6 monts ago, I got my first nursing job in a medical spa. I do laser treatments, Botox. Juvederm, etc. etc. etc. I really enjoy it. Most of my clients are nurses themselves. EVERYDAY for the last 6 months, nearly every nurse that has laid on my table has asked me. "So, what's your REAL job?", when I tell them that I don't have another job...this is my job...they kind of roll their eyes at me, give me the pity look, and say, "Well this isn't REALLY a nursing job". Even my own mother who is an R.N. says that a monkey can do my job! It has made going to work very frustrating, because everyone is looking down on me. I love my job, but hearing that people think my job is worthless is very degrading. (Honestly, I don't find these nurses very wise....criticizing someone holding a laser or needle to your face).
I just got offered a position at a SubAcute/Rehab Center, I start in a few days (nervous!!!). Well, when I told my patients at the medi spa about that job...thinking *whew* they aren't going to be so condescending toward me now. They STILL rolled their eyes, shook their head, and said..."Oh well, at least you're ALMOST there to becoming a REAL nurse." I am really apalled at how judgemental other nurses can be! What is this so-called REAL NURSING???? This wasn't just one or two people...at least 20 nurses have criticized me for just working in a medispa...and now they are turning around and saying SubAcute is also NOTHING.
Honestly, I don't need their praise, or acceptance...but hearing it everyday is annoying. I went to college, got my B.S.N., and took the NCLEX just like them. I take care of people everyday...maybe I don't work in a hospital, but I sure as hell am a NURSE. What's with the attitude from these nurses???
Medispa nurses, Clinic nurses, LTC/SubAcute/Nursing home nurses, school nurses, camp nurses, so on and so forth....we are all nurses! Right?
When you make someone feel good about themselves...you are promoting health in the holistic sense. In making a person feel good you are caring for their emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
When you massage a patient...you are creating a therapeutic relationship, massaging is therapeutic,...caring for the patient holistically.
If you are a tattoo artist and a RN you are a nurse still why? because you're caring for the persons identity and helping that person identify themselves. Aka you are holistic.
Not only were you promoting health by making the person feel beautiful but you were also at the same preventing negative health outcomes. How? Simply by making the person feel good, helping them on their journey of self identification etc you prevented them from psychological issues and spiritual crisis.
Many nurses out there have forgotton what holistic care is.
:) hope this helps.
I respect that you're taking a consistent position here; yet I doubt that many nurses would agree with you about making the definition of nursing "holistic" enough to include tattooing. So, my question to the other nurses who have said that working in a spa is practicing nursing: would you also say that an RN/RPN doing tattoos is practicing nursing? And if not, what do you consider to be the important difference between tattooing and the cosmetic procedures associated with spas?
Interesting twist to the thread. The original poster works in a medical spa, not your local nail salon or Bliss. Medi-spas offer minimally to non-invasive medical procedures and must be owned/operated by an MD. They might have fountains, scented candles and big, fluffy robes, but these places require medical professionals: dermatologists, cosmetic surgeons and nurses. Now...don't get me wrong...I'm a fan of tattoos, but the big, burly, hairy guy who gave me mine is an artist, not a nurse, even though he made me bleed with a big needle. If you are a nurse working as a tattoo artist, you are still a nurse, yes, but you're not working as one. That's my opinion.
I think alot of it depends on what you are happy with. I worked on a medical-surgical/pediatrics floor for a little over a year when I got laid off along with many other nurses/staff. In alot of ways I felt ripped off because I wanted more med-surg experience. It was like a zoo most of the time and some of the other nurses were very lazy and sarcastic. Then there were also nurses I felt were amazing. It took me 3 months to find a job to fit my schedule with my own family. Now I am working in home health with a pediatric pt. It is one on one. It is so different from what I was doing. On one hand I like the fact that you can concentrate on one pt. without being interrupted a zillion times. On the other hand I am a little bored and still feel like I am missing out. I too have experienced the comment "nurses belong in the hospital."
If you like what you are doing don"t let other people discourage you. Hospital work and other types of nursing are not for everyone. You have to like what you are doing. Trust me.... I have worked with some miserable med-surg nurses who did not like their job, and it showed.
Get used to it. I have been an LPN/LVN for almost 5 years and I am considered not a "real nurse." You know, a "real nurse" is an RN. All we little LPN's are are glorified nurses aides. Not where I work, I am not a glorified nurses aid! Not passing pills to 30 residents!
lvn2bsoon, I guess you have had the misfortune to meet some RNs with attitude..I am a RN with my BSN, newly graduated...I have worked with LPNs that have more knowledge in their little fingers then I do in my entire body. I always give them the respect they deserve.. I am sorry that you have had such terrible experiences...I think one problem with the field of nursing is that instead of bonding together to prove to the public that we are professionals we spend our time splitting hairs. I know that all degree programs are different and require different training but when it all comes down to it we all should have the same goal....patient care and advocacy....LPN, LVN, RN, BSN, APN...look at the end the last word is NURSE!!!:)
First to dianepslh62--50 years! That is amazing. I have the utmost respect for you and anyone who is in a profession for 50 years! Bravo!
Now, as for LPNs who are told they're not real nurses. That is complete hogwash. I have worked with LPNs on my unit and there are few things they're not allowed to do that the RN does. As a matter of fact, in my first year of nursing there was a LPN I went to for help/advice. And she can run rings around me in the starting IVs department. My hat is off to you LPNs. You work hard and you don't deserve the garbage.
Bravo, starlet! I went to nursing school with quite a few LPNs who were becoming RNs for various reasons, and they were fantastic sources of information and support. It was painfully obvious they were already nurses when we were in clinicals. I was relieved they never made me feel inferior. I love LPNs!
Don't worry you are not the only one who had gotten critized about not being a "real nurse." I have been a LPN for 16 years and have done hospital work for the past 15 years.....I get it all the time. Ignorance....that's what it is. Be proud of who you are, I am!:)
I guess it's kind of like when they say dermatologists or chiropractors aren't real doctors. Which I think is ridiculous.
Anyways, I'm not leaving the medi-spa because of the constant criticism from bitter people. Unfortunately, the hours just aren't there. The economy has led me to pick the job with the bigger paycheck to support my family. At first I thought I could do both. SubAcute 7-3:30 then medi-spa 4:00-7:00 every day...but after standing up for 9 hours passing meds to 30 patients, I just could not muster the energy to have 2 jobs.
I think alot of that attitude comes from us "older " nurses who believe that spending 2 or 3 years of "hell" on a med/surg floor toughened you up and made you a "real" nurse before you went off to do what you really wanted to do.
There was a time when as a graduate, that was all you could get...night shift on a floor other staff didn't particularly want and you did your time and went on. Baptism by fire can be such the learning experience.
Also, I think that attitude may come from the new wave of nurses who graduate with little to minimal hands on clinical experience. Not the nurses fault by any means! You do your program and you write your boards and you go to work. The last generation of nurses see it differently. The generation of hospital trained nurses and those that did graduate from early community college programs where clinicals took up 60% of your time and to graduate meant spending and shadowing an R.N. for 3 months working every shift that she worked eventually becoming (and proving) that you could function in a team leader role. I do believe those days are gone. What ever the reason is ( and I am sure there are many) it is a disservice to the new grad. I have met many a new grad who has never put in an NG tube, assisted with a chest tube insertion/assisted with a SF tap , monitored a CVP pump or swabbed an area for culture. Pretty basic stuff...however they have not been provided such experiences.
So...in your "real" nurse affirmation I would say.....be happy with what you do and be rewarded in your current situation...but...give a little slack to those who do work in the trenches (by choice) and deal with the nitty gritty of nursing.
Some of us don't work in the trenches not by choice but out of neccessity.(no jobs avail in hosp) I would love to go work in the trenches but what am I supposed to do,sit around and wait? Its not always about choice but luck
If the position requires "RN" after your name, it's a real nursing job. I do private duty nursing care for one patient, ONE PATIENT! Can you imagine the things I hear???
I'm also doing private duty and its unbelievable the disrespect I get. if I go the hosp with my client and I tell them my name and title they still refer to me as a home heath aide?even though I never saw a hha manage a vent patient with a picc line and wound vac and have the 485,m.a.r., and labs with them.
While I'm at it I must point out the fact hospitals are closing due to budget cost,so where do these nurses think they will be working at some time down the road? The reason other fields have more positions is the fact that a lot of care can get done outside the hospitals. As a matter of fact,due to hospitals in nj closing there has been an increase of home care positions for nurses.
You know what I am seeing that's kinda strange? Ltc facilities that advertise "Must have ltc experience'. Or home care companies "must have home care experience". Does that mean it will be harder to move around to different specialties?
When you make someone feel good about themselves...you are promoting health in the holistic sense. In making a person feel good you are caring for their emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
When you massage a patient...you are creating a therapeutic relationship, massaging is therapeutic,...caring for the patient holistically.
If you are a tattoo artist and a RN you are a nurse still why? because you're caring for the persons identity and helping that person identify themselves. Aka you are holistic.
Not only were you promoting health by making the person feel beautiful but you were also at the same preventing negative health outcomes. How? Simply by making the person feel good, helping them on their journey of self identification etc you prevented them from psychological issues and spiritual crisis.
Many nurses out there have forgotton what holistic care is.
hope this helps.
"I respect that you're taking a consistent position here; yet I doubt that many nurses would agree with you about making the definition of nursing "holistic" enough to include tattooing. So, my question to the other nurses who have said that working in a spa is practicing nursing: would you also say that an RN/RPN doing tattoos is practicing nursing? And if not, what do you consider to be the important difference between tattooing and the cosmetic procedures associated with spas?"
Depending in which country your in and what community you work..yes...you are speaking on behalf of THOSE nurses. However, i work in a community that see health holistically. Tattoo is a form of identification to your ancestors and your people. This link to the past or identification is a vital aspect to their overall wellbeing. As a nurse I am required to provide holistic care to all people who seek my help. I may not be trained to tattoo however I will endevour for the sake of that persons health to find a traditional tattooist. If i was a traditional tattooist of course i would as that is another tool i would have in my belt but of course legislation etc etc prevents me from doing it but it doest not prevent me from finding another person to do it. This is the same for modern tattooist. If a patient finds that the only way to identify themselves is to get a tattoo...why would a nurse prevent this from happening? or not encourage it? if you stop the patient from not getting a tattoo what is that saying about your care?
For those nurses who work in a spa..the argument is still the same. they are providing holistic health to the person. For those nurses who work in cosmetics...you too are providing nursing care.
Nurses are nurses even in the absence of a medical or psychiatric disease/disorder. That is what makes our profession unique. Why do we still exist even in the absence of a med/psych dise/diso? Because we care for the persons HOLISIM! which again is something that most nurses, sadly, do not care enough of.
Nurses who are ++++ clinical suck eggs. Nurses who are holistic in my opinion are super nurses you just got to read all the research out there.
Nurses pride themselves saying that they care for the persons holistic wellbeing.....i guess if MOST nurses are not caring for the persons HOLISTIC being (clinically and culturally)...then im in the wrong profession.
HealthShepherd
183 Posts
I respect that you're taking a consistent position here; yet I doubt that many nurses would agree with you about making the definition of nursing "holistic" enough to include tattooing. So, my question to the other nurses who have said that working in a spa is practicing nursing: would you also say that an RN/RPN doing tattoos is practicing nursing? And if not, what do you consider to be the important difference between tattooing and the cosmetic procedures associated with spas?