Nurses!

#1- Nurses tend to be involved with law enforcement officers in one form or another? :loveya:( i know i am & 80% of my friends who are nurses have dated or are married to law enforcement)

#2- OCD is a common trait among nurses? (I think our jobs demand perfection so we develop that trait over the years! )

#3- Addiction is one of the horrible realities of nursing if you arent careful?

(i have been blessed not to have fallen victim to this but I know its a big big issues with Doctors & Nurses alike, I teach Drug awareness at the Correctional & Police Academy)

#4- Nurses tend to be work-a-holics? ( i think this goes with the OCD issue, our job isnt done until its done)

#5- Nursing is challenging no matter how many years you have under your belt & typically burn out comes more often the longer you stay in the career? ( i know i have to step out every 3 yrs for a long vacation in the islands or i would be insane by now)

#6- Eating Disorders seem to be endless with nurses? ( i know i have suffered myself from this & have read in depth on this board that it still exists throughout the nursing community, why do we fall pray to this?)

What are some other traits or similarities that you have noticed about Nurses ?? I would love to hear from you!! :typing

[AlsgalRN]

I think many of us are children of alcoholics. I am.

[Woodenpug, BSN]

On the negative side. Codependency.

Caring, involved, empathetic, passionate and informed, to name a few of the positive commonalities in nurses.

[dreamon]

I would guess having an eating disorder can be common in many professions- I doubt nurses would even fall into the top 3, but I may be wrong.

[flightnurse2b, LPN]

back problems. lots and lots of back problems.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

I would guess having an eating disorder can be common in many professions- I doubt nurses would even fall into the top 3, but I may be wrong.

I agree with you . . . I don't meet many of the original themes.

My husband is a logger and there isn't one nurse here who is married to someone in law enforcement.

I'm not OCD.

Not addicted to anything.

Definitely NOT a workaholic. I prefer to be home with my son and playing.

I did change to part-time due to wanting to be home more and working too much.

Don't have an eating disorder and never have.

Don't have a back problem and only know one nurse who left on disability for back pain.

What themes do I see?

hmmmm . . . . caring for others. Twisted sense of humor.

steph

[Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN]

I'd rather not be pigeon holed into that list of qualities.

Mr. O'Myacin and I were together long before our respective LEO and nursing careers began.

We set out to have careers where no one calls us at home (unless it's staffing and I say 'no' unless I really want the OT, and they better be showing me some critical shift pay...), we get fantastic benefits and lots of vacation time - not to mention shiftwork allows at least one of us to be at every recital, conference, skating night..etc. that the kids' schools have to throw at us.

Neither of us grew up in a dysfunctional or unhealthy environment.

Neither of us sacrifice ourselves for the "greater good". We enjoy the fact that what we do for a living has a direct impact on others. It's a lot more fun than moving numbers from column A to column B.

Neither of us are drug addicts or ever had a problem with drugs and/or alcohol. Neither of us smoke cigarettes either.

I think it's an outdated notion that nurses and cops and other "pubic service" types don't practice the self care that we advocate to our patients.

Blee

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

:yeahthat:

steph

[llg, PhD, RN]

I don't fit into the categories mentioned in the OP, either. Yes, I eat too much, but then again, so does most of America. I have 1 friend married to a law enforcement officer. I know of no friends who have had problems with drugs or alcohol.

Many of us are healthy people who lead fairly normal lives. Sure, we have our share of problems -- as do people in all occupations.

[BethT]

I am a nursing student.

I am a child of an alcoholic.

I am OCD.

I eat out of boredom...lol

My husband is going to the State Trooper academy in Jan.

huh....

[Melinurse]

*Definately a twisted warped sense of humor.

*I married a cop.

*I am happily addicted to chocolate and picking up extra shifts.

*I am a neat freak.

*I must complete all my work before I leave.

*No problems with drugs or alcohol. Don't know anyone with problems either.

[RNKel, ASN, RN]

One trend I often see/hear is that many nurses decided to become nurses due to something that's happened in their life: ie, they were ill as a child, they've lost a child to cancer or similar, or lost someone very close to them and they've decided to go into nursing.