"Just a Nurse"

jessi1106, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2009

Wow, thanks for the discussion.

Here is what Suzzane Gorden has to say about her poem:

In 2001, out of a sense of frustration and even outrage the persistent devaluation of nursing, I sat down to write "Just a Nurse." Since I began writing about nursing more than 20 years ago I've heard the phrase "I'm just a nurse," over and over again. It's almost always followed by an explanatory comment like:

"I'm not an expert on health care, so how can I voice my opinions?"

" If I do express my views, no one will listen to me anyway."

"Who am I to make my concerns known?"

What made me even more alarmed was hearing nurses "just a nurse" each other. For example, all too often Nurse Practitioners or other Advanced Practice Nurses would tell me that they never wanted anyone to think that they were, God forbid, 'just a nurse. "

After hearing this phrase for years, I sat down and wrote "Just a Nurse." I conceived "Just a Nurse" not as a poem, but as a recruitment campaign for nursing. It was reproduced in the book I wrote with my colleague Bernice Buresh From Silence to Voice. I usually read it at the end of most of my lectures. It's become so popular that I decided to make a poster of it.

A lot of people have said that they appreciate the poster and poem. Mary Tonges, Vice President of Patient Care Services at the University of North Carolina Medical Center told me my favorite story. She was talking to a nurse who came out with "Hey I'm just a nurse, and she responded, "no you aren't" and gave her the poster. I hope you can find it of use as well.

Keepstanding, ASN, RN · Nov 17, 2009

i am a nurse also........i left out the "just" on purpose ! we are not just anything. we matter and do make a difference in people's lives. hold your heads high and keep on doing what you do nurses !

praiser :heartbeat

Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2009

I really like this poem. I'm a nursing student too and the thing I like best about my new profession is the fact that we're highly educated professionals who are also "just" angels in white.

But we aren't "angels in white," that's the whole point. That stereotype is a holdover from the olden days of nursing and is inextricably linked with the "physician's handmaiden" image -- i.e., the lovely, ministering spirit who is perfectly behaved in the midst of chaos and does exactly what she is told by the doctor.

Doctors are held in such high esteem in our society because they are acknowledged as human beings who happen to be possessed of great intelligence. They are allowed to be individuals (why do you think there are so many medical dramas out there, putting their "doctors" into the most ridiculous and unprofessional situations?) without impugning their mental capacities. On the other hand, as long as the public's perception of nursing is one of a massive, faceless, brainless angelic chorus, we will never secure the kind of respect as a profession that physicians command.

wanderlust99 · Nov 17, 2009

uh the whole point of the poem is we are not JUST NURSES. Duh.

Aurora77 · Nov 18, 2009

But we aren't "angels in white," that's the whole point. That stereotype is a holdover from the olden days of nursing and is inextricably linked with the "physician's handmaiden" image -- i.e., the lovely, ministering spirit who is perfectly behaved in the midst of chaos and does exactly what she is told by the doctor.
Doctors are held in such high esteem in our society because they are acknowledged as human beings who happen to be possessed of great intelligence. They are allowed to be individuals (why do you think there are so many medical dramas out there, putting their "doctors" into the most ridiculous and unprofessional situations?) without impugning their mental capacities. On the other hand, as long as the public's perception of nursing is one of a massive, faceless, brainless angelic chorus, we will never secure the kind of respect as a profession that physicians command.

I didn't take it to mean that we are brainless drones doing the will of doctors. I like the idea of the "lovely, ministering spirit." I'm not sure how such an ideal is offensive. There's no reason that being a highly trained, highly educated professional means that a person can't approach his or her vocation as a nurse with a servant's heart.

TurtleLittle, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, CRNA · Apr 19, 2011

Of course we are angels. Come on, who has such a huge heart to stay with sick and despaired pts when they need someone the most. Doctors sometimes are too busy and we are the only one who always on the pt's side. Other healthcare profession are not that much concerned about their pts when they perform their jobs (RT,OP,PT, lab tech) as we are. They don't really have to watch out for the pt's conditions all the time if they want to. The harm to the pt wouldn't be as big as an inadequate nurse. I guess bc they are not nurses: We are angles in white. ^^

guyhofmann · May 20, 2013

Hi - believe it or not: this aching "just a nurse" is the same here in germany, and many, maybe most of the economy related threats.

It even is a topic in Norway - said to be praisde land.

OK - this comment is a bit late in relation to the first thread in 2009. It is still up to date.