Is this a strange way of viewing your co-workers?

[wish_me_luck]

Okay, I think I might be weird. Nursing to me means compassion and genuine concern for your fellow man. Before I quit my job (see my other post), there was a nurse that I worked with that hated me. But, she treated her patients okay. I couldn't help but sometimes think, God forbid, I ever fall ill again and end up on this unit. I have a medical problem that I also happened to work on the same unit that if that medical problem should become an issue, that would be where I would end up. I would think, how would this nurse treat me then and if it was with compassion or any form of decency, does that mean many nurses are fake in their compassion and "put on a show"? I am not accusing any of you guys of this, I am just saying in the context of my situation that my former co-worker treated me bad but if I were a patient would that treatment change? Would it be fake? I hope this makes sense what I am saying. Is this weird how I viewed that person and that situation? I just couldn't help but think this...I want to know your thoughts.

[rn/writer, RN]

This is a profession that often expects sappy, touchy-feely, openly emotional, hand holding, crying in public types. Those who are cool, calm, and professional are often labeled rude, unfeeling, uncompassionate and uncaring. Ironically, the full-of-compassion nurses can be brutally judgmental with these types.

I would agree. And they might try to justify this behavior by chalking it up to being "passionate" about whatever it is they're trying to say.

I have also noticed that the overtly emotional ones tend to burn out faster. You can only keep up the drama for so long.

This reminds me of people who want to feel the thrill of endless romance and fall in and out of love all the time. One writer said moonlight and roses turn into to daylight and dishes. If you're not prepared for that fact, you might think something went wrong and want to jump ship. If you know ahead of time that this is a normal part of the maturing process, you can hang in there and build a long-standing relationship.

The same idea holds for those whose hearts nearly burst with the romance of nursing. When hand-holding and offering reassurances give way time-wise to punctual med-passing and calling docs about screwy lab values, that's when you find out whether you really like being a nurse or you just like the idea of being nurse.

It's great if you can have the solid skills and wisdom along with a few little sparks of nursing romance along the way, but if you have to choose, guess which one will get you a better return on your investment and leave you more satisfied in the end.