Do you identify yourself as a nurse when you or your family are a patient?

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  1. Do you identify yourself as a nurse when you or your family are a patient?

    • 1977
      Yes
    • 2195
      No
    • 2755
      Sometimes
    • 363
      Never

7,290 members have participated

Specializes in CCU, Geriatrics, Critical Care, Tele.

We've all been in the situation when either we are the patient or our family and/or loved ones are the patient.

Do you identify yourself as a nurse?

Please answer our quick poll, then share your stories or why or why not.

Thanks

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Specializes in Medical surgical.

At the pediatrician office, i did, the np and myself basically exchange notes, and she was more friendly with my many questions

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We have all dealt, at one time or another, with the "nurse family member from Hell", and it is not a good situation. You know to whom I refer... the one who struts into the unit and starts with, "I'm a nurse, and..." Just a few of those can give nurses (who are family members) a bad name. Whenever a member of my family is in the hospital, the rule among our family is that nobody at that hospital is to know what I do for a living. If the care is good (usually is), then so much the better for all involved. If there is an issue or problem, then I would address that issue or problem , but I would do it in plain English (i.e., not using terms like "are you going to D/C the Ceftriaxone IV stat because the infusion site was infiltrated?").

Many years ago, while my father was hospitalized and died, the care was excellent, and I told the staff that, but never told them what I did for a living as I didn't want them looking over their shoulders, thinking the patient's son is some ER guy from out of town.

I can (and will) ask what I/we need to know by being just a regular person, and expect no professional courtesies because of what I do for a living. While proud of (and enjoying) what I do professionally, I find more it effective to be just a regular person in such situations.

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Specializes in ER/Trauma.

I really try not to, because I am just there as me, not as RN. That being said, my MIL wastes no time introducing me as her DIL, the nurse. I have asked her not too, but I guess she seems to think it carries some weight and still does it. I do ask questions but try to speak normally so the other family members can understand things. I do wind up as translator sometimes.

The pediatrican and my personal MD office staff know I am an RN, but I never feel the need to throw the "I'm a nurse"card at anytime.

Usually I find those that promptly declare they are a NURSE turn out not to be.

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... That being said, my MIL wastes no time introducing me as her DIL, the nurse. I have asked her not too, but I guess she seems to think it carries some weight and still does it...

:up: I know the feeling... my mother (90 years old last month) still, when telling her friends anything about me, includes that I am a "male nurse". :yeah: She grew up and went to Nursing school at a time when there were almost no men in the profession, although after WWII, more men got into Nursing. She does not, however, tell her doc that I am a RN.

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

:)Absolutely not!!!!! When I'm at work I'm a nurse, otherwise I'm just me. I don't have RN on my license plate, I don't carry a "nurse" bag, I don't write with a med rep pen unless I'm at work. Knowing my pt, or their family is a nurse changes how I interact with them. I'm not sure why, it just does. I don't want that change to occur when I'm with a family member in the hospital.

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Specializes in adult nursing.

i am a student nurse, if someone asks i will tell them that thats what i do, its not something i proclaim, usually as said above i end up translating which propmts the question, i dont like to lie.

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Specializes in ER, PSYCH.

I have had to devulge that info when I asked the Dr. what was my moms BUN/CR level when she took ill. He first blew me off by saying "its abnormal" even though my mom told him to tell me anything I asked. My mom was actually the informant, telling him I worked in the ER as an RN. His disposition changed immediately, and he was very specific thereon in my requests for her lab work.

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Specializes in Medical surgical.

just to clarify, i do not just walk in and say i am a nurse, at that time LPN, which many frowned upon, but with my kids, i had to explain, because the kids like a poster said my foster mother is a nurse, hence the comment.

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I don't tell and I tell my family and friends not to mention it either. I'm not ashamed of being an nurse but I feel like announcing it when it isn't relevant to the situation may be perceived as threatening to health care workers.

It's like saying "I'm a nurse so you better not screw up!"

If I am asked what my occupation is I tell.

Also, when I had my last child the nurse guessed and told everyone I was a nurse.

I was going in for a scheduled c-section and the nurse doing my admission assessment took one look at my very detailed advance directives and said "You're a nurse?" :nurse:

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I took my 13 yr old son to the ER with chest pain and SOB. When we arrived at the ER, they put him on a cardiac monitor and noticed that he was pacing at 160-175 bpm. The automatically rushed him in to a room and the ER doctors all came in and started to assess him. Well the did a battery of tests on him and put and IV assess just in case. MD came in and told me that all his blood work had come back and everything was all within normal range. About an hour later, they decided to bolus my son 1000 ml of fluid. While they where given him the fluids his heart rate dropped about 10-15 bpm but once the IV was complete his heart rate went right back up. Within about 15 minutes of finishing his first bolus they hang another 1000 ml and started to give it to him. Now my son was at the time, 5 feet 8 inches and only 110 lbs. Now I have had a chance to get out of mom mode and into my RN mode, I started thinking. If all his labs where within normal, why in gods name do they keep giving him fluids 2000 ml within 2 hrs to be exact. I asked to speak to the MD and ask why they keep giving my son fluids. And he said that they believed he might be dehydrated and in turn it can cause the heart rate to increase. That's when I said, "You did an Chem 7"? And that's when he said how did I know what a chem 7 was. And that's when I told him that I was a nurse. He looked at me like he was in shock. Needless to say they did not give my son anymore fluids. After about 4 hrs there, his heart rate broke on it's own. It went away as fast as it came on. We found out later that anxiety was the main cause of the increased heart rate.

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Specializes in chemical dependency detox/psych.

My family members (mostly my in-laws) and my youngest daughter tend to let the cat out of the bag. I've also done it on occasion when I felt that they were under-staffed, and I knew I could help them out with some transfers, cares, etc. Also, most MD's tend to ask, if they don't know me, as I will sometimes let slip a question that is too-nursey. (Like the above poster that asked about a Chem 7). My personal physician, daughter's pediatrician, staff at the clinic all know I'm a RN, but then it is a small town, and it's hard to hide info like that. Of course, it doesn't help when your little kid proclaims to everyone, "My mom's a nurse!"

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