I'm sorry but I'm EXTREMELY irritated by this!

loricatus · Oct 22, 2007

I do not find it hard to believe this. Everyone can choose to see things from their own perpective. For instance, the person who doesn't want to here how busy the nurse is may have not liked her apology for having to take care of them and 8 other needy patients. In my opinion, what fuels these type of perceptions of nurses are a combination of the lazy ones (being those that the patient generally gets to see because they are not working) together with management/administration adopting the 'customer' versus patient care business philosophy of healthcare delivery, compounded by the self-centered people who just have a general sense of entitlement.

The next blog topic should be something like "What is YOUR expectation from your nurse?" rather than how they would like to be treated. Another one could be "How does your expectation of what you expect from your nurse differ from that of what you expect from your doctor?" I would also be curious if these respondents would say the same things about doctors as they did about nurses?

If hospitals keep having nurses script lines like "What else can I get for you, I have the time for you?" "May if fluff your pillow and turn down your bedsheets?" "Oh, I don't mind wiping your butt, even though you are quite capable of doing it yourself-that's what I am here for and what I devoted 4 years of schooling for." How may I serve you today, as I am your appointed slave while you visit our fine facility."---than what do you expect the general public perception to be of a nurses role?

We do have to make an effort to educate the public better on what nurses are supposed to be doing.

A slogan could be a start 'It's the toughest job you'll ever do;but, somebody's got to do it' 'Saving lives one unappreciative customer at a time'

In all seriousness though, public awareness and public education would be the key to resolving this. Patients need to know that short staffing affects the quality of care they receive and managment/administration is responsible for the patient load the nurse must work with. You have every right to be angry at what you have read. But, it is public ignorance that you are reading. Use that anger constructively to better educate the ignorant public and light a fire under administration for safe nurse-patient ratios. The passion you have could take you very far into a leadership position.

tattooednurse · Oct 22, 2007

luvmy3kids,

you will find any polls conducted for most respected professions nursing is almost always in the top 5. I am sorry that these comments irritated you because a good many irritated me. You just have to remember you are not able to please everyone everytime!!!!!

You are able to be professional and have a sense of humor. I joke with probably 99.8% of my patients and far as I know never have had a complaint. If you are confident, caring and be yourself, most patients will see you has a "good" nurse.

Hopefully the posts haven't changed your opinion of entering the nursing field.

ps

good luck on your schooling

BGgirl · Oct 22, 2007

Is this how we are all portrayed? Of course not. That blog was just a small sampling of some people who probably had bad experiences with a nurse or nurses while they were pts. Do we sometimes get busy and frazzled and forgot the little things like a simple smile to our pts? Sure.

We all have our good days and bads including our pts. I do believe though that the public view things in the hospital very differently from what we as nurses do. It may be from a lack of knowledge or information but they tend to see things differently ie the person who stated the nurse gave her family memeber something to sleep so she could sit and gossip.

rn/writer, RN · Oct 22, 2007

Don't spend a lot of time or energy getting upset over stuff like this. Yes, there are plenty of warped ideas out there. No, you don't have to buy into the struggle to straighten everyone out.

Nursing image is full of contradictions. One the one hand, there are the naughty nurse portrayals and the kinds of things you mentioned. On the other hand, nurses are among the most respected and trusted of professionals.

Getting mad about shallow misrepresentations is pointless. The people who post this kind of drivel are usually trying to get a reaction. Don't give it to them. A less stressful response is to identify such trash talk for the silliness it is and walk away with your sanity intact.

The truth is that no amount of threatening or wailing or gnashing our teeth is going to make the negative stereotypes go away. People will always be around to mock and disparage others whether it be by profession or some other attribute. By engaging with them, you are more likely to call attention to their foolishness than to change it.

The only way to win is not to play. In person, you can roll your eyes and say something like, "I thought you were more intelligent than that.." Online, the less emotional and the more matter of fact you can be, the more likely you are to come off sounding like a capable and mature good example among the doofuses.

Expressing outrage over other people's opinions only pegs you as someone who can be messed with and will probably invite more of the same. Better to give the image of someone who is shaking her head in disbelief at the nonsense some people will believe. An air of mild amusement is more effective at deflating a windbag than scolding, lecturing, or dressing down.

Let the "stuff" roll right off of you and save your strength for honest discussions with people who really are interested in hearing the truth. Don't waste your time on those who only want you yank your chain.

Soup Turtle · Oct 22, 2007

I didn't see anything so terrible. We all have ideas of what our "ideal" interactions would be like.

mom4josh · Oct 22, 2007

I think that the feelings in the public are a mixed bag.

My own father told me "what do you want to do a 'thankless' job like that for (nursing)?"

However, when you look at public opinion polls, nursing is one of the highest admired and trusted professions of all.

Can't let that affect what we do.

justme1972 · Oct 22, 2007

Well, it all boils down to personal experience.

A few years ago, I was working and had been under a tremendous amount of stress and for five straight days, I probably averaged about 3 hours of sleep a night. That is when I learned a very important rule:

If you can't find the time to get sleep, your body will make the decision for you.

I was at my computer, feeling a little tired, and then all of the sudden, uncontrollably, I started to curl up in a fetal position, I could barely talk, I couldn't move, and I thought I was getting ready to have a seizure.

I was taken by ambulance to the hospital, and guess what happened.

I couldn't MOVE and the nurse walked into my room (they left me alone in a room, which I didn't think was smart), left a gown with me and told me to get dressed and then got irritated when she came back and I still had my clothes on and another nurse came into to see "what the problem was" as if I was being an uncooperative patient. If I had the strength, I would have told them both where to stick it.

When things like that happen, I can understand why people get irritated.

However, on the flip side (and I've posted this before) that I have heard more bashing on this website of the nursing profession and the lack of respect the public has for it by OTHER nurses, than anywhere else. I have actually never physically heard anyone in my life, bash nurses (doctors yes, but not nurses). I have seen people bash a SPECIFIC nurse (like I just did), but not the profession in general.

No profession, in my opinion, gets respect just by "being there", they get respect by doing a great job.

kakamegamama · Oct 22, 2007

As I read these blogs I am struck by the number of folks who have bought into what others think as ruling their own self perception or perception of our profession. Our profession and ourselves are what we make it/us to be....not what others make it/us to be. I have been a R.N. for 32 years (YIKES!!) and I have noticed a downward trend in the public attitudes of some nurses, but not all nurses. Just as any profession--teachers, lawyers, mothers, fathers, doctors, etc., etc., have "clunkers" so does the profession of nursing. Unfortunately for those of us who love ourselves enough to not be a "clunker", we may get labeled as "bad" just be being in the profession. So, it's up to the individual nurse to change the perception of others by not giving them a chance to gain that perception or to keep it. No, I'm not responsible for their perception but yes, I can present myself in such a way that if they have that perception they can change it by the time I've finished with them! How I present myself can go a long way.

SarasotaRN2b · Oct 22, 2007

All the responders said they would like their nurse to just smile at them. Many said they don't want to hear about how busy their nurse is and how they don't have time for them.

Okay, while I do agree that this representation on the blog is from a small population, I can understand with the above statement. It can be so scary for patients and something as little as a smile can mean so much to them.

While sometimes it is necessary to let a patient that the nurse does have other patients, especially if another patient is experiencing more critical need, I can understand a patient being a little self-involved. It is all in the delivery. I, currently, work as a unit secretary and while we make every effort to be available to the patients, occasionally a nurse is dealing with a patient in very critical condition. Most patients are understanding and we will try to get another nurse or some aid to them if their need is immediate. Many times, I found patients are understanding for the most part.

Kris

cmo421 · Oct 22, 2007

Here are a few things I have been thinking about recently re our profession and professionalism.

1)Respect is not a given,it is earned.If we want to be respected we need to gain the trust and confidence of our clients and families.

2)So often we portray ourselves as a negative group by discussing in ear shot of pts and famililies what should be saved for conference rooms or private time.

3)Thongs,tee shirts,low rise pants with short shirts,and low neck shirts, need to be saved for off duty. We reach,bend ,and contort our bodies in our job, we do not need to show our bodies doing our jobs.

4) Tatoos are great.The ones on the low back area,keep them to urself,we do not need to see them No rolling scrubs down to show ur stuff.

5) BAd Day? The pts and families do not need to hear your problems. even a comatose pt may hear what u say and remember it someday. We are over worked and stressed,but complaining and taking it out on pts and/or families does not boost our image.

6) A smile can go a long way. Meet and greet! You can plant that smile on ur face and think all the evil thoughts u want. Just smile away the best u can. Even if u have to confront a family or pt about something,it is perceived so diffferent when u r smiling.

7) We have our days too, never will be perfect. If u over step ur bounds or vent when u should not be,apologise. We r human. Many times I have been teary eyed, too quiet,a bit abrupt,or just plain B----,I have apologised to my pt or family. Hey I am having a bad day,please give me a minute and I will reinvent myself,,,lol. It works.

8) Management issues,union problems,co worker problems,personnal issues,etc,,,,keep them outside of the pt enviorment.

9) We r one of the most valued professions in the world. Lets keep it that way. Got RN itis,get over it. We will only be valued and respected if we continue as a profession to earn that reputation. Some of the most negagtive comments,come from our piers.We r our own worst enemy!

10) Just my 2 cents and more. Never had a halo over my head, just try to do what I love and do it like it was my mother,father,sister,brother,partner,or child in that bed.

Jo Dirt · Oct 22, 2007

Not shocked at all. I have heard comments about how nurses are paid way too much for what they do (which makes me want to follow Sonny Barger's philosophy on why people today are ruder and more inconsiderate than ever--lack of the threat of violence) and how they are all lazy.

We are the Rodney Dangerfield's of the healthcare.