Years ago when I first became a nurse I was so proud to be called a 'nurse' I would have shouted it across the roof tops. The reason I came into nursing is very old fashioned and you are now criticized for wanting to help people and care.
Today if you admit you are a RN who came into nursing because you care about people and want to help them it is almost like you are blaspheming.
I read that only nurses who came into the profession for financial and career reasons, or because they lost their first job and have decided nurses is the career for them are the ones who succeed in the profession.
I don't believe it is true I think there is a place for both kinds of nurses, I also don't believe the ones who don't care are the most successful.
In my company you wouldn't get far up the ladder if you said you were in nursing because you are a career RN and that you don't really care about the patient. You have to really want to be a nurse to succeed and it becomes very obvious when you don't care about the patient or want to do the right thing
It is old fashioned to say why I came into nursing 24 years ago, although I didn't come into the profession initially as a career, I have had one heck of a career and have managed to climb the ladder to a dizzy height!
So for all those RN's out there who are frightened to say they came into nursing for reasons of caring or helping people-stand tall and be counted!
I have not really heard of this. I'm only a student but, in my program, it seems like the instructors value a student who has that knack for giving genuinely compassionate care. I wouldn't be the first person to say I have struggled with this. I'm more pragmatic.
We held a review at my campus and invited RNs from the area to come and get CEUs and one of the nurses was arguing over an NCLEX question on priority - something about which patient to see: the one covered in vomit or the one with a PE Dx who suddenly has become dyspneic. This nurse argued that they would go clean the vomit pt first because they didn't want to leave that pt in that state. I guess they're one of those that would argue they "care" too much -- that's my only explanation for why the discussion got so sideways at the review but I digress...
I got into nursing, honestly and truly, because I like physiology and I like the strange things that the human body does and I like job security. I didn't have ANY idea how much I would really come to love the process of it all. That was a bonus for me. The other bonus is that I have learned how to take care of people better and to become more creative at ways of making their hospital stay more enjoyable (I finally got a job as an aide and I know I won't have a lot of time to do the same things once I get my license and start working so I am enjoying it while I have the time to).
But believe me, with all the awesome blessings that have come my way as a result of taking the plunge and getting into this, you can bet I'm going to be the best possible nurse I can be. I may not be the most "caring" but I will make sure to be the safest, quickest, most proactive patient advocate I can be. I want my patients to leave the hospital being prepared to recover to a better state of health than to succumb to the debility that can often follow a hospital stay - that's what I care most about.
I don't get the Nightingale angel praise either. Though she revolutionized nursing care (as many dramatic medical advances come during war time) and was able to support the positive effects these changes in care had through statistical analysis, wasn't she kind of....umm....I don't know, exaggerated as a bleeding heart nurse? I mean, I'm not minimizing her achievements at all, but she was the ultimate pragmatist and social reformer. They aren't exactly known for being the sweetest of angels, if you catch my drift....The mental image of "the Lady with the Lamp" is nice and all, but when it came time to get down, she got down.
I have not really heard of this. I'm only a student but, in my program, it seems like the instructors value a student who has that knack for giving genuinely compassionate care. I wouldn't be the first person to say I have struggled with this. I'm more pragmatic.
We held a review at my campus and invited RNs from the area to come and get CEUs and one of the nurses was arguing over an NCLEX question on priority - something about which patient to see: the one covered in vomit or the one with a PE Dx who suddenly has become dyspneic. This nurse argued that they would go clean the vomit pt first because they didn't want to leave that pt in that state. I guess they're one of those that would argue they "care" too much -- that's my only explanation for why the discussion got so sideways at the review but I digress...
I got into nursing, honestly and truly, because I like physiology and I like the strange things that the human body does and I like job security. I didn't have ANY idea how much I would really come to love the process of it all. That was a bonus for me. The other bonus is that I have learned how to take care of people better and to become more creative at ways of making their hospital stay more enjoyable (I finally got a job as an aide and I know I won't have a lot of time to do the same things once I get my license and start working so I am enjoying it while I have the time to).
But believe me, with all the awesome blessings that have come my way as a result of taking the plunge and getting into this, you can bet I'm going to be the best possible nurse I can be. I may not be the most "caring" but I will make sure to be the safest, quickest, most proactive patient advocate I can be. I want my patients to leave the hospital being prepared to recover to a better state of health than to succumb to the debility that can often follow a hospital stay - that's what I care most about.
I would not go and clean vomit first if another patient was dyspneic with an admission of PE-I would however ask somebody to go and help clean up the pt who had vomit, on my way to assessing the patient who was dyspneic
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Years ago when I first became a nurse I was so proud to be called a 'nurse' I would have shouted it across the roof tops. The reason I came into nursing is very old fashioned and you are now criticized for wanting to help people and care.
Today if you admit you are a RN who came into nursing because you care about people and want to help them it is almost like you are blaspheming.
I read that only nurses who came into the profession for financial and career reasons, or because they lost their first job and have decided nurses is the career for them are the ones who succeed in the profession.
I don't believe it is true I think there is a place for both kinds of nurses, I also don't believe the ones who don't care are the most successful.
In my company you wouldn't get far up the ladder if you said you were in nursing because you are a career RN and that you don't really care about the patient. You have to really want to be a nurse to succeed and it becomes very obvious when you don't care about the patient or want to do the right thing
It is old fashioned to say why I came into nursing 24 years ago, although I didn't come into the profession initially as a career, I have had one heck of a career and have managed to climb the ladder to a dizzy height!
So for all those RN's out there who are frightened to say they came into nursing for reasons of caring or helping people-stand tall and be counted!
I really don't care why anyone became a nurse. It's none of my business. I just hate it when someone criticizes or flames someone because "you're not in it for the right reasons."
And I hate it when someone who is absolutely incompetent claims to be "nursier than thou" because "I got in it for the RIGHT reason."
Just because nurses are interested in getting good pay and benefits does not have to distract from caring for others. I think most nurses care for people and want to help others. I feel the ones who shout from the rooftop that nursing is their passion and they do it to help others are trying to make their fellow coworkers who are not so passionate feel bad!
I care about people and saw nursing as a way to use my brain and help people, but I also was concerned about making a living wage. I would never be a CNA because they work too hard and don't make a living wage. Yet there are many fine CNA's that are kind and help people and serve people even more than nurses do! I guess I'm saying we don't need to wear a badge that we are nurses. There are many jobs and fields one can work where they help others. Even such lowly jobs as cashier or waitress help people and lift people's spirits in the little things they do. It really is about the little things we can do for one another that shows we care, not a badge that we are the "caring" nurse!
I hate when hospitals advertise nurses as angels for marketing purposes and use this caring mystique against treating nurses well and paying them well! No matter what you do for a living if you are mistreated and underpaid it will affect your morale. The problem with America today is the drive for profits by using workers to get every bit they can out of them. This is a pervasive attitude not just in nursing and healthcare but across virtually every business sector out there.
To the caring angels where nursing is your passion that is good and I hope you are able to maintain that passion and not get burnt out, but don't discount your more practical coworkers who also contribute to nursing but help push for good pay, benefits and safe staffing ratio's. We all have our place in nursing and can complement each other, rather than judging one another for not having pure enough intentions!
Ok, guys, please pull in the claws for a minute. No one nurse is inherently better or worse than any other nurse.
We all got into nursing for our own reasons, some simple, some complicated.
Why I decided to become a nurse 40 years ago, fresh out of high school, dewy-eyed and idealistic might be totally different than why you, at 45, married with grown kids, squeezed out of your first profession, decided to become a nurse.
Or, it might not. Who cares? Like I said before, I'm damn good at what I do. If you're good at what you do, I'm not wondering what motivates you. I'm just glad you know what you're doing.
Madwife, I think you may be a bit confused on what you are reading in here. I think where you are seeing people get shot down in here is not for caring, but for those that scream from the rooftops but this is my dream!!!! And I know I am so meant to do this!!! I feel like those are the people that get shot down in here. And I will admit, it comes from me sometimes.
I see hundreds of people in here over the years, that want to come into nursing for several reasons. They are unhappy, not feeling fulfilled in their current job. That leaks over into their personal life. Now they are miserable all the way around. Now what do they do? Why they saw this commercial the other day that talked about this very thing. Your dreams and life will be changed and you will have a feeling of fulfillment by going into nursing. Plus, they make so much money. All of your problems in life will be solved. So they think, heck why not? They have absolutely not the first clue about the responsibility of a nurse, or the work it takes to get there. So when they struggle in the prereqs or have a horrendous GPA from previous schooling, the rest of us that worked hard are supposed to move over because this has been their dream for the last 10 minutes and they just know they were meant to do this. After all, why would you really need to know how to do math in nursing? Or just because they fail the NCLEX 28 times and are on try number 29, has no bearing on whether they will be a good nurse. These people especially rub me the wrong way.
And there are tons of other examples. I personally get tired of well I have lead this tragic life or I have test anxiety so I can't pass anything. We all have our own struggles in life and our crosses to bear. But you, Special Suzy Snowflake do not deserve anything more than me, nor do you deserve to become a nurse more than me. I've worked extremely hard to get where I am today. I have shed my fair share of tears along the way, but I am almost there.
Believe me, when I am an RN next year, and 10 years after that, I will not be afraid to tell anyone how much I care about people. Do people irritate me sometimes, yes, but that won't ever change how I care for a patient. I am a person who thinks with her heart, and wears her heart on her sleeve. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. My boyfriend was making fun of me the other night because we play each other in fantasy football for fun. Just for bragging rights each week. I lose every week. He says if I would pick with my head and not my heart, I might win. I said after 8 mos, you mean you don't know that I think with my heart on almost everything I do? We had a good laugh and he said he would never change me and my heart one bit.
I think there needs to be a happy medium. You can't be a great nurse without compassion. You can't be a great nurse either without being a little realistic now and then. And sometimes, no matter what, people need to hear some realism. I thinks it's also about knowing your own strengths and weaknesses as a person and picking the correct career in nursing for you. I know I care too much to work in LTC. I got attached to those people seeing them day after day and I cried several nights in my car after some of my favorites passed away. It was too emotional for me. I liked ER because we only saw people for a short time. But was it too short to make that connection and make a difference? I don't know. I liked PostOP because we could see progress, and we had them for a few days. I start my Labor and Delivery rotation on Thursday, and I am super excited. Which is weird because I didn't think I would. Maybe it will be my niche.
Like I said, sometimes it's hard to hear the same thing in here day after day. But I would never down someone for being caring and compassionate. I think maybe you need to sing it from the rooftops again to get that feeling back.
Look, if you went into nursing based on the angel of mercy belief, awesome, rock on. That does NOT mean you are a better nurse than the nurse who doesn't genuflect and the Altar of Flo. I've seen firsthand second-career nurses whom I genuinely admire and learned so much from, and the angel of mercy types I wouldn't trust my pet rock with because they believe their passion is what makes a great nurse and forgo non-passion things like refining skills and further education.
This, much like the ADN vs BSN debate, is pointless. People are different, motivations are different, approaches are different. Respect the differences, as it prevents the field of nursing from becoming stagnant.
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madwife2002, BSN, RN
26 Articles; 4,777 Posts
Yep I can see myself wearing a T-shirt which says " Nightingale Glitter RN' and it will go nicely with my halo