Do You Announce That You're a Nurse?

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2008

I wear a charm on my necklace with the RN symbol. I dont know how long I will wear it for. I paid 19.99 for it off ebay and in turn took off my diamond/ saphire pendant.

I know--some day soon I will put my good jewels back on, right now with me being a relativly new grad (dec 07) I still have that I love being a nurse feeling!!! I was going to get an RN lic plate and my best friend (also an RN) begged me not too....said enough already, I carry the RN bag, drink out of the RN coffee cup and wear the RN necklace....

So Ya, Iam proud to be a nurse...but back to the orginal post--only once since graduation did I have a child at an out of city hospital, and I did tell them I was a nurse, because I asked the RN why she was only programming the IV pump to put in 200 at a time. She said it was thier little type of alarm system so they would check on the pt every 2 hours. I said, "oh that is a good idea" and then she asked if I was a nurse since I asked about the pumps programing.

I almost shouldnt have though, becuase at that time I was a concerned mother and I think they the nursing staff felt they did not need to check on him as much since a nurse was in the room.

ilstu99 · Jul 18, 2008

I had a pt in the ED and the SO was a nurse but did not tell me that at first ,no big deal, and SO is asking me oh what are you hanging? Is it D5 or NS? I said LR knowing that the SO apparently was trying to hint that he/she was in the med field. Then con't asking q's which is fine then finally the SO said oh so&so's a nurse. I thought to myself no **** he/she's only been dropping not so suttle hints.
Okay that's fine if you are in the med field but do you have to make it a point to be known to me? I really don't care if you are or not your family member will be getting the same tx that the rest of my pt's do. Do you think that by saying you are a nurse or anybody in the med field that you will get better care than other pt's. Do you announce that you are a nurse to med staff when a family member is being tx for something? I don't.
It's really not that big of a deal but it just sort of annoys me because I'll do my job just the same not matter if your joe blow off the street or the hosp CEO.
Sorry just wanted to get that out.

It depends on the situation. My husband's MD knows I'm a nurse, because it allows him to be cared for at home after his treatment/procedures, rather than to have to be in-patient overnight. I also told the MD when my daughter was treated in the ED, for the same reason. I might also tell healthcare staff when I feel like they aren't being forthcoming/direct because they feel as though we might not understand the situation.

I guess....I don't tell people because I want them to be "impressed," or to change their level of care.....but because I want them to know that I understand. As a nurse....I also like to know. It helps me with the way I might explain something to my patient's family.

RN1989 · Jul 18, 2008

It depends on what is going on. There have been times that I saw major booboos and I immediately spoke up. Suddenly things changed and were done properly. Other times I just sit back and watch. I may ask questions but when you are a nurse, you pick up on things without lots of questions. Like the situation with the IVF - I'd have waited until you left the room and then gotten up and looked at the bag. Sometimes you have to tell and other times it isn't worth it because thing are going as planned.

I don't give any better or worse care when I know someone in the family is a nurse. If I know they are a nurse though, I am much more likely to speak to them as a colleague instead of "the patient's family" and this puts them at ease when I can tell them what is ordered and not have to explain everything in lay terms.

S.N. Visit, BSN, RN · Jul 18, 2008

I've only been in the hospital myself since becoming a nurse, and I did let my nurse know...when she asked what kind of work do I do. I appreciated being pro-active in my care. She let me decide on what PRN's i wanted. Pt teaching was so much easier for her, as I was already emptying my JP drains, and doing my incentive spirometer.

When visiting Dr's for my husband or children, I often act as an interpreter for medical terms to layman's terms. Staff will usually then ask if I'm a nurse.

JaneyW · Jul 18, 2008

I tend to volunteer that I am a nurse when things are being explained too simplistically or not at all--like it would be to difficult to explain in layman's terms. It bothers me that I have to do that because all healthcare people should be able to explain what they do in terms that lay people can understand--we were drilled that in nursing school. Although I admit I like having nurse family members and patients because it is easier to discuss what is going on.

Heck, I even got a better explanation at the vet the other day when I told him I was a nurse!

miko014 · Jul 18, 2008

I don't have a problem with knowing if family includes a nurse or two. It can actually be kind of nice for all concerned, because the pt feels like they have someone who "knows what's going on", and we don't have to spend as much time re-explaining things.

The problems come when the family member nurse starts "throwing their weight around" and acting like deserve preferential treatment, or acting like the people taking care of their family member are stupid/lazy/incompetent, etc.

You do have to be careful in that situation, though, because if you have nurse who works in a completely different area from where the pt is, they might hesitate to ask questions because they don't want to seem ignorant - I know it seems silly, but it happens!

Smokey9283 · Jul 18, 2008

Like many of the other posters are stating, I think it is situational. My wife and I are having our first child in December and the first visit to the obgyn she asked what kind of work my wife and I do. I had no intention of telling her what I did for a living unless she asked. Also, I doctor in the same healthcare system that I work. So most of the doctors and nurses that I see when I am a patient already know that I am a nurse.

iteachob, MSN, RN · Jul 18, 2008

While I actually do not like to announce it.....sometimes it becomes very obvious. The last time my 6 year old was in the ER (for dehydration), I actually had to show the nurse how to set the pump correctly. She had no clue what she was doing.

Also, the fact that I'm an RN is WELL KNOWN (whether I like it or not) at our local hospital. I have literally hundred's of ex-students working there.

Lpn1997 · Jul 18, 2008

I don't usually annouce the fact that I am a nurse unless something isn't going right or someone isn't doing something that they should. I don't think that me being a nurse is usually relevent when I or my kids are at the doctor's office. When I was in the hospital for surgery and had to stay for 4 days, I never let on that I was a nurse until someone picked up on the fact that I was referring to my labs as H&H instead of just asking if I was anemic or whatever. This was a very busy ICU stepdown unit, and once they found out that I was a nurse, my level of care changed dramatically. I guess they assumed that I could handle my drains and Gtube on my own since they just kind of turned the whole show over to me at that point...even though I was halfway out of it on heavy pain meds and could barely move due to the surgery. All of this is meant to say that revealing that you are a nurse has its advantages, however be prepared for the possibility of having to accept more "responsibility" since some caregivers will automatically expect you to act as a nurse instead of acting as a patient. Some people announce the nursing thing just because they are still in the bragging stage.

TLCinCICU · Jul 18, 2008

In the situation you describe, it sounds more as if the patient was announcing the SO was a nurse. Therefore he/she was probably thinking they were explaining the SO's annoying behavior to you, possibly to help you feel more at ease.

I like knowing if any immediate family is in the field, personally. It helps me tailor explanations for what I'm doing, what medications I'm using, etc. And often, that nurse in the family will recognize more quickly than the remainder of the visitors just how serious the situation is.

lvnandmomx3 · Jul 18, 2008

I also agree that it is situational. No one in my family has been tx as an inpatient since I became a nurse though. We have been to the Dr.'s office pleanty of times and none have warrented me telling them that I am a nurse. We live in a gated communinty and, unfortuinitley, my neighbors know that I am nurse, and so far I have had 2 separate occasions where someone knocked on my door asking advise (one emergent situation and after 12am). The emergent one I told them to call 911 that there was not really anything I could do. The other told them to call thier Dr. to seek medical advise. Its not that I don't know the info but I do not want something to happen and then have them come back and said" well you said XXXX". KWIM