Non nurses on AN

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I should know better but it still kinda blows me away when I catch a post from a non nurse giving nursing advice.

I'd like to think no one is making career decisions based on a post but I wonder how much we are influenced nonetheless.

Anyway, I just read one here in General Discussion this morning. It was *liked* by the non suspecting OP. (I think non suspecting). Not even a nursing student. With no disclaimer.

*self consciously wonders if everyone is referring to me....*

I have honestly always hung out in the general nursing discussions, because quite frankly a lot of the students are annoying.

... And as a side not I graduated recently... So I'm super close to being an actual nurse.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

I think I know what thread you are talking about from this morning...

Stopped reading it. ;)

There have been "great pretenders" on AN...haven't had a thread on it for a while-this is a first one that I actually didn't miss! :cheeky:

I don't mind "non nurses" or nursing "fans" as long as they are respectful, all is well.

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Specializes in M/S, Pulmonary, Travel, Homecare, Psych..

I think every career has people who like to "give advice" about their profession, but probably shouldn't be. The fact that the advice is medical perhaps makes us more sensitive to it, but I don't know if we should be really.

Car mechanics probably see people all over the place saying they know better, or know enough to "give advice" on what to do about that noise your car is making. I'm sure cooks overhear plenty of recipe sharing by those who are not a Chef. Ask any teacher how much unsolicited advice they receive about making a classroom function properly. Business owners, no matter how tightly they keep their books, not matter how specialized their business is, sits through people saying there is a better way daily (I can imagine).

But they don't seem to get as upset about it as we do. I noticed that a long time ago and now, I don't even bother acknowledging the non-nurse opinions. People like to hear themselves talk, a little too much sometimes. They'd rather talk, and risk sounding the fool, than have to be silent. It's their zoo, it's their monkey to control.

I think the bit of insight that freed me from caring about it so much was when I realized: "It's the responsibility of the recipient of the one they are talking to, to decide if it's a worthy opinion or not." Not mine.

I look at it this way: If the person were to follow through on the advice or whatever, and the outcome was bad, it's their fault. It's not the fault of the "unqualified talker" and it's especially not mine. So, it follows that the problem is not the unqualified talked. The problem is, we give them an audience. Turn a deaf ear to them and they move on to squawk at someone else, about something else. Seems to me, the solution is to educate the people who give them an audience, cause you'll never change the habits of the squawkers.

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Specializes in Behavioral Health.
*self consciously wonders if everyone is referring to me....*

I don't know about anyone else, but all of my disparaging remarks are about you, even if I say them to someone else. All of them.

... And as a side not I graduated recently... So I'm super close to being an actual nurse.

Hey, congrats! You passed nursing school. Don't forget to make a thread about how many questions you got before the test shut off, and offer to send everyone your study guide.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I don't know about anyone else, but all of my disparaging remarks are about you, even if I say them to someone else. All of them.

Hey, congrats! You passed nursing school. Don't forget to make a thread about how many questions you got before the test shut off, and offer to send everyone your study guide.

This was the best post of the whole thread.

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I don't know about anyone else, but all of my disparaging remarks are about you, even if I say them to someone else. All of them.

Hey, congrats! You passed nursing school. Don't forget to make a thread about how many questions you got before the test shut off, and offer to send everyone your study guide.

Well... I took my NCLEX today, it shut off at 264 questions. I had 3,567 sata. I did the PVT trick 3 times, at it took my money 3 times. So I'm out of $600 and I can't pay my rent.

Has the PVT ever been wrong?!?!

I think I'm gonna sue Pearson Vue for taking my money.

(And I reading everything you've ever posted to find out the many ways you have bullied me. NETY NETY NETY)

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Specializes in Behavioral Health.
Well... I took my NCLEX today, it shut off at 264 questions. I had 3,567 sata. I did the PVT trick 3 times, at it took my money 3 times. So I'm out of $600 and I can't pay my rent.

Has the PVT ever been wrong?!?!

I think I'm gonna sue Pearson Vue for taking my money.

(And I reading everything you've ever posted to find out the many ways you have bullied me. NETY NETY NETY)

You don't know what bullying is, here let me start a thread about it. I'll quote the dictionary, but you should have used the search feature. If you had any experience as a nurse you'd know how wrong you are. Wait a minute, I need to talk about Media while you cath my female patient.

I think we just re-enacted Spring on AN in three posts.

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Or Fight Club

Or NETY

Or PVT

And no, you were not the only one. I'm typically one of the last to know. I'm dewy-eyed and tend to take everyone at face value.

Add me into the mix of not knowing who this is about. Or what thread.

I don't have time to go search. I don't really want to either.

I think the OP was right in not "outing" who this was about.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

Hey, congrats! You passed nursing school. Don't forget to make a thread about how many questions you got before the test shut off, and offer to send everyone your study guide.

Yes, because everyone knows that if you pass NCLEX in 75 questions, you're a better nurse than those who passed it in 76, 77, 78....And you're certainly better than the old fools who had to take it with a Number 2 pencil. Those nurses should just retire and make room for the younger, prettier, and thinner nurses. Or in the case of guys, the old guys should retire and make room for the more buff, more hirsute guys.

I agree that your post was the best one of this thread. I vote to make it a sticky.

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I am a bit happy to see some of the opinions on this thread regarding non-nurses on the site. I am not a nurse (working as a paralegal in a medical malpractice defense firm and currently considering nursing school to become a nurse paralegal), and have been hesitant to post much due to thinking it would not be welcomed. What I have (and would post in the future) would be generic advice and nothing nursing specific (i.e. handling work situations that can be found in just about every job, job interviews, applying for jobs). I know my two years of vocational allied health does not qualify me for responding to anything more specific. :)

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I think I was the only member who did not initially know who we were all talking about.

It's kind of like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

As long as I don't say VOLDERMORT, it's okay?

Arg, for a minute I thought you were talking about RedRanger, a poster who is burnt into the memory of many long term posters.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Report it to the moderators and let them sort it out.

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