Nurses Deserve More Respect!

[natasharostova]

Hello All,

Does anyone else feel like there is a stigma that comes along with nursing? Like, do you ever feel like people are judging you based on your career choice? Do you feel like nursing isn't as well respected in society as it should be?

My parents and a lot of my friends are being pretty critical of my decision to become a nurse. I can't even count the number of time I've been asked, "But wouldn't you rather be a doctor? Why not try for med school instead?"

Just wondering if anyone else has experience with this sort of thing. How do you handle it?

Love, -NR :heartbeat

[flyingchange]

Interestingly, I've only gotten "why would you want to be a nurse?" from nurses, and one mild acquaintance who was in-between chemo tx with a poor prognosis.

Everyone else in my life has been incredibly supportive and proud of me, particularly those who know how hard I've worked to get here. Especially to my program which, in my intake, accepted less than 15% of applicants.

In my family, nurses are highly respected and recognized for the hard work they do.

[sunnycalifRN]

Well, I went to med school way back in '74, quit after 2 yrs and then became a nurse about 30 yrs later. My folks never comment on my zigzag career path because nursing is career change #5. Looking back over my life, I think to myself . . . "dude, you were pretty confused!!"