I received the following email today from a RN/friend that I worked with and I am ticked! I cannot believe that this is making its way around the world wide web. At first I thought that they had just misused the word experienced and graduate. Or that perhaps they should substitute "experienced" for "burned out" or "incompetent" and "graduate" for "competent". Then I thought this email serves absolutely NO good purpose. It is just another symptom of the bigger problems in Nursing (have you seen one of these for drs? firefighters? police officers? etc?)
The email::angryfire
>Are You a Graduate Nurse or an Experienced Nurse?
>
>A Graduate Nurse throws up when the patient does.
>An experienced nurse calls housekeeping when a patient throws up
>
>A Graduate Nurse wears so many pins on their name badge you can't read it.
>An experienced nurse doesn't wear a name badge for liability reasons
>
>A Graduate Nurse charts too much.
>An experienced nurse doesn't chart enough.
>
>A Graduate Nurse loves to run to codes.
>An experienced nurse makes graduate nurses run to codes.
>
>A Graduate Nurse wants everyone to know they are a nurse.
>An experienced nurse doesn't want anyone to know they are a nurse.
>
>A Graduate Nurse keeps detailed notes on a pad.
>An experienced nurse writes on the back of their hand, paper scraps,
>napkins, etc.
>
>A Graduate Nurse will spend all day trying to reorient a patient.
>An experienced nurse will chart the patient is disoriented and restrain
>them.
>
>A Graduate Nurse can hear a beeping I-med at 50 yards.
>An experienced nurse can't hear any alarms at any distance.
>
>A Graduate Nurse loves to hear abnormal heart and breath sounds.
>An experienced nurse doesn't want to know about them unless the patient is
>symptomatic.
>
>A Graduate Nurse spends 2 hours giving a patient a bath.
>An experienced nurse lets the CNA give the patient a bath.
>
>A Graduate Nurse thinks people respect Nurses.
>An experienced nurse knows everybody blames everything on the nurse.
>
>A Graduate Nurse looks for blood on a bandage hoping they will get to
>change
>it.
>An experienced nurse knows a little blood never hurt anybody.
>
>A Graduate Nurse looks for a chance "to work with the family."
>An experienced nurse avoids the family.
>
>A Graduate Nurse expects meds and supplies to be delivered on time.
>An experienced nurse expects them to never be delivered at all.
>
>A Graduate Nurse will spend days bladder training an incontinent patient.
>An experienced nurse will insert a Foley catheter.
>
>A Graduate Nurse always answers their phone.
>An experienced nurse checks their caller ID before answering the phone.
>
>A Graduate Nurse thinks psych patients are interesting.
>An experienced nurse thinks psych patients are crazy.
>
>A Graduate Nurse carries reference books in their bag.
>An experienced nurse carries magazines, lunch, and some "cough syrup" in
>their bag.
>
>A Graduate Nurse doesn't find this funny.
>An experienced nurse does
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:kiss :uhoh21: :flowersfo: :flamesonb 
:crash_com :selfbonk: 
I really think this was hilarious! In fact I have had it framed and posted in my room for a while now after 24 years I find it to be so close to the way it really is!!!
Gromit
821 Posts
HEHEHEH. I like that! Good sense o' humor!
Tell ya a piece of irony, tho. I was just starting to take my nursing pre-reqs, and was still hauling fuel for a living (fuel tanker-smitruck drivers -not a bad job, but not my lifes' ambition either, but the pay wasnt bad) anyway, I was involved in a major motorcycle accident (unfortunately I was on the bike -and the drunk that nailed me just kept on driving, left me for dead. Thankfully, some one drove by, wondered what the lights were in the ditch (night time) and stopped. Saved my can, and I'll never know who they were). Anyway, I ended up in a hospital in a short-term coma (thank God that it didn't last) and once I woke up, well, anyway, long-story short, I was disgusted and upset at the poor quality of care. Swore I'd never EVER set foot in that facility again.
I've been an RN there for almost 2 years now. Granted, not on the same floor (I don't know exactly where I was, but I know where I WASN'T, and I wasn't on my floor). Its a good facility :)
Gotta always be able to roll with the punches. :)
Oh yeah, I still ride the bike (same one) -its having deeper issues than I am, and in bad need of being replaced, but it still gets me around.