Nursing Arrogance

Published

This morning I read a Facebook post by Allnurses: "I firmly believe that 'too stupid to live' should be a diagnosis."

This post is receiving 'likes' and 'shares'.

I'd "like" to take this opportunity to not just passively read such a post, but really consider the message.

Is this post a favorable representation of the nursing profession?

Do we want to encourage this type of thinking among our peers?

Is this how some view our fellow human beings who have entrusted their care to us?

Is this really about nursing arrogance?

May I counter such thinking? (I love to read the definition of a word to be reminded of its full beauty)

Humility - acknowledging that acheivement results from the investment of others in my life

Meekness - Yiedling my personal rights and expectations with a desire to serve

Self control - rejecting wrong desires and doing what is right

Altruism - unselfish regard to the welfare of others

Empathy - The ability to share and understand the feelings of another

Compassion - investing whatever is necessary to heal the hurts of others

Advocate - the act of pleading, supporting or recommending

and then..... there is basic Kindness

Such a post does not leave me in judgement of the patient, but the nurse.

"The world is put back by the death of every one who has to sacrifice the development of his or her peculiar gifts to conventionality." - Florence Nightingale

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

I am anything but "meek"!

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This is one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of putting some of the AN stuff on FB.

I also understand that AN is not a private place and we get all kinds of traffic here as well.

But "too stupid to live" is a way to vent frustration over situations at work in the privacy of the nurses break room.

Humor . . .especially Gallows Humor . . . helps us cope. But it should be private.

And I'm not "meek" as the definition supplied noted. I don't YIELD these things:

"Yiedling my personal rights and expectations with a desire to serve"
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count me among those who do not yield my personal rights and expectations with a desire to serve. If a right is truly a right, I yield it to NO ONE. My expectations have changed and continue to change dramatically depending on the situation at hand. I temper neither because of a "desire to serve". I am not a soldier I am a professional nurse.

TSTL is one of those phrases among MANY offbeat phrases that is used as black humor for those who need to vent in some way so they don't cry or quit. Like all humor it has a time and a place and that is usually among friends who are of like-mind. Not on a Facebook page.

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

Where precisely did you get this definition of "meekness", as well as find this quality to be a firm prerequisite to being a nurse in our times?

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

And "too stupid to live" is tongue-in-cheek of course, gallows humor, but like Spidey's mom, I cringe to see this in FB.

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Where precisely did you get this definition of "meekness", as well as find this quality to be a firm prerequisite to being a nurse in our times?

I decided to google it . . . here is one definition:

meek - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

The adjective meek describes a person who is willing to go along with whatever other people want to do, like a meek classmate who won't speak up, even when he or she is treated unfairly.

A meek person can also be humble, but these words aren't quite synonyms. If you are humble, you don't want a lot of attention, like the humble athlete who has a truly excellent performance yet after the game, tells reporters that it was group effort by the whole team. A meek person, on the other hand, would never think a reporter would ever want to talk to him or her, and if asked, would probably try to get someone else, someone more "worthy," to do it.

Humble is better!!

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Specializes in ER.

The opening post contains many good spiritual ideals and platitudes. It does sound a bit preachy and unrealistic though.

I agree, "too stupid to live" is a bad choice of words that taints our saintly image in the eyes of the general public. I like to keep up the illusion that I am all of those things, and save my true opinions for hushed tones at the nurses station.

But, really, some of our clientele are sadly contributing negatively to the gene pool excessively. It is a worrisome demographic trend... ;)

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Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.
I decided to google it . . . here is one definition:

meek - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

Humble is better!!

Please for all means go ahead and be meek and humble. Just do not vent later on if you are treated as a waitress, if you are thrown under a bus yet again for others' sins, and if you are feeling like charred down to the bones because of it all.

You choose to relinguish your human rights - it won't become others' job to get them back if you suddenly feel so.

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I'm also going to pass on being "meek." And doing so does not make me arrogant.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
I'm also going to pass on being "meek." And doing so does not make me arrogant.

This^^^^

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Unfortunately the fact that these kind of things pop up on Facebook makes it harder for us to feel safe talking about the less than angelic side of nursing. I know that AN isn't meant to be a support group but for many of us being able to rant a little to people who understand helps maintain our sanity. Such as it is! :cheeky:

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