As a student nurse I have been quite bipolar. Going through phases of loving nursing and phases of hating nursing. I have come to understand that this is a basic part of nursing. You either accept it or get out. One will have times of euphoria and one will have times leaning towards wanting to kill oneself.
I have come to retract much of my prior ideas and beliefs of nurses and nursing. I used to have a really negative view of nursing as a profession and though I have not totally shifted to a positive view, I have greatly embraced nursing as a profession and as a calling. Furthermore, I have come to greatly respect the body of knowledge that is entrusted on the "ideal nurse." But one particular issue I have, is the lack of awareness and understanding of this knowledge, both on the part of the public and on the part of the nurse herself.
Let's start with the knowledge itself. I am in nursing school and I hear all to well students comparing themselves and other nurses to doctors. I absolutely hate this. Any student or nurse who feels the need to compare themselves to a doctor does not understand the profession. An RN is an RN. We are called RN's as apposed to MDs for a reason. Because we do a DIFFERENT JOB! By no means is an RN and MD.
All too much I hear students saying "they expect us to be doctors." This drives me nuts. This saying is completely derived from laziness as well as a lack of motivation and respect for the nursing profession. This statement honestly makes me so furious! Knowing your anatomy and physiology, basic principals of immunology and microbiology and histopathology constitutes a well versed health care professional, but by no means does it constitute a physician.
Whenever a peer of mine tells me that they expect them to be a doctor, I just say "So you know the medical-school curriculum enough to compare it to the nursing school curriculum?" People come into nursing thinking that it's a quick way to making money and financial security, not even giving thought to what a nurse does or what a nurse is. Then, when they're expected to memorize the difference between rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus they complain that they are being trained as doctors! Plain laziness if you ask me.
It is clearly taught to us, in numerous classes, the scope of practice of a nurse and what a nurse can and cannot do. Furthermore, the duties and responsibilities of a nurse is clearly defined as well as the duties and responsibilities of an MD.
Another saying I hear a lot is "the material is too hard! I'm a nurse, not a doctor." Yes, the material is heavy. No, it's not the same as you learn in medical school. Stop comparing.
A major problems in nursing arise when nurses compare themselves when there's nothing to compare themselves to. Nurses compare themselves to physicians and end up feeling inferior, inadequate and resentful towards other health care professionals. It's like comparing a computer to a car. There is some minor overlap (the computer that controls the car) but for the most part they are separate, autonomous entities.
So what about this knowledge, why do nurses need to know it? Well, for one they can act as primary or secondary health care providers. They are available in outpatient, inpatient, and community settings. Most of the time, the nurse is the initial health care professional to conduct an assessment on the patient. It is this reason why a nurse needs to have a strong knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology, to be able to identify serious conditions, what is wrong with the individual and what kind of immediate interventions are needed.
Furthermore, nurses have to be able to council patients, advise them on what to do and be able to assist them in disease management and treatment. How is a nurse going to do this without knowledge of the disease process and treatment?
Nurses are expected to have strong science backgrounds. In fact, the ability of a nurse to assess, diagnose, manage and treat diseases have been well recognized across North America with the implementation of programs like Primary/Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Doctor of Nursing practice and PhD in Clinical management which all focus on heavy medical diagnoses and treatment.
So what I hope to articulate from all this is nurses are not doctors. They have their own, well defined body of knowledge as well as their own, well defined responsibilities. Nurses that feel the need to compare themselves to doctors need to understand their own profession. They need to have a better insight on what makes a nurse a nurse and what purpose a nurse serves in the grand scheme of things.
I will leave you with something interesting to ponder. Why is a patient admitted to a hospital? To formulate a diagnosis? Well, no. A doctor just needs the patient's symptoms and blood and can do the rest in a lab or office while the patient waits at home. People are admitted to the hospital because they are unstable and thus, they need nurses AND doctors. Now the thing to ponder, what happens when you take nurses out of the equation? Would a hospital be the same? Think about it.
