I'm in my mid-30s, but I guess scrubs make me look young. I assume this is the reason why I am often asked by my patients, "How long have you been a nurse?"
I am a second-career nurse, and the answer is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 1/2 years. And I've only been in the ICU setting for 6 months.
So I find myself lying to my pts a lot. 5 years seems a nice round number. I don't want them to doubt my competence as a result of my lack of years of experience.
I'm sure it's a silly hangup. I'm just wondering if other people do the same, or if you don't, do you have a smarty-pants retort if they make a comment about how you haven't been a nurse very long?
P.S. They ask me this during our first meeting, not because I've done something stupid or clumsy to make them think I'm inexperienced. I think it's purely my looks.
I'm honest. If they get nervous about it I work a little harder at gaining their confidence. In another couple months I can finally start saying a year lol
I was just asked this the other day for the first time! I interpreted it as, "how long have you worked here?" which is really less than 2 months and it seems like a very short amount of time! I passed boards in August so I said, "August" since I legally became a nurse then. I'm a second degree RN in my mid 40's so it's a bit odd for me as I was rarely asked how long I had been teaching when I taught kids or adults.
Even when I was really new I just said the actual length of time I'd been a nurse. In my experience if you just say it calmly and matter of factly there shouldn't be a problem...unless you seem very ill at ease or they are one of those patients who will be pleased by nothing.
I passed NCLEX in June 2012 but due to the new grad job market, didn't start working until about a year and a half ago. When they ask how long I've been a nurse I will tell them almost 3 years since that's technically true! I just haven't been a "working" nurse
When still a new/newish nurse, but as a second-career newbie who obviously wasn't fresh out of the gate, I met that line of questioning with "Long enough to know not to answer THAT question!" with a big smile and a chuckle. And ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS my patient/visitor who asked that question was put at ease....they assumed I'd been a nurse for eons (LOL), confirmed to them that I was totally on top of everything (I WAS, but telling them I had six months/one year/two years of experience wasn't going to enforce that for them).
I have enough years and enough experience under my belt now that I feel completely comfortable with an actual number..... but why bother? The VERY SAME answer, as stated above, continues to be met with a smile and returned laugh and results in an at-ease patient :)
It's one thing to deflect the question, but I have to doubt that every BON would have no problem with clearly lying about your nursing experience to a patient. Whether it's an accurate judge of your abilities as a nurse or not (it's not) a patient asking about years of experience could certainly be interpreted as an inquiry about your qualifications, and lying about anything related to your qualifications is usually grounds for immediate loss of license. I'm not saying that's right, but it's not what I think that counts when it comes to your license.
It's one thing to deflect the question, but I have to doubt that every BON would have no problem with clearly lying about your nursing experience to a patient. Whether it's an accurate judge of your abilities as a nurse or not (it's not) a patient asking about years of experience could certainly be interpreted as an inquiry about your qualifications, and lying about anything related to your qualifications is usually grounds for immediate loss of license. I'm not saying that's right, but it's not what I think that counts when it comes to your license.
I never thought it would be a BON issue but it's so contrary to our nursing ethics that it would never occur to me to be untruthful.
I've never lied and I've only been working as a nurse since June. I generally appear confident in front of them (even when i was "faking it till I made it") so when they ask me, they usually tell me they're shocked cuz I seem like such a good nurse that they expected me to say years. I've been lucky though because even if I didn't know something, my coworkers have been anazing at helping me to learn and not make me look incompetent with those new things. But no, never lied and never had anyone be nervous about that.
It's one thing to deflect the question, but I have to doubt that every BON would have no problem with clearly lying about your nursing experience to a patient. Whether it's an accurate judge of your abilities as a nurse or not (it's not) a patient asking about years of experience could certainly be interpreted as an inquiry about your qualifications, and lying about anything related to your qualifications is usually grounds for immediate loss of license. I'm not saying that's right, but it's not what I think that counts when it comes to your license.
I think you're right in theory, but in reality it would all be hearsay.
Veracity or obligation to tell the truth, is a part of the nursing code of ethics, if a patient realizes a nurse lied to them about how long they have worked, they may wonder what else the nurse is willing to lie about.
AZQuik
224 Posts
I'm honest. If they get nervous about it I work a little harder at gaining their confidence. In another couple months I can finally start saying a year lol
Haven't had an issue yet!
BSN GCU 2014. ED Residency
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