Nursing Stereotypes and a Dumb Society

Nurses General Nursing

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I have noticed a few nursing stereotypes lately from patients, visitors and even my own friends (some of then are also nurses). Its very annoying

Stereotypes include:

1. A nurse is a nurse is a nurse

2. Angel's of mercy

3. Naughty Nurse (Please, my fellow sisters - FIGHT THIS ONE - This is the worst, in my opinion)

4. Un-educated, misinformed handmaiden

5. All purpose hospital slave

6. Men in nursing are all gay

Perhaps I never paid much attention, but recently I have noticed alot of this. We, as a profession, need some realistic PR.

I went out for coffee with a friend of mine. I was describing my hectic shift with post-op's, documentation and new admits. In all a very busy and routine shift. My friend works in retail. No matter how much I told her of the hard physical, mental and emotional labor involved - she seemed to downplay my job. "It can't be that hard - You work night shift, all the patients are asleep", "Two patients in ICU is easy- what are you complaining for", or "All you have to do is follow what the doctor says and it will be fine".

Makes me mad!!!

Just my :twocents:

I like that idea; my current position is RN night shift lead w/ 2 Lpn's under me in "corrections", not the clinical exposure I'd have liked but upon graduation last May I was ecstatic to have gotten ANY offer, much less such a secure f/t spot.

What bothers me greatly is that we're all referred to as "nurses" there! Since Lpn's are paid less (and less qualified) than Rn's the ratio is like 4:1, and I've argued loudly and clearly several times that titles matter- that accomplishments matter- and that we're actually Rn's and Lpn's here.

Naturally their comeback was "we're all nurses" just different levels.... my response to this Lpn who is currently working his orifice off to do the Lpn-Rn transistion was "you may like that catchall phrase now b/c it includes you in the upper tier of Rn's, but you will Not feel that way when you've finally earned your Rn lic, and suddenly the phrase includes you in the Lpn crowd from which you just graduated."

I call Dr's Dr, I have no problem recognizing and giving credit to those who have earned their titles; no we are not "all nurses" ...... we are Rn's, Lpn's, Cna's...... so yes let us move forward w/ a new job title that does not lump us all together into a messy blob of sameness!

Any Rn recognizes the immense sacrifices and effort that it took to finish that last semester, successfully complete all clinicals, maneuver the politics of school/hosp, apply for jobs and network, and prepare for and pass Nclex! Lpn's do not have these accomplishments under their title.

Oh my... :uhoh21:

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Specializes in Renal; NICU.

"A nurse is a healthcare professional who, in collaboration with other members of a health care team, is responsible for: treatment, safety, and recovery of acutely or chronically ill individuals; health promotion and maintenance within families, communities and populations; and, treatment of life-threatening emergencies in a wide range of health care settings. Nurses perform a wide range of clinical and non-clinical functions necessary to the delivery of health care, and may also be involved in medical and nursing research". (Wikipedia)

Now tell me the difference between an RN and an LPN/LVN. I was an LPN, worked in a multi-trauma ICU then trained in a 110 patient hemodialysis unit. At one point, I was Charge Nurse of the 2-10PM shift with RN's/techs working under me. When I became an RN, I was promoted to DON of the unit.

I currently work in a 50-bed NICU which has 2 LPN's on staff who have both been in that unit for over 20 years. They are capable of providing excellent nursing care for any Level II baby and most of the Level III's. They are only limited by state licensing dictates. Their capabilities are of the highest calilber.

They are nurses, and so am I. The above definition says it all, and I can think of no other word that says as much.

By the way, I thankfully am not afflicted with ignorant family and friends who think I sit around eating bon-bons and reading magazines all day.:yeah:

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"A nurse is a healthcare professional who, in collaboration with other members of a health care team, is responsible for: treatment, safety, and recovery of acutely or chronically ill individuals; health promotion and maintenance within families, communities and populations; and, treatment of life-threatening emergencies in a wide range of health care settings. Nurses perform a wide range of clinical and non-clinical functions necessary to the delivery of health care, and may also be involved in medical and nursing research". (Wikipedia)

Now tell me the difference between an RN and an LPN/LVN. I was an LPN, worked in a multi-trauma ICU then trained in a 110 patient hemodialysis unit. At one point, I was Charge Nurse of the 2-10PM shift with RN's/techs working under me. When I became an RN, I was promoted to DON of the unit.

I currently work in a 50-bed NICU which has 2 LPN's on staff who have both been in that unit for over 20 years. They are capable of providing excellent nursing care for any Level II baby and most of the Level III's. They are only limited by state licensing dictates. Their capabilities are of the highest calilber.

They are nurses, and so am I. The above definition says it all, and I can think of no other word that says as much.

By the way, I thankfully am not afflicted with ignorant family and friends who think I sit around eating bon-bons and reading magazines all day.:yeah:

Well said. I agree about the family and friends too. I think there are more people out there who respect and appreciate nurses than people are giving them credit for.

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Specializes in Pedatrics OT nurse, Pead. lap-surg nurse.

Thanks you think so great for nurses, but you better know that in the health system the above defenetion is not implemented fully. the duties of nurses are not recoganised yet as credit geiven to doctors. in country like india the role of nurse are limited to medications in most setups.

Due to it Peoples are also not give respect to her. the domnanciy of doctor of is so high that any other lines are unable to cross it health system

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Specializes in ER.

Prem, there is a bit of a barrier with translation, I think, but from what I can gather, India has the same issues with nurses and doctors there as it does in the United States. Doctors are seen as superior and nurses are inferior. I don't know that that will ever change, realistically. From working with some Indian physicians, I know that women (and nurses) are treated much differently within the Indian culture. I'm sure that makes working as a nurse very difficult there - or it would be for an American, I should say.

My mother, who is a nurse since 1964, had a nursing school textbook - ONE. I lost count of all of my textbooks, which would prepare someone for medical school. Nurses are gradually gaining respect - one patient at a time.

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Improving the public image?

I'd say that the first step towards improving the image of nursing involves learning to read, write and speak decent (if not impeccable) English.

Nurses handle medical terminology on a daily basis. If we do not have some command of basic English, we're just preparing ourselves to look like fools when we employ jargon (also possibly incorrect).

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Specializes in Medical.

I'm fortunate that, though they really don't have a clear picture of what I do exactly, the vast majority of my non-health-care friends and family respect my work and think it's difficult. When those few who don't say things like "but the patients all sleep at night right?" I use it as a teaching opportunity, because I can't rely on the media to explain that I spend night giving meds, rounding, doing obs, collecting patients from theatre, measuring drains and catheters, totalling pumps, assessing patients, monitoring results, reading notes, creating care plans, evaluating risk factors, liaising with doctors, making referrals, ordering stock, performing pressure care, educating junior staff, comforting patients, and finding information, and that's on a quiet night :) I find they never again say that patients sleep overnight!

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Specializes in ER.
Improving the public image?

I'd say that the first step towards improving the image of nursing involves learning to read, write and speak decent (if not impeccable) English.

Nurses handle medical terminology on a daily basis. If we do not have some command of basic English, we're just preparing ourselves to look like fools when we employ jargon (also possibly incorrect).

I hope you're not referring to Prem Singh - it would appear this person practices in another country, perhaps not speaking English. Let's not be judgmental.

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Specializes in CCU/CVU/ICU.
I like that idea; my current position is RN night shift lead w/ 2 Lpn's under me in "corrections", not the clinical exposure I'd have liked but upon graduation last May I was ecstatic to have gotten ANY offer, much less such a secure f/t spot.

What bothers me greatly is that we're all referred to as "nurses" there! Since Lpn's are paid less (and less qualified) than Rn's the ratio is like 4:1, and I've argued loudly and clearly several times that titles matter- that accomplishments matter- and that we're actually Rn's and Lpn's here.

Naturally their comeback was "we're all nurses" just different levels.... my response to this Lpn who is currently working his orifice off to do the Lpn-Rn transistion was "you may like that catchall phrase now b/c it includes you in the upper tier of Rn's, but you will Not feel that way when you've finally earned your Rn lic, and suddenly the phrase includes you in the Lpn crowd from which you just graduated."

I call Dr's Dr, I have no problem recognizing and giving credit to those who have earned their titles; no we are not "all nurses" ...... we are Rn's, Lpn's, Cna's...... so yes let us move forward w/ a new job title that does not lump us all together into a messy blob of sameness!

Any Rn recognizes the immense sacrifices and effort that it took to finish that last semester, successfully complete all clinicals, maneuver the politics of school/hosp, apply for jobs and network, and prepare for and pass Nclex! Lpn's do not have these accomplishments under their title.

I smell an inferiority complex here. Or just an unhappy dork.

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We know what we do and we are good at it. Enough said. PS Anyone watch Nurse Jackie, she is not good for nursing. Although, I would like to have her lunch breaks:lol2:

What is Nurse Jackie on? I keep hearing everyone talk about it.

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Specializes in LTC/Behavioral/ Hospice.
I like that idea; my current position is RN night shift lead w/ 2 Lpn's under me in "corrections", not the clinical exposure I'd have liked but upon graduation last May I was ecstatic to have gotten ANY offer, much less such a secure f/t spot.

What bothers me greatly is that we're all referred to as "nurses" there! Since Lpn's are paid less (and less qualified) than Rn's the ratio is like 4:1, and I've argued loudly and clearly several times that titles matter- that accomplishments matter- and that we're actually Rn's and Lpn's here.

Naturally their comeback was "we're all nurses" just different levels.... my response to this Lpn who is currently working his orifice off to do the Lpn-Rn transistion was "you may like that catchall phrase now b/c it includes you in the upper tier of Rn's, but you will Not feel that way when you've finally earned your Rn lic, and suddenly the phrase includes you in the Lpn crowd from which you just graduated."

I call Dr's Dr, I have no problem recognizing and giving credit to those who have earned their titles; no we are not "all nurses" ...... we are Rn's, Lpn's, Cna's...... so yes let us move forward w/ a new job title that does not lump us all together into a messy blob of sameness!

Any Rn recognizes the immense sacrifices and effort that it took to finish that last semester, successfully complete all clinicals, maneuver the politics of school/hosp, apply for jobs and network, and prepare for and pass Nclex! Lpn's do not have these accomplishments under their title.

Whoah! Ok, first of all, we ARE all nurses. Licensed Practical NURSE and Registered NURSE are both nurses. Notice the NURSE in our titles?

Second of all, you assume too much to think that RNs are the only ones who sacrifice, put forth great effort, maneuver politics of school/hospital, or spend time networking and applying for jobs. You have no idea what others have done, RN or LPN. And here's a bit of news for you... LPNs do go to clinicals and do take and have to pass an NCLEX. So, as long as I hold the title of nurse, you can call me all sorts of names if you want, but that will be NURSE so and so, thank you very much.

Now let's talk about stereotypes and ignorance among nurses. It would go well for you, and anyone who works with others who are nurses, RN or LPN, to educate yourself a little bit more about what your and your coworkers scope of practice is, because what you spouted off does not sound very educated. We get nowhere educating the general public until we know something ourselves.

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I like that idea; my current position is RN night shift lead w/ 2 Lpn's under me in "corrections", not the clinical exposure I'd have liked but upon graduation last May I was ecstatic to have gotten ANY offer, much less such a secure f/t spot.

What bothers me greatly is that we're all referred to as "nurses" there! Since Lpn's are paid less (and less qualified) than Rn's the ratio is like 4:1, and I've argued loudly and clearly several times that titles matter- that accomplishments matter- and that we're actually Rn's and Lpn's here.

Naturally their comeback was "we're all nurses" just different levels.... my response to this Lpn who is currently working his orifice off to do the Lpn-Rn transistion was "you may like that catchall phrase now b/c it includes you in the upper tier of Rn's, but you will Not feel that way when you've finally earned your Rn lic, and suddenly the phrase includes you in the Lpn crowd from which you just graduated."

I call Dr's Dr, I have no problem recognizing and giving credit to those who have earned their titles; no we are not "all nurses" ...... we are Rn's, Lpn's, Cna's...... so yes let us move forward w/ a new job title that does not lump us all together into a messy blob of sameness!

Any Rn recognizes the immense sacrifices and effort that it took to finish that last semester, successfully complete all clinicals, maneuver the politics of school/hosp, apply for jobs and network, and prepare for and pass Nclex! Lpn's do not have these accomplishments under their title.

Ok ,then by your standards people who have a doctorate degree but not a medical degree.. you would address them as Dr. Smith who has a doctorate not a MD...haha!!!!! Your whole post is so sad. Rn's and LVn's ARE NURSES, yes I am sure the LVN's that work under you are more then aware since you've probably told them several times that you are an RN adn not an LVN. Honestly, you should read your post again, and you will see why you got so many negative responses. I would be embarrased to work under you. Your superior complex is over bearing. Just because you are an Rn and get paid more you are not better than the LVN's under you. Maybe you just need a new name tag that reads..#1 nurse here, I'm in charge!!

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