Does anybody else find the "I didn't go to school to do X" mentality annoying? Annoying, not the correct word. Hmm...frustrating is more like it. Let me clarify: the "I didn't go to school to do X", X being, I guess, bathing patients or waitressing (i.e. bringing patients sodas, etc). Isn't the whole idea behind nursing to care for both the body and soul (spirit, mind, whatever your religious/cultural beliefs are)? My goal here isn't to be all Florence Nightingale-ish, but just to inquire as to when this attitude began and why.
I believe it's possible to prevent your patient from becoming septic and having a keen eye in recognizing subtle changes AND get your patient or patient's family member a warm blanket or maybe the 10th warm blanket during your shift. If it brings them comfort, why not do it? Nobody is above bringing comfort to a patient Nurses are both skilled, intelligent AND caring. I certainly wouldn't want someone with a "I'm too good for X" mentality to care for myself or my family member. And, yes, I understand that it's not always possible to do the little things for patients; there are certainly shifts from (shall we say purgatory? Yes, that's a kinder word lol) where it's just not possible, and I understand that we're pulled in a million different directions. But, it's everybody's job to help patients, not the CNA vs. nurse mentality.
Which brings me to one of my biggest pet peeves (nurses not helping CNA's). One of my friends who is a CNA at another hospital told me that a nurse refused to help her, saying, "That is not my job. I don't touch patients." WHAT?? Wow is all I can say. Most people in the public thank nurses and appreciate all that we do, but two things that are keeping us from being viewed as a profession would be: the above statement by the few nurses who say/do such things, and gossiping/texting at nurse stations. Hospitals really shouldn't have to have policies forbidding facebook and texting; it should be a given that we don't do such things at work when we should be working. (I understand that there are family emergencies, etc, but still, those can be handled in staff rooms away from patients).
In closing, I just want to thank all of the nurses, CNA's/PCT's on here that work so hard every single day for their patients! There may be days where we may feel like all we did was run, run all shift, and think "am I making a difference?" Yes, most certainly. What would have happened if you had not noticed X, for instance? Would your patient not be worse for the weather? Or how about the :) you got from Mrs Jones in Room 202 for doing X? There seems to be a prevalent "I'm just a nurse" mentality, as well, and that inferiority complex really needs to stop.
