Yes, nurses do wear stethoscopes at work. But not all of us do. You see, nurses are found in places beyond hospital walls. Nurses work at jobs outside of the doctor’s office. Nurses are involved with more than reading orders and passing meds.
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It is hard to believe that is has been two years since the 2015 Miss America scandal. If you are a nurse, you know the one. Daytime television hosts from the show, 'The View', mocked Miss Colorado and the fact that she was wearing a stethoscope on stage. So, it was no surprise that after these comments were aired, nurses were in an uproar about the profession of nursing and the value nurses bring to healthcare.
In fact, nurses across the country came together in an unprecedented way. The#NursesUnite hashtag blew up on social media and nurses from all over shared photos of themselves, proudly wearing the stethoscope at work. And even though I felt so inspired by my nursing colleagues, I wondered... are we leaving something out?
Yes, nurses do wear stethoscopes at work. But not all of us do. You see, nurses are found in places beyond hospital walls. Nurses work at jobs outside of the doctor's office. Nurses are involved with more than reading orders and passing meds.
So let us remember that there is so much more to nursing. And when we are out in the public, talking about what a nurse does... let's be mindful of the myths about nursing. Speak up to squash these false perceptions!
Here are 5 Myths about Nursing We Can Educate the Public On
Nurses only work in hospitals, emptying bedpans and following doctors' orders
As we know, this is not true at all. Nurses are business owners, researchers, speakers, and authors. Nurses can work in prisons, schools, religious institutions, and any branch of the military. Nurses can own nonprofits, volunteer on voyages abroad, work with computers, and even patent medical devices. Nurses are everywhere!
Nurses are people who were not smart enough to become doctors
As we know, this is totally false! In fact, many of the nurses that I have interviewed on the Your Next Shift Nursing Career podcast, tell me that they actually did consider medical school. And guess what? It was not the training required or the educational milestones that turned them away. It was the fact that they chose nursing because they saw it as a career that would allow them to do MORE for their patient. They felt that by becoming a nurse, and not a doctor, they would actually get to impact patient lives on a much larger scale.
Nurses are tired, unhealthy, stressed out people
No way! I see more and more nurse coaches, nurse fitness instructors, and nurses who are yoga teachers than ever before. Nurses are online teaching the public the importance of healthy eating. Nurses lead meditation classes and teach mindfulness workshops. In fact, organizations are starting to hire nurses (both in healthcare and non-healthcare settings) to help their employees be happy and healthy too!
Nurses do not have emotions and can handle it all
While a nurse is a very resilient being, they too feel things. When a patient dies, a nurse may mourn. When a new life is born, a nurse might see it as the most beautiful thing on earth. A nurse has feelings and needs downtime to recharge. In fact, recent studies on compassion fatigue and secondary trauma syndrome tell us that, like 'non-nurse' people, a nurse needs time to process what they are seeing at work and deal with their emotions. Nurses have feelings too!
Nurses wear scrubs
Sure, nurses who work in certain patient care settings will wear scrub uniforms. And you will also see a nurse wearing a lab coat. In fact, if you are treated by an Advanced Practice Nurse, such as a Nurse Practitioner, they may wear professional clothes with a white lab coat (just like a doctor may). So be careful when judging a book by its cover and stop with the Halloween nursing costumes. Nurses do not look like that!
Have you ever heard of a myth about nursing that was not true? What did you do to educate the public on the profession of nursing?
