I checked in on the edmonton sun webpage today to see if there have been any replies to T.A Ball's statements about nurses and this is what I found:
RE: OCT. 29 letter. I oppose Carol Carbol's labelling of nurses as professionals. Nursing should not be awarded the same status as a true profession such as law, accounting, medicine or dentistry. A true professional performs highly complex tasks and demonstrates a high level of judgment. Nurses must follow policy and procedure and make low-level operational decisions. As an accountant, I am insulted that a nurse would believe they are my equal.
Ivan Miller (Don't get sick.)
Isn't that ridiculous? People just don't seem to understand what nurses really do, and the level of knowledge you need to become a nurse. Since I was a young girl I have always admired nurses and thought they were incredibly smart. Being a student nurse, I realize how much I need to understand before I graduate and looking at all you nurses on this forum, I think you are some of the most amazing people in the world with so much to offer and we ARE professionals. If we weren't I wouldnt have received a "credit line for professional students" to get through school. Anyway, just wondering what u guys thought about this. I didn't realize people could be so ignorant.
Well, I'll drop a big rock in the pool. I do not think nurses are professionals either.
So there. It's said, it's done. First of all they don't have the time for it. I think better suited terminology would be highly skilled slave labor work force. Keep their noses to the grindstone and there's no time left for any enchancement.
Well, I'll drop a big rock in the pool. I do not think nurses are professionals either.
So there. It's said, it's done. First of all they don't have the time for it. I think better suited terminology would be highly skilled slave labor work force. Keep their noses to the grindstone and there's no time left for any enchancement.
See, that suprises me, Accountant? Accountant DOES NOT EQUAL CPA
I have seen so many "Accountants" that are actually unlicensed and no-degreed bookkeepers, yet they want to put these folks into the same catagory as CPA's?
I mean, how much skill does it take these days to be a CPA when you have a computer program doing 95% of the work for you?
I also don't think "Professionals" are limited to those professions either. I can think of tons of people that fall into those catatories that would be considered a professional.
I'm suprised they didn't say Teachers weren't professional, after all they just go over the same textbook year after year, no decision-making in that. (I say that very sarcastically).
Did I miss something? I thought I just did speak for myself. Face the facts. On this website alone there are several "online degrees". Hardly criteria for a professional, at least in my book. I see none for anthropology, law, medical, pharmaceutical, or even social work. I think in the public view a master's is minimum for recognition as a professional. Pharma saw that and changed it. As a profession, nursing is a wannabee. As a skilled work force, dynamite. We'll end up having to unionize just like all the other skilled workers: autoworkers, electricians, da da da. I don't mean to be harsh, but the proof is in the puddin'. Do autoworkers and electricians jump up on the podium whining about being professional.....nope. That might be because they weren't fed all this garbage by nursing schools in lalaville. We forget one of the oldest rules "He who exalts himself first, shall be exalted last, and he who exalts himself last, shall be first". Air Traffic controllers thought they were professionals too, they were put in their place rather quickly a few years back. Sorry to be raining on the parade, but it really is rather obvious that collectively we are not a profession. Singularly, have it your way.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
People might flame me for my following response, but here it is. :)
In academia, an associate's degree does not carry much value. Moreover, diplomas do not carry much weight. We worked vigorously for our diplomas and ADNs, but other college graduates laugh them off.
Nurses are still considered "blue-collar" or "high proletariat" in many social class structures because of the hourly pay rates, high volume of manual hands-on work, wearing of uniforms, pink collar origins, and lower educational attainment when compared to other professionals. In addition, many nurses behave unprofessionally when they disrespect each other. Others will never come to fully respect us if we don't treat each other with the utmost respect.
We all worked extraordinarily hard for our nursing educations. Some of us who earned liberal arts and humanities degrees before entering the medical field would readily agree that RN programs possess substantially higher levels of difficulty than other college majors. However, there are reasons why many people do not regard nurses as professionals.
Specializes in Education, Acute, Med/Surg, Tele, etc.
Well...if someone doesn't think I am a professional nurse, then why the heck to they trust their actual LIVES with me? A doc sees pts for a small time, I see them constantly and have to alert and act in situations quickly and efficiently to care for the total person in any given situation!
Heck...wonder if this writer has ever given CPR? Most folks that dis nurses will admit they wouldn't want to do CPR or work a code..then I get a little more respect!
But alas...you have both sides of the coin...the patients that don't think you know anything but fluffing pillows, to the ones that think you can order meds and do what an MD does! Ehhhhhh, I deal with both and all spectrums inbetween...and just have one motto, do your personal best regardless in the professional manor you were taught!
You want to get the skinny out about nurses...sadly it may take a TV show strictly about the RN view (there was one long ago called NURSE). People respond to that...Emergency got paramedics some note, Grays Anatomy and ER get MD's seen as humans and professionals, and the nurses always fall inbetween (a few stories here and there and always involving an MD! GRRRRRRR).
tridil2000, MSN, RN
657 Posts
well, i think if he was laying in his own loose stool, no one would "run" to clean him up!
hehe!