The Status of a Nurse

[OneRN]

I think the status of a nurse, and the good reputation they derive from the publics perception of them comes from the hard work they do.

I talked to a registered dietician the other day on my floor. She has a masters degree. But who ever says, "Wow, those dieticians sure are great." I have an ADN. It's not education that makes nursing the most respected profession--the saintly profession. Its every insanely hard day you ever have. It's the fact that you do a job that almost everyone else knows they could never do.

You say: Joe Blow, RD, and everyone says "huh?" "What's that?"

You say, Joe Blow, R.N. and everyone everywhere in the world knows exactly what that means and they say, "Oh really?"

Why do you think PhD nurses always make sure they put the RN in there at the end of their name as well? Because RN means a whole lot more than PhD.

I will be an RN until I die, even if it kills me early, because I've found there is no higher thing to be. For most of my life, I thought there were many avenues to greatness, but now I know I was wrong. My ability to weather the hard days on the floor has sat me at the right hand of Power. To be a good nurse: one who listens, loves, cares, and is very good at his job, is more important to me than the existence of God. To be that thing transcends my need for purpose or eternal life. If I can be this thing--if I can become this thing--I can die and cease to exist, and I can be content with that. If I can become this thing, God can no longer judge me.