Don't know if I've ever posted before today (been a member for a while), but a post in another thread prompted me to respond to it and to post this. I've spent the last few years preparing for a career change into nursing and am in my first semester as a BSN student, and I'm irritated. I am NOT bashing nursing as a profession, but I am dismayed at the constant whining and complaining as well as the lack of any trace of intellectual curiosity that I have found in my short time around the profession among many BUT NOT ALL nurses. The #1 complaint among nurses that I have seen is a lack of respect by other health care professionals. You want to know why there is a lack of respect? Read on. In my short time, I've been around amazing nurses (bright, dedicated and excellent in what they do), but there are far too many that should be doing some else. Here's why nursing gets less respect than it should...
1) Constant whining. Nursing school is too hard, floor nursing is too hard, etc. News flash: most professions are really hard. Nursing isn't special in that regard. Medicine is brutal. IT, my former career, is cut throat. School teachers often have a miserable jobs. Cops work bad shifts and put their lives on the line. The list goes on an on. People that whine about nursing would whine no matter what career they are in.
2) The nursing culture. The claim of nursing being a "caring profession" (as if med techs, rad techs, RT's, etc. aren't caring), yet there is constant bashing of "bad" patients that are "noncompliant." In addition, many nurses go out of their way to humiliate students and new grads, talk about each other behind their backs, call physicians and other providers incompetent, and are in general rude, sour and bitter. Yet nursing is supposed to be the "caring" profession.
3) The nursing culture part II: Running around the hospital with balloons, teddy bears, flowers, whatever on your scrubs says to your colleagues, "I don't have a brain."
4) Nursing education. Learning to "diagnose" a patient with "Ineffective coping mechanisms related to disturbed transpersonal energy field" sounds like a bunch of hooey to a lot of people. Why? Because it is. It too screams, "I don't have a brain." Thankfully such stuff is only in the textbooks and not in the real world.
5) Feminization. I have heard ad nauseum that traditionally, physicians are men, nurses are women and that accounts for much of the disrespect. I actually agree. Ironically, many more women now are entering all health fields traditionally dominated by men (pharmacy, medicine, etc.) but there's barely been an uptick in the number of men going into nursing. Why? See #3 above for starters. Here's some other reasons. The local Sigma Theta Tau chapter at my school has brown and pink for their colors. The local CC has a teddy bear wearing an 1800's nursing hat and a big heart on its (her) chest (that'll make males race to apply to the program). Which, BTW, also screams, "I don't have a brain."
6) Lack of intellectual curiosity/knowledge. See #3 and #5 as well. One of my instructors this semester (who is a licensed pediatric nurse practitioner) could not answer a question as to what a lesion is. A nurse during my clinical last week did not know the difference between a H2 antagonist and a proton pump inhibitor, yet has been nursing for 20 years. My clinical instructor (with an MSN) "corrected" me and explained that myasthenia gravis is an intestinal disorder. I'm guessing they are like the students I had in my science prereqs that hated science and were just glad to get them done so they could apply to nursing school - never mind the fact that the sciences are the foundation of all modern health care practice. Would you go to a doctor that hated or was bad at science? What about a respiratory or physical therapist? Do everyone a favor - if you hate or are bad at science, spare your future patients and find another career.
In short, there's got to be a change in nursing culture for the profession to be respected.
3) The nursing culture part II: Running around the hospital with balloons, teddy bears, flowers, whatever on your scrubs says to your colleagues, "I don't have a brain."
I stopped reading there.
Really? You're going to criticize people for the type of scrubs they wear? Because last I checked, they have the same damn license as the person who wears the solid blue scrubs.
Maybe you should get your head in the right place about your fellow nurses before you continue on in school. I'd hate to imagine what you'd think if your DON or charge nurse wore teddy bears.
We do use NANDA type diagnoses in our practice; we have to write a progress note at the end of each shift, highlighting the major issues of the shift. Since I'm in the NICU, it's often something like "alteration in respiratory status" and we write what was going on, what we did about it, and what the results were. It does get repetitive, yes, but it also helps me zero in at the end of my shift what to really focus on during my report...
I had to laugh at the scrubs comment because the more prints you have in our unit, usually the more senior and more knowledgeable and experienced you are! It's us young'ins who just wear plain scrubs on my unit...I don't think it makes them look stupid either. Appearance is not indicative of intelligence.
Most of my nursing professors were excellent. There were a few bad eggs, but overall I felt like I received a quality education. Enough to get me into one of the best children's hospitals in the nation straight out of school, anyway.
There are some nurses that "eat their young." But there are many that don't. But I don't think this is nursing exclusive...Ever heard of corporate America or politics? lol. I always go out of my way to help out new people on our unit whether they be new nurses or new assistant staff. It's tough being a new person and I wouldn't so harshly judge everyone. My uncle went to nursing as a second career in the military and is now in charge of an OR at one of the hospitals. He has told me that he refuses to tolerate that kind of behavior in his unit--not productive at all. As far as venting on patients...it is just that.
Yes you have to let the patient make their own decisions. But it is also heartbreaking to see this sometimes. I see babies on my unit that are essentially dead but the parents keep them alive, which to me seems like they're prolonging the infant's suffering. On a less extreme example, I hate seeing circumcisions and I think they're wrong. Do I complain to my co-workers about the parents' decisions? Of course I do...I'm only human. Venting everything out is healthy. Keeping your frustrations bottled up inside, especially when there is zero chance of doing anything about them is excruciating and not healthy.
I know you're new to nursing, but please realize that what you see in front of you is a extremely minor slice of nursing and is not necessarily indicative of the whole. I count my own experience as minor as well, though I have had a lot of exposure, having worked as a nurse tech on a trauma surgery floor, went to school in Seattle, work in my first and current job in D.C., and have 6 nurses in my immediate extended family, including my Dad and my uncle (no men in nursing??).
Wishing you best of luck in your career and NCLEX....
It's not that serious.It's only meant to bring cheer to patients and make their days look better instead of bleak. Granted, it doesn't work all the times, but the few times it does, makes a difference.
Now, where's that Tom and Jerry scrubs again?:)
Katie, I completely disagree. Nurses post on this board constantly about lack of respect for their profession. Well... how about NOT wearing your kids' pajamas to work then?
Has anyone noticed how the OP continues to respond to many of the other posters. IMO she should get back to studying instead of spending her time and energy on this matter. If she is this hostile about nursing, please do us a favor and go back to IT. I see burnout coming quickly and a total PIA to work with
Katie, I completely disagree. Nurses post on this board constantly about lack of respect for their profession. Well... how about NOT wearing your kids' pajamas to work then?
This supports MY earlier point about people's statements being revealing about themselves. There's a tremendous difference between questioning the professionalism of the attire (respectful) versus diminishing the person wearing it (contemptful).
As far as the scrubs are concerned.... I spent 1 1/2 months in the hospital as a patient after multiple complications from my pregnancy and I can honestly say that I never gave a crap about what the nurses had on, never judged them for it and could not tell you what they were wearing 2 seconds after they left my room. However, I can tell you every nurse that was rude, disrespectful, inattentive and/or lacked knowledge regarding the drugs they were administering.
As far as the scrubs are concerned.... I spent 1 1/2 months in the hospital as a patient after multiple complications from my pregnancy and I can honestly say that I never gave a crap about what the nurses had on, never judged them for it and could not tell you what they were wearing 2 seconds after they left my room. However, I can tell you every nurse that was rude, disrespectful, inattentive and/or lacked knowledge regarding the drugs they were administering.
Thank you!!!!
This is what we should be focusing on here. The quality of the care being given. Not the Spongebob or Dinosaur top on the nurse!
You seem to have swithed my role from care giver to care receiver. All I can say when I was a care receiver(or family member) how I felt and reacted, but as a nurse it is my obligation in my professional practice to look formost at what my behavior, dress, attitude, is doing to or for my patients and thier families. If thier is a good chance what I am doing will have a negative impact on how they participate in the care I provide to them, I can't moralize about how they need to look past whatever issuse is offensive and appriciate my support. For something as basic as professional and respectful dress I think nursing has begun to go down the wrong road. Our image suffers, and the view of the general population of nursing is tarnished. That, in turn reduces how effective I can be with my patients.
I'm talking about the people you think are receiving a disservice, one of whom might have been me. In your last post you spoke from the point of view of care receiver. I didn't switch your role - that's the picture you painted, dude. I was responding to it...
So, here it is. Right now. From care receiver to caregiver:
If you can perform the functions of your job and treat me with dignity and respect, I couldn't care less about the print on your top and when I'm stressed, frightened, angry, grieving, dying I still won't care what print you've got on your scrub top because it's trivial and has nothing to do with my feelings.
IMO, the problem with nursing is that is dominated by nurses who have expressor commmunication styles and they frequently respond emotionally to people with analytical questions or comments. Most expressors do not realize that their communication style often sounds like whining to analytical types. Anaylitical types find it easy to dismiss expressive nurses who do not give data or supportive evidence to back their point of view. In contrast to the nursing profession, the rest of healthcare is dominated by professionals who have analytical communication styles. When hospital adminstrators, physicians and other allied professionals use analytical communication styles in the workplace they are speaking the same language and this results in a higher level of interprofessional respect for each other. If nurses want the respect they need to speak the language.
IMO, the problem with nursing is that is dominated by nurses who have expressor commmunication styles and they frequently respond emotionally to people with analytical questions or comments. Most expressors do not realize that their communication style often sounds like whining to analytical types. Anaylitical types find it easy to dismiss expressive nurses who do not give data or supportive evidence to back their point of view. In contrast to the nursing profession, the rest of healthcare is dominated by professionals who have analytical communication styles. When hospital adminstrators, physicians and other allied professionals use analytical communication styles in the workplace they are speaking the same language and this results in a higher level of interprofessional respect for each other. If nurses want the respect they need to speak the language.
dishes
Agree, but will add that adapting one's language in order to be 'heard' by whomever you're trying to reach works both ways.
delilas
289 Posts
I stopped reading there.
Really? You're going to criticize people for the type of scrubs they wear? Because last I checked, they have the same damn license as the person who wears the solid blue scrubs.
Maybe you should get your head in the right place about your fellow nurses before you continue on in school. I'd hate to imagine what you'd think if your DON or charge nurse wore teddy bears.