"Thank you for your service"

[Emergent]

When people find out I'm a nurse these days, they keep thanking me for my service, like they do to the military. I want to roll my eyes at this point. Is this happening to you?

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

For me like a previous poster had somewhat mentioned the issue/cringe-factor isn't thanking me, but specifically thanking me for "my service." I get paid well to do what I do and I absolutely wouldn't do it without that paycheck, so it doesn't feel genuine on my end to receive a compliment like that. Same thing with the hero aspect even if it is coming from a person rather than a large corporation - although I absolutely love my job and can't imagine doing anything else, I very much am extrinsically motivated by the paycheck I receive and so in my eyes can't view that as being a hero. 

I have learned to appreciate the genuine comments, even if I don't agree with the wording, when they are coming from genuine people.

[JKL33]

I've said something like, "Well...I enjoy my job and wouldn't want to do anything else. I'm thankful for a lot of different jobs that people do." Maybe kinda cheesy but gives the idea that this doesn't really involve a sacrificial type of service to humanity.

[amoLucia]

TY.

I guess what needs remembering is that ONE nurse is collectively representing ALL nurses. So thru that inclusive thought process, a person is collectively recognizing all nurses by complimenting you.

There's a lot of nurses (and related disciplines) out there, NOT in direct care or front line service. Yet without their job performance, trickle down effects for the direct care staff would NOT be possible. They're doing singular jobs for the 'common' good. That too, is what we're acknowledging.

Let us say 'THANKS'.

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

I freaking love it every time it happens to me. 

[Merrie82, RN]

On 4/4/2021 at 10:36 AM, Curious1997 said:

It's an American thing Macawake. For some obscure reason a country that is shielded by two huge oceans and two massive countries on either border is infatuated with the military and the police and strong people. Because of my size, I notice how people capitulate to me easily and ignore the intellect. It's also really evident re females as well. They appear to be solely judged on their looks. People here is all about the exterior. 

I know you qualified your answer here with 'I'm generalizing'....if you know that you are, maybe you should just try not to??Certainly most people that I know and love are not "all about the exterior" as you say. 

As for the US being obsessed with the military...well, we certainly have been involved with enough armed conflict that this obsession is warranted. I won't say it is correct, or good, or that I have agreed with all of the conflicts we have been a part of, or in some cases instigated. But we have been 'at war' so to speak (usually without any official declaration of war during modern history) for the entirety of our brief existence as a country.

I don't necessarily thank people 'for their service' who are in the military (only bc the phrase sounds weird on my tongue),  but I do thank them for working to keep me and everyone else safe.

People join the military, often straight out of high school, as a way to get out of poverty, or their questionable family situations, or bc they want to go to college and can't otherwise,  or sometimes, yes, because they want to SERVE their country. They receive basic training and often are deployed shortly thereafter to war zones where they will risk their lives and sanity in SERVICE to their country for very little pay. (Now I'm thinking the word service is more appropriate to say, and I should feel OK with using it).

I have a nephew who went to Iraq for 2 tours of duty starting at age 19. He came back, but he never really came back. He left a lot of himself there, and lost several friends who died. He sacrificed a lot, A LOT, in service to this country. My brother in law was in the Marines, and was deployed twice. He made it back okay. Many of his mates didn't,  and many more have since committed suicide.

Whether I agree with the political motivation for going to Iraq or not,  I still think he and others like him in the military deserve my thanks. I'm not infatuated with the military,  but I do appreciate those who give up so much to ensure my safety, whether they be police, military, fire, or EMS. 

As far as people thanking us for our service? I feel weird when ppl do, bc I don't put myself in that same first responder category, but I just say your welcome, or thanks. The intent is kind, and that's really all that matters. ❤

[vintagegal, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

So someone is feeling as though they are giving a complement and you *swoon* at the unconscionable act. 

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

9 hours ago, Merrie82 said:

I know you qualified your answer here with 'I'm generalizing'....if you know that you are, maybe you should just try not to??Certainly most people that I know and love are not "all about the exterior" as you say. 

I’ve lived in four countries (I’m American and am back in the USA now) and one thing I’ve noticed is that people looove to hate on their home countries. It’s a national pastime in most nations, as it is for the poster who wrote that all Americans are “all about the exterior”. Not sure how that would be relevant to being obsessed with the military anyway, but the poster seems to have a chip on their shoulder. 

[T-Bird78]

It makes me feel weird because I’m just doing my job. That being said, a thank you helps equalize the “you’re a darn idiot for believing in this stupid mask thing” that I’ve gotten a lot of the past 13 months. I’ve had pts tell our office as a whole to stay safe and stay healthy, which is appreciated. 

[amoLucia]

13 hours ago, Merrie82 said:

 

 ..... I don't necessarily thank people 'for their service' who are in the military (only bc the phrase sounds weird on my tongue),  but I do thank them for working to keep me and everyone else safe.

 

 

It get sooo easy after a while. Just keep on doing it. I will recognize anyone I think is (was) a vet. I will deliberately go out of my way for that brief acknowledgement. 

To see them 'glow' is just so humbling, altho that's not my reason. I truly appreciate their service (and their military peers). They take the risks that I don't, and they give up so much that I can take for granted.

[DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN]

It isn't something you'd be routinely thanked for here in France, ditto military personnel.

However, exceptionally during the first Covid wave when we were all on lockdown and everybody was very scared, a neighbour did slip a note in my letterbox thanking me for going to work and putting myself at risk during this difficult time. I actually found that very touching.

[amoLucia]

^^^^^^^ Exactly!

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

I get uncomfortable when people thank me for my service for the sole reason that I do not know how I am supposed to respond. Like... "You're welcome" seems strange and everything else seems snarky. I never know what I'm supposed to say. 

Your suggestions...