i am a charge RN in a cvicu. yesterday i took care of a man that was pod1 5 vessel cabg on a balloon pump and multiple drips. i had post op'd the pt the previous day so i had developed a repor with he and his family. he was telling me that his daughter is a physical therapist and works in a DR's office yadda yadda, yadda. he then asks me if i make good money beings that i have no college degree. i informed him that i did have a college degree and was very well educated in my field. he stated that he was unaware that you needed to go to college to be a nurse.
i was shocked! this was a very sick man and needed detailed care! is this the perception of the public that anyone can walk in off the street and get a job as a nurse? do they think it is like checking groceries or something? and this was a very well educated man himself. i am still just shocked and offended! has anyone else had this happen?
However, I do agree that in the future there should be a BSN requirement to eliminate the confusion. However, with a nursing shortage going on, now is not the time to do that. And not for nothing, some of the best nurses I know are diploma/ADN trained. In the meantime, all nurses should be encouraged to go on to obtain their BSN after they get their license. Most hospitals offer tuition reimbursement and you can do a lot of stuf online nowadays.
And I agree with you austin - this thread didn't start that way, but it sure turned that way FAST. I certainly understood the nature of your post, but practically every poster that followed alluded to diploma/ADN/BSN. And I responded. Perhaps a good solution to our woes would be unity. And not so much divisiveness or I'm better than you are crap. And then maybe we would be respected.
I think the reason we aren't respected isn't so much to do with the different entry levels but with the stupid sex role stereotypes that the nursing profession can't seem to get rid of!
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Hmmph....funny how it ALWAYS comes to an AD versus BSN versus DIPLOMA issue when the words "respect" and "nursing" are used in the same sentence. Funny how all the same people keep saying it over and over as if.........
I agree w/posters that say it takes *more* than this an I have said so in the past and will continue to say it as long as I see it to be true. S'all I will say on this one.
I think the reason we aren't respected isn't so much to do with the different entry levels but with the stupid sex role stereotypes that the nursing profession can't seem to get rid of!
SBE-I don't get what you mean! Hey, I tried to use the sex role stereotype thing as an excuse to get rid of my school's caps but it didn't fly. I had 3 residents last week tell me I looked cute in my cap. I want to look professional, not cute. Also, not that I would rather be ugly but when I go into a pt's room and the pt's family remarks. " Oh, you have a pretty, young girl today," it bothers me.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
I meant, I agreed with YOU....its not the educational level that keeps us from earning respect......it is a much more complicated issue than that...and sex stereotyping is a BIG part of it!
This has probably been said before, but part of the problem is the darn media. I was watching an old NYPD Blue episode where it covered that one detective dying, played by Jimmy Smits. He goes into a seizure, the doctors gives an order for Dilantin. A woman is at the door, nods her head and runs off to get the medicine.
Another scene a nurse hands "Dianne" water to give to Jimmy Smits. In both scenes these "nurses" do not speak, they just do things. It mostly showed the interaction of "Dianne" and the docs. I don't have a problem with that, but many times the family looks to us for answers too. We also spend a lot of time with patients and family members. You just don't see this interaction on television......seems like. Made me mad just watching the darn rerun. The public really does have a warped view of the job we do.
Yes, we give baths, turn and feed, but you know what.......if we didn't there would be more pressure sores, debilitation, and patients susceptible to sepsis. They don't see the big picture but we do.
Flo1216
428 Posts
However, I do agree that in the future there should be a BSN requirement to eliminate the confusion. However, with a nursing shortage going on, now is not the time to do that. And not for nothing, some of the best nurses I know are diploma/ADN trained. In the meantime, all nurses should be encouraged to go on to obtain their BSN after they get their license. Most hospitals offer tuition reimbursement and you can do a lot of stuf online nowadays.