I was reading a post earlier. Normally I love to do that, when I get some downtime I am entertained/educated by posts here and I enjoy it. However I saw something on here that bothered me. It is a recurring theme.
A user said that since a poster was a nursing student and not a nurse she should change her username. I see that a lot here, other users telling posters to change their name because they are students, or CNAs, etc. Does that really bother you??? It's not like it's that big of a deal. If I was a culinary student I would call myself DelaneyBaker and it would be fine. If I was an engineering student I would call myself DelaneyEngineer. It wouldn't be a big deal. Y'all act as if there aren't millions and millions of nurses in the world and are so prideful. It's not that hard to be a nurse. People from dinky little schools are "nurses". People who did things completely online are "nurses". It isn't a big deal.
I don't know why this riled me up so much but it did. Sorry for the rant.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
It's not that hard to be a nurse
Sure, its not hard to be a nurse
- especially when you have a dying patient who is drowning in their own body fluids and despite your very best nursing care they and their family members are suffering badly
- or when you have a little old lady who despite being covered in urine or faeces begs you not to move them because shes in so much pain
- Its not hard trying to catheterise a little old man who has multiple urethral scrictures and a massively enlarged prostate, the bladder scan shows 2.5 litres of urine in the bladder
- certainly not hard for the person with the large fungating wound on their face that would rather let flys crawl over it than let the nursing and medical staff touch it because they are in so much pain.
And I could go on.
Before I give the impression its all doom and gloom there are also the equally rewarding moments, I have one of the best jobs in the world. I'm immensely privileged to be able to walk the final path with people who are dying and to care for them in their final days. When the nursing staff manage to heal an unstageable pressure injury, or manage an outbreak effectively.
I worked bloody hard to get my degree. Took me a whole four years to start as a beginning practitioner, four years later I feel like I maybe know about 1% of all there is to know about nursing, but wouldnt swap it for anything. And yes I have an issue with people who call themselves nurses who arent. Mainly for the point that they are unqualified and have the potential to do more harm than good.
You know who says nursing is easy? People who arent nurses. You become more qualified to make that statement when you become a practicing registered/enrolled nurse. Coming into a nursing forum to tell us how precious we are being and how our job is easy is not conducive to a productive conversation and just gets peoples backs up
I hear ya. I agree that it's splitting hairs when it comes to an unofficial online username, especially if the person is in nursing school.
However, shame on the people who pretend to be nurses. It's hard work to become a nurse, hard work once you are a nurse, and it takes extreme consistency and being detail oriented to continue to be a nurse.
We have so much work to do to change the public perception of nursing, to elevate our profession. I recommend getting involved in your speciality nursing organization as one way to work together.
I'm sure there was an RN that swung by every once & awhile & you didn't see her. The CNA has to be overseen by an RN.
This depends on your state. I know someone who was a "school nurse" as an EMT-B. There is no national standard for what is required to be a "school nurse." And you can tell people all you like that you're the school health technician or some such title, but they are still going to call you "nurse," just like some people refer to MAs as "nurses" in the physician office setting. Doesn't make it right, it just means we need to kindly educate. :)
The OP admitted that she hadn't read the terms of service, but it's gotten lost in the thread. OP, I commend you for admitting when you weren't right. That's a difficult thing to do.
The only other thing I wish you would address is why you think nursing is easy. You'll find out soon enough after you graduate and have that snazzy license number to put on applications. It'll be a different story six months after starting your first job. I do expect that the first time a tech is giving advice like they are a nurse, you're going to lose your temper.
Please take in consideration every comment you've been given about how nursing isn't easy. We earn our license and I assure you we don't make enough per hour for what you have to deal with.
Thank you for being humble. I wish you the best in nursing school.
WHOA... My name is also Delaney B. and I work as a nurse tech... now I think I understand the weird vibe I've been receiving from my nurses on the floor today. Dude...whoa. For the record... my name is Delaney B. and I am a CNA in Tennessee and I respect nurses very much. So, yeah. Don't hate me if you work with me because I AM NOT the OP.
WHOA... My name is also Delaney B. and I work as a nurse tech... now I think I understand the weird vibe I've been receiving from my nurses on the floor today. Dude...whoa. For the record... my name is Delaney B. and I am a CNA in Tennessee and I respect nurses very much. So, yeah. Don't hate me if you work with me because I AM NOT the OP.
To you maybe, LOL. But, damn. I'm already having a hard time because I'm studying to go to med school and I'm a giant obsessive dork who gets really excited about medicine and I've accidentally gotten too stoked a few times before a nurse has gotten to know me and gone into a schpeal talking to the patient about the pathophysiology of something a patient is experiencing... all the info was correct, but it was "out of my scope." Most of my nurses know me now and encourage me to educate the patients because they know I won't talk about something unless I know what I'm talking about and that I am basically just regurgitating from textbooks, but some of the nurses who haven't gotten to know me yet are still sort of (and VERY RIGHTFULLY SO) worried when I start spouting stuff. Most CNA's should for the love of GOD not say a damned word... I hate to say I'm an exception, but I am... but I will totally back off if a nurse asks me to, but that doesn't happen once they get to know me. I have no life except studying medicine. Seriously... it's kind of sad and glorious at the same time.
Tenebrae, BSN, RN
2,021 Posts
Sure, its not hard to be a nurse
- especially when you have a dying patient who is drowning in their own body fluids and despite your very best nursing care they and their family members are suffering badly
- or when you have a little old lady who despite being covered in urine or faeces begs you not to move them because shes in so much pain
- Its not hard trying to catheterise a little old man who has multiple urethral scrictures and a massively enlarged prostate, the bladder scan shows 2.5 litres of urine in the bladder
- certainly not hard for the person with the large fungating wound on their face that would rather let flys crawl over it than let the nursing and medical staff touch it because they are in so much pain.
And I could go on.
Before I give the impression its all doom and gloom there are also the equally rewarding moments, I have one of the best jobs in the world. I'm immensely privileged to be able to walk the final path with people who are dying and to care for them in their final days. When the nursing staff manage to heal an unstageable pressure injury, or manage an outbreak effectively.
I worked bloody hard to get my degree. Took me a whole four years to start as a beginning practitioner, four years later I feel like I maybe know about 1% of all there is to know about nursing, but wouldnt swap it for anything. And yes I have an issue with people who call themselves nurses who arent. Mainly for the point that they are unqualified and have the potential to do more harm than good.
You know who says nursing is easy? People who arent nurses. You become more qualified to make that statement when you become a practicing registered/enrolled nurse. Coming into a nursing forum to tell us how precious we are being and how our job is easy is not conducive to a productive conversation and just gets peoples backs up