Prepare yourselves, the drug addict on Dr. Phil is a nurse.

Rita Marie · May 22, 2005

It bothers me too. I don't think he is intentionally portraying nurses in a negative light at all. But yesterday he kept saying over and over "you're a nurse" "she's a nurse, folks" Like a nurse is supposed to be perfect. I don't know what her being a nurse has to do with the fact that the woman has some serious mental problems.

In the eyes of the public, nurses are held up in great esteem, some areas of the country more so than others. So for someone who should KNOW better and yet still steal/buy drugs and use them--it is a shock to some. I agree, that his frequent comments were unneccessary. :crying2:

Well, yes, how about your writing to Dr. Phil and suggesting that he do a show on addicted physicians.

live4today, RN · May 22, 2005

..................................................Aren't his sisters nurses or something like that? I thought I read that somewhere.

Yes, and it may be his sisters prompting him to air shows portraying nurses in various lights................good and bad. I wouldn't blame it all on Dr. Phil. Plus, I read a long time ago when his shows were new to t.v. that his producers push for a lot of material to be aired against Dr. Phil's wishes. Why? They make for good publicity/negative and positive feedback, and shoot the ratings through the roof. Yes.............I think his sister that is a nurse is loving this...not fuming about it. There's ALWAYS more to a topic/subject than meets the public eye. We see what they want to air, and not how it came to be. We have to keep an open mind about all this. I do not believe Dr. Phil is another "Arnie from California" type of guy. :uhoh3:

Ms.RN · May 22, 2005

let's face it folks. the nursing work requires a brain, and all the psychology stuff dr. phil does is nothing but a common sense. i cant believe they even have to go to school to do his kind of work. its really funny when psychologists call themselves a "dr" . a little jealous of nurses dr. phil?

live4today, RN · May 22, 2005

let's face it folks. the nursing work requires a brain, and all the psychology stuff dr. phil does is nothing but a common sense. i cant believe they even have to go to school to do his kind of work. its really funny when psychologists call themselves a "dr" . a little jealous of nurses dr. phil?

ahhhhhhhh....but not everyone is born with or eventually acquires that expensive luxury we call "common sense". :rotfl: so.....we've got to pay those psychologists for at least having the combination of "common sense" and the brains to graduate with a bachelors, masters, and on for their doctorates degree in psychology. many psychs have helped me and my family in hard times, and there's never been any doubt in my mind that i could do what they do and get paid well for it. :chuckle the only thing i lack is..........shhhhh...the degrees.:uhoh21:

Erbasketcase · May 23, 2005

Now you know.
Did you report her?

I haven't had the chance to report her yet. I hope to be able to have some time during work tommorrow. Since I work day shift it is hard to get ahold of the state office without being put on hold for a long period of time.

Mysister · May 24, 2005

is my sister.

leslie :-D · May 24, 2005

is my sister.

i haven't seen the dr. phil show that depicted nures in a negative light.

i did see the one with your sister and he only said 1 time that she was an rn who worked in drug rehab. no matter who was on the show, i think he would have stated what they do for a living.

as her sister, what did you think of dr. phil's approach?

i think many resent him because he does not hold back or sugarcoat the situation.

i truly pray your sister, you bil and their kids are all recovering from all the chaos and wish them peace, faith and continued healing.

leslie

Mysister · May 24, 2005

It was hard to see my sister on TV - kind of surreal. I think Dr. Phil had her number. It was hard to see her in pain, but I think she needed it. She has tried several other times to conquer her addiction, without success. I just didn't like how much they showed of her kids, and some of the stuff about her relationship with her husband seemed too personal and hurtful to him. He may be an enabler and clueless, but he has a good heart. Yet, he did need a firm wake-up call.

From my experience, she is a very rare example of a nurse. Otherwise I would not currently be taking pre-nursing classes myself.

pricklypear · May 24, 2005

Mysister, my heart goes out to you. Good luck with your nursing career. I think Phil was too hard on your brother-in-law, also. People learn to enable to adapt to the situation. It's a conditioning and survival thing. It's not a concious effort. It's not his fault that your sister is an addict, it's not his fault that she continues to use. It's her responsibility. He's doing what comes naturally to a parent with an addicted partner - trying to make life "normal" for his kids. He just needed to be told that it's OK to stop enabling. Believe me, I learned about enabling the hard way - and I never felt lighter than the day I learned that I could stop, and I wasn't resposible for making everything OK.

leslie :-D · May 24, 2005

It was hard to see my sister on TV - kind of surreal. I think Dr. Phil had her number. It was hard to see her in pain, but I think she needed it. She has tried several other times to conquer her addiction, without success. I just didn't like how much they showed of her kids, and some of the stuff about her relationship with her husband seemed too personal and hurtful to him. He may be an enabler and clueless, but he has a good heart. Yet, he did need a firm wake-up call.
From my experience, she is a very rare example of a nurse. Otherwise I would not currently be taking pre-nursing classes myself.

i agree- your bil does seem like a sensitive soul who wanted to keep the peace.

yet they agreed to be interviewed by dr.phil, and if they didn't know his style of in-your-face, then what a rude awakening it must have been. i truly believe your bil just didn't know how to handle the whole situation and he did what he could to keep the peace. not only did he need a wake up call, he needed PERMISSION to not have to give into your sister's demands.

but it took alot of courage for them to be on that show, and i applaud them both.

as for being a rare example, sadly there are too many nurses that use.

but if nsg is something you want to do, then kudos to you. do you have any idea what specialty you want to eventually get into?

when you see your sister and bil, please send them my prayers and support. and feel free to pm me anytime, should you need to vent.

leslie