Tired of ppl who says that you are not a real nurse cause you dont work in a hospital

[Blackheartednurse]

Ok so yesterday I had a converstation with one of my good friends who is currently studing to be a nurse.She knows I recently started to work as a home health nurse.So yesterday she makes this totally ignorant comment that home health nursing is not "real nursing " and that true nurses (and best nurses) work in a hospital setting ir ltc setting and she also said that home health nurses dont do too much,according to my friend we only take a persons blood pressure and that is all:mad: Forgot an assessment skills,forgot stress of making important decisions on your own (no help around),forget setting up the meds and making sure that patients takes their meds,forgot teaching patients about their conditions and procedures,forgot about good customers skills (since patients are in their own home and tend to have more attitude.I'm not a real nurse because my patient is not septic and about to code any minute now.

[FlyingScot, RN]

My friends who are still working acute care positions think I am about the smartest person ever to NOT be doing it anymore. After 23 years of it I escaped and don't regret it at all. Sure I miss the excitement but all I have to do is talk to one of them and I feel pretty lucky. Every one of them wants out but now there really isn't any place to go. Not one of them thinks I'm less of a nurse. Most of them wish they were me (occupationally not personally ).

[ShayRN]

I am a RN who often times doesn't feel like a real nurse because I don't perform skills. (this does not reflect on my opinion of other nurses who also do not perform skills, this is a self view)

I work in nurse case management of low income young children/pregnant women. I go into their homes every month and talk/educate/etc and advocate for them in between-calling doctors offices, making appointments, etc. Sure, I often do nurse-education. Frequently, actually. I taught a non English speakign client about refills on a medication for her child-she thought she had to go to the doctor every time, teach a mom of a hemophiliac how to keep her baby safe from injury and therefore bleeding, discuss with pregnant women danger signs of when tehy need to go to the hospital, teach about the importance of oral hygiene, etc etc etc.

Its very knowledge based because I may never know what someone is going to ask me, and i dont carry around textbooks or have google, or another nurse with me. It's helping disadvantged families access teh care and resources they need in the community. Its workign with clients from other countries, who may or may not speak English (large spanish speaking client base, but i also have some from other far away countries).

I know its valuable work. But, I've been a nurse for 5.25 years now, and even sometimes I feel like I'm less of a nurse because I'm not doing skills/handling acutely ill patients/etc. I feel like a social worker, not a nurse.

So, its not just a view of the uneducated. I did acute care for 4.5 years before leaving. Those of us with self esteem issues can also feel the same way :)

(disclaimer again--my "i dont feel like a real nurse sometimes" point of view is JUST ABOUT ME. i dont think less of any nurses who don't work in teh hospital. Just me)

Seems to me you are everything a nurse should be and if you haven't been told lately, GOOD JOB.

[jjjoy, LPN]

Sort of like a "real" lawyer should be in court defending or prosecuting criminals, right? Not "just" writing and analyzing contracts behind a desk.

It brings up an interesting question, though. LTC nursing is still most certainly direct patient care. Case management is much less clearly so. When engaging in coordinating care and teaching, are nurse case managers practicing nursing or are they nurses practicing social work and health education?

In a similar vein, how about MDs who don't see patients directly? Do MDs who are exclusively in public health consider themselves to be "practicing medicine"? Or do they consider themselves MDs working in public health? Do lawyers engaged in mediation consider themselves to be "practicing law" in their work or not?

Maybe I should start a new thread addressing this question since it's going way off topic!

[LACA, BSN, LPN, RN]

I'm an LPN and an elementary school nurse--I get told ALL THE TIME that I'm "not a real nurse" or that I must have an "easy" job...to which the person gets told that if they feel they can handle a school of almost 500 students pre-k through 5th plus screenings plus meds plus training staff plus classroom presentations plus the million other things I do--be my guest :-) I don't work in a hospital (never have, other than clinicals) and I don't make the "big bucks" (ha!) but I'm a nurse and I love my job and that's all that matters!