Im a male nursing student and have come across ALOT of people refering to the role of a registered nurse as "sister" and LPN as "nurse". This is in Australia so we might be abit behind the times. This happen anywhere else?
I work in a nursing home and if a resident needs something explained or given that a LPN cant do they often say "ill just go get one of the sisters". I suppose its useful in distinguishing between nursing roles.
Also when i tell people im studying nursing at uni they ask "wil that make you one of the sisters or a nurse". Maybe its an Aussie thing.
TriageRN_34 We have a few actual "Sisters" that are RN's...but that is a title of Religion as a Nun and nurse. You refer to them as "sister _____" commonly or "nurse sister _____".
But yeah...we call LPN's LPN's and Nurses Nurses.
I am not sure about where you are in Oregon but the last time I checked LPN's are nurses and RN's are nurses. So maybe it is only where you are that they are refered to that way but here in MN we are all nurses.
What a neat thread. I work in the "hood" and if I am addressed as sistah, its just basically a term of familiarity.
I work in an inner city, large dialysis unit and almost all of my patients are very poor.
Interesting how different cultures having different meanings for the same word. When I was a correctional facility nurse, there was a prisoner who took a shine to me. The best way he knew to convey his liking for me was to start calling me his home girl. Picture it - a young Hispanic man calling this old gal "my homey".
Trudy - that is what I have too. We actually have four prisioners from the local federal prison that come to dialyze and they all refer to staff (at least those they like) as their home girls.
oh...now I understand a reply to a previous thread I posted - I thought that person hadn't read my post accurately regarding a co-worker! Sister seems awkward to me, makes me think of the nunns or my biological sister. I guess it depends on where you are from :)
Surely someone knows the answer to this. Or are you the first male RN down under? If so, well, I want a cyber handshake, Mate."
Ahaha not the first male RN, maybe the 3rd...
A guy is still called a "sister" if he's a registered nurse, in my nursing home setting anyway. I guess the words lost its association to nuns and female gender - funny how sister can but not nurse. Oh well...
You could start that one small step for Man and request to be called.....mister, brother, Nurse, whatever......pay it forward, and maybe you can start something.
When I worked in Saudi Arabia the patients all called the female nurses "sister". But I'll be darned if I can remember what they called the male nurses. Somehow seems to me they called them by their first name.
Actually I really liked being called "sister". More friendly I guess.
LOL
I am not sure about where you are in Oregon but the last time I checked LPN's are nurses and RN's are nurses. So maybe it is only where you are that they are refered to that way but here in MN we are all nurses.
traumaRUs, MSN, APRN
87 Articles; 21,287 Posts
What a neat thread. I work in the "hood" and if I am addressed as sistah, its just basically a term of familiarity.
I work in an inner city, large dialysis unit and almost all of my patients are very poor.