Out of curiousity

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Not to start a big flame fest here....but I am just curious about why anyone would want to post on these boards if they are not a nurse or a nursing student. It would be like a nurse going and posting on a physician board...just because she knows some doctors and works in a hospital. I know many paramedics, but I would not think about going and joining a board for paramedics. I know that everyone has a right to post opinions, etc. anywhere they please, but for the life of me I can't figure out why someone would want to be here if they weren't a nurse or student nurse.

Micro :) Do you always talk about yourself in the 3rd person? Interesting to read :)

BrandyBSN

To be honest, if access were restricted to nurses only, and "guests" were only allowed exposure to certain areas, I'd be outta here.

The value to me of this board is the opportunity to get the full story of what nursing's like...both sides. I can get "happy talk" from newspapers, TV news stories, career books...the list goes on and on. But I can't get the real picture of what nursing's like anywhere else but here.

Not mad, not even the tiniest bit annoyed here, and if you all say "go away" I'll do it.

Melissa

Talk about opening up a can of worms. Isn't it amazing how the simplest of questions can set people off??

I must be missing something. I read the whole thread again, and I don't see that anyone's been upset. Must be time for those new glasses I've been needing...

Melissa

Melissa, your eyes are fine. No arguments here. :)

I want to politely and respectfully disagree with poor Mario. Not all nursing students are like those you discussed. There are three different schools in my area that use the same hospitals (actually four counting UWF's bridge to BSN) and most all of the students I've come in contact with (and there have been a bunch) are caring people who truly love nursing and are excited about getting to work. There are a couple of women in my class who have a yucky attitude but those of us who love it drown them out when they speak.

I LOVE being a nursing student and I can't wait to be a real nurse. Most of the nurse's I've met on the floors all have good attitudes as well. Maybe the sunshine and beaches help us down here. I don't know. :roll

OT: We took Mosby's practice NCLEX-RN today. 300 questions - OMG!!!!:eek: I'm scared now! HELP!!!!

Specializes in Hospice and palliative care.

I'm glad to hear there are students out there like Mario and Paula...sounds like we need more of them! :) Like every profession, nursing has its problems--no career is perfect. I would hope that those who go into nursing do it for the right reasons. If you want to be filthy rich, go find another career. But if you truly enjoy working with people and are interested in helping them achieve a better state of health, then welcome to the world of nursing!

Laurie :)

I want to gleefully and sincerely mention to indigent Paula the fact that I said "my" nursing school, and not "all" nursing schools. The increased solar radiation and heat may invigorate many students down there, where, it takes more understanding on my part to see that the dreary winter weather here may effect additudes.

I have the Kaplan NCLEX-RN prep workbook with CD-ROM. It says "Passing Guarenteed" or your money back. Good luck to everyone

Still, the independant and single nursing student, exists only in myth. I'm the only one. Proud and free!

I have seen lately the trend for non-nursing types to get quite hot under the collar when presented with life up close and personal in nursing. Mario, you are a good example of this. When the topics get hot and testy, you often take what is said in a venting moment (which nurses really NEED) personally and make statements regarding "is nursing REALLY a different world"? Not a bad question to ask, and the answer is YES.

It is different for so many reasons that you have to be in the world to understand. I came to this board after years as a LPN when I was in my last year in a three year nursing program. Even then, I read some of the posts, esp from RN's in critical care settings and DID not judge them, comment on them, BUT READ them with a kind of wonderment. Now that I work in ICU, I can understand them. Do you see where I am going with this?

Read and learn. However, I think some of us find it irritating when non-nursing types keep asking the question "is it really that different? than regular life........ are all nurses bitc***, do all nurses dance to Micheal Jackson's triller tunes". It is just plain silly and irritating. If non-nursing types really want to learn, just keep reading and asking REAL, SOLID questions.

Just my opinion.

And by the way, Mario, in my nursing class, we started with 110. 42 actually graduated. Of the 42, I would say, about 30 where young, under thirty types with NO KIDS, NEVER BEEN MARRIED and very SINGLE. 4 or 5 of them where young men, the rest young women. I am not sure where you are getting your ideas that you these young single nursing students are myth. I am now working with some of them.

Specializes in Pediatric Rehabilitation.
Originally posted by BrandyBSN

Micro :) Do you always talk about yourself in the 3rd person? Interesting to read :)

BrandyBSN

lol, Brandy! "Interesting"?? hmmm, I dunno..

after working all night, my brain has severe problems translating micro's language. with fatigue comes laziness..so I just skip 'em.

my loss cuz I hear micro has interesting input.

great to see ya back, brandy!!!

Specializes in Home Health.

I am not sure about the logistics of making this a nursing only BB. I would think the only way to do that is to register your nursing license, and that would mean someone would have to validate that info, and....what a PITA that would be!

As for a guest area, I presume anyone who would come to a site called "allnurses" is interested in reading what nurses have to say, not in what others have to say, they could go to a thousand other BB's to read that.

I don't care who reads what I say, whether they like it, or me, or whether or not they are a nurse. My reason for coming here is basically as a stress reliever. I get to vent, and last time I said a pt was nasty, geez, I got comment or to about how "aren't nurses supposed to have compassion?" These comments were by nurses I might add. They think that on the basis of one post, or even several if that were the case, it makes them able to judge my empathy and compassion? I hardly think so. If I can't come here and "let my hair down" and say what I want w/o having to worry about being politically correct all the time, I wouldn't even bother to log on either. As far as I am concerned, this is a site for nurses, that others can come to sort of "at your own risk," type of thing. So, I don't care if others come here, live and let live I say. If a non-nurse comes here and reads something they think is atrocious, well, then don't keep coming back.

Tell ya the truth, I have seen the true nature of most people when they wait in a grocery checkout line while someone has made a mistake or doesn't have enough money, or heaven forbid, they picked something that won't scan properly. Imagine if grocery checkers had their own BB and talked about their "patients" like that, and I went there to read what they say. I wouldn't be offended, b/c I know not all people behave like that in a grocery line, and not all people are a-holes, like when we sometimes refer to a pt who is one. :chuckle. Think about the very nastiest and meanest person you know. Now picture them having to have a colostomy or a mastectomy. That is an awful thing to happen to anyone, right? But, does the fact that this nasty person is now ill excuse their original behavior in a hospital? I don't care if they are sick, an a-hole is an a-hole, and if I want to call 'em as I see 'em, I will! If that means I lack compassion, well so be it! If someone thinks that just b/c I may refer to a pt or another nurse as an a-hole, that I would treat them cruelly, well that is just nuts. I may be cursing them under my breath, but I am still giving them the best possible nursing care that I can. You can't judge a nurse by what you read on a BB!!!!!! I am sure, in fact I know there a a rare few who annoy me here, but I don't think they are less of a nurse in real life.

So, in that respect, I do agree with Mario that people will be people, no matter what setting you work in. And, if they come here to read what I say, I have no problem with that, I do not feel threatened by it. I will keep on posting the same way I always have. I haven't seen anyone here who hasn't said right up front that they are not a nurse, so I have no problems with them posting either. And, I think it's great for students to come here and ask questions, and moderate, why not? It just shows their dedication in my opinion. IF we haven't scared them away from what they've read, they have what it takes to hang in there!! We need to nurture our young, not eat them! This is mean as a personal statement, not a slam to anyone here, OK?? Peace! :D

Interesting as it is, this BB is a learning tool for me. Nurses will post opinions that they NEVER would speak outloud or even want me to know they're thinking about me.

If I want the "whole enchillada" I simply express myself with a litte flair, a little personality, which is my true personality that I would NEVER express fully in person and I get an equally honest response. Honesty is not always pretty, but it is easily distiguishable from a shaded response here. You couldn't say the same is true when speaking to someone face-to-face.

When I post a question, I know when I'm getting a the standard response(which is what I would get in person), a rant session as a reaction to other issues or a well thought out response with an honest answer.

I don't think the BB should be partitioned. I think access by non-nursing people should be expanded to include the day to day issues. The real down-n-dirty.

How about a "Diaries" section where a nurse from each specialty could write their day to day struggles. It would have to be anonymouse so they could say exactly what they experienced . A chronological slice of the reality behind public misconceptions. From students to the nurse that's getting ready to retire they could all bear thier souls. Comments to the real-life episodes could have thier own threads so it wouldn't upset the chronological nature of true storylines. That would also keep the person free to post and the diary wouldn't be so difficult to read.

My motivation for becoming a nurse certainly is not for potential financial gain. Or the glamorus lifestyle as I confront the paparazzi taking pictures of me in my european summer home. I'll be taking a cut in pay when I go to work next year and I don't suppose anybody will even notice, let alone understand, what I've accomplished to get there and what I'll go through trying to just "be there" everyday. They'll have thier misconceptions fed to them by the media, hospital spokespeople and God forbid, hollywood.

This board is thier small glimpse into what that world is really like and a place where a person can say "I'm a Nurse" or "I want to be a Nurse" and most everyone here knows what that means. Where "male nurse" just means "Nurse" and not the usual stereotype. No eyebrows raised at the inevitable gore of the human condition or the embracing attention of a pathological rant.

Love it. Hate it.

I'm becoming a Nurse because that's what I am.

Brad

+ Add a Comment