I am sure that I am opening a pandoras box here but I will probably not be visiting this website much longer.
I have been a daily reader for several years and I have laughed, cried and been educated by what I have read on this forum.
It seems that for a several months now, the majority of opinions on issues and problems in nursing are being addressed by:
1. Nursing students...
2. Pre-nursing students...
3. I want to be a pre-nursing student...
4. I thought about becoming a nurse once...
5. My mother, sister, cousin, neighbor is a nurse...
6. I talked to a nurse in the hospital once...
7. I watch Mercy on TV...
8. I read a book about a nurse...
9. I met a nurse in the grocery store line
10. I once saw a photo of Florence Nightingale...
Well, you get the picture.
I have absolutely nothing against students (obviously we all started out that way) and they at least have a handle on some of this, but until you have worked in the TRENCHES, you CANNOT even IMAGINE what nursing is like as a profession!!!! The exteme highs and the extreme lows! The Humor and the Horror!
I do not have an issue with non nurses reading all of the posts however, I draw the line at expressing opinions as if you had a clue.
So to all of the layperson nurse " wanna bees" PLEASE do not post your advice and snide comments, especially in the vent threads. I have read "Oh, wow, I sure hope I don't think or act like that when I become a nurse".... or "oh wow, that nurse actually laughed at/told off /or disliked her patient-how awful !" ....so many times I now just skip these responses.
The vent threads are for experienced professionals who have "Been there and done that" to relate and to commiserate!!!
There is a forum for students, maybe there should be a forum for non medical/nursing persons.
After all, the official website states:
"A Nursing Community for Nurses" and 400,008 nurses talking about nursing...
In closing, Where oh where are all of you seasoned nurses? Are we just outnumbered? or is it because we are too exhausted from actually Working as a Nurse to post???????
My two cents, and yes, I have almost 20 years of experience. And Yes, I guess this is a VENT.
I like reading old posts. I wish Brian would give us the archives of the beginnings of the site, like way back in 1996. I'll bet some of those were interesting. Imagine reading somebody's venting from 1996 and realizing nothing really changes except the name of the person writing the post and the year.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
If there is staff normally always around, or even if they are around at least a few times a day, maybe new topics in the general forum could be changed to having to be approved first. That way they can be moved or deleted or what not before it even hits the forum and only the related topics are posted. I have seen this done at a few places where there is a large volume of posters.
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
If there is staff normally always around, or even if they are around at least a few times a day, maybe new topics in the general forum could be changed to having to be approved first. That way they can be moved or deleted or what not before it even hits the forum and only the related topics are posted. I have seen this done at a few places where there is a large volume of posters.
That's what happened with the CRNA forum, and I really don't see very much posting going on there anymore. That's not something I'd want to see happen to the general nursing forums. Perhaps increasing merging repeat threads/ stickies/ moving threads to a more appropriate forum, but not "approval required" for posting. I think that would turn a lot of people away from here.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
That's what happened with the CRNA forum, and I really don't see very much posting going on there anymore. That's not something I'd want to see happen to the general nursing forums. Perhaps increasing merging repeat threads/ stickies/ moving threads to a more appropriate forum, but not "approval required" for posting. I think that would turn a lot of people away from here.
Is it that way for all posting or just new topics?
I am only talking about new topics, not all posts. The other boards I have seen it didn't cause any problems, people were actually grateful because the same repeat stuff and stuff in the wrong area was always way overcrowding the general area. It did take some getting used to but there were always staff around through the day so posts didn't have to wait very long.
Anyway, it was just a thought. Being more vigilant on moving them is a good idea as well. I just know from being an admin and mod for some boards and running my own it can be tedious to stay on top of reading every single post if people don't report. At least this way it's being addressed and nipped in the bud right from the get go.
Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
Is it that way for all posting or just new topics?
I am only talking about new topics, not all posts. The other boards I have seen it didn't cause any problems, people were actually grateful because the same repeat stuff and stuff in the wrong area was always way overcrowding the general area. It did take some getting used to but there were always staff around through the day so posts didn't have to wait very long.
Anyway, it was just a thought. Being more vigilant on moving them is a good idea as well. I just know from being an admin and mod for some boards and running my own it can be tedious to stay on top of reading every single post if people don't report. At least this way it's being addressed and nipped in the butt right from the get go.
I mostly agree with you. However, I still think we shouldn't require approval to start new topics. Still, you have the best suggestion of heard as of yet. I guess I'd better head to the beach, 'cause I'm flip-floppin'...:)
And, ps, it's "nipped in the bud," although some of these posters should most likely receive a butt-nip as well.
Yeah, maybe I need a beach vacation...who's with me?
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I mostly agree with you. However, I still think we shouldn't require approval to start new topics. Still, you have the best suggestion of heard as of yet. I guess I'd better head to the beach, 'cause I'm flip-floppin'...:)
And, ps, it's "nipped in the bud," although some of these posters should most likely receive a butt-nip as well.
Yeah, maybe I need a beach vacation...who's with me?
HAHAHA I know that, I don't know why I wrote butt. Probably because my daughter woke up and came down stairs to go potty and says "you need to wipe Sophia butt" when she was done and while I was posting it. LOL
I do need a vacation and am taking on in about 5 weeks. Can't wait!!!! Was supposed to be going to Mexico but my husband is all of a sudden wanting to be money cautious, (only for the things I want:| ) so road trippen instead!
I'm not even sure why non nurses (and non nursing students) would even want to be on this site at all.
Well, let's see...I'm here because I'm going into administration and health data analysis/management. Instead of just drawing on my own experiences and what I learn in my classes, which will necessarily be delivered from one primary perspective, I thought it would be useful to read about what professionals in the field deal with on a regular basis. I thought it would help me be better at my eventual job and would help the nurses, physicians, techs, and other hands-on patient care providers with whom I'll eventually work if I learned about the daily concerns and problems that nurses all over the country encounter. I post in response to threads I think I can meaningfully contribute to, not threads about which I clearly know nothing. I don't ask anyone to do my homework (I'm quite capable of doing it myself, and if I weren't, I'd be in real trouble later!); in fact, thus far I've never initiated a new thread.
One of the most consistent sentiments I've heard during my (admittedly brief) time on allnurses is the wish that managers and "paper pushers" knew what it was like to work in the trenches. Thanks to a physical disability, I'll never have the chance to work as a hand-on care provider, but I thought this was a good way for me to at least begin to remedy that weakness in my background. I certainly understand the frustration with those who can't be bothered to search for an answer before posting a question or 90,000 postings of the same questions. However, I'm not sure that disparaging or excluding "non-nurses," even those who try to meaningfully and respectfully participate, is a good or fair response.
I do understand that this is a vent thread and I certainly agree that having those with no experience respond disrespectfully or snottily to those with experience to spare is frustrating and rude. But just as in any other field, it does take diversity to ensure a well-rounded perspective. Moreover, the ideas in vent threads sometimes take on a life of their own. I really hope the idea of an exclusive "experienced nurses only" forum doesn't take root; it would deprive those of us who are nursing students or professionals in allied health fields of an important chance to learn about the big issues and daily trials and tribulations with which practicing hands-on patient care professionals must grapple.
And for the record, I've never seen a picture of Florence Nightingale or watched Gray's Anatomy or Mercy.
I disagree with approving the posts too as sometimes I have posted things that I need a quick answer, (like my "How do I explain to a LOL with COPD that I can't turn her O2 up thread) Maybe what this site needs is more volunteers? I don't know how the moderators can keep up with all of this unless there is more of them. I think they are doing the best they can right now, but really need help. Maybe they can ask for volunteers?
I am a relatively new nurse (3 yrs LPN and
I am also sick of seeing the same threads over and over, so it's not just the seasoned nurses this is affecting. I just skip over them and only open the ones that interest me and I have also started reading the old threads so that I can learn something lol.
Do you guys remember the stages that new nurses go through? The honeymoon phase, the shock/disillusionment phase, and the recovery/resolution phase? (there might be more, but those are the only ones I can remember) Well, we have to remember that those that post and tell you what a mean nurse you are are in the honeymoon phase and we all know they will soon hit their shock/disillusionment phase and maybe gain some insight. We will never change their minds while they are in the honeymoon (Oh I would NEVER do that) phase, so I just ignore them. Anyways, that's my
At Studentdoctor.net, the mods tend to move posts which pertain to another forum. It seems that a lot of the "General" posts should be moved to Student forums. The general forum has become a big snooze.
Oldiebutgoodie
We are trying to move the student threads to the student forums as quickly as we can-sometimes we are all at work at the same time and dont have a chance to come on line. We are working on freeing up the General Nursing Forums
My two cents, and yes, I have almost 20 years of experience. And Yes, I guess this is a VENT.
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SWS RN, ASN, RN
362 Posts
BRAVO! and very eloquently said. Thanks for the reply.
The OP