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.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
QUOTE=canoehead;4298972]. . . . Great that new nurses are enthusiastic, and I would never take that away from them, but sometimes I don't want to hear it.
Occasionally, just a few words are able to capture a truth without (I hope) offending others. This, to me, is one such few words.
Specializes in ICU, PICU, School Nursing, Case Mgt.
11. i'm not a nurse but i stayed at a holiday in express last night?
@ myself...
........Posting on All Nurses---PRICE LESS!!!!!..................
Loved, Loved, Loved your response!!!:redbeathe
Ok, this is the OP here, yeah, yeah, Boo Hiss..... Yeah, complete with all of the little icons.
But once again, to Re Reiterate....I did not mean to complain about student nurses...go back and carefully read my thread...students do bring about a certain "freshness" which is welcome to some of the oldies, at least to me.
My ire was really directed at the pre pre pre students...the wanna be's.....who simply can not have an accurate point of view not having worked or actually been involved in the profession as students have.
Being interested in a topic does not make you an expert on it...you really need the life experience to comment intelligently.
I consider a nurse who has been through school, passed his/her boards, and is actively working to be an experienced nurse.
There is no real time limit I place on it. A nurse working the ER or ICU at a busy inner city hospital for 6 months may have more real experience than a nurse in LTC (do NOT flame me here, I am making a point) or at a small community hospital or doctors office, etc. after 6 years....so, again, no set time on experience.
In closing, please do not ask us to do your homework questions...at least before you attempt to do them yourself...that really bugs me!
Hey, Thanks to all of you who supported this thread...I appreciate those of you who were honest and took the time to post.
Peace to all of you "oldies" and good luck and support to all of the "newbies".
This is why I too lurk elsewhere if I want to gain just clinical knowledge.
I do love Allnurses, because it has taught me the invaluable "intangible" stuff. Maybe there could be a forum for only clinical conversation called "clinically speaking" or "clinical speakeasy" (that is if Moogie decides to show up :))
You so crazy, youngster!
Seriously, I like to read the student posts, the pre-student posts, the thinking about becoming a student posts because they help me gain insight into what it is like to be an entry-level (or other) student these days. I think more nurse educators (and prospective educators) should hang out here for the same reason.
The threads about "My Nursing Instructor from Hell" sometimes scare me because I never want to be the kind of instructor who makes students' lives so miserable they need to vent but also because I dislike the animosity between educators and students. Some of the student vent threads are spot on but others make me nervous because I wonder if the instructor really is on a power trip or if the students are just stressed out and need to unload a bit. Having been on both sides of clinicals, I have had instructors who made my life miserable. I also have had students who have been manipulative and disrespectful and enough to make me wish I had gone for an art degree instead.
I think a lot of the issue here boils down to a matter of respect. I don't think any of the experienced nurses here expect anyone to grovel at their feet and bow to their awesomeness. I don't mind people disagreeing with me (much , LOL!) but I really don't enjoy being blown away by someone who has no experience, no education, and no clue who is telling me that don't know anything.
BTW, LOL at Zookeeper---Dave's Insanity sauce. If we are talking Famous Dave's, I like to think of myself as Devil's Spit.
Yeah I think that a separate category or an area of discussion as "part" of the forum is a good idea for people with 10 plus years of experience. Perhaps the topic or area of discussion could be titled "Nurses with 10 plus experience only." I'm hoping that you are not pertaining to this whole forum or the "General Nursing Discussion" made exclusively for that...wouldn't that be just a tad bit unfair?:)
We could call it the "Old Farts Forum". That would keep the young 'uns out!
Seriously, how do we define experience? SWS RN is right: in terms of experience, your mileage may vary. Some people become stagnant after a few years. Others get into the profession, leave, return after a few years, try different specialties, and are constantly re-inventing themselves and their careers. It's hard to quantify experience because experience is very subjective and differs from one person to another, one time to another.
Sometimes I wish AllNurses had been around when I was a youngster. I might have felt a bit less isolated and maybe less intimidated to know that I wasn't the only one. On the other hand, I am glad there is no record of some of the stupid things I might have said as a beginning student or a newbie nurse!
A lot of times, the most outrageous posts are made by folks who don't know what they don't know or outright trolls. I think time usually takes care of trolls. If not, the "ignore" and "unsubscribe" buttons are invaluable.
I found this website when I was a student. At that time, I didn't think I had anything valuable to contribute by posting. There were many things I learned just reading through the posts. I signed up sometime after I got my license. (2+ years experience in a busy cardiac floor:nurse:). Not that experienced yet, but I know how hard it is.
Lately I've been reading posts from several "wanna be" nurses--and had to stop because they were p***ing me off:mad:, but the hilarious replies make it for a good read:D! I remember reading something like -- "AND YOU ARE A NURSE HOW?" as a reply to a real nurse's vent about how she dealt with a patient's bad behavior. "I'M TOO PRETTY AND THAT'S WHY THEY FIRED ME FOR BEING 2 MINUTES LATE, ETC". And "NURSES WHO WEAR PRINT SCRUBS ARE BRAINLESS, ETC." I wanted to reply to their (wanna-be nurses) posts, but I didn't want to lose my account. (I might get booted for foul language). Anyway, glad you posted this and THANK YOU!
Specializes in ICU, PICU, School Nursing, Case Mgt.
I found this website when I was a student. At that time, I didn't think I had anything valuable to contribute by posting. There were many things I learned just reading through the posts. I signed up sometime after I got my license. (2+ years experience in a busy cardiac floor:nurse:). Not that experienced yet, but I know how hard it is.
Lately I've been reading posts from several "wanna be" nurses--and had to stop because they were p***ing me off:mad:, but the hilarious replies make it for a good read:D! I remember reading something like -- "AND YOU ARE A NURSE HOW?" as a reply to a real nurse's vent about how she dealt with a patient's bad behavior. "I'M TOO PRETTY AND THAT'S WHY THEY FIRED ME FOR BEING 2 MINUTES LATE, ETC". And "NURSES WHO WEAR PRINT SCRUBS ARE BRAINLESS, ETC." I wanted to reply to their (wanna-be nurses) posts, but I didn't want to lose my account. (I might get booted for foul language). Anyway, glad you posted this and THANK YOU!
No, Thank YOU, Heat!
You "get" EXACTLY why I started this thread to begin with.
This is it in a nutshell.
And, as I said before, 2 years on a busy cardiac floor certainly qualifies as experienced.
I have not been on the General Discussion board for several days now. THe last time I looked, there were so many topics that were posted by non nurses, it was a waste of time to weed through them to find something relevant.
I may take a break for a while. I know I am just weary. I think I am even too tired to get ticked off, I think apathy has set in.
What got me once, was a student asking about what was appropriate in class, (dress code), and letters of reference. When I answered as the one in the front of the class, quite a few students didn't like the answer and jumped all over it. Ah, let's think, which of us is actually writing that letter of reference?
I have not been on the General Discussion board for several days now. THe last time I looked, there were so many topics that were posted by non nurses, it was a waste of time to weed through them to find something relevant.
Over on the advanced practice boards, especially the NP board, there are a LOT of questions and posts from non-nurses, especially pre-nursing students. Not to disparage anyone from asking questions, but it does seem to be a bit much to have one person ask four times on one thread to ask what program someone is attending---and, to state that he/she is planning on going to nursing school but doesn't want to work on the FLOORS (eeeeeuuuuuwwww!) and wants the fastest, cheapest, and least academically challenging program that is available immediately. Nothing at all wrong with having goals, nothing wrong with asking questions. But some of the questions are a bit much.
I may take a break for a while. I know I am just weary. I think I am even too tired to get ticked off, I think apathy has set in.
Breaks are good. The ANCentral site is good, too, and you might want to hang out there every so often.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Over on the advanced practice boards, especially the NP board, there are a LOT of questions and posts from non-nurses, especially pre-nursing students. Not to disparage anyone from asking questions, but it does seem to be a bit much to have one person ask four times on one thread to ask what program someone is attending---and, to state that he/she is planning on going to nursing school but doesn't want to work on the FLOORS (eeeeeuuuuuwwww!) and wants the fastest, cheapest, and least academically challenging program that is available immediately. Nothing at all wrong with having goals, nothing wrong with asking questions. But some of the questions are a bit much.
Breaks are good. The ANCentral site is good, too, and you might want to hang out there every so often.
Just checked that out for the first time yesterday--- too peaceful for me. . lol. :) Starting to feel like Goldi-locks. The above referenced posts make me crazy, too. However my current bugaboo (that's old-school talk, y'all) is non-nurses using the phrases "I would advise you to. . ." and "I would caution you about. . ." normally it's firmly in the category of "duh. . ." I should see the patient as a whole person? You mean right up to this moment I thought I knew every last detail of the patient's dysfunctional background? I need to have empathy? hmmm. . let me just make a list .-shakes head-
My two cents, and yes, I have almost 20 years of experience. And Yes, I guess this is a VENT.
@ myself...
Yeah, complete with all of the little icons.
, LOL!) but I really don't enjoy being blown away by someone who has no experience, no education, and no clue who is telling me that don't know anything. 
normally it's firmly in the category of "duh. . ." I should see the patient as a whole person? You mean right up to this moment I thought I knew every last detail of the patient's dysfunctional background? I need to have empathy? hmmm. . let me just make a list .-shakes head-
nursel56
7,122 Posts
Occasionally, just a few words are able to capture a truth without (I hope) offending others. This, to me, is one such few words.