She did not just say that . . .

[Flagellum Dei]

I was at my son's school for American Education Week recently. His second-grade class was starting a new unit on "The People in Your Neighborhood". The unit focuses on the different people and professions that make modern life happen. The class did a "Who am I" exercise wherein a description of the profession was read by one student and the others would guess the profession from a list.

All was going well until the description of a nurse was read.

"I help the doctor keep you well - who am I?" (emphasis mine)

I was on my way out of my chair when two things happened.

1) An image of my scowling wife shot though my mind's eye.

and

2) I had the realization that I had no better way of explaining to a bunch of runny-nosed seven-year olds what a nurse does. [i mean, it's not exactly the crowd that's going to get patient-centered nursing theory.]

The whole thing kind of bothered me. I'm sure my kid's teenage-looking teacher meant no harm or insult, but the fact of the matter is that the shaping of the image of our profession starts out here - clearly this sort of perception isn't the one for which we are looking. [NB: The doctor description held no proviso about "helping" anyone else - for that matter neither did any of the others]

So how do we explain our profession in simple, meaningfull terms that a second grader would get?

Am I making too much of this?

Or is what we do simply "helping the doctor?"

Pete Fitzpatrick

RN, CFRN, EMT-P

Writing from the Ninth Circle

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

That description is accurate for a 7 year old- and any adult that repeats it has a 7yo's knowledge of nursing care. Think of it that way because I'm sure the teacher won't care much about feedback.

[RNcDreams]

I'd be irritated too!

Perhaps you could suggest to her that in the future, she uses the description "I work with the doctor, and when you are sick, I give you medicine, and help you to feel better" or something along those lines

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

I'd be irritated too!

Perhaps you could suggest to her that in the future, she uses the description "I work with the doctor, and when you are sick, I give you medicine, and help you to feel better" or something along those lines

How about I work with the doctor to help you stay healthy?

[caliotter3]

I probably would have said something like that because I wouldn't think that 7 yr olds would want to hear anything that is not stated in simple terms at their level. Much of what we do is dependent upon the doctor anyway, so the teacher was not that off base. I'm sure her intention was not to research the precise professional definition of any of the professions anyway. If the assignment had that much importance, she could have invited members of each profession to come and talk about their jobs and then the responsibility for getting the message across would have been on those individuals. Teachers today are much too busy to be expected to know everything. JMO

[AlabamaBelle]

this really hit a hot button with me. it's never too young to properly educate young minds about the nursing profession.

my own mother was horrified that i wanted to be a nurse. she simply couldn't understand how anyone with any brains would want to empty bedpans, wipe bottoms, etc. it took a lot of education to dispel the myths that have been perpetuated about the nursing profession. she now has 3 daughters and 1 granddaughter who are nurses! and another rn on the way! she is very proud of all of us and has been incredibly surprised at the breadth & depth of what rns really do!

this teacher needs to be educated as to our reality. simply put, we are the ones who work with mds to make sure the patient is getting better. we constantly assess, evaluate and implement appropriate interventions/therapies. there are very simple, understandable ways to get this concept across.

do we rely on mds for orders and such? yes! on the other hand, they rely on us - our assessment skills, our interactions with the patient & family. our mds (critical care unit) always ask the rns about our concerns, our perceptions, what is your "gut nursing instinct" telling you, etc.

may be this teacher needs to be reminded that her profession is not being portrayed in the best of lights at the time. the news is rife with teachers displaying extremely poor judgement. take her to the side and re-educate and help her formulate a better, more appropriate way to ask the question.

okay, off my soapbox

[ShayRN]

Maybe you can explain to the teacher that would be like saying

"I work for your parents to teach you math" See if she gets it then, lol.

Oh, but to answer your question, I tell my 6 and 8 year old that mommy takes care of sick people to make them more comfortable. Or, if needed, to help them die a comfortable death. I might not say that last part to a classroom of 7 year olds, though.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

We DO help the doctors.

While there are some things we can do using our own judgment, almost everything else requires a doctor's order.

My med/surg text devoted two pages to the ethical dilemma of, patient's husband died in the same crash that landed her in the hospital. Doc doesn't want her told. YOU CAN NOT TELL HER.

Doesn't sound like an independent relationship to me.

Now, I think this is wrong. But it's also how it is.

[chocokitten]

can you imagine if the quote for the doc read "I help the nurse to..."

[caliotter3]

chocokitten's response gives us something to think about. It would be just as appropriate for a doctor to say, "I help the nurse to help you to get well." After all, we are always being reminded that we are part of an interdisciplinary "team".

[llg, PhD, RN]

We DO help the doctors.

While there are some things we can do using our own judgment, almost everything else requires a doctor's order.

My med/surg text devoted two pages to the ethical dilemma of, patient's husband died in the same crash that landed her in the hospital. Doc doesn't want her told. YOU CAN NOT TELL HER.

Doesn't sound like an independent relationship to me.

Now, I think this is wrong. But it's also how it is.

The specific example you give is a particular situation and not the general case for many of us in nursing. A lot of us work with a great deal of independence both inside the hospital and in other settings. I believe it is wrong to promote further dependence. We should be promoting further independence by illustrating the independence that we do have and helping others to develop the expectation that independence is not only possible, but also OK.

I like the suggestion of saying that nurses work with doctors and other members of the health care team. Those are easy-to-understand words that don't reinforce dependent stereotypes -- but also don't raise eyebrows and cause confusion and/or controversy.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

A lot of us work with a great deal of independence both inside the hospital and in other settings.

Of course we do. And we are premitted that independence by getting standing orders from physicians, unless we are advanced practitioners. In other words, permission.

I believe it is wrong to promote further dependence. We should be promoting further independence by illustrating the independence that we do have and helping others to develop the expectation that independence is not only possible, but also OK.

As I said, I think that our subordinate position in health care is wrong. However, what should be isn't what is, and "believing" that we should "promote further independence" doesn't mean that we have it.