Summing up nursing

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 3, 2008

I fully agree with the physician who stated that nursing is a demanding profession.

However, we cannot depend on non-nurses to tell us about our jobs. After all, they are nothing more than outsiders who are looking into our world.

**All Heart RN** · May 3, 2008

Nurses are very patient people. They realize that their reward will not be in this lifetime, for to receive even a fraction of the recognition they deserve, would be to lessen the importance of the doctor. Nurses must believe in reincarnation!"

I always take issue with statements such as this one. Generalized statements such as, "nursing is a calling".

These statements make it sound as though Nurses are somewhat like nuns in that we all were inspired by a higher being to pursue our profession.

Some people may feel this way but I feel as though I assessed my skills and talents and considered the pros and cons of this career and then made the educated decision to then pursue it.

There was no sense of a "calling" or inspiration from above.

Nursing is a profession that does ofcourse require patience and care but not all good nurses are patient. There are times when we lose our patience and have to step back for a bit to compose ourselves. As much as some of us may like to believe, we are not superhuman.

This is a demanding profession. This is a profession that requires care, ofcourse, but all too often I think it's not emphasized enough that it also requires B-R-A-I-N-S.

Intelligence!

**All Heart RN** · May 3, 2008

This post reminds me that, overall, Nursing ads are still in need of a makeover!

To be fair, I have noticed that Johnson and Johnson (and others) have placed ads that underscore the fact that Nursing requires alot more than just patience and care.

However, I still see too many ads with Nurses cuddling babies.

The words: intelligence, strength, stamina, fortitude, crtical thinking, and patient advocate warriors (:wink2:) should be used to describe the skills needed to enter the Nursing profession.

These are the things that Nursing is made of--not sugar and spice and everything nice!

MistyDawnRN06, BSN, RN · May 3, 2008

I thought that this quote was funny, because I can't count the number of times that nurses are referred to as "mindless bedside assistants." (never mind the fact that many a physician can't spike a drug, load a pump, and titrate a gtt, let alone running 20 drugs or more at once to strike an intricate balance that leads to a heart beat with perfusion, a blood pressure, cerebral perfusion, etc.)

It was just a little nice to hear a physician actually "get" even one portion of the work that we do as nurses!

I agree with above statements. I'm tired of seeing nurses portrayed as the angels of mercy, holding hands, and cuddling infants, etc. I want nurses to be seen as the incredibly intelligent, thorough, analytical, smart, intuitive, creative, and thoughtful beings that we are. We have to have the knowledge to care for our patients, the fortitude to do it safely, and the empathy and compassion to practice with people (instead of treating a piece of paper like many physicians seem to).

We are truly a profession with a unique body of knowledge, research, and field advancement. We are an integral part of the health care team!

As one of my instructors used to say . . . "You need a nurse to save your life."

ecnav · May 3, 2008

I thought that this quote was funny, because I can't count the number of times that nurses are referred to as "mindless bedside assistants." (never mind the fact that many a physician can't spike a drug, load a pump, and titrate a gtt, let alone running 20 drugs or more at once to strike an intricate balance that leads to a heart beat with perfusion, a blood pressure, cerebral perfusion, etc.)
It was just a little nice to hear a physician actually "get" even one portion of the work that we do as nurses!
I agree with above statements. I'm tired of seeing nurses portrayed as the angels of mercy, holding hands, and cuddling infants, etc. I want nurses to be seen as the incredibly intelligent, thorough, analytical, smart, intuitive, creative, and thoughtful beings that we are. We have to have the knowledge to care for our patients, the fortitude to do it safely, and the empathy and compassion to practice with people (instead of treating a piece of paper like many physicians seem to).
We are truly a profession with a unique body of knowledge, research, and field advancement. We are an integral part of the health care team!
As one of my instructors used to say . . . "You need a nurse to save your life."

I will bet most physicians could very well ... "spike a drug, load a pump, and titrate a gtt, let alone running 20 drugs or more at once to strike an intricate balance that leads to a heart beat with perfusion, a blood pressure, cerebral perfusion, etc."

If I had to choose between being stranded on a desert island with a physician or a nurse ... well, what can I say ... I've cornered myself ... LOL. Anyhoo, we are a team and let's not loose sight of our strengths and weaknesses. I just sensed a great deal of self-serving arrogance in your post. I've worked with many 'big-heads' in critical care; they continue to distress me.

:bowingpur

Mulan · May 3, 2008

I came across this in my review for my CCRN exam, said by a physician (I heard it on audio and couldn't quite make out the physician's name):
"Nursing is a very demanding profession . . .
To start with, nurses must learn everything a doctor learns, so that whenever a situation arises that might develop into a mistake on the part of the doctor (if the nurses did what the doctor ordered, instead of what he meant to do) the nurse can distinguish the later from the former and prevent the mistake from occurring.
Then nurses must learn how to use this knowledge so that neither the doctor nor the patient is aware they possess it. For in the former instance, it might cause the patient to lose confidence in the doctor, and in the latter, it might cause the doctor to lose confidence in himself/herself.
Nurses are very patient people. They realize that their reward will not be in this lifetime, for to receive even a fraction of the recognition they deserve, would be to lessen the importance of the doctor. Nurses must believe in reincarnation!"

I've seen this before and there is more to it, it's a joke.

nursemike, ASN, RN · May 3, 2008

I will bet most physicians could very well ... "spike a drug, load a pump, and titrate a gtt, let alone running 20 drugs or more at once to strike an intricate balance that leads to a heart beat with perfusion, a blood pressure, cerebral perfusion, etc."
If I had to choose between being stranded on a desert island with a physician or a nurse ... well, what can I say ... I've cornered myself ... LOL. Anyhoo, we are a team and let's not loose sight of our strengths and weaknesses. I just sensed a great deal of self-serving arrogance in your post. I've worked with many 'big-heads' in critical care; they continue to distress me.
:bowingpur

Don't know that I'd go so far as "self-serving arrogance," or "big heads," but I do agree that doctors deserve respect, just as nurses do. I think the doctor quoted was trying to show respect. I don't entirely agree with his portrayal, but I do like it better than some people's apparent image of a nurse as a chambermaid who gives pills, too.

I see a parallel, in a way, with those who suggest that nurses aides do all the real nursing. The fact is, a nurse's scope of practice includes everything an aide can do, and then some. Similarly, a doctor's scope includes everything a nurse can do, and then some. It doesn't make me a better human being than an aide, or a doctor a better human being than me, nor does it mean that doctors, nurses, aides, and housekeepers aren't important parts of the team.

It's entirely possible that, just as the aides I work with are more efficient doing baths than I am, some doctors may not be as adept at some nursing tasks than I might be. Loading a pump, for example. But I've seen docs draw blood gasses, place ventriculostomies, and do LPs. I don't think many would have a lot of trouble starting an IV.

Mostly, though, there have been a few times in my short career that I've felt like I could start breathing again when the doctor showed up.

I work nights, so I usually deal with residents, including some who may be rather green. In general, our relationship is fairly collaborative. A lot of times, the issue is pretty clear cut, and I just need a doc to sign off on an order. Occassionally, something I'm not sure about is pretty obvious to the doctor, so it's just a quick question. Once in awhile, it isn't obvious to either of us, and we have to put our heads together and figure it out.

There will probably always be some who see healthcare as a rigid hierarchy. Me, I've paged a doctor to ask for an antifungal because the aide doing a bath said a patient seemed "yeasty." The male doctor and the male nurse (me) both said, "Well, she probably knows." I don't let the aides do my assessments, and I don't prescribe meds, but it just seems appropriate to listen to, and offer, input into the process.