I am in a two year RN program at a community college. I have a law degree, and I am studying nursing so I can do HealthCare Law or Medical Malpractice. No one at my school knows that I have a law degree (except the administrator), and I don't plan to tell them, because I don't want to answer legal questions for the next two years, or draw attention to myself.
Sadly, I am disappointed with many of my classmates in nursing school. They are very boring to talk to and somewhat blue-collar-ish. I am always friendly towards them, but half of them don't return my friendly gestures because they probably don't understand my nature (I am shy and reserved, but pleasant). My classmates in law school were just so much more interesting, and friendly! I got along great with all of them. I was expecting to really like my nursing classmates too, because I thought most nurses were really nice people. But these people are just working class snobs (they don't like anyone who does not act working class like them).
I probably should have applied to a Masters level Nursing program, in order to find people like myself in nursing school.
I was just wondering if others out there are a "fish out of water" in their nursing programs.
I try to imagine the disdain in which he'll hold his patients, most of whom will be far poorer and far less classy than even those rotten nursing students.
Since I was older and established when I went to school I was in a different spot financially than most of my classmates so I didn't exactly find my mirror image there either. No doubt nursing school attracts some super bright students and some that are not so bright but I would just expect a little more decorum when discussing the differences from someone as sophisticated as the OP.
no offense but it sounds like you are being the snobbish one,.... saying that maybe you'd find better friends in a masters program. get to know people, you may be pleasantly surprised. i'm in a nursing program and i'm one of the youngest ones, my best friends in the program have atleast 20 years on me and i'm sure they judged me at first. how long have you been in the program? dn't write everyone off immediately, i'm positive you're not the only one with a degree, there are people in my school with previous masters, a physical therapist, people from all walks of life, nursing is such a unique field..its the career many people are turning to later in life, good luck!!!
Since I was older and established when I went to school I was in a different spot financially than most of my classmates so I didn't exactly find my mirror image there either. No doubt nursing school attracts some super bright students and some that are not so bright but I would just expect a little more decorum when discussing the differences from someone as sophisticated as the OP.
Couldn't have said that better.
I have to admit, I was a bit put out by the "blue-collarish" comment. Some of the most intelligent and bright people, who could also hold a conversation in any setting on any topic..were just that .."blue collar". And the most interesting, well-versed person I have ever met was a man with a fifth grade education. His education was life and his experiences. And the woman with more degrees and prestige than anyone I have ever met would bore most people to tears, she had no skills in communicating with people, in any way, shape or form.
"Brightness" and "intellegence" and advanced degrees does not always equal great conversationalists, nor does lower educational levels or careers/jobs equal boring and uneducated.
I think that perhaps, the fellow students in the OP's setting just aren't interesting to her/him, I think it might not have anything to do with their socio-economic status, education, or intelligence, its a matter of commonality (as in things in common with the OP, not that they are "common" people).
by the way my father has been a lawyer for 35 years.. . and he gets along with blue collar, white and any color collar.... he loves talking to people and getting to know them... he is so easy going you wouldn't even know he was a lawyer...
he has never said to me " that person is boring or silly " .. he laughs and loves people for who they are... you can be a lawyer and be a snob or you can be a lawyer and love people for who they are...
to me being a lawyer is no different than working in a factory .. a job is a job... you put your pants on one leg at a time like the rest of us...
my dad married a nurse and my sister and i hae been nurses for a long time.. he has never said to me " nursing is so blue collar" .. who cares what color your collar is..
you are put on this earth to help people and thats what you do...
i grew up in a well known NY family .. we owned a chain of shoe stores and also a factory and many homes... my grandmother would look down on people because they had linoleum on their floors , i would go with her to collect rent from the apts we owned, i would hold on her fox tail coat , after she collected rent we went to Lord and Taylor for shopping and lots of other fun places...
she looked down on these people because they weren't like her... she was a snob..my dad still lives in our main family home in hudson NY..
you act like a snob to me .. i know many NY family who are snobs... and believe me i know with the best ... when my NY friends found out i was in nursing school .. they loved it ... they thought it was cool... ... i found out they weren't as bad as i thought...
nurses are respected and i love being a RN and so does my sister.. my mom was a RN for 50 years... she went to nursing school when she was young and in the convent... then she met my dad and it was love... back then he was in the army and went to vietnam and korea .. he went to law school after he got out of the army...
he didn't take the easyway and just live off his mom and dad's money .. he did it on his own.. and they were proud..
this is a new life expirence for you.. take this and learn from it , enjoy the people you meet and get to know them... love them for who they are... because they are loved and have families and you may get to like them.... i did ..
Am I supposed to dumb-myself-down to protect the egos of people who were not as lucky to go to law school? Wouldn't that be a huge insult to them? I like my classmates and accept them for who they are. But unfortunately they cannot do the same with me. I guess this will be an issue for me all throughout nursing, and I will just have to get used to being a loner in nursing school. But these people better not call me when they commit medical malpractice and need legal advice!
There is a BIG difference between dumbing yourself down and being friendly. And people CAN tell if you're taking the dumbing-down route with them--which will just serve to continue isolating you. After all, people are not going to want to reach out to you if they feel you are treating them like they're beneath you.
You just started school too...so give it a while. Just continue to be accepting and open and try not to be judgemental or holier-than-thou (which despite any protests you may mount, I suspect you may be doing without realizing you are doing it--after all, look at the responses you got in this thread--and so is something for you to really consider). Also, you'll start to get to know each other better, and when it comes time for clinicals, you'll get to really know each other in smaller groups. Plus those NS tests are great equalizers.
You won't be BFF forever with everyone, and that's fine. But perhaps a few connections will start forming if you are willing to let them form. But give them and your classmates time.
Exactly! I really can't help my "bearing." Law school changed me, and made me smarter and calmer.
School doesn't MAKE you smarter. You are born with all the intelligence you will ever have.
I don't know you but the 'snob' vibes are flying out of my computer. Learn to be a human being. The whole law school thing is WHOLLY unimpressive. Law school doesn't mean you are smart. It means you are a hard worker.
People are people. I think you should focus less on learning to deal with these people and focus more on your own attitude and ideas.
It seems like no one read what the OP wrote. She said that she LIKES her classmates and is very friendly to them, and that she comes from a blue-collar background too, and does not hold that against anyone. But many of you are calling her a snob. It sounds like her classmates are the snobs, not her.
Blue-collar people can be just as snobby as rich people. It's just a reverse kind of snobbery, based on jealousy. And I suspect that is what the OP is experiencing, and what she is complaining about.
If she came from a working class background, no one handed her that law degree, and she probably borrowed $100,000+ to earn it. It's a shame that people see her as elitist just because she was ambitious and wanted to achieve something special.
..we are not callin her a snob bc of law degree, i think a lot of us are seeing an attitude being protrayed even through text, she seems quick to call her classmates boring and NOT SMART in posts, i know it turned me off and many others. we are all working really hard in school, no doubt, and it hurts to see someone coming in and saying that just because she is not in a masters program she can't find anyone on 'her level'.
I do not understand the statement regarding not holding anything against someone for being a "blue-collar" worker. I believe that statement says it all. Why in the world would that ever even cross someones mind to say if they did not have a bit of a prejudice against the people who work blue collar jobs.
Working a blue collar job in know way means someone is less intelligent than the white collar worker. All it means is that you chose a different career.
At first when I read the post, I was a little angry. Feeling the same way most of you feel. This is evidenced by my initial post on page 1 or 2. It is easy to jump down the Ops throat as we have. I think everyone should take one deep breath, and cool down. The op has decided to share her frustration with NS, as many of us have done before. We should offer her words of encouragement, and support. True, maybe the op should of held back some of her feelings, or posted them on a J.D. forum. I seriously doubt the op will post again if the lynch mob is unleashed, and she is probably feeling worse.
Bortaz, MSN, RN
2,628 Posts
I try to imagine the disdain in which he'll hold his patients, most of whom will be far poorer and far less classy than even those rotten nursing students.