Posters that are not nurses

[Cattitude]

i'm going to keep this nice and polite i promise mods!:)

i'm just hoping that one of the smart student/new nurse posters can answer this.

i know that we have quite a few people on here that do not have the title nurse, either rn/lpn. we have some great, intelligent students,new nurses,cna's, techs, etc. most of them add a lot of interesting elements and variety to the posts and i enjoy reading them.

however, i really want to know something. i have noticed this with several other posters(not the above ones) on several occasions. why on earth would someone that is not a nurse think they could ever tell a nurse how to do their job? or think that limited clinical experience is enough to say they know what a nurse does?

i mean, i would never think of say, jumping in a thread telling ob nurses how they should do something or how they could do it better. i've never done ob (not counting school)

i guess this is just frustrating as it seems people think it's so easy to do this job! it's not, it has hard times, fun times, sad,break your heart in two times. but it's not a job that you can learn how to do in a few semesters of school. it takes years. fortunately, i think that most of our students here know that and respect that.

so, what's the thought on the ones that don't know? is it their egos? overconfidence?

i'm really interested in replies.

[jamonit]

i just sat down and read each of the comments in this thread. for a non-"venting" thread, in general, this feels to me like a pseudo-bash on newbies and students. in a perfect world, those with the experience would be more respected, paid better, etc.--but students and new nurses would be respected for what they are as well. in my opinion, this thread just seems to continue to enforce the divide between us and them. us "newbies" and they "the experienced nurses." i know there is resentment that new nurses are able to jump right into the PICU or oncology instead of "gaining needed experience" on med-surg floors or "paying [our] dues." That sort of discusion seems again to continue to enforce the divide between the new and not-as-new mentality and population of nurses. i say more power to you if you've done this job, done it well, and need to vent at times. us newbies sometimes need a good vent about you guys, or non-nurses sometimes need to vent about their experiences in healthcare.

i just am tired of the sugar-coated ugliness that seems to seperate us--in real life and on this message board. let's respect one another's love for helping others, for wanting to continue to learn new ways of doing and thinking. aren't we all on the same team?

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Originally Posted by fleur-de-lis

.....there is a difference between fresh perspectives and someone pretending to know what it is like to be a nurse...

Completely agree.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

what's wrong with a different perspective? if the only people nurses listen to are other nurses, we'd be finding ourselves thinking in an ever decreasing sized box. bring it on i say. maybe i can learn something from outside my box. and maybe i can share what i've learned with the non-nurse. keep communication open. when we stop talking, listening and sharing, we're done for. might as well close all the schools. i've seen the teacher learn from the student.

there's nothing wrong with a different perspective as long as it's communicated respectfully, and as long as the poster doesn't assume that they know all about nursing because they watch one on tv. i have a real problem with folks jumping into vent threads or humor threads and telling all of us experienced nurses that we lack compassion because we're complaining about something that they have yet to experience.

[LadyNASDAQ]

I've been a Nurse for 28 years. I am very interested in hearing what students think and that they have interest and are critical. We are talking lives here. I think you have to understand that we have to dump this uppity power playing garbage once and for all!

Sorry to knock you but the Nurses eat their young is very evident in your posting.

Anyone who wants to talk shop, discuss what they think should be different and better is always a breath of fresh air as far as I'm concerned. I still love Nursing and couldn't care if you're a newbie or have even more years under your belt than I do. The whole concept here is safety and good patient care. The haughtiness needs to leave the profession prontissimo as far as I'm concerned!

[jamonit]

I've been a Nurse for 28 years. I am very interested in hearing what students think and that they have interest and are critical. We are talking lives here. I think you have to understand that we have to dump this uppity power playing garbage once and for all!

Sorry to knock you but the Nurses eat their young is very evident in your posting.

Anyone who wants to talk shop, discuss what they think should be different and better is always a breath of fresh air as far as I'm concerned. I still love Nursing and couldn't care if you're a newbie or have even more years under your belt than I do. The whole concept here is safety and good patient care. The haughtiness needs to leave the profession prontissimo as far as I'm concerned!

amen, i'm right there with you on this one!

[LadyNASDAQ]

I wish I could move this message to the forefront so I am going to start a new message for newbie Nurses. Please reply.

Thanks!!

[withasmilelpn]

I love teaching students and I love talking with them about their experiences at school. I like knowing what the latest techniques are. I also really like hearing from other healthcare diciplines. I think frankly that alot of things would go smoother if other departments had a general knowledge of what the other does. I have found out a lot of useful info by holding my tongue and finding out the whatfors and whys. People really do appreciate when you listen to them. It's give and take people!

That being said, I have no time for insults- although venting is necessary for the soul!

[Anjann, RN]

Ok, as a "newbie" RN, new grad, whatever you want to call it, I always preface any response I make in here with the comment that I am knew and would not ever dream of assuming I know more than any of the well-seasoned RN's in here, because I have no experience. But if someone is asking for help with a med-math question for example, I believe I am adequately qualified to respond.

Secondly, how do you expect us to learn if we don't respond or ask questions? (when done in the appropriate manner). Like I said, I would NEVER be so bold as to assume to tell anyone in OB what I think they should do.

The other part of this is that defining the kind of nurse you are going to be and setting your own personal parameters requires personal exploration and bouncing ideas and comments off of other people. It's part of the melding process. The nursing schools spend so much time drilling "nursing don'ts" like RE-CAPPING (which was an automatic failure on a skills check for us) into your head and then you go to clinical and see some of these practices being done, how are we supposed to respond to that? We are well aware of what is realistic in the hospital setting, but there is still a major conflict going on between what is being taught and what we are witnessing at times. I think half the people you are referencing are ignorant about their behavior or on a ego-trip, but the other half are truly just trying to define themselves as nurses and looking for feedback.

That is my two cents, anyway.

Now go ahead and blast me, because I know it's coming!

[jamonit]

i agree with you. it's unfortunate that we expect 'blastings' from our cohorts. i have spent my share of time reading this message board, different topics, different specialties, and it seems to me that it's a sad place if we write about our experiences from a student or new-nurse perspective and in turn get treated like we are being disrespectful to florence nightingale and the entire group of experienced nursing professionals.

i've seen both new and experienced nurses do silly things (in my opinion) like start i.v.'s without wearing gloves, not triple checking meds before hanging/passing them, etc. but to single out any one group and say that they are know-it-alls or bad-bad nurses is ridiculous. we all make mistakes. to write about the things we experience should not be an open call to eat the young (or stomp on the old).

:pumpiron: :pumpiron:

[Cattitude]

i just sat down and read each of the comments in this thread. for a non-"venting" thread, in general, this feels to me like a pseudo-bash on newbies and students. in a perfect world, those with the experience would be more respected, paid better, etc.--but students and new nurses would be respected for what they are as well. in my opinion, this thread just seems to continue to enforce the divide between us and them. us "newbies" and they "the experienced nurses." i know there is resentment that new nurses are able to jump right into the picu or oncology instead of "gaining needed experience" on med-surg floors or "paying [our] dues." that sort of discusion seems again to continue to enforce the divide between the new and not-as-new mentality and population of nurses. i say more power to you if you've done this job, done it well, and need to vent at times. us newbies sometimes need a good vent about you guys, or non-nurses sometimes need to vent about their experiences in healthcare.

i just am tired of the sugar-coated ugliness that seems to seperate us--in real life and on this message board. let's respect one another's love for helping others, for wanting to continue to learn new ways of doing and thinking. aren't we all on the same team?

it's funny how so many people can read these reponses and yet take them so differently. i don't see this as a pseudo bash threas at all. i actually see the general consensus being that fresh perspectives are welcomed from newbies. respect in presentation is all that's asked for and that's always a 2 way street.

i enjoy working with students, wish i could do it more! as someone else already posted, i just don't want anyone that's not a nurse telling me i'm mean, have no compasssion, etc. just because i'm posting in a vent thread. that's it, simple...

matter of fact, on a thread not too long ago, i asked a question of a new nurse about something being taught in schools now. she answered and i did learn at least something new that her school was teaching. very informative for me.

we can all get along:d

[RNOTODAY, BSN, RN]

I know I will get flamed for this.... but why is anyone , allowed to become a member of a NURSES bulletin board, if they are not a nurse? It says over and over again, that this is NOT a public forum, so why is it allowed? I personally come here for support, guidance and understanding from fellow NURSES. I think its just another example of how nurses are walked on, disrespected in general, and is an example of our "selfless" image... (which is bull, imo) I can bet you that you dont see other disciplines on a doctors bb, I can tell you that. Why? because it is not accepted. its just how I feel... if its a nursing board, at least try to keep it one. (meaning just for nurses... meaning REAL nurse, ie: LPN/RN/CRNA/NP) not students, not surgical technicians, not cna's, not home health aids, not personal care techs, not wives/husbands of nurses, not unit secretaries...thie list goes on!!!!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I know I will get flamed for this.... but why is anyone , allowed to become a member of a NURSES bulletin board, if they are not a nurse? It says over and over again, that this is NOT a public forum, so why is it allowed? I personally come here for support, guidance and understanding from fellow NURSES. I think its just another example of how nurses are walked on, disrespected in general, and is an example of our "selfless" image... (which is bull, imo) I can bet you that you dont see other disciplines on a doctors bb, I can tell you that. Why? because it is not accepted. its just how I feel... if its a nursing board, at least try to keep it one. (meaning just for nurses... meaning REAL nurse, ie: LPN/RN/CRNA/NP) not students, not surgical technicians, not cna's, not home health aids, not personal care techs, not wives/husbands of nurses, not unit secretaries...thie list goes on!!!!

This website is for the "Nursing Community" which encompasses all those you describe. I'm sure there are websites for what you describe as "real nurses" but this isn't one of those. I like that we are not that elite and can be a resource for those considering nurses and those close to nurses, and those retired or used-to-be-nurses because the community is a large one.

That's a bit off topic and probably we should leave it at that and I encourage others in this thread to not respond further.