Do you tell people where you work?

[psu_213]

A fellow nurse with whom I work told me this story. She was at the gym in the hot tub (that's as risqué as this story gets :)). A fellow gym-goer said something to the effect of "boy, it's nice to come a weekday afternoon. It's not very busy." Leaving out the minutiae of the rest of the conversation, eventually the person asked this nurse what she did that let her be free on Wednesday afternoon (the conversation had been and at this point continues to be very pleasant). After saying that she is a nurse, the other person says "oh, that's great. Where do you work?" After the nurse names the hospital, the person's facial expression changes and she says "how can you work for such a corrupt hospital? Not to mention, that place is terrible...they killed my mother." After a short, awkward pause the nurse got out of the hot tub and walked away.

Do any nurses out there not tell people their line of work and/or not tell the hospital for which they work? I realize I was not there, but it seems like a not-to-personal question, but, hey, who knows where it will lead?

[DoeRN]

I hardly ever tell people I'm a nurse. And if they see me in scrubs and they ask I will say I'm a waitress. It's true you know. But if they catch my sarcasm I just say I work at a local hospital and leave it at that.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

If they ask, sure.

[krwrnbsn]

One of my good friends, who is a nurse, always tells people she is a mortician! I thinks it's hysterical. She doesn't get many questions after that.

[NurseDirtyBird]

I just say I work in the ER if the person seems real annoying. Then the next statement is always "Oh I bet you see a lot of crazy things".....

I also love the "What's the worst thing you've ever seen?" question. Everybody regrets asking that when I answer.

[BlueDevil,DNP, DNP, RN]

I rarely volunteer personal information, and then only the barest minimum necessary to keep from being blatantly rude. Always, always, always, turn the questions back on them. Most people don't care a whit about you and prefer to talk about themselves anyway.

People have not criticized my workplaces, but have criticized colleagues inappropriately. "So and so killed my mother..." when I know full and well they did no such thing. I will not be drawn in to such discussions. I just say something like "losing a parent is so hard." If they keep at it, I will spin it with a lot of happy memory type questions, like "What is your happiest memory of your Mom?" I can keep that stuff up indefinitely. There is nothing much more fun than refusing to play the game with irrationally angry people. I do that for sport.

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

I prefer NOT to tell people I don't know that I am a nurse because I'm afraid I will get bombarded with health questions, lol.

But if they do ask, I will tell. They also usually ask where I work and I reluctantly tell them. Not that I'm not proud of where I work but because I don't want to have to listen to "well I went to the ER and I had to wait 2 HOURS to get seen!" or something like that.

[Morainey, BSN, RN]

I only say that I'm a nurse, but if they ask I'll tell them. I have never gotten a negative response

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Do any nurses out there not tell people their line of work and/or not tell the hospital for which they work? I realize I was not there, but it seems like a not-to-personal question, but, hey, who knows where it will lead?

It is indeed a personal question, and I don't answer strangers' personal questions. :) A guy/gal at the gym (even if it's a person I see repeatedly) is a stranger.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

And by the way, my lower back has been hurting for three years, so what do I do about that?"

That's an easy one....just tell them to go to the nearest ER. Have them tell the ER staff that "the only thing that works for me is that stuff that starts with a 'D.' And tell them to push it fast."