Pushing drugs for the Man bother anyone?

Nurses General Nursing

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Hello All.

I'm a newbie taking prereqs for a BSN.

I just have one big nagging concern :uhoh3: keeping me from fully committing to the program. I want to help people, but I feel that the western allopathic way of surgery/drugs is often very harmful (although sometimes needed in cases of trauma etc).

Does pushing drugs for the giant pharmaceuticals bother anyone out there in the nurse world? I just don't know if I could live with myself doing it all day when I know that many problems could be solved simply by diet change etc.

Please enlighten me!

You obviously have no idea what kind of education I have had. The many years of "higher education" I've had have not educated me. The real education I value is what I taught myself in the last few years from reading hundreds of books (of my own choosing), from scouring the internet, thinking critically, rationally, and intuitively, observing the world, and trying to see through bias and hidden agendas. If I go to nursing school I expect to be "educated" about nursing, not about life or what is really going on in the world.

Sombody - you said it! as Mark Twain said (paraphrased) he never let school interfere with his good education. People can read into a lot of different attitudes with online stuff - I don't think anybody is trying to "inform" anybody else here. We'd all have to be brain dead to not question the status quo. This is what makes out society great. Nurses owe it to their patients to have questions about medical care.

Diahni

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In the end, the human mortality rate remains unchanged at 100%. I read someone who described modern people as those who believe death is optional. If someone dies it is their fault for not eating

proper food or exercise-death becomes your fault.

HA! This is so true. I heard a comic who said, "I quit smoking because I wanted to live. Then after I quit, I wanted to die." People pick their poisons. Taking care of oneself improves the odds but doesn't eliminate that pesky problem of mortality, does it?

Diahni

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Specializes in Cardiac Telemetry, ED.
You obviously have no idea what kind of education I have had. The many years of "higher education" I've had have not educated me. The real education I value is what I taught myself in the last few years from reading hundreds of books (of my own choosing), from scouring the internet, thinking critically, rationally, and intuitively, observing the world, and trying to see through bias and hidden agendas. If I go to nursing school I expect to be "educated" about nursing, not about life or what is really going on in the world.

I was referring to your education in the area of nursing.

Good nursing is evidence based and requires critical thinking; critical thinking is the basis for nursing practice. Nurses are not a bunch of unthinking automatons doing the Dr.'s bidding simply because it says so on a piece of paper or a computer screen (as you seem to be implying).

A little bit of intellectual humility never hurts, either.;)

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.
I was referring to your education in the area of nursing.

Good nursing is evidence based and requires critical thinking; critical thinking is the basis for nursing practice. Nurses are not a bunch of unthinking automatons doing the Dr.'s bidding simply because it says so on a piece of paper or a computer screen (as you seem to be implying).

A little bit of intellectual humility never hurts, either.;)

FYI- "Somebody" isn't a nurse, and isn't in nursing school either. "Somebody's" occupation = handyman (check the profile...)

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i don't know how i'm getting played..i'm the one getting the free pens...

i got a ....

calculator!

woot!

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

Well, it's almost time for me to get to bed, but before I do, I'll use the bathroom, wash my hands with my FREE HAND SOAP, take a bubble bath, dry off with my FREE BEACH TOWEL, & then put on my FREE T-SHIRT to wear to bed.....;)

Ahhhhh, this lovely bedtime scenario brought to you by America's Pharmaceutical Company Drug Reps....

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Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).
You obviously have no idea what kind of education I have had. The many years of "higher education" I've had have not educated me. The real education I value is what I taught myself in the last few years from reading hundreds of books (of my own choosing), from scouring the internet, thinking critically, rationally, and intuitively, observing the world, and trying to see through bias and hidden agendas. If I go to nursing school I expect to be "educated" about nursing, not about life or what is really going on in the world.

We do know, from your OP, that you haven't been to nursing school, so I think it's fair enough to suppose you don't know as much about nursing as we do. And while some of the responses have been a bit facetious, I think there have been some legitimate attempts to "enlighten" you that a.)nursing is much more than passing meds and b.)meds have an important role to play in restoring/maintaining health.

Nursing is holistic, and we are all aware of the value of a healthy lifestyle. We don't all practice a healthy lifestyle, but we preach it, and I think a lot of us adopt the attitude that even if you can't do everything right, do something right. It's better to be an active, non-smoking diabetic on meds than a sedentary, smoking diabetic untreated.

Personally, I'm pretty skeptical about a lot of alternative medicine. For a person with chronic pain, for example, there is some evidence that accupuncture may help, but I haven't seen a lot to support magnets. As far as I can see, most herbal remedies are sold for a profit. A lot of remedies--herbal and otherwise--are sold as "dietary supplements" because they can't be sold as medications. They aren't FDA approved as medications because they haven't undergone the appropriate trials.

I've had a little success with ginger for mild nausea. I've tried chamomile for insomnia. I'd have no problem suggesting either to a patient in general good health as home remedies that are cheap and generally harmless in normal dosages. But I'm not about to promote the latest snake-oil cure for obesity or impotence, nor would I endorse "dietary supplements" for serious illnesses, in lieu of medications that have been proven effective. If St. John's wort were safe and effective in the treatment of clinical depression, somebody would have gotten FDA approval, by now, and would be selling it for a lot of money. Taking saw palmetto for "prostate health" may or may not be a waste of money. Taking it as a cure for prostate cancer is probably not wise.

Getting back to your original post, there is a lot about nursing that is traditional and non-pharmacological. I think even the busiest of us practice therapeutic touch pretty regularly. Nurse midwifes do a lot of holistic medicine. At my facility, I can treat pain or anxiety by calling for music therapy, and a harpist will come treat the patient and entertain the rest of us. Some of my most important interventions are just pulling up a chair and listening. But I'm also pretty committed to getting my meds passed, safely and in a timely fashion. To me, it isn't a question of whether I can live in two worlds--holistic and allopathic. As a nurse, I have to. A healthy lifestyle will improve the recovery of a patient post brain surgery--after the tumor is cut out.

But, as others have suggested, if you can't get behind getting the tumor cut out, and taking dexamethasone afterward (plus, possibly, chemo and radiation), nursing might not be the most appropriate field for you. Because we do have to live in both worlds.

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Specializes in Peds, ER/Trauma.

so, really, if you think about it, woot = drunken-ness! :lol2:

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:trout:

so, really, if you think about it, woot = drunken-ness! :lol2:

Or, "WOOT! There it is!"

Or am I mangling the rap genre again?

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Specializes in Cardiac.
FYI- "Somebody" isn't a nurse, and isn't in nursing school either. "Somebody's" occupation = handyman (check the profile...)

Ooooh, so he does small jobs...for the man...

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Specializes in Rodeo Nursing (Neuro).

Nursing and pre-nursing students are also welcome on the boards, and welcome to express their opinions, just as others are free to disagree.

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