What we do

[CABG patch kid, BSN, RN]

So, I just had to share this and vent with some fellow nurses here....

I've been working on a tele floor for the past year and am transitioning to the CCU right now. Over the weekend, I was having lunch with some friends and family and my future mother-in-law was asking me about my new position. After trying to explain a bit about working in a cardiac ICU (post open hearts, etc.), she says "So you get to start IVs now?!"

I mean, I know lay people don't know all the boring details of what it is we do (I have seen people's eyes glaze over when I try and tell them a few details about what it is I actually do at work), but seriously? Do people think that all we do is start IVs and do other little skills? Do they seriously not recognize the intellectual requirements of our job? I know this subject has probably been discussed before but just let me stand up on my soap box for a minute here because I get so irritated by this!!!!! I mean, this woman (future MIL) just saw her mom in a CCU a few months ago after having open heart surgery!!! So I know she must have some clue as to what all that entails. Her comments were that the nurses in that unit were really nice, formed good relationships with the patients and were really there for the patients when they needed them, which is awesome, but I guess it also just goes to show that the family members really have no clue how much knowledge we need to have to do our job, and all the critical thinking involved.

I guess I just wanted to vent and hear what other peoples' experiences have been in this type of situation. Also, what do you do to maybe educate your family/friends about your job? Or do you just let it slide and brush it off?

[Pierrette]

Unless you do the job every day, I don't think you can understand what nurses actually do. I certainly didn't know before becoming a nurse.

[gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN]

:yeahthat:

[feisty]

If the unit has restricted visiting hours the family members do not always see what the nurse is doing. Even when the nurse is at the bedside the family usually doesn't realize that an assessment is being made regarding the client and the "bells and whistles" as many of the machines are called by the lay public.

I work OB and you would not believe how many people tell me that I have the best job. Apparently all we do is "sit and rock babies" in our "stress free" job. Laugh or rant.....I chose to laugh it off usually. I guess I can do that since I have such a stress free job and I am in a constant state of tranquility. LOL

[twistedpupchaser]

I do the job and sometimes wonder what I do.......

[SteffersRN87, BSN, RN]

My boyfriend and I have this discussion all the time! We are both nurses, by the way. My mom has a perfectly clear understanding of what I had to learn and go through in nursing school to get where I am today. She realizes how physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding nursing is and is very proud of me. I am a hospital-based diploma nursing program graduate and so my aunt (a non-nursing software developer) used to insist that I didn't have a BSN, I was an LPN. No matter how much I told her, without flaunting my RN license in her face, she just couldn't understand. She is shocked every year when I miss a holiday dinner because her office is closed on holidays and weekends and why isn't the hospital??? It amazes me that some people think all we do is give shots and put people on bedpans and give baths. If they could only understand all the critical thinking that is involved and all of the charting to cover your ass and how many times we correct doctor's mistakes.

[Ivanna_Nurse, BSN, RN]

I do the job and sometimes wonder what I do.......

Hah, aint that the truth. Me too. ~Ivanna

[CABG patch kid, BSN, RN]

Yea, I guess I needed to vent more than anything.... my fiance totally understands what I go through, no doubt, everyone I know respects nursing even if they don't really know what the job entails. I guess that comment just caught me off-guard. It sounds like this will probably be the norm throughout my career, but I think that the attitude of just brushing it off is what perpetuates the public not understanding, and in turn, the misunderstanding of our profession goes on and on.

[Nurse K8]

Out of the blue, my husband asked me "do you give shots at work?" Stunned, I replied "yes" and he said "really??" in disbelief........I was speechless.

[voraciousj]

I am still in school, but I have noticed that people seem to think that nursing school is "sooo easy...I can get in and out in 2 years and make beaucoup bucks fetching the docs coffee." Two of my family members are thinking about going to NS prior to PT school so they can have something to do to make $$ while getting their PhD's. They think it will be a cake walk. Grrr...

[RNperdiem, RN]

If only nursing was really like the laypeople see it or the way it is portrayed on TV, I would have the easiest job.

The doctors would do all the patient care, and I would hang around being nice and looking cute in scrubs.

[mama_d, BSN, RN]

I get amazed when patients ask me to have the doc do things like give shots, place IV lines, etc.

I had a patient who insisted they were such a hard stick that "only anesthesia doctors can hit my veins." She insisted to her hospitalist that he place the IV. I got really tickled when he called me into the room while he explained to her that it was likely that it was a nurse anesthetist, not a doctor, that she was referring to in the first place, and secondly, doctors do not generally place IV lines... "So, do you want me to do it, when I haven't placed one in years, or do you want her to do it, when I KNOW she's already done about a dozen this week alone? I wouldn't mind the practice, but you might not like it."

My hubby has a really good idea of what I go through, although I've always thought that we should be able to have "take your significant other to work day". He knows b/c I tell him that having a transfer, a dying patient, a new onset rapid a-fib, an evolving MI, and a new admit all at the same time sucks, but I know he has no true understanding of just how bad it can be.

When I get those kinds of comments from people about how little nurses do or think, I try to give them a little scenario..."Let's say your grandma is one of my patients. She's suddenly having a hard time breathing, her vitals are not stable, and it's clear something's wrong. I have to be able to assess her, evaluate her history, her vitals, her labs, her heart rhythm, and any other diagnostic tests she's had done; initiate appropriate interventions immediately, anticipate what the doctor will order, call said doctor, initiate more interventions while I wait for the doc to call back, and decide whether or not her deterioration warrants a call to rapid response...all in less than five minutes, and while attending to the needs of multiple other patients who may or may not also have a sudden crisis evolving, while I have family members waiting on the phone to talk to me, pharmacy wanting order clarifications, and two other patients who have been incontinent and need to be cleaned up. Oh, and meds to pass and an IV to restart on the LOL who just pulled hers out while she's on a cardiac drip that is controlling her heartrate." They usually just sit there with their mouths hanging open..."How can you do all that at once?" "I don't know sometimes, but it manages to get done!"