Telling the public "what nurses do"

iHeartNICU · Jul 25, 2006

I know what you mean. I have basically been a servant to my grandmother this summer because she had some shoulder surgery. All of her friends keep telling me how great of a nurse I'm going to be (I'm in NS). Well, I'm glad that I treat people well, etc, etc, but they honestly think that all nurses do is wait on people. It doesn't seem to cross their minds that so many other things go on. I don't even bother going in to all nurses do because it's almost like they don't believe me that nurses do so many other things. Sorry, I don't have any good info for you on what to tell people. I sure wish I did though.

Lil123 · Jul 25, 2006

I know what you mean. I work in HH as a CNA. Even the office doesn't always get what we do. In my field some jobs are easier than others. When we get the "cushy" job they act like we aren't working. This patient has dementia and has family problems, or interference. She forgets she just got groceries yesterday etc. It's a real strain and I use a lot of tact. The shifts are 8 hours. Guess I'm just blowing off some steam.

ANnot4me · Jul 25, 2006

This is a great point and one that I feel is terribly important because it is a major problem with nursing. It is very difficult to explain and I find that when I try to explain it to people, they get a glazed-over look and aren't really all that interested. I think alot of people do not want the reality of nursing to tarnish their vision of nurses as different than normal people. I also feel people would feel really embarrassed by their comments about nurses and their behavior in hospitals if they knew the kind of responsibility we have. Oh, they also don't want to know about how hard out job is or how pushed to the limit we are most of the time. Scarey stuff, that.

I don't talk much about work with my friends because they don't get it and they get freaked out that I talk about it like it's a job. Well, it is just my job. I chose nursing as a career for a reason, but I wouldn't do it for free. Well, that is not true: I would be a nurse for free. I just would not do it in a hospital.

MIA-RN1, RN · Jul 25, 2006

When I got my PostPartum job, i heard a couple comments along the lines of "Oh, how nice! You get to play with the babies!" Yeah, I wish lol.

I don't know that there is any simple answer.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jul 25, 2006

need help articulating your voice re "what nurses do"?

read:

silence to voice: what nurses know and must communicate

to the public

bernice buresh and suzanne gordon

is the first comprehensive guide to give nurses the information and encouragement they need to make their important work recognized and respected by the public.
if you are a nurse--no matter where you work or your area of expertise--this book is for you! it's a communication guidebook that will help you understand why nursing so often has been silenced, and silent, about its contributions to the care of the sick and the health of the public. it will provide you with the how-tos of effective public communication that you can use with patients, family, friends and neighbors as well as with journalists, policy makers and politicians.

book is so popular they now have second edition with updated info.....

from the authors:

please browse our website. once you've read the book, we'd like you to email stories that describe your work. we will post some so that we can all learn from them. for an example of the kind of anecdotal story we think will transform the public's view of nursing, please go to tell the world what you do

chadash · Jul 25, 2006

This is so important. The public and (as mentioned above) even some managment do not understand what nurses do. Nor do they understand the levels of education. Many of the nurses aides I have worked with refer to themselves as nurses, and sincerely believe they are. I worked with a lady in home health, and the family told us all that they had hired a nurse. She called herself a nurse. I worked with her a while and picked up on some obvious knowledge deficits. When I asked her about her education, she admitted she was a MA without current certification. She really thought of herself as a nurse, so she actually did not deliberately lie.

So said all that to say: state BONs need to require as a factor in nursing education and other non nursing tech areas, a full description of what nursing is and is not. And someone needs to clarify to MAs and CNAs and other techs that they are not nurses.

BCzito · Jul 25, 2006

need help articulating your voice re "what nurses do"?
read:
silence to voice: what nurses know and must communicate
to the public
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i saw this book and when i get a chance i want to read it. i am relatively new in the nursing field (i am in a masters entry program). when i found out about nursing i had a very stereotypical "white hat" view of nurses and what they do. i really didn't understand at all. i had considered medical school and was trying to decide if that is what i really wanted to do and began looking at my options. luckily for me i didn't overlook nursing school. i started to read about nursing and what i read really facinated me and gave me a new outlook on nursing. the more i learn about nursing the more incredible i think it is. i often think about how i can get the word out about nursing. i considered doing a project with my grad nurses assoc that would pay for ads in a local metro paper that actually talked about what nurses do . it sounds so simple but knowing from my own personal experiene, the general public has no idea of the scope of practice of the bedside nurse, and many people don't even know that an advanced role exists unless they have been to one. i think caring is a huge part of nursing, and its definately a large part of the job, but i think the public also needs to see the other side of it. the technical side and the knowledge side. they need to be told outright that nurses do more than stand by your bedside and get you your pills. i think i want to focus on that side if i do end up creating these ads.

nursing rocks!

RNin'08 · Jul 25, 2006

NRSKarenRN thanks for sharing that website! I'm going to have to pick up the book :) It sounds like a great tool for helping us learn how to communicate what we do with the public.

RNin'08

~my reality check bounced~

casi, ASN, RN · Jul 25, 2006

My friends seem to think that I sit in a chair all night and maybe pass out a medication or two (I work night shift).

Wait a second, I thought that's what noc shift nurses did? Everyone knows that all your patients sleep through the night...:roll :roll

I don't have much on the info or links, but I agree it would be nice to have more information presented to the public. As a pre-nursing student I'm still finding out new things about nurses every day.

I also find it kind of scary that the public can have such a strong view of nursing and nurses and not acctually have a clue about what nurses do.

perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2006

That is a great idea. Thanks for the links!!

I had a pre-med extern with me last night, to learn what was going on, who did a lot of sitting at the nurses' station, I am sure she got a good idea of what nurses do or what she THINKS nurses do. That was just irritating.

And I know what you mean whoever said the "glazed eye look" people don't really wanna hear what you do. Oh well... I do want to figure it out too (how to explain/tell them).

santhony44, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 25, 2006

I worked in industry in occupational health and heard that "the rumor" was that "those aren't really nurses, the company just hires them and calls them nurses."

I put up a bulletin board in the hallway with a listing of who the nurses were, where we each were educated, how much experience each of us had, and then a total of experience: x number of years of nursing experience, here for you! Plus, I listed the types of experience we had as a group. I don't know if it really helped the perception among the employees, but it sure made me feel better! Not all of the employees believed that nonsense, but it irked me that any of them did.

I think it's unfortunate, but many people still get their ideas of nurses and what we do from TV and movies. And we know how accurate that is!!