I am beginning to see that this is not always wise to do. I hear from some of my nurse friends that neighbors will knock on your door in the middle of the night to come and help their sick relatives, then possibly blame you later if things go south, even with your intervention. One friend in particular told me that her husband witnessed an accident on the highway around the corner from her home. He tells one of the motorists to come with him, because his wife is a nurse and will 'fix him up'. She was outraged. Another friend of mine told me that she gets approached when going to her gym when people do not feel well. Basically, she feels that it is an invasion of her private time.
I travel by public transportation to work, and because I do not have a locker, I wear my uniform. I have my MP3 player on and trying to relax to the music before I get bombarded at the job. People will sit next to me, tap me and ask me a slew of health related questions. I feel that I have no chart before me, no labs, no history,so I tell them that legally, I am not comfortable answering their questions. Then, they get rude; saying that nurses are supposed to care. Hey, I do! This is why I refuse to answer questions inaccurately. At times, patients are not the right source of information, it is fragmented, or they tell you what they wish for you to know. Why give wrong information? I have had people invite me to places "...because so and so will be there, she/he is sick, and it would be a comfort to know that a nurse is around..." therefore, I have refused these invitations. I am not experienced, and while I know that it is true, we are nurses 24/7, we need a break as well. I've had close friends call me and ask me to come 'check out my grandmother...etc'.
I love being a nurse (most days, when I am not burned out). But, I don't want to be taxed of my time, or face a lawsuit. The same person you help may be the person who wants to sue you later for damages. Better safe than sorry, I say.
Specializes in telemetry, long-term care, oncology.
I work in a small town, everybody knows what everybody does. When I board a plane I do tell the flight attendent that I'm an RN, if they ever need help. Oh yeah, I wear a pin on my jacket that tells people also.
I don't tell anyone what my occupation is. When I worked at the bedside, my shoes and Stethoscope would be put in a box in the trunk of my car as soon as work was over. I have a friend who will tell everyone within earshot that she's a nurse, I told her to have the word "NURSE" tattooed on her forehead.
Specializes in home health, neuro, palliative care.
So, people, especially ladies, please, don't wear your scrubs in Wal-mart, especially @ 2am in the morning. And don't tell anyone you don't know about your profession. It almost cost me my life. Those crooks could've mugged anyone, but they chose me because I had on scrubs. And I'm not a short, thin woman, either. I am tall, large framed and I "look" tough. They skipped over a little old man and mugged me. So, What does that tell us?
This whole special victim thing seems a little urban mythic to me. Is there any real evidence that nurses are "targeted" by criminals in this way? There was Richard Speck, I guess...
How do you know they chose you because of your scrubs? Did they say something? A purse is easier to snatch than force someone to hand over their wallet, and you are certainly likely to be carrying more cash and CCs than a little old man. No offense, but it seems that it was chasing after the car that almost got you killed, not wearing scrubs to Walmart (although being at Walmart alone at 2am is a little sketchy, too).
Here are my suspicions on why a nurse would be widely regarded as an easy target.
1. We're stereotypically regarded as 'caring' and 'compassionate,' and are probably not expected to do any harm to the assailant who attempts to mug us in the dark parking lot. The criminal element might not expect us to fight back when they attack.
An assailant would be in for a very long day after I "lay my healing hands upon him" :pumpiron:
Of course, at 6'4" and 385 lb, it really doesn't come up much.
I am very used to people expecting free advice/service from my previous career as a computer guy. It always comes accompanied by "I'm making dinner". Gee thanks. Never mind the $100 per hour this would cost you if you were planning on paying, I'd much rather have your dried out meatloaf. I can hardly wait.
I tried politely declining. I tried rudely declining. The problem children wouldn't get the hint. So I tried a new tactic: I set up a time to come over and fix their computer, and didn't go. They would call and reschedule, and I'd set up another time, and not go. Nobody calls anymore.
My relatives all know, of course... as do the neighbors that live near me. Other than that, I tend not to announce it. I am not interested in having to be an RN while I'm off my hospital's clock.
I have been an RN for donkeys years and proud to be known as such.
The only thing that I do not do is try to do charity work when I can avoid it. I always give reasons why I cannot do whatever someone wants to coerce me into practicing out bof hours e.g- a pregnant lady wanted to engage me to assist her to have a home delivery simply because I am RN/RM !! This can involve a lot of legal implications if something goes amiss!! I simply say NO! and fullstop. I do not mind applying first aid measures in an emergency but not more than that and I think that is proffessional.
Sometimes it gets too hot to cover your uniform with a cardigan and u only have your wits to save u from the public's reaction.:cheers:
I am so proud of becoming a nurse. I have to state that right from the get go. I waited till my children were grown, and then started my education to become a nurse, I had a few set backs along the way...but, I did it....and YES, I AM proud to be a nurse. I will be 50 years old in a couple of days...and I am a new graduate nurse (RN). No, I do not run amok telling all and sundry. And yes, I do have a pin that my son bought me on graduation that says my name followed by REGISTERED NURSE. If I had vanity plates to go on my car proclaiming my achievement, I would have them on there also....My point is, that we have all worked hard to achieve this goal, and most of us wanted to do this to help others....not just in a place of employment, but because that is what is in our nature. I do not personally believe that because we wear scrubs, that Nominates us as victim of the day. Circumstance nominates us for that (wrong place/wrong time...right perpetrator) If we remain a victim after that, that is because either conciously or unconciously we Choose to be. Oh my...I did get on my high horse there, didn't I? I guess what I am trying to say....is NO I do not hide the fact that I am a Nurse (I am too darned proud of the fact to hide it).
Most people know what I do because I live and work in a rural community, but I don't tell anyone unless they ask me what I do. And if someone asks for my advice about something...I will say I can't give you medical advice on behalf of my nursing background, but I can tell you what I would do if I were in that situation personally. If it is something serious I will tell them that it would be wise to consult their MD.
I am so proud of becoming a nurse. I have to state that right from the get go. I waited till my children were grown, and then started my education to become a nurse, I had a few set backs along the way...but, I did it....and YES, I AM proud to be a nurse. I will be 50 years old in a couple of days...and I am a new graduate nurse (RN). No, I do not run amok telling all and sundry. And yes, I do have a pin that my son bought me on graduation that says my name followed by REGISTERED NURSE. If I had vanity plates to go on my car proclaiming my achievement, I would have them on there also....My point is, that we have all worked hard to achieve this goal, and most of us wanted to do this to help others....not just in a place of employment, but because that is what is in our nature. I do not personally believe that because we wear scrubs, that Nominates us as victim of the day. Circumstance nominates us for that (wrong place/wrong time...right perpetrator) If we remain a victim after that, that is because either conciously or unconciously we Choose to be. Oh my...I did get on my high horse there, didn't I? I guess what I am trying to say....is NO I do not hide the fact that I am a Nurse (I am too darned proud of the fact to hide it).
I am proud to be a nurse as well, but you have to realize that if someone (off the street or in your neighborhood...etc) asks for some kind of advice and you give them the wrong answer and it has a bad outcome...do you want them running around telling everyone well nurse so and so told me to do this...might ruin your reputation. I mean if you come up on an accident and you stop and something doesn't go right they can't get your license as long as you were acting in the scope of your practice.
I'm definitely proud of being a RN, BSN. But.... I grew up in a medical family. My father is a M.D. and my mother is a RN. We always had people calling or needing something.... even if that meant calling our house at 2 in the morning. My dad was always asked to call in prescriptions or dig out of our personal "medicine closet" with all of the samples he received from reps. We've even been asked to mail samples for people when they are sick.
So when I became a RN I guess I didn't really prepare myself for people nagging me as well. Well, now I'm the go to for all of my friends or anybody that even slightly knows how I am. I'm asked all the time to call in prescriptions for my father since he considers my mother and I his personal nurse. We do it only for people we are extremely close with but a lot of people are just moochers. I have had one of my friends personally and truthfully tell me that she was asking me about chest pain she was having so she wouldn't have to go to the doctor and spend money if it turned out to be nothing. How rude. That's the only time she calls or e-mails. It's sad, really. So I'm extremely exhausted from people asking to assess them. I'm a L&D nurse not a general floor nurse! GO TO THE DOCTOR FOR PETE'S SAKE! That's what they are there for!!!
I'm still a nursing student, so I'm lucky that I don't have to say much. My nurse friends are vastly different though. One doesn't say anything unless she's specifically asked. One has to announce it to the world, and one slips it in during a casual conversation. I won't buy anything nursey until after I pass boards... don't want to jinx myself....
i had to laugh while reading the other posts and comparing my situation. most of my friends, neighbors, etc. know i am ahospice nurse and i'm never bothered. even when i tried to help a gentleman at a meeting last week who was sob he saw it was me and said "thanks but i don't need you yet." like i have a bottle of morphine in my pocket just waiting. oh well i guess there are some perks to being seen as an angel of death.:innerconf
rpric7990
28 Posts
I work in a small town, everybody knows what everybody does. When I board a plane I do tell the flight attendent that I'm an RN, if they ever need help. Oh yeah, I wear a pin on my jacket that tells people also.