Elspeth

Yes, I love my job. RN x 26 yrs + all sorts of areas (jack of all trades, master of none??). Whenever I stopped loving an area I have found a new one. Am currently working out-pt cardiac rehab and love love love it. No docs (which is both good and bad) Work in a gym/swim on my lunch break. Low stress and even less bodily fluids. Only med is NTG SL. See alot of PVCs, bigeminy, sometimes runs of PSVT and an occasional scary block but mostly NSR, thank goodness.Mostly am teacher, cheerleader and psych nurse now,(lotsa depressed Type As in denial, lol), cannot believe they pay me to do this. Am ACLS cert still and do worry some about using those rusty skills but know deep down I can go into that mode if need be. Looking back I think I would have also enjoyed either teaching or psychology as careers but luckily feel that I use both in Nursing. Definitely NO regrets.

I agree that was quite an uncalled for insult...however.....even though it would have taken every ounce of self-control I ever may have I would have strived to NOT RESPOND, LOL! I think the guy was looking for a major reaction and by golly he got one. As a professional I've learned not to sweat what others think of me.It really makes no difference to me at all. If the guy didn't mean anything to you personally than why take it personally kind of thing. I wonder if sometimes you can make more of a statement by not saying anything. And no, I am not a doormat, lol!

:chuckle I'm no golfer....but I'm a swimmer :chuckle

I am lol....I looked up "angel" in The American Heritage Dictionary and way down there(after all the definitions we are relating to here I found.....under def #6: a. enemy aircraft; b.a radar echo of unknown origin :) Also...in Catholic teaching there are male angels: St Michael the Archangel for ex. And finally.....I have been guilty of at one time or another pinning a tiny angel pin on my collar but I did that to remind me that (hopefully) I have a guardian angel watching over me. I really don't think it took anything away from my professionalism but who knows! Hopefully I'm more than a pin.(Don't say pin head...i know, i set myself up for that) I used to wear fuzzy bears on my stethoscope but that was when I worked in PEds. We all did there, nurses, residents, attendings etc. It was fun. OK, enough confessions. I'm done :) The end.

"It is my opinion that you must be selfless to some extent in order to care, if we were only self involved then we could not provide care at all! While performing tasks that releive pain, and sooth suffering, are we being completely self involved? Can we? Isn't it necessary to have consideration, and compassion for those you use your skill base to serve? Yes I said serve. Are you now going to tell me that we in no way shape or form provide a service? The more you attempt to make a case against the Angel sterotype you force me to wish that more nurses were providing selfless service. I guess the way I feel about the Pts in my care is that I do care I care if they live or die, I care if they feel better after I give pain medicine, I care that the nausea and vomitting stop. A post like this seems to advocate being completely uncaring, not just Non-denominational, not just attempting to be competent and professional but devoid of feelings at all. Should we have a non-committal relationship and serve as automatons? I know I can not. The deep bitterness at anyone even thinking that nurses care and have feelings and compassion, and that compassion could in any possiblilty be religion based is overboard to the extent of militant!" YES! You and I are on the same page. Beautifully expressed. Thank you. ELspeth

This discussion got heated....really hit some nerves. (I need some more coffee.) It's good in that we're thinking and hashing it out. For as many different personalities out there don't you think we will find as many different nurses and approaches out there? We need all and each of us in one capacity or another. I have noticed that often the more technically gifted people wind up in high-tech units and the more touchy feely ones wind up in areas where they have time to use their gifts. I worked acute and chronic dialysis for 8 years and we ran at the speed of light. It was Mach 1 every day. When I switched to home health my coworkers happily conngratulated and laughed because they knew I'd have time to sit down and talk with the patients which I love to do. I can do the tech stuff but am more of a psych nurse deep down. Has anyone ever read the book, "Thank you for Being Such a Pain?" I read it about once a year. It is a wonderful spiritual/psychological book (non denominational; written by a Rabbi I think)that reminds us when someone (ANYone: we can each fill in the blank as to who pushes our buttons: angel, brat, do-gooder, rude, arrogant etc) really GETS to us the trick is to look inwards and realize WHY this person is aggravating us so much and to see it as a chance for personal growth. In other words....flip it upside down and see the pain in the a** as a blessing. I know....it ain't easy but it does make you think. I know our (capitalist) society rewards with $$$$$ but there has to be more than $$$ to bring inner peace. Hopefully each of us here is able to pay our heating and food bills etc. And hopefully when we go to bed at night (or morning!) we can say we made some sort of difference in someone's life. One more comment....yeah, nursing may be prone to attracting martyrs but they are around in all professions(maybe except lawyers, lol). Didn't this start in elementary school with the teacher's pet? OK, more coffee please... :)

"In no way do I think being called an angel could ever hurt the nursing profession because being called an angel is just that, a term. Yes! Exactly. :) "If I am called an angel, good for me ...If someone is offfended by that, oh well..I don't lose sleep over such things these days.... Me too, :) "..Whether they are "angels" business people, stay at home people, infirm people, long gone but forever remembered people, thats something I consider important." Amen! :)

Good post; good points. Yes, you are right, It IS about me (each of us) in that we bring our unique SELVES to work and we are interacting with people who have specific needs.....But I still think I get my me time at home :) and I consider myself "healthy",lol. I love work because I love my time off. I enjoy my patients because I enjoy my family and friends. I'm fortunate because as an extroverted people person nursing has been a good fit for me.....it's about balance: if I'm playing hard at home with my family then I can work hard. I do have boundaries: I only work (3) 8 hr shifts during the week but I give it my all when I'm there. I don't watch the clock because I consider myself a professional. But my boss also understands I have a child to pick up from school after work. I've always thought one of the coolest aspects of Nursing is all the choices we have in different areas to work in. There is somewhere for each of us. I feel successful now because I am a Cardiac Rehab nurse and I work in a gym. I get paid to preach what I've practiced my whole adult life.This may sound funny but I have very little interaction with management....kinda get to run my own show...no doctors etc so I feel autonomous. I agree that if there is not a feeling of teamwork or common courtesy and we've done our best it's time to move on. Life's too short to be unhappy at work. Good luck from this nurse who is no angel, but just try to be a decent human being, warts and all, and care for people how I'd want them to care for me and am cool with that.

One more thing and then I have to go watch E.R. (LOL) Nursing as a profession is NOT ABOUT ME. That's kinda the whole point for me. The day it's about ME (or whatever they call me, lol) I need to make a change. And now it's time for some popcorn........see ya!

I must be getting old, lol. Does this thread strike anyone else out there as much ado about nothing? We are so overly sensitive. In 25 yrs I've been called an angel from time to time and I have taken it simply as what it was meant.....a heart-felt thankyou. Period. I am not insulted or feel demeaned (is that a word?) . I have enough self confidence in what I do to know my value whether or not society (i.e my patients) officially recognizes me every shift. I do not define myself by what others call me. I admit, nursing IS a vocation for me. No I'm certainly not a magical woman in white with wings but I do and have always cared about my patients. I do think about certain ones at home.....I am a human, not a machine. I live in a small community where I run into previous patients in church, Walmarts, the Y etc and I enjoy that. I like being connected to people. Life is so short and we have so much to learn from each other. My patients have taught ME so much over the years and I am thankful for that. They can call me whatever they want...angel or a** , I will still be their nurse. And therein lies the challenge.....

I love nursing.....have been an RN x 25 yrs and am very happy with my career choice. I can honestly say I feel proud to tell people "I am a nurse." Have always thought of nursing for me as more of a vocation. BUT....a few yrs after graduating (BSN) in 1979 when working in DC I was around some female nurses who were disgruntled at being what they thought was "just a nurse" while their friends were going on to be lawyers, docs, architects, vets, whatever. (which they could have certainly done too....) One friend complained that nursing was not really a profession but "blue collar work" since we had to clock in etc and she would be very offended when an older patient asked her where she got her "training." I never really understood the "just a nurse" sentiment because with all the options open to women today (besides nursing, teaching, secretarial work) I always thought it was very cool of those of us who CHOSE Nursing. But when we moved out of DC to a small southern city I couldn't believe the instant status I had as a nurse. Suddenly it seemed like the community I was living in really and truly valued and appreciated nurses. Instead of being asked "why didn't you go to med school?" my neighbors would say, "Wow! You're a nurse?!" as if I had landed on the moon. As far as the med school question, I never felt it was a question of intelligence...I just see Nursing as such a completely different profession......caring for a person holistically etc. Besides, it is a lot of fun...some of my most hilarious moments have been while at work :chuckle One final thought...if any nurse is "ashamed" of being a nurse I would think that nursing is not the root problem......that maybe there are other self-esteem issues there. I think it comes down to one's internal sense of worth/purpose.

Thanks. I live in the south and sometimes the southern accents have a way of twisting words around(!). Don't you know I teach a class on ANN- GI- NA/ s/sx of MI :) so wanted to make sure I was saying it right. (I've been pronouncing both ways to make everyone happy, lol) Actually, with patients, I end up just saying good old fashioned CHEST PAIN. Works for me :)

I hope this isn't a silly question: how do you pronounce angina? Do you say "ann GI (long I) na" or "ANN guh nuh" ???? Or some other way? Thanks.

I don't think any of us started out LIKING gross stuff:eek: but you do get desensitized pretty quickly. Do you have a sense of humor??? It goes a looooong way, LOL. Good luck. I'm a BSN who readily admits that alot of the BS stands for you know what and I'm still here at the (sometimes gross ) bedside after 24 yrs and wouldn't have it any differently