Those Overly Exaggerating Nursing Stories

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVICU.

Do you ever read those stories from nurses that completely play up and skew what nursing actually is for the sake of an article? I see them now and again and I distinctly remember them all over the place during that stupid "doctor's stethoscope" debacle. You know, the articles that go something like:

"I am a NURSE. I've HELD A DYING WOMAN'S HAND while simultaneously SWADDLING A NEWBORN. All while I've been HOLDING MY PEE FOR 22 HOURS." And then there's like a stock photo of a newborn with like 12 IV pumps.

But seriously, does anyone know those articles? The ones your nurse friends post on Facebook that make you shake your head because they were clearly written by someone who was upset that someone said something insulting about nursing that they feel the need to validate their career by exaggerating the profession?

Yeah, they drive me crazy, and I feel weird that I can't relate to them. I roll my eyes everytime I see them, and yet I feel guilty if I don't "Like" the post. Am I ashamed to be a nurse? Not at all. Nurses do amazing work and we help people everyday. But I really get annoyed at how these posts over-exaggerate our profession. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this, or am I just a jerk for feeling this way?

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

No, I don't think you're a jerk. It's sad that the public has such a poor idea of what we do and the media doesn't help one bit. But the self-aggrandizement is the flip side of the same coin and I find it embarrassing. It's like we have to put ourselves on a pedestal if the public forgets to do it for us. It's the whole "calling" school of thought.

It's nice when we can just educate the public without the drama and embellishment.

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You're right. They're obnoxious.

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I'm with you, bud.

I don't even bother to read those things!

I also hate stock photos of nurses smiling and holding clipboards while wearing a pristine lab coat and perfectly perfect hair. A stethoscope is neatly placed on their neck.

Please.

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[clip]...and I feel weird that I can't relate to them. I roll my eyes everytime I see them, and yet I feel guilty if I don't "Like" the post.

Why? And why?

I don't relate to about a gajillion things I see or read related to Nursing. Some I feel are dangerous or unethical, others just make me want to distance myself. I'm quite sure others feel some disdain for some of my nursing-related views too. And sometimes I learn something from pondering comments/views/opinions that I don't particularly like (or "Like").

Random thoughts. It just is what it is. No need to feel bad about not relating or not "Like"-ing

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Something I always say is, You can't make this stuff up. Maybe it's just me, but I see some crazy stuff. I've done some crazy things. But, I don't ever get on Facebook and brag about it.

The stethoscope thing meant something to a lot of people. It showed how nurses are thought of by lay people and the fact they think we just blindly walk around waiting for doctors to tell us exactly what to do. People may have gone a little overboard to make point, but a point needed to be made.

I can tell you I'm on a few discussion boards right now and when the subject ever of doctors and nurses gets brought up, you should see the amount of nurse bashing that goes on. Oh, and anybody that's not in a white coat in any office or acute care setting is a nurse. We get the blame for absolutely everything. It's very eye opening. So, I guess I can see where some people exaggerate what we do, just to be like, I want some respect. Is it right? No. But I think everybody has a frustration point.

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.

I know I'm the first one to make a sarcastic comment if given a chance; however, I find these articles empowering and sometimes necessary. Are they ridiculous at times? Well, yes. But how many days/nights/evenings have you experienced at work after which you think to yourself "they wouldn't believe it if I told them!"

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
"I am a NURSE. I've HELD A DYING WOMAN'S HAND while simultaneously SWADDLING A NEWBORN. All while I've been HOLDING MY PEE FOR 22 HOURS."

I also hate stock photos of nurses smiling and holding clipboards while wearing a pristine lab coat and perfectly perfect hair. A stethoscope is neatly placed on their neck.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).

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I think that most people do not know the extreme amount of documentation & care coordination that goes on in nursing. We are the point of care for everything. Today I asked the primary MD for something for my patient and she shrugged and walked away. Stories of frenzied charting, wrangling with the bedside commode, trying to get orders changed, ping-ponging back and forth between the shift change admission and two complicated discharges...now I relate.

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Specializes in UR/PA, Hematology/Oncology, Med Surg, Psych.

JMHO, but I started nursing eons ago in my very early 20s. I worked as a nurse for about 18 years, then took a break doing a non-healthcare related job for a year, then had to return to nursing to pay the bills. That year of not nursing was the most stress-free and relaxing time of my working career. So yeah, I feel nurses deserve huge kudos for what we do and the 'stories' don't bother me at all because I have a few of them of my own

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I definitely know the kind of articles you're talking about, and I roll my eyes at most of them too. Nursing is a highly romanticized profession and these kinds of articles are meant to get the emotional juices flowing. This is the same shtick the professors used in nursing school to boost our moral. It probably gives the non-nursing folks who read them a false sense of the profession though. However, nurses are underappreciated and we sometimes have to give ourselves a pat on the back because no one else will. Nurses know the realities, but I guess reading these articles can make nurses feel proud and valued, even if it's just for a moment. We could all use a little boost in moral and confidence every now and then.

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