I'm getting really tired of the lack of respect I receive as a nurse. I would like to tell you about a recent example of something that infuriated me. I attended a Fantasia party (a home party for "sensual" items) at a friend's house a couple of nights ago. At one point, I left the room to use the washroom. Upon my return, the salesperson was showing off a "naughty nurse" outfit. The other guests of the party all enthusiastically agreed that I needed to buy that one. I like to think that I'm a pretty fun, open minded, easy going person, but this ticked me off! :angryfire I replied that I had no interest in such an outfit and as a professional nurse, I found it to be offensive. The conversation ended abruptly and the salesperson moved on to the "sexy maid" outfit. :icon_roll I think part of the reason that this upset me so much was that all of the other guests (including my friend who was the host) were female lawyers (traditionally a male profession). I have always got the feeling that my lawyer friend does not respect what I do. I get the impression that to her a nurse is someone who couldn't cut it in med school. Honestly, I haven't got all of my feelings on this subject worked out in my mind yet, but I do know that I have dedicated years of my life to getting where I am today. I completed a 3 year diploma nursing program 8 years ago. I did a 4 month critical care certificate program 5 years ago and most recently, I completed my BScN (I graduate tomorrow!). I have worked in a neuro/trauma ICU for 5 years. It is challenging work and I love it. Not just anyone can do it....I'm quite certain that my lawyer friend could not. I just want to scream that nurses are intelligent and play a huge part in our health care system. We are not hand maidens of the doctors and most importantly we're not doctor wannabes! Nursing and medicine are different professions and should be equally respected. I chose to be a nurse not because I couldn't get into med school, but because it was the right profession for me!!! However, I'm getting so frustrated with being looked down upon by society that I'm considering leaving the profession for one that garners more respect. This makes me very sad. Does anyone else feel this way?
Couldn't have said it better myself. You made an excellent point that makes me question, are men conditioned by other men to be "piggies?" Do they act like that because they are expected to? I respect that your man can stand up and say, "Nah, not for me" and can think bigger than animal instincts that BOTH genders stop at.
Or my personal favorite i get in reply is "Lighten up" when i take issue to degradement and objectification of women and/or nurses (have gotten that several times on this board alone.)
I guess after almost 30 years of existance on this planet, and noticing this objectifying crap getting worse, i guess i'm just flat out tired of it. I don't know what i get more annoyed at, the ones that flash it all out there for everyone to see, or the one that after doing that, whine later about how they aren't taken seriously, or looked at for their brains.
I'm definitely not insecure, i learned a long time ago that this is what i was born with, if people don't like it, it's their problem, not mine. But i also learned it doesn't take flashing T and A to make your mark in life, either.
I'm not a puritan either, but there's a lot to be said about leaving something for the imagination, yo.[/QUOTE]
Almost all of them regarded nurses as half-wits, or at the very least, people with no interest in intellectual or cultural pursuits. I find myself continually defending my decision to go back to school for nursing; it is so frustrating. I cannot understand where this attitude comes from...
You can't understand where this attitude is coming from? Well there are a multitude of sources. Tell me if you recognize any of these themes:
"Nurses: Dare to Care"
"Nurses: Strength, Committment, Compassion" (accompanied by a picture hand holding a heart)
"Nurses: Lifting Spirits, Touching Lives"
"Nurses: Healing from the Heart"
"Nurses: The Heart of Healthcare"
Now I ask you: does any of that suggest that nursing is an intellectual pursuit which requires a science background and rigorous studying? If I ever read any of these slogans -and this portrayal of nursing is the rule not the exception-, then I would think that all nurses need to do is to be able to "care" and "touch" people with "compassion". And who do you think is responsible for the above slogans? Nurses! Throw in damaging media images from non-nurses, both fictional and reality-based which depict nurses as mindless morons who do not make a single move without physician direction and now you can see why your friends believe as they do.
You can't understand where this attitude is coming from? Well there are a multitude of sources. Tell me if you recognize any of these themes:
"Nurses: Dare to Care"
"Nurses: Strength, Committment, Compassion" (accompanied by a picture hand holding a heart)
"Nurses: Lifting Spirits, Touching Lives"
"Nurses: Healing from the Heart"
"Nurses: The Heart of Healthcare"
Now I ask you: does any of that suggest that nursing is an intellectual pursuit which requires a science background and rigorous studying? If I ever read any of these slogans -and this portrayal of nursing is the rule not the exception-, then I would think that all nurses need to do is to be able to "care" and "touch" people with "compassion". And who do you think is responsible for the above slogans? Nurses! Throw in damaging media images from non-nurses, both fictional and reality-based which depict nurses as mindless morons who do not make a single move without physician direction and now you can see why your friends believe as they do.
You can't understand where this attitude is coming from? Well there are a multitude of sources. Tell me if you recognize any of these themes:
"Nurses: Dare to Care"
"Nurses: Strength, Committment, Compassion" (accompanied by a picture hand holding a heart)
"Nurses: Lifting Spirits, Touching Lives"
"Nurses: Healing from the Heart"
"Nurses: The Heart of Healthcare"
Now I ask you: does any of that suggest that nursing is an intellectual pursuit which requires a science background and rigorous studying? If I ever read any of these slogans -and this portrayal of nursing is the rule not the exception-, then I would think that all nurses need to do is to be able to "care" and "touch" people with "compassion". And who do you think is responsible for the above slogans? Nurses! Throw in damaging media images from non-nurses, both fictional and reality-based which depict nurses as mindless morons who do not make a single move without physician direction and now you can see why your friends believe as they do.
This stuff makes me roll my eyes when I see that:uhoh3: ... It's like, embarrassing.
Good post.
Forgot to add: there's this girl in one of my classes who has a "co-ed naked nursing" shirt that says "your butt is ours." Now THAT is embarrassing. It makes me want to hide.
we can thank the media. er has done well along w/ the teaching channels but watched a movie today, "corky romano" and one of the female fbi agents was posing as a private home rn, she was dressed in a digusting sex type outfit, guess that represented the media's image of us that are female in the profession although it was comedy.
buddiage
378 Posts
Couldn't have said it better myself. You made an excellent point that makes me question, are men conditioned by other men to be "piggies?" Do they act like that because they are expected to? I respect that your man can stand up and say, "Nah, not for me" and can think bigger than animal instincts that BOTH genders stop at.