Why Are Nurses Given Such A Bad Rap Today?

Nurses General Nursing

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In reading the threads regarding the so called nursing shortage our country is under :rolleyes:, I started wondering why is it that we as nurses are given such a bad rap today. Care to share your thoughts on this? :)

Overwhelmingly, nurses are treated with great respect in our country. The only exceptions are some MDs & tv producers/writers!

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Specializes in trauma ICU,TNCC, NRP, PALS, ACLS.

We are the #1 most trusted profession, everytime I tell people I am in nursing school. They are excited and amazed b/e it is very hard to get into nursing school. My school had over 1200 apply only 80 got in. Were i come from everyone is trying to be a RN.

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OK, one little thing, then I'll try to stay on topic, for a while. I was afraid my "location" line was confusing. It's actually WEST (by golly) Virginia, the true Wild West, Wild and Wonderful, take me home, country roads and all that.

So, you know, not such a little thing, after all. I mean, we seceded from the Confederacy.

I have seen some very nice farm-built furniture, and a few houses that have stood for centuries. I've also seen mechanics shake their heads in dismay over things I've done to keep the truck running until I could finish whatever job I was on. Peace and love.

I'm just pulling your chain - not even remotely serious. :)

Peace back to you.

steph

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Overwhelmingly, nurses are treated with great respect in our country. The only exceptions are some MDs & tv producers/writers!

And other nurses.

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Overwhelmingly, nurses are treated with great respect in our country. The only exceptions are some MDs & tv producers/writers!

Huh?? Do we live in the same country? The public may TRUST us (like they trust nuns...we do altruistic, martyr-like work for the greater good) but respect? Nah. It just ain't there, IMHO. The MD's get the public's respect; and we see this reflected in the TV shows and mass media.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
Huh?? Do we live in the same country? The public may TRUST us (like they trust nuns...we do altruistic, martyr-like work for the greater good) but respect? Nah. It just ain't there, IMHO. The MD's get the public's respect; and we see this reflected in the TV shows and mass media.

yeah that.

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Huh?? Do we live in the same country? The public may TRUST us (like they trust nuns...we do altruistic, martyr-like work for the greater good) but respect? Nah. It just ain't there, IMHO. The MD's get the public's respect; and we see this reflected in the TV shows and mass media.

:yelclap:

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

Huh?? Do we live in the same country? The public may TRUST us (like they trust nuns...we do altruistic, martyr-like work for the greater good) but respect? Nah. It just ain't there, IMHO. The MD's get the public's respect; and we see this reflected in the TV shows and mass media.

Isn't that because unlike the ANA, the AMA is very proactive with Public Relations and lobbying for doctors' agendas?

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I like your attitude. I don't equate being "called" with being called to martyrdom. On the other hand, I think one of the defining features of a profession is that it's something more than a job.

I felt, and feel, a lot this way about when I was a carpenter. I hope, when I'm done with school and comfortable in my new career, that I'll have time, now and then, to do some little projects at home. Build a piece of furniture here and there, maybe even buy an old house and restore it. If I do, I know I'm never going to be satisfied to cobble something together quick and dirty. That's okay for a farmer, but a carpenter builds things in a workmanlike way, whether he has to or not, because what you build says something about what you are, and that matters on a level that money or social standing never could.

I got into nursing to make a decent living doing useful work. I could do that as a doctor,lawyer, or firefighter. At the moment, I clean toilets, but I try to do it conscientiously, and I understand that it's an important part of controlling infectious disease. I want more--more money, yes, but more chances to use my mind and my heart, to help more, and to be in a field where I can learn and grow every day. A lot of what I valued about carpentry was that it's a lifelong process--every day you build skills and learn new ways to do things better than you used to.

My present job includes elements of housekeeping and transport, but the part that gets me is the part that's about patient care--getting someone into a wheelchair or back to bed safely and with as little discomfort as possible, or helping a nurse or an aid bathe someone they can't easily turn, or maybe emptying a wastebasket and getting someone fresh water or wondering if they might be in trouble and need their nurse right away. I clean toilets, but my job isn't menial, and I'm sure never going to look at nursing as something less.

I think it's great that we look at ways to improve our professional image and educate the public about what we really do. I frankly doubt that will translate to substantially more money. The cost of healthcare is already very high, and nurses' wages are already a hospital's single greatest expense. If my current job paid what a nurse gets, my hospital would go out of business. If a nurse got paid what a doctor did, my hospital would go out of business.

During clinicals, I spent a morning shadowing a midwife. She makes about 33% more than I will as a graduate nurse, despite an advanced degree and years of experience. Is that fair? If she had no patients, she would make nothing.

A mediocre baseball player makes money a chief of thoracic surgery only dreams about. A midwife or a college professor makes a decent living doing work she loves.

I don't know, and we sure don't need another war of the sexes, but maybe it's because I'm a guy: "daring to care" sounds pretty daring, to me.

P.S. I may rethink the stillettos, fishnets, and low cut dress for next Halloween. Feeling a little ambivalent about showing off my cleavage, anyway.

Glad to know that there are Nurses out there who can see what I am trying to say. People should be doing what truly makes them happy...... life is too short to spend it wishing you were somewhere else.:) :) :)

I agree with you 100%!....... except the stillettos, fishnets for Halloween....lololololol,...... YOUR pic's instead! hee hee hee:chuckle

edited because I was in a hurry earlier and somehow deleted the top paragraph... :rolleyes:

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Isn't that because unlike the ANA, the AMA is very proactive with Public Relations and lobbying for doctors' agendas?

Oh this definitely plays a role......but they don't have the $$$ and support to do so. IMO their central 'message' has never been true and strong enough to motivate enough nurses to join their ranks.

Nurses desperately need a unifying force. Unfortunately, there are too many divisive forces at work that prevent unification and solidarity; some from within our own ranks, IMHO. :)

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Specializes in ICU, telemetry, LTAC.

Just today I was in class with a guest speaker. Not going into details as she's very internet-savvy and could be reading this! I tuned her out during her discussion of further nursing degrees because that ran right into a discussion of some medical school that was a 3 year program instead of however many years it normally is, for those who already have a bachelor's degree. I'm sure she meant to encourage us, but I wasn't encouraged. She basically said she was an advanced degree nurse (I think MSN) because she thought she was too old to go to medical school. I always hear corollaries, or what may be my perception of what's in between the lines, but what I thought next was, ok so all of us young'uns need to consider medical school if we want to further our education? This was mixed in with her ideas about the level of education determining the level of service. ! I mean, really. !

We also heard a remark during the same presentation on dealing with doctors, which had to do with flirting to get the physician to do whatever it was that was needed for the patient (I think she was referring to suggesting orders, which I'm familiar with). I've always been of the opinion that if you're flirting, the doc may be hearing "hey baby" instead of "how about some lasix for so and so?"

Sorry for the vent session but I was all kinds of upset with our speaker. When I figure out how to say all of this politely, I'm going to let our instructor know what I think.

-Indy

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i am starting nursing school next month, and i have had an overwhelmingly positive response from friends, family, etc....and i'm a guy!!

atleast in the northeast(i'm in philly); nurses are highly respected professionals.

it is extremely common to hear people say they would rather see a nurse than a doctor, and to hear that many nurses these days KNOW more than the doctors.

schwartsnegger is moron and frankly, california deserves what its getting in my east coast opinion.

I have always found that all prejudice is based in ignorance. Do you know all 34.5 million people in Calif. ? I'm sure there are wonderful people in Philly., though I've never met ANY of them. Also , learn how to spell,& type, as you will need this to succeed in nursing school. Thanks, I feel better.

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