This thread might draw ire, but I feel that it has to be said.
In my carefully considered opinion, one of the biggest things that holds nursing back as a profession is what I view as a high school dropout mentality. Those who have this mentality act as if being an RN gives you the right to bully others. It takes its shape in unprofessional behavior of all kinds, including publicly "calling out" other nurses on the floor, yelling at other nurses in front of patients, lecturing new people about their many years of experience on the floor, and constantly complaining about the facility, the people in it, and gossiping and backstabbing people. You all know people who fit this description to a T at work.
Here is what I discovered through my dealings with these types. Certain groups tend to have high numbers of individuals with this mentality, and they include nurses who were adult learners, community college students, former LPNs, former CNAs, and people who actually did drop out of high school in their teens. Meanwhile, BSN students and second degree nursing students tend to not have this high school dropout mentality. Is that because BSN and second degree students are just less likely to actually have dropped out of high school than the groups I listed above? Maybe.
"Getting my RN" and becoming a floor nurse is seen as the biggest accomplishment in the world by these groups. Becoming an RN is a worthy accomplishment to be sure, but acting like it's the highest honor in the world is rather pretentious. I am not bashing associate degree nurses. I myself graduated with an associate degree in nursing and am pursuing a BSN while working.
Before anyone says it, I realize that most people within these groups are normal, everyday people trying to make a living. But isn't that part of what holds nursing back? I want nursing to attract the best and the brightest. I want people who see it as more than a paycheck. I want people who are interested in professional advancement, education, and research, not people who are content with being a ratty, shat-on-her-scrubs floor nurse in a nursing home for twenty years in order to support three adult children who are on welfare. The kind of nurse who long ago forgot if your appendix is on your left or right side of your body. The kind who doesn't care about the science.
Does anyone want to weigh in? Use this thread to discuss your thoughts and feelings about the high school dropout mentality in nursing. Do you believe it exists? Or do you believe it is imagined? Use this thread to discuss ways in which we can raise the standards of the everyday nurse and stop low class, ignorant behavior.
Wow, that was biased. I am a high-school dropout who got my GED because I was sick of getting beaten at home & honestly, i've found that very few people at my work act like this, but the 2/50 who do have their BSN. I feel that if you are a "low class, ignorant person" that is probably just how you are, and maybe you should reflect on what you say before you say (or post) it.
Does anyone want to weigh in? Use this thread to discuss your thoughts and feelings about the high school dropout mentality in nursing. Do you believe it exists? Or do you believe it is imagined? Use this thread to discuss ways in which we can raise the standards of the everyday nurse and stop low class, ignorant behavior.
As someone who finished high school on time and went on to obtain two college degrees, I would have to say I disagree that there is a "high school dropout mentality in nursing."
Secondly, as already noted in prior posts, bad behavior as described in the OP is absolutely not limited to those who who lack a BSN or other similar or higher degree.
As I read the original post, I honestly wondered if the OP posted this thread with the express intent to be incendiary.
There's often a little more to it than that, such as their reasons for quitting school. Writing off "whatever reason" as something unrelated to the identity of a high school dropout is flawed.High school dropouts are often marred by behavioral issues, drug use, lack of work ethic, low socioeconomic background, abusive homelives, lack of interest in education, lack of motivation. High school dropouts exhibit these characteristics way more than high school graduates, and WAY WAY more than high school graduates who go on to obtain a bachelors degree. High school dropout mentality encompasses the attitudes that lead to the behavior I described above. Do you want that in nursing? Even if someone reforms by stopping the bad behavior, the underlying attitudes are still there, veiled underneath the mask of a professional title.
I honestly believe that that is why so many low class people who become nurses end up like such jerks. They come from nothing and are then exposed to "professional status" without having the manners and tact that goes along with it. And then they become "drunk" on their new title and perceived authority.
No, I don't consider such a person anywhere near the brightest. I consider Yale school of nursing graduates among the brightest.
Or, I just don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
I disagree with nearly everything you said. I certainly didn't come from money, I grew up in an abusive household with an alcoholic father who gambled away more money than he made. I guess that qualifies me as "low class" in your books. Still, I graduated 6th in my high school class of 300 and went directly into a top 40 university that has one of the "best" nursing programs in the country and graduated with my BSN. I put myself through it with student loans and grants. And yes, finishing the program and attaining my RN were among the biggest accomplishments in my life at that point. What kind of huge accomplishments do you expect from your average 22 year old?
It sounds like you are saying only people who were handed everything on a silver platter and have Daddies who can afford to pay for their 4 year education should be nurses. "Low class people need not apply." Give me a break.
People who overcome the cards they are dealt get way more credit in my books than those who've had everything handed to them and then some. I work with several nurses who grew up in the developing world, came to the US and went on to become nurses. I do not notice any negative qualities about them because they came from a "low class" background.
You must be a bully to the 'N'th degree to have even posted this. You are probably a pompous a$$, with a heII of a chip on your shoulder!
Bullying and rude behavior are not necessarily related to educational level, and you should be ashamed for even thinking about it that way.
My best friend's mom died when she was only 13, and her dad expected her to take over all the household chores. He told her she would never amount to anything, anyway, so she should just take care of her younger sibs. He eventually remarried, and convinced the new mom that my friend would do all the housework so she could just take it easy. At 15, my friend ran away. Lived with friends, etc. Eventually, in her early 30's, despite being called stupid and worthless all of her life, she enrolled in nursing school.
She became a fine, caring, wonderful nurse. Of course!!!
You know WilReg, I looked at all of the posts you have started and here are words the title from all of them except the fiasco you have posted today: "Tired Of" , "Annoyed By", "Discrimination Against".
When everybody in the army is marching one way and you are marching the other, you might want to think about the fact that you are the one going the wrong way. Just sayin'.
The irony of your entire post, OP, is that by singling out a group of people (of whom you have gathered no evidence to support your claims) you are making cruel and degrading generalizations which could, in fact, be categorized as bullying.
Sincerely,
High school droupout with BA and BSN.
I don't think the original post meets the definition of bullying.
It's basically just someone talking out of their a$$.
read the ops other threads she or he has started, all this new grad seems to do is start negative, argumentative topics complaining about everone else.
I agree with the OP. I am not a nurse, but I have a BA from a well known four year college. In my comm college nursing prereqs the students were very insecure and bullying towards out group people. I had never seen anything like it and I reasoned it was because they felt insecure and unsure of themselves as community college students and not attending a four year college. The reason I say this is because I was bullied, but when I wore my college hoodie or hat everyone was nice to me (a little in awe) and the bullying stopped.
I found the most problematic people to be the younger students some late into their twenties and without a degree for whatever reason. The older students were usually polite and professional.
If I had my way, I would have dropped out in tenth grade, for personal reasons that had nothing to do with a negative attitude toward society. As it was, I figured out how to drop out and get away with it. I went to the administration and convinced them to allow me to graduate early, thereby, "dropping out", under what appeared to be a "favorable" light, but "dropping out" is what it was. I am somewhat offended by the tone of the OP in this thread.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
this thread might draw ire, but i feel that it has to be said.
in my carefully considered opinion, one of the biggest things that holds nursing back as a profession is what i view as a high school dropout mentality. those who have this mentality act as if being an rn gives you the right to bully others. it takes its shape in unprofessional behavior of all kinds, including publicly "calling out" other nurses on the floor, yelling at other nurses in front of patients, lecturing new people about their many years of experience on the floor, and constantly complaining about the facility, the people in it, and gossiping and backstabbing people. you all know people who fit this description to a t at work.
here is what i discovered through my dealings with these types. certain groups tend to have high numbers of individuals with this mentality, and they include nurses who were adult learners, community college students, former lpns, former cnas, and people who actually did drop out of high school in their teens. meanwhile, bsn students and second degree nursing students tend to not have this high school dropout mentality. is that because bsn and second degree students are just less likely to actually have dropped out of high school than the groups i listed above? maybe.
"getting my rn" and becoming a floor nurse is seen as the biggest accomplishment in the world by these groups. becoming an rn is a worthy accomplishment to be sure, but acting like it's the highest honor in the world is rather pretentious. i am not bashing associate degree nurses. i myself graduated with an associate degree in nursing and am pursuing a bsn while working.
before anyone says it, i realize that most people within these groups are normal, everyday people trying to make a living. but isn't that part of what holds nursing back? i want nursing to attract the best and the brightest. i want people who see it as more than a paycheck. i want people who are interested in professional advancement, education, and research, not people who are content with being a ratty, shat-on-her-scrubs floor nurse in a nursing home for twenty years in order to support three adult children who are on welfare. the kind of nurse who long ago forgot if your appendix is on your left or right side of your body. the kind who doesn't care about the science.
does anyone want to weigh in? use this thread to discuss your thoughts and feelings about the high school dropout mentality in nursing. do you believe it exists? or do you believe it is imagined? use this thread to discuss ways in which we can raise the standards of the everyday nurse and stop low class, ignorant behavior.
wow! i'm not sure which part of this inflammatory post to respond to first!
i've found that those who are most concerned about "bullying" in the workplace seem to be those who are actively involved in bullying behavior, whether they recognize themselves as bullies or not. the nurse who says, "i won't stand for it, so i gave her a piece of my mind" . . . probably a bully. the brand new nurse who wants to know how to go about reporting her preceptor for not wearing gloves . . . unless she's discussing sterile dressing change, which is another matter altogether -- probably a bully. i've not noticed that bullying behavior had much to do with education level, years of experience or socio-economic status. some people are bullies; others aren't. and some a predisposed to see bullying behavior everywhere they look . . . whether or not it exists.
"getting my rn" implies that there's an rn just lying there waiting for you to pick it up, which is hardly the case. it's incorrect, and it irritates the heck out of me. it is not, however, bullying behavior. and graduating from an accredited school of nursing, passing the licensing exam and becoming an rn really is a worthy accomplishment. i don't understand why you find the need to denigrate those who are justifiably proud of their accomplishment.
i want nurses who are proud of their degree -- whether it be an ad, a bsn or an msn, and who want to be nurses and take care of patients. attracting the "best and brightest" is a nice idea, but i'd like to see people entering the profession who really want to work with patients. working in a nursing home for twenty years -- whether it is to support three adult children or whether it is because you find geriatrics an interesting and fulfilling profession -- is a valid choice, and it's just as worthy of taking pride in as is climbing the "career ladder" in the tertiary teaching hospital. it's a challenging and worthwhile career; geriatric patients are some of the most complicated around if you're interested in the science. shame on you for putting down someone who is "content with being a ratty, shat on your scrubs floor nurse." without floor nurses, where would any of us be?
when did being a nurse cease to be a respected profession and begin to be just a steppingstone to some other job?
low class, ignorant behavior is a topic in and of itself, but i would suggest that putting down your fellow nurses because they want to stay at the bedside is one example.
so... in your opinion OP...what exactly is a low class person? You tend to be leaning towards poor people who have taken their chance in life and run with it. Quite offensive..
darrarizer
55 Posts
Wow, that was biased. I am a high-school dropout who got my GED because I was sick of getting beaten at home & honestly, i've found that very few people at my work act like this, but the 2/50 who do have their BSN. I feel that if you are a "low class, ignorant person" that is probably just how you are, and maybe you should reflect on what you say before you say (or post) it.