The Culture of Nursing

Nurses General Nursing

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Just out of sheer curiosity, if you could change anything about the culture of nursing, what would it be?

I'll leave it as an open-ended question without adding a poll because I feel as though there are so many different options and perspectives to include in this topic.

Thank you for the feedback! :)

Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.
I'd like the culture of self-care to change. This mentality I see so often amongst nurses that because we take care of everyone else we don't take care of ourselves! I see so many nurses who are obese, are smokers, have substance abuse problems, chronic conditions, don't exercise or eat right, etc. etc. the list goes on. We should role model the health we are trying to promote/maintain/achieve with our patients![/quote']

I completely agree. As a matter of fact, I'm doing handstands over here because this is one of my biggest pet peeves and I am one of the BIGGEST offenders. I don't practice self-care ever. As a matter of fact, I often times come home at the end of the day feeling like I have cared so much for everyone's needs that I no longer have any time or energy left to care for my own. And I hate that feeling.

I'm not sure how to nip that in the bud before it becomes an out of control habit. If you have any tips, let me know! As a new RN

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I completely agree. As a matter of fact, I'm doing handstands over here because this is one of my biggest pet peeves and I am one of the BIGGEST offenders. I don't practice self-care ever. As a matter of fact, I often times come home at the end of the day feeling like I have cared so much for everyone's needs that I no longer have any time or energy left to care for my own. And I hate that feeling.

I'm not sure how to nip that in the bud before it becomes an out of control habit. If you have any tips, let me know! As a new RN

I see all the new, young nurses going to the gym before and after work, and I think that's wonderful -- they're developing healthy habits. Healthy habits which now, at my -- ER -- ADVANCED age -- are more difficult to develop. (Although I do have a gym membership now and use it at least five days a week. See my "Titanium Knee, Meet Treadmill" thread in The Breakroom.) They're getting together to cook healthy meals and they're jumping on and off the vegan bandwagon together. That is all wonderful stuff, and I'm somewhat envious that they're starting now when they're young. These habits will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.

But self care is more than healthy eating and exercise. Self care means doing the foundation work to become comfortable and competent at your job -- including dragging home policies and procedures to read them. It means being able to stand up for yourself AT work. No, not in an aggressive way, but in an assertive way. It took me years to learn that I didn't HAVE to let people speak to me "like that," and I'm sure you know what I mean. Now I don't tolerate it, and it doesn't happen. Much. That fine line between aggressive and assertive is a difficult one to learn, though.

Self care means being able to leave work AT work. Maybe that's why I'm at the bedside after so many years. I've had a couple of temporary desk jobs, and I didn't like the banker's hours or the fact that I took so much work home with me and let it live in my head when I wasn't at work. Leaving work AT work is so much easier when you've turned your patient over to a colleague you trust. (And that "colleague you trust" business is part of why so many young nurses seem to complain that the crusty old bats are so hard on them -- we want to help you become a colleague we can trust!)

Self care means doing what you need to do to de-stress or de-compress after work so that you can be fully present in your home life. For years, I'd walk my dogs immediately after work. On a good day, I'd walk them 2-3 miles. On a BAD day . . . well let's just say that once I walked them 10 or 11 miles until their pads were raw and I had to call my husband to come and get them and give them a ride home. Other people use a long commute to listen to music or books on tape, or come home to a glass of wine and a bubble bath. Whatever works for you.

Here's where my take on self care diverges from many others: Self-care means making up your mind to be happy. You cannot control what other people do, or what happens to you in life. You can only control how you respond to it, how you choose to feel about it. Abraham Lincoln said "Most people are exactly as happy as they make up their minds to be." I've made up my mind to be happy. I've made up my mind to laugh rather than cry about what I cannot change. I've laughed about my mother's Alzheimer's, my mother-in-law's dementia, my breast cancer and my mobility issues. It doesn't make any of those issues go away, but it sure is more fun to laugh about them than to cry about them!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
I see all the new, young nurses going to the gym before and after work, and I think that's wonderful -- they're developing healthy habits. Healthy habits which now, at my -- ER -- ADVANCED age -- are more difficult to develop. (Although I do have a gym membership now and use it at least five days a week. See my "Titanium Knee, Meet Treadmill" thread in The Breakroom.) They're getting together to cook healthy meals and they're jumping on and off the vegan bandwagon together. That is all wonderful stuff, and I'm somewhat envious that they're starting now when they're young. These habits will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.

But self care is more than healthy eating and exercise. Self care means doing the foundation work to become comfortable and competent at your job -- including dragging home policies and procedures to read them. It means being able to stand up for yourself AT work. No, not in an aggressive way, but in an assertive way. It took me years to learn that I didn't HAVE to let people speak to me "like that," and I'm sure you know what I mean. Now I don't tolerate it, and it doesn't happen. Much. That fine line between aggressive and assertive is a difficult one to learn, though.

Self care means being able to leave work AT work. Maybe that's why I'm at the bedside after so many years. I've had a couple of temporary desk jobs, and I didn't like the banker's hours or the fact that I took so much work home with me and let it live in my head when I wasn't at work. Leaving work AT work is so much easier when you've turned your patient over to a colleague you trust. (And that "colleague you trust" business is part of why so many young nurses seem to complain that the crusty old bats are so hard on them -- we want to help you become a colleague we can trust!)

Self care means doing what you need to do to de-stress or de-compress after work so that you can be fully present in your home life. For years, I'd walk my dogs immediately after work. On a good day, I'd walk them 2-3 miles. On a BAD day . . . well let's just say that once I walked them 10 or 11 miles until their pads were raw and I had to call my husband to come and get them and give them a ride home. Other people use a long commute to listen to music or books on tape, or come home to a glass of wine and a bubble bath. Whatever works for you.

Here's where my take on self care diverges from many others: Self-care means making up your mind to be happy. You cannot control what other people do, or what happens to you in life. You can only control how you respond to it, how you choose to feel about it. Abraham Lincoln said "Most people are exactly as happy as they make up their minds to be." I've made up my mind to be happy. I've made up my mind to laugh rather than cry about what I cannot change. I've laughed about my mother's Alzheimer's, my mother-in-law's dementia, my breast cancer and my mobility issues. It doesn't make any of those issues go away, but it sure is more fun to laugh about them than to cry about them!

I love absolutely everything about this post. Everything. So much truth here.

I often am grateful that my path early in life did not go toward nursing until I was older (40). The unique stresses associated with the work itself, less-than-respectful patients, and occasionally crabby co-workers would have probably crushed me when I was younger. It took me some time to be comfortable enough in my own skin--and through trials of simply years of living life life that have made me stronger (I've shared a few of those in PM with you, Ruby)--that I can indeed let most things roll off my back, laugh at myself, and approach conflicts in such a way that welcome resolution is attained.

I completely agree that happiness is a choice. I took care of a patient in the clergy, and she had a "talent" for changing everything into a negative. Her niece/POA called me for an update on her condition and sought my advice on visiting. I asked her why she was hesitant, and she said, "Because when she's in the hospital and we visit her, she makes it uncomfortable for us by assuming that we are there only because we think she's going to die soon." I did not doubt that was true because I could see that tendency in only one shift of taking care of her. The converse is true, too: being UNhappy is often a deliberate choice, too.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I see all the new young nurses going to the gym before and after work, and I think that's wonderful -- they're developing healthy habits. Healthy habits which now, at my -- ER -- ADVANCED age -- are more difficult to develop. (Although I do have a gym membership now and use it at least five days a week. See my "Titanium Knee, Meet Treadmill" thread in The Breakroom.) They're getting together to cook healthy meals and they're jumping on and off the vegan bandwagon together. That is all wonderful stuff, and I'm somewhat envious that they're starting now when they're young. These habits will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives. But self care is more than healthy eating and exercise. Self care means doing the foundation work to become comfortable and competent at your job -- including dragging home policies and procedures to read them. It means being able to stand up for yourself AT work. No, not in an aggressive way, but in an assertive way. It took me years to learn that I didn't HAVE to let people speak to me "like that," and I'm sure you know what I mean. Now I don't tolerate it, and it doesn't happen. Much. That fine line between aggressive and assertive is a difficult one to learn, though. Self care means being able to leave work AT work. Maybe that's why I'm at the bedside after so many years. I've had a couple of temporary desk jobs, and I didn't like the banker's hours or the fact that I took so much work home with me and let it live in my head when I wasn't at work. Leaving work AT work is so much easier when you've turned your patient over to a colleague you trust. (And that "colleague you trust" business is part of why so many young nurses seem to complain that the crusty old bats are so hard on them -- we want to help you become a colleague we can trust!) Self care means doing what you need to do to de-stress or de-compress after work so that you can be fully present in your home life. For years, I'd walk my dogs immediately after work. On a good day, I'd walk them 2-3 miles. On a BAD day . . . well let's just say that once I walked them 10 or 11 miles until their pads were raw and I had to call my husband to come and get them and give them a ride home. Other people use a long commute to listen to music or books on tape, or come home to a glass of wine and a bubble bath. Whatever works for you. Here's where my take on self care diverges from many others: Self-care means making up your mind to be happy. You cannot control what other people do, or what happens to you in life. You can only control how you respond to it, how you choose to feel about it. Abraham Lincoln said "Most people are exactly as happy as they make up their minds to be." I've made up my mind to be happy. I've made up my mind to laugh rather than cry about what I cannot change. I've laughed about my mother's Alzheimer's, my mother-in-law's dementia, my breast cancer and my mobility issues. It doesn't make any of those issues go away, but it sure is more fun to laugh about them than to cry about them![/quote']

Bravo!!! Ruby Vee!!

And a AMEN too. ;)

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Specializes in Med/Surg/ICU/Stepdown.
I see all the new, young nurses going to the gym before and after work, and I think that's wonderful -- they're developing healthy habits. Healthy habits which now, at my -- ER -- ADVANCED age -- are more difficult to develop. (Although I do have a gym membership now and use it at least five days a week. See my "Titanium Knee, Meet Treadmill" thread in The Breakroom.) They're getting together to cook healthy meals and they're jumping on and off the vegan bandwagon together. That is all wonderful stuff, and I'm somewhat envious that they're starting now when they're young. These habits will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.

But self care is more than healthy eating and exercise. Self care means doing the foundation work to become comfortable and competent at your job -- including dragging home policies and procedures to read them. It means being able to stand up for yourself AT work. No, not in an aggressive way, but in an assertive way. It took me years to learn that I didn't HAVE to let people speak to me "like that," and I'm sure you know what I mean. Now I don't tolerate it, and it doesn't happen. Much. That fine line between aggressive and assertive is a difficult one to learn, though.

Self care means being able to leave work AT work. Maybe that's why I'm at the bedside after so many years. I've had a couple of temporary desk jobs, and I didn't like the banker's hours or the fact that I took so much work home with me and let it live in my head when I wasn't at work. Leaving work AT work is so much easier when you've turned your patient over to a colleague you trust. (And that "colleague you trust" business is part of why so many young nurses seem to complain that the crusty old bats are so hard on them -- we want to help you become a colleague we can trust!)

Self care means doing what you need to do to de-stress or de-compress after work so that you can be fully present in your home life. For years, I'd walk my dogs immediately after work. On a good day, I'd walk them 2-3 miles. On a BAD day . . . well let's just say that once I walked them 10 or 11 miles until their pads were raw and I had to call my husband to come and get them and give them a ride home. Other people use a long commute to listen to music or books on tape, or come home to a glass of wine and a bubble bath. Whatever works for you.

Here's where my take on self care diverges from many others: Self-care means making up your mind to be happy. You cannot control what other people do, or what happens to you in life. You can only control how you respond to it, how you choose to feel about it. Abraham Lincoln said "Most people are exactly as happy as they make up their minds to be." I've made up my mind to be happy. I've made up my mind to laugh rather than cry about what I cannot change. I've laughed about my mother's Alzheimer's, my mother-in-law's dementia, my breast cancer and my mobility issues. It doesn't make any of those issues go away, but it sure is more fun to laugh about them than to cry about them!

You definitely make some key points here. And I see your perspective. There is much I do have control over in assuring my own mental and physical well-being. With anything else, however, what is said is often easier than done.

The gym, while a wonderful idea, is difficult for me to do. I work 12-hour days, 3 days a week, and my commute to and from work averages roughly 90 minutes one way. If I got out of work at the scheduled time (1930), it typically takes 30 minutes to wait for the shuttle to arrive, and about 10 minutes to get to the parking lot. This means I get to my car around 2015 and finally begin my 90 minute commute. When I get home, 9/10, I just want dinner and my bed, as having a 90 minute commute means I need to be up around 0400 to make it in for my 0700 shift start time. I'll do 2-3 days in a row depending on scheduling. And when that happens, my first day off is usually spent catching up on lost sleep. By the time I get up and can move around, my sleep schedule is so screwy, I am exhausted.

I'm also a full-time student. So, on top of my work schedule, any other time I have free is usually devoted to reading and/or studying. This, of course, is my choice and I blame no one for that but my self.

I haven't yet grown the "back bone" to tactfully tell people who speak to me with disrespect that it isn't appropriate. I, unfortunately, am one of those sensitive nurses (who needs to grow a thicker skin) that keeps it inside until I can sob the entire way home (although a lot of the crying on the way home isn't just reserved for not having a thick skin about personality differences). I have to get a thicker skin. I just have to. However that gets acquired.

Decompressing for me at home means selfishly taking 10 minutes to shower before flopping into bed as opposed to helping my family prepare dinner first. If I didn't, I couldn't anticipate going to bed before 2300, or being able to be up on time. And I feel horrible for not being more present or engaged when I finally do make it home.

Being an individual that suffers from dythymia, I do my best to make up my mind to be as happy as I can be given the individual circumstances and the nature of my disorder. I go to therapy. I take my medication as prescribed. I do my best to balance a "life" with my career. Sometimes I'm successful. Most of the time, I fail. But suggestions always help. So thank you for your post. :)

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Just out of sheer curiosity, if you could change anything about the culture of nursing, what would it be?

greedy corporations and their 'profits over people' mindset. i honestly believe ALL of the other problems in nursing are caused by this.

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The complaining and whining.

I love my job, but oh my god. Its like all you hear from most nurses is how much they hate their job, their organization, how its unfair they need to wear certain color shoes for their uniform etc etc.

And also the nurses who have this phobia of doctors, and somehow make it out like nurses/doctors are sworn enemies.

If you were a nurse 20-30-50 years ago and had to deal with the extreme **** back then fine thats understandable. But if youre in your 20s and 30s and want to make it out like doctors are so horrible its ridiculous.

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Where do you suppose the "nurses eat their young" originated from? I'm just curious as to whether or not you agree it exists, or if you think it is a myth perpetuated by newer nurses who feel that they're not being helped enough?

I second the "Nurses Eat Their Young" cry. Along with "nurses are all mean, 'caddy' (sic) backstabbers" or "women are all mean, catty backstabbers, and it's a female dominated profession."

.

Yeah, the "nurses eat their young" thing was my first thought. We've got a lot of threads here that address the myth.

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Specializes in ER.

I think the problems in nursing reflect the larger societal ills. Folks too hurried to care for their own health and bodies. Many women enabling the rest of their family members so hubby can have a new dirt bike and hunting rifle, Junior has the latest expensive gear, best snowboard, the princess of the family has an iPhone at 10 years old. Meanwhile, Mom is picking up lots of overtime to keep up with this, the family is racking up debt and very vulnerable to the next dip in the economy.

This causes Mom to be grumpy at work, resentful of the next new perky hire who is taking her OT away! Meanwhile, the new hire has $60,000 in student loan debt and is dying a thousand deaths inside every day at work from the stress of her life. But, young and old, we are all in debt to the ones who pull the strings, and they set us against each other in a divide and conquer scheme.

Thus, the Masses remain pawns in a larger grand scheme.

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I think a lot of it is because most of us are women, and more problematic is the blaming it on the fact that most of us are women. I see posts all the time about "drama" and this and that. If you get a chance to look at Lean In's stuff, they show a lot of studies on how women are treated differently in the workplace and it's pretty fascinating. I am guessing that as nursing reaches being more gender neutral, or even male dominated, that suddenly the people working as nurses will be much more respected simply because more of them are men.

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I would like to turn back the tide on the trend of nursing-as-customer-service.

Kindness, basic courtesy and attentiveness are to be expected, of course. But when nurses are graded on how well they rattle off customer service lines, are expected to see and care for patients based on standards to appease the public instead of on physiological needs, when nurses can be punished for daring to upset a patient or family with the truth... I call foul :grumpy:

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
I would like to turn back the tide on the trend of nursing-as-customer-service. Kindness basic courtesy and attentiveness are to be expected, of course. But when nurses are graded on how well they rattle off customer service lines, are expected to see and care for patients based on standards to appease the public instead of on physiological needs, when nurses can be punished for daring to upset a patient or family with the truth... I call foul :grumpy:[/quote']

Thank you! I actually left the hospital to only focus on graduate school. It felt like a Burger King drive thru where everyone could "Have it your way"

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