I am a real nurse

Published

So often I hear that psych nurses aren't real nurses. I work on an inpatient unit. I do modified head to toe assessments, listen to heart and lungs sounds, give PRNs for things ranging from high blood pressures to panic attacks, give injections, test blood sugars, and all with the added bonus of occasionally dodging a flying chair. But since I haven't started an IV in years and need help somehow I'm not a 'real' nurse to some medical professionals. Anyone else run into this?

Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
My bf told me last night over dinner that LTC (my preferred specialty) is for people who are too dumb, strange, looney to work in a real job, like hospital. I'm a BSN with15+ years experience:ER, ICU, med/surg, home health and LTC...guess what he didn't get last night :-)

DOG HOUSE!!! :mad:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

Are psychiatric illnesses real illnesses? Are psych pts real pts? Do you do real assessing, planning, treating, and evaluating?

Yes? You're a real nurse.

Every so often we'll hear a code blue, or a behavioral emergency code called from one of our psych units. I can't imaging many things at work more terrifying being the only RN on a locked unit (overnight staffing is one RN) and your pt coding. All I have to do is call "I need some help in here!!" and help is right there.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Nurses are so mean to each other. I've heard this about L&D and Mother/Baby nursing as well. Keep up the good work. It takes a lot of stamina to be a psych nurse.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology.
Because most of the time he has more sense than this, and has other pretty good qualities...if any of you tell me that your s/o never says anything odd, then they are either mute, or you (general) are lying to yourselves and/or everybody else...

No, but that's not odd, that's mean. Mean spirited and demeaning. It's very familiar to me, and that's why it jumped out at me immediately. I have a verbally and emotionally abusive husband. It does not get better. Please do not let anyone speak to you this way.

Sorry, didn't mean to drag this thread down.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology.
I imagine that every profession has something similar.

You're not a real doctor if you're a dermatologist. You're not a real attorney if you work in tax law.

You're not a real model if you don't do runway. You're not a real pharmacist if you work at WalMart.

Some people just have to feel superior, and make up reasons that satisfy that need.

I place enough pressure on myself without letting some idiot get in my head.

I wish I could like this 1000 times!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Behavioral Health.

Are you hearing that you are not a real nurse from other nurses?? This baffles me. In 20 years as a LPN and RN I have worked psych, ICU, L&D, and as a Office nurse. And in every roll I was a "real nurse". I thought that is was RN stood for? LOL!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Dialysis.
No, but that's not odd, that's mean. Mean spirited and demeaning. It's very familiar to me, and that's why it jumped out at me immediately. I have a verbally and emotionally abusive husband. It does not get better. Please do not let anyone speak to you this way.

Sorry, didn't mean to drag this thread down.

He's an engineer in a weird specialty. I've made my mean sounding comments as well (not intentionally) about his profession and line of work out of ignorance of what it entails. Did he throw a fit? No, just told me, then took me on a tour during a work day. Changed my whole perception. He knows I work hard (he's been in my facility and seen me in action, bringing me dinner). If I got upset just because he made a one time statement that shows that he, like many others, don't have a clue about what we really do, I'd stay mad because I hear it from many people..."wouldn't you rather work in a hospital, honey?" Truthfully, you couldn't drag me back into a hospital unless I'm going to be dx/admitted. This is why we had the "The View" debacle. Lack of understanding, albeit loudly demeaned by a mouthy know-it-all wanna be tv personality. Truly, most persons outside of our profession have no clue. Even some other medical professionals cannot state what nursing is.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Oh... I'm so sorry. Did we send our pt there after he tried to kill another pt? We had a similar pt. great guy. When he wasn't trying to commit homicide. We sent him out to a phf.

If you were in Leon County probably so. I am a pretty tough girl and that is the only time that a pt has actually scared me. Two years after that incident he beat a fellow homeless guy to death with his bare hands for rifling through his backpack.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Geriatrics, Dialysis.
If you were in Leon County probably so. I am a pretty tough girl and that is the only time that a pt has actually scared me. Two years after that incident he beat a fellow homeless guy to death with his bare hands for rifling through his backpack.

This is another reason why I wouldn't like your job. I deal with combative dementia patients on a pretty regular basis and it really doesn't doesn't bother me much. Somehow in my mind it's easier to deal with a combative resident when they are elderly with dementia and don't understand what they are doing. I imagine psych nurses working with patients suffering from mental illness that truly don't understand what they are doing must also have a way to make dealing with this somehow acceptable in your minds.

I just don't understand how anybody could consider this not "real" nursing. No matter the specialty, what other career besides maybe law enforcement expects violence to be considered just part of the job?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
No, but that's not odd, that's mean. Mean spirited and demeaning. It's very familiar to me, and that's why it jumped out at me immediately. I have a verbally and emotionally abusive husband. It does not get better. Please do not let anyone speak to you this way.

Sorry, didn't mean to drag this thread down.

Mean spirited and demeaning is an important issue. Emotional abuse is an important issue. Domestic violence is an important issue. But we're not addressing that issue on this site at all these days . . . .

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Heard it as an LVN and it did drive me crazy.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology.
Mean spirited and demeaning is an important issue. Emotional abuse is an important issue. Domestic violence is an important issue. But we're not addressing that issue on this site at all these days . . . .

What do you mean, Ruby?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion