people seem uninformed....

[meghan91]

it seems to me like some people really have no clue what nurses actually do. as i talk to people about me going to nursing school i get a lot of responses like "oh i didnt know being a nurse was that hard" "i thought they just gave meds and took you to the bathroom and got you stuff". i feel like people should know what nurses actually do and how much they do to get the patient better. we all work/ worked really hard to become a RN and we work really hard at work no matter where a nurse works. Have you guys came across a lot of people like this who really have no clue what nurses do and how hard it is to be a nurse?

[sugarmagnoliaRN]

Although I will say that House shows doctors doing a lot of things that would be left up to nurses in real life!

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

I try not to give too much thought to other people's perceptions of my career choice. Heck, I used to jokingly call my sister-in-law a "glorified babysitter" because she is a Kindergarten teacher...now that I have seen firsthand what goes on in a classroom and how hard a job it is, my opinion has changed!

Maybe the people just have not had enough exposure to nursing to know what it is we do...that is not their fault. Maybe they are just rude judgmental people. If that's the case, I just try not to put too much stock into their opinion.

[loriangel14, RN]

On a daily basis I run into those who have no idea what we do but also have no concept of what we cannot do as well. I have been reamed out by family members demanding to know WHY I gave the pt a med that was ordered (as if I made the decision to order it) and also demanding that I discontinue a med or order a test. Trying explain what I CAN'T do is almost as hard as explaining what we do.

[Brea LPN]

All the time!

[sharpeimom]

pt's mom comes onto the locked psych ward and finds me putting a bandaid on her son's arm where he scraped it and it's bleeding.

"oh! you know some real nurse-type stuff too!" where do you think i got my license and degrees anyway? the sears catalogue??!! aaarruuuggghhhh!!!

[Mrs. SnowStormRN, RN]

pt's mom comes onto the locked psych ward and finds me putting a bandaid on her son's arm where he scraped it and it's bleeding.

"oh! you know some real nurse-type stuff too!" where do you think i got my license and degrees anyway? the sears catalogue??!! aaarruuuggghhhh!!!

lol! funny you say this. i actually had a nurse say to me, "wow, you actually know "real nurse" stuff." wth! i am a "real nurse." lmbo! i dont even want to get started on the stuff i hear as a psych nurse, lol! thats another thread topic.

[evolvingrn, BSN, RN]

Im pretty spoiled, were held to pretty high esteem but i also have pts that think im their one on one

[DizzyLizzyNurse]

When nurses week comes around May of every year, every hospital or large medical organization who use nurses, should find a way to produce a commercial or even have a news reporter record a day in the life of a nurse, on the days i don't feel appreciated by management, doctors or other staff, knowing that I've made a difference in the life of my patient makes it all worth it!!!!

Ha! You'd have to work at a place that even acknowledges Nurse's Week unlike me. Can't wait to find a new job!!

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

I don't try to explain my profession to someone who has the misconception that I wipe butts and pass meds all day while filing my fingernails and chatting it up with my co-workers during my lengthy "down time".

I go about my day feeling good about my chosen profession. I try to give 110% everyday that I work, and thank my lucky stars that I am healthy enough to work in this demanding field.

I feel good that I can take care of my patients to the best of my ability, I take pride in the fact that my patients trust in my care, I feel privileged that I can learn so much in one day simply by being a nurse, and I am happy that I can come home and leave a bad day AT WORK.

Someone else's opinion of my profession is about as concerning to me as what someone thinks of the shoes I wear. They are entitled to their opinion, and I am entitled to my comfortable yet battered Danskos. Either way, I am COMFORTABLE.

[mkjh]

It's not just nursing, it's any field. Nobody knows/understands exactly what any body else does.

[Heidi the nurse, BSN, RN]

It's not just nursing, it's any field. Nobody knows/understands exactly what any body else does.

This is so true. While going through nursing school, I worked at an emergency vet clinic. One day I was talking with the vet about how much better I like the verbiage of lawyers - everything was Latin and flowing and beautiful. We in medicine have stupid abbreviations for everything. He told me both have a type of "code" that only those in the field can understand. Lawyer just use a different kind of code than used in medicine. its to keep a sense of mystery and exclusivity to each profession. If you can't understand what I am saying, how can you understand what I do? No doubt there is more to it, but it made sense to me at the time. I suppose lawyers get the same story line on TV and movies as we do so most of the people in the US think all lawyers are trial lawyers. I know I did up until a couple years ago when my cousin graduated from law school with absolutely no interest in trial law.

[noahsmama]

Trying explain what I CAN'T do is almost as hard as explaining what we do.

Yes, I quite often have family members or acquaintances trying to tell me their symptoms, or their mother's symptoms, or to show me the strange rash they've developed, so I can diagnose what strange disease they have. I have to explain that nurses don't diagnose, and they need to see their doctor!