I have a question and PLEASE dont anybody blast me for typecasting, this was not MY statement, it was a LCSW I was friends with. She claims that a huge % of nurses are first born females of alcoholic fathers. Something to do with the fact that as the first born in dysfunction family of origin you are a caregiver from the get-go. Now my father was not an alcoholic, but I am a first born. I was wondering how many of us are first-borns. (Also, she said this to me a long time ago, and I have lost touch with her, so I cannot ask her where the heck she got her information was) I was just starting school at the time and didnt really fight with her about it, just kind of gave her one of the Hmmm, thats an interesting opinion.... answers. Also, she meant it as a compliment, that we take a difficult beginning and build on our strengths and turn them into a career.
i don't know about *most* being first born. all that i know is that i am the baby of the bunch & am the only rn of the family. my maternal grandmom was a lpn & she was the third born of 18 kids...lol!
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I am a first born, and my father used to be a drug addict. But, he didn't raise me, and I didn't want to care for him. Don't know what that means, but, I am the only nurse out of my father's three daughters.
There's so much alcoholism in our society that the question may be irrelevant. Nurses want to help other people, and there is probably a subset of "enablers" in that population. It's an interesting topic, though.
I'd like to know the impact of a nursing career on marriages. But again, we also have a high divorce rate in the US.
Second born female, but definitely the caregiver of the family. And the mediator (parents fought a lot). Mother is an alcoholic, but hasn't had a drop in twenty years. She is a nurse, not first born (9th born) and both parents, and most of the rest of her family, are alcoholics.
Yep. First born, "functional alcoholic" parents and always a caretaker. And in recovery myself for almost 16 years. Not such a caretaker anymore despite still working as a nurse. I've finally learned to care for myself too.
Fourth born, only daughter, 2 brothers between me and my oldest brother, and he is 4 years, 1 month older than I. And I was NOT the princess of the family; workhorse more like it. :)
SKM-NURSIEPOOH, BSN, RN
669 Posts
i don't know about *most* being first born. all that i know is that i am the baby of the bunch & am the only rn of the family. my maternal grandmom was a lpn & she was the third born of 18 kids...lol!
cheers :cheers: ,
moe