Change title of "Nurse"?

[AKell388]

Hello,

I'm a junior year nursing student and this question seems to come up alot: why not change the title of "Nurse"?

It doesn't bother me too much because I care more about taking care of patients than the title of my job, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little annoyed with the term "Nurse". So many men in nursing feel that they have to call themselves a "Male Nurse". Why is this??? You don't hear anything theses days like "Female Doctor" or "Female Lawyer" or even "Male Stewardess". Peolpe see the term nursing as a female caricature: a pretty woman in a white dress and white cap.

How hard would it be to change the job title? Even a small change would help. How about putting the word "Medical" in front of "Nurse" so as a "Medical Nurse", a man could call himself a "Medic" if he so chooses. I've heard of polls that show a large majority of men would support this idea (Surprisingly women too). I think also that a title change to a non-gender biased name would bring in more men to the profession.

So... what would it take? Let me know what you think.

[Works2xs]

I'm proud to be a nurse. However, I do find it interesting how the profession is growing and attempting to adapt. Like so much in today's world, there are increasing numbers of specialties and layers of complexity that sometimes a single term doesn't provide much insight into what a person does.

For example, take the high tech industry. In the not-too-distant past, you might be an "engineer." To differentiate yourself from the industrial, nuclear, structural, etc. etc., you might choose to call yourself a "computer scientist." As specializations grew, you saw the rise of "Graphic Designer", "Webpage Developer," "Database Engineer", "Information Assurance Engineer" etc., etc. The explosive growth of the field demanded more accurate descriptors for what people actually did.

In looking at nursing as a profession, there's the added wrinkle of having a large chunk of the public thinking of the term "nurse" as it was "back in the day." Just look at the main forum page here and you'll quickly see the incredible diversity associated with the field. Sometimes, the word nurse just doesn't have enough connotation in the public's mind to accurately denote your role.

So, perhaps it isn't so much a need or desire to change the title. Maybe there should be an additional descriptor or two added to it. Who knows? Perhaps when a word becomes so nebulous as to point to nothing and everything at the same time, a little change is in order.

[shazbo]

i'm looking forward to being called retired nurse

[Beowoulf]

i wish i could share with you the 90 minute presentation i did in a seminar for my master in nursing degree entitled gender issues in nursing. a major conclusion was that the name needed to change for the benefit of both male and female nurses.

despite a long history of men in "nurse-like" positions (e.g. knights templar, the knights hospitallers, the teutonic knights, the parabolani, the augustinian brothers, and many more...), for all practical purposes, nursing history seems to begin with florence nightengale and is steeped in female nature and history.

it is no secret that women were 2nd class citizens until very recently (and in some places, still). it is that female nature and history that contributes to nursing being seen as a 2nd class profession - though that image is changing. come on, men (and even women), if you were (are) a nursing student in recent years, how many times were you asked, "why did you choose nursing?? you seem smart enough to have been a doctor!"

the "2nd class-ness" that was and is associated with women is also associated with nursing. just look how nurses are treated. if it had been a man's profession from the beginning, nurses would have power and respect comparable to doctors (and the money!) i have checked this out with all of my friends and without exception, consciously or unconsciously, they all held the image that "nurse" was essentially "hand-maiden" to the doctor. you only have to look at tv or the movies to see it reinforced over and over.

the history and nature of the word "nurse" is tainted with the decades of women's oppression. the percentage of men in nursing has held in the 4 to 6 percent range for decades. women have poured into traditional male fields but the reverse trend has not happened and will not happen until some perceptions change - not only in hollywood, but in nursing schools as well!

among other much needed changes, it's time to update the job title.

p.s. i've always favored the title "emperor," myself...

[Corvette Guy]

Beowoulf, in your 90 min presentation did you offer an updated job title?

[Beowoulf]

Beowoulf, in your 90 min presentation did you offer an updated job title?

That topic was one of the discussion questions at the end of the 90 minutes. No consensus could be reached. Maybe the ANA or CNA could take it up at their next national conventions! Then the ANA would be the A?A ...

[ZASHAGALKA, RN]

Changing the name is a waste of time.

No amount of hyping 'sanitation engineer' has made a janitor NOT a janitor.

I'm just not much into PC tokenism.

I'm a nurse. If I weren't comfortable with the title, the JOB itself would have long ago done me in.

A rose by any other name. . .

I'm neither convinced nor convicted that any perceptions of nursing are bound up in semantics alone. Neither would they be improved by semantics alone.

~faith,

Timothy.

[Beowoulf]

no amount of hyping 'sanitation engineer' has made a janitor not a janitor.

i think the word we finally settled on with regard to the lowly janitor is "custodian" .. precisely because the word "janitor" came to mean "low, unskilled, looked-down-upon person." (e.g. "your father is a janitor!") "custodian" is a kinder, more sensitive word that has yet to acquire the judgement often associated - consciously or unconsciously - with the word "janitor."

i couldn't disagree with you more. words have terrific power in influencing our interpretations and judgements. i can think of a few racial words that people would not dream of using today because of the negativity associated with them ... whereas these words were acceptable in polite company a century or so ago. (e.g. read tom sawyer...)

as you point out, changing the title alone is not nearly enough. the things that rob nurses of social power and prestige (and money) are as pervasive as the things that rob women in general of the very same things.

words are the physicians of the mind diseased. aeschylus, prometheus bound

greek tragic dramatist (525 bc - 456 bc)

for me, words are a form of action, capable of influencing change.

ingrid bengis

language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides. rita mae brown, starting from scratch, 1988

us author and social activist

words are always getting conventionalized to some secondary meaning. it is one of the works of poetry to take the truants in custody and bring them back to their right senses.

william butler yeats (1865–1939), irish poet, playwright. letter, feb. 3, 1889. collected letters, vol. 1, ed. john kelly (1986).

[ZASHAGALKA, RN]

i think the word we finally settled on with regard to the lowly janitor is "custodian" .. precisely because the word "janitor" came to mean "low, unskilled, looked-down-upon person." (e.g. "your father is a janitor!") "custodian" is a kinder, more sensitive word that has yet to acquire the judgement often associated - consciously or unconsciously - with the word "janitor."

i couldn't disagree with you more. words have terrific power in influencing our interpretations and judgements. i can think of a few racial words that people would not dream of using today because of the negativity associated with them ... whereas these words were acceptable in polite company a century or so ago. (e.g. read tom sawyer...)

as you point out, changing the title alone is not nearly enough. the things that rob nurses of social power and prestige (and money) are as pervasive as the things that rob women in general of the very same things.

words are the physicians of the mind diseased. aeschylus, prometheus bound

greek tragic dramatist (525 bc - 456 bc)

for me, words are a form of action, capable of influencing change.

ingrid bengis

language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides. rita mae brown, starting from scratch, 1988

us author and social activist

words are always getting conventionalized to some secondary meaning. it is one of the works of poetry to take the truants in custody and bring them back to their right senses.

william butler yeats (1865–1939), irish poet, playwright. letter, feb. 3, 1889. collected letters, vol. 1, ed. john kelly (1986).

you missed my point entirely, and it is not the same as comparing the title, nurse, to the word you hint at in tom sawyer.

i actually do subscribe to the notion that language is power. and, in lots of key ways, the 'language' of nursing describes a 2nd rate power loss: doctor while we are are first named substitutes for each other. nursing diagnoses themselves are a language generated succession of power. or look at the whole debate about 'professionalism' to see how semantics alone can divide a profession.

but the question is this: does the term 'nurse' define the shortcomings that you refer to, or do the shortcomings define the term, 'nurse'.

change the shortcomings themselves and you change the meaning of the title. changing the actual title does little to change that undercurrent. i don't subscribe to the notion that window dressing the title of my job will have any real affect on the shortcomings you describe.

the problem is that you will not find a consensus on any such new title. the result will serve only to entrench the very power robbing symptoms you describe.

the solutions to the problems you describe lie much deeper than a name change. more to the point, real solutions to such problems will change the meaning of a name more than just a name change. a focus on changing the title only serves to distract from the underlying problems.

and, any successful title change would only serve to satiate needs best met by actually meeting the true needs of this profession. in short, it would only be window dressing.

~faith,

timothy.

[ZASHAGALKA, RN]

I thought of a valid comparison. Look at the word, 'secretary'. It is subject to many attempts, just like this, to change its title to something more neutral.

Now think about it like this: Secretary Condi Rice. Do you think she needs her title changed to 'office manager' in order to get respect?

It's not the title, it's everything the title stands for.

~faith,

Timothy.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

it is no secret that women were 2nd class citizens until very recently (and in some places, still). it is that female nature and history that contributes to nursing being seen as a 2nd class profession - though that image is changing. come on, men (and even women), if you were (are) a nursing student in recent years, how many times were you asked, "why did you choose nursing?? you seem smart enough to have been a doctor!"

the "2nd class-ness" that was and is associated with women is also associated with nursing. just look how nurses are treated. if it had been a man's profession from the beginning, nurses would have power and respect comparable to doctors (and the money!) i have checked this out with all of my friends and without exception, consciously or unconsciously, they all held the image that "nurse" was essentially "hand-maiden" to the doctor. you only have to look at tv or the movies to see it reinforced over and over.

you know, there is a very easy answer to the "why are you not a doctor?" it is, "because i did not want to be a doctor - i wanted to do something better with my life." because i think what i do is better than what many mds do.

i have had the usual number of people/patients/families call me dr. carolina because they respected my knowledge and my abilities. i correct them and explain that i have pride in the title nurse and that dr is not better. nor smarter.

my ego does not rely on my title. and media portrays plenty of professions badly (lawyer, teacher, police officer, undertaker, plastic surgeon).

be aware that bank tellers, shop keepers, teachers and indeed military healthcare workers started out as "man's professions from the beginning" and yet do not get held in higher regard.

[Corvette Guy]

You know, there is a very easy answer to the "Why are you not a doctor?" It is, "Because I did not want to be a doctor - I wanted to do something better with my life." Because I think what I do IS better than what many MDs do.

I have had the usual number of people/patients/families call me Dr. Carolina because they respected my knowledge and my abilities. I correct them and explain that I have pride in the title nurse and that Dr is not better. Nor smarter.

My ego does not rely on my title. And media portrays plenty of professions badly (lawyer, teacher, police officer, undertaker, plastic surgeon).

Be aware that bank tellers, shop keepers, teachers and indeed military healthcare workers started out as "man's professions from the beginning" and yet do not get held in higher regard.

Actually, males were not allowed commission into the Reserve Army Nurse Corps until 1955 and into the Regular Army Nurse Corps six years later even though the ANC was founded in 1901.

However, if your referring to Army Medics, or Navy Corpsmen, which are equivalent to EMTs [yet, still very valuable], then yes there were military healthcare positions first held by men.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

Actually, males were not allowed commission into the Reserve Army Nurse Corps until 1955 and into the Regular Army Nurse Corps six years later even though the ANC was founded in 1901.

However, if your referring to Army Medics, or Navy Corpsmen, which are equivalent to EMTs [yet, still very valuable], then yes there were military healthcare positions first held by men.

Actually I was referring to healthcare farther back in history.