Don't listen to the nurse

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 21, 2014

This one brings us 'round to Dr. Oz. Oh my.
Research confirms it: Dr. Oz dispenses a lot of medical advice with no scientific grounding - Quartz

Yep. Dr. Oz is one of the worst offenders. And because he is a celebrity, his half-baked goods reach millions of households who do not know any better.

Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN · Dec 21, 2014

Most people who claim to be doctors or nurses on the internet are not ...at least, it seems that way from some of the stupid things they say.

I've had an casual acquaintance ask me if I thought he should take the medication his cardiologist prescribed ...and a patient's relative ask me to let her know if a lump on her chest was "serious". Some people think we know everything (which is just as frustrating, although slightly more flattering).

hondaa · Dec 22, 2014

Very well said & sooo TRUE, unfortunately!!!

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Dec 22, 2014

ignorance is hard to reason with

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 22, 2014

I have always thought Dr. Oz was full of it.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Dec 22, 2014

Eh, I wouldn't give it much attention. There are times when *I* have told people to "not listen to the nurse" because I knew the nurse in question was giving them bad information OR they got the info wrong (but it was credited to the nurse, so....). Unfortunately, "the nurse said" isn't much of a Gold Standard, as WHAT "the nurse said" can sometimes be wrong. Yep, the doc can be wrong, too, and sometimes I've said "he's wrong, sorry" to someone quoting bad advice or misinformation. They're human and make mistakes, too, and I'd hate to have people doing things that don't make sense simply because "he/she said to".

I found when handling lactation issues with a newborn/very young baby, and it was Grandma who was being....'difficult'......I would use the phrase "this is what the doctor said to do" and suddenly it was all OK (generational thing). Would be funny if it wasn't tragic what we have to do sometimes! Doesn't matter WHAT 'doctor' said it, doesn't matter that MY credentials in lactation superceded anything the 'doctor' had to offer, LOL, my teaching and/or recommendations only had the right weight if 'the doctor said so'!

Libby1987 · Dec 22, 2014

I would have posted that the question should be, "What's the basis of the more conservative answer?"

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Dec 23, 2014

I would question why someone would go on social media to ask a questions like this.

Nibbles1 · Dec 23, 2014

I was listening to the radio yesterday morning. They were talking to a girl who didn't know she was pregnant. She says she blacks out when she's on her cycle. She described her symptoms which were off the wall crazy. I went home and was googling her symptoms. I ran across Yahoo Answers. Omgosh! You would not believe the crap people believe is true.

SubSippi · Dec 23, 2014

I was listening to the radio yesterday morning. They were talking to a girl who didn't know she was pregnant. She says she blacks out when she's on her cycle. She described her symptoms which were off the wall crazy. I went home and was googling her symptoms. I ran across Yahoo Answers. Omgosh! You would not believe the crap people believe is true.

Lordy, yahoo answers should not be allowed to let people post health related questions. Some of those things are SO WRONG!! Occasionally, there will be a knowledgable response by someone who claims to be a doctor or something. But I wouldn't be surprised if there was a direct link between the rises in teen pregnancy and std infections, and yahoo answers.

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Dec 23, 2014

I go to Yahoo Answers when I need a good laugh. I think once I read a question that said "Why don't they ever do a maternity test to see if they baby is the mother's?".

I was hoping the person was joking but I think they were serious. This is why I worry for future generations.