Why Are Nurses Given Such A Bad Rap Today?

OCRN · Apr 23, 2005

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

I work on a medical/oncology unit in a large regional hospital. The nurses on my unit believe we get a bad rap from the family members of our patients. If one thing happens that they don't understand or don't like they want to tell the world how awful us nurses treat our patients. Family members seem to be taking over our unit, and also seem to revel in telling us what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. It is very frustrating as no one seems to understand or believe that we are there to take of our patients (their family members) the best we can - and we KNOW what we are doing. The whole situation is very frustrating and at times overwhelming. I am wondering if anyone else has dealt with situations like this and how do you deal with overbearing visitors/family members?

MzKittenRN · Apr 23, 2005

yes...i'm not sure what you mean by that either. most people i know seem to hold nurses in high regard, but those same people would agree that they themselves could never be nurses. i think the profession of nursing has been given a bad rap but not so much nurses themselves. does that make sense? probably not, sorry not great with words.
the general public needs to be educated on what the nursing profession actually does. most equate it with handholding, buttwiping, diva docs, and long hours that pretty much anyone could do but won't put up with. what i'm trying to say is that i think most people admire nurses themselves but the nursing profession does not get the respect it deserves. the average person has no idea the knowlege and expertise that a nurse actaully must have. it's more than just following dr. orders and holding hands. i hope this make sense. i'm tired.
that is the only kind of "bad rap" i can think of. when people find out i'm a nurse i have never gotten a bad reaction. just the normal "wow, i could never do what you do." but i don't necessarily see that as a negative reaction (or really a positive).

i agree...although, the last couple of years i noticed a positive media display of nurses....ie- johnson and johnson had that 'proud to be a nurse' commercial and some tv shows such as 'er' and 'scrubs' have enlightened the definition of what a 'nurse' is all about.

mzkitten

Indy, LPN, LVN · Apr 23, 2005

Respect can be hard to come by in our society, and sometimes we are going to have to make do with self-respect.

Nursemike, I hope you don't mind but I may quote you on that sometime. Very well said.

-Indy

ISeeURN · Apr 23, 2005

I work on a medical/oncology unit in a large regional hospital. The nurses on my unit believe we get a bad rap from the family members of our patients. If one thing happens that they don't understand or don't like they want to tell the world how awful us nurses treat our patients. Family members seem to be taking over our unit, and also seem to revel in telling us what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. It is very frustrating as no one seems to understand or believe that we are there to take of our patients (their family members) the best we can - and we KNOW what we are doing. The whole situation is very frustrating and at times overwhelming. I am wondering if anyone else has dealt with situations like this and how do you deal with overbearing visitors/family members?

I agree...Although, the last couple of years I noticed a positive Media display of Nurses....Ie- Johnson and Johnson had that 'Proud to Be a Nurse' commercial and some Tv shows such as 'ER' and 'Scrubs' have enlightened the definition of what a 'Nurse' is all about.

MzKitten

OCRN... This may have to do with many reasons. Treatment Options are looked up on the Internet, and as some may be legit, others may not be. Makes instant "experts" out of people.

Three examples from the last couple of weeks on our ICU:

1.) I quote a family member here: "I saw an episode of ER where someone had the same problem, and that patient walked out of ER"-

2.)I had another family member tell me she looked up one of the ailments of her mother on the Web, demanded she knew the answers, and in a, how would I put it, offensive, aggressive tone told me to get a hold of her mothers physician right now ( at 11:30 PM). Mind you, the woman took not into consideration other health problems of mom, which landed her in ICU in the first place. Thank goodness the physician she wanted to talk to consulted on another patient late that night and was kind enough to call back.

3.) One family member when asked to come in, to sit with her (confused) Mom (Patient had asked to have her daughter at the bedside)responded: "What - me come in and do YOUR job?" Followed by: " Give me your name, so I can put you on my list of people in the letter to Administration whom I have complaints about as well"...

Another reason may be that some people truly think that they are in a 5 Star Hotel with Valet, Room Service, etc, and that Nurses are something like the VIP Entertainers. (Sorry about the sarcasm).

Seems normal (in my eyes) rules one would observe in any department store, office building etc need not be observed when visiting a relative in a hospital.

That leads me to MzKitty, and the positive portrayal of Nurses on "Scrubs" and "ER". Sorry... I watched "Scrubs" only 5 minutes, and found it rather stupid (just my opinion), while I see Nurses on "ER" who try to land a physician (lets see how many Nurses did the hot little Yugoslavian Eye Candy Doc have so far? How many Docs did Nurse Hathaway devour in various storage rooms?). Maybe some Reality show about a non ER unit, the work Nurses do, a "normal" day or night with all its challenges, frustrations and good moments would open some eyes? (Maybe we should collaborate and write a script?)

redwinggirlie · Apr 23, 2005

Didn't read all the posts, but from what I can gather, is some nurses forget why they are there. They are just doing it to meet bills. Sorry, bad week in seeing this kind of stuff.

live4today, RN · Apr 23, 2005

:rotfl:
This is a good thread cheerfuldoer!

Thanks sunnyjohn! :) It's amazing how many nurses around the world can relate to the same drama of hospital nursing today, only the drama is so surreal it sucks bigtime. Healthcare facilities and those who own and run them should be ashamed of how they allow their nursing staff to be abused when we are there FOR THE PATIENTS and NOT there to harm them. :rolleyes:

Something MUST be done to stop the insanity of this awful treatment!

redwinggirlie · Apr 23, 2005

Goodness. I re-read your post. The day I let the CNA's working with me get the brunt of all the hands on care as you put it, turn me over and call me done. It's just not the way I do it and certainly not how we do it on our unit. Forgive if I went out on a tangent.

live4today, RN · Apr 23, 2005

I've heard lay people, (usually really uneducated) say that Nurses were nothing more then waiters, there to fluff your pillow and massage your feet, some people out there have this "soap opera" idea of what Nursing is. They have no idea what Nurses make and the great traning involved.

I've heard things like that to from people who have noooooooo earthly idea how taxing working as a nurse truly is.

I've met men (take the word lightly in this case) who find out I'm a nurse, and their faces perk up, then say to me "Oh yeah! How about giving me a good massage...my back is killing me." Or, they have said to me "Is it true nurses make good lovers." :angryfire

Like I said.........in conversations like that, take the word "men" lightly. :rolleyes:

ISeeURN · Apr 23, 2005

I've heard things like that to from people who have noooooooo earthly idea how taxing working as a nurse truly is.
I've met men (take the word lightly in this case) who find out I'm a nurse, and their faces perk up, then say to me "Oh yeah! How about giving me a good massage...my back is killing me." Or, they have said to me "Is it true nurses make good lovers." :angryfire
Like I said.........in conversations like that, take the word "men" lightly.

I had an idea some time ago... better paid, and higher customer satisfaction ( no pun intended)... how about a Medical Fetish Brothel? 3 High Colonics a week,some IV Pole dancing and you are done with the workweek? Just kidding, unless there is financial backing out there... :) :rotfl:

live4today, RN · Apr 23, 2005

I had an idea some time ago... better paid, and higher customer satisfaction ( no pun intended)... how about a Medical Fetish Brothel? 3 High Colonics a week,some IV Pole dancing and you are done with the workweek? Just kidding, unless there is financial backing out there... :) :rotfl:

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Kelly_the_Great · Apr 23, 2005

Do you guys think, perhaps, it might be because we don't demonstrate respect of and for ourselves?

Think about it, who's the first person you hear putting down another nurse (usually for the whole world to hear in the nurses' station)??? ANOTHER NURSE!

Who's the first person to turn in a nurse???? ANOTHER NURSE!

You don't see doctors doing this, not to the extent you see nurses doing it in any case.

How are we to get respect when we don't respect ourselves?

Can I tell you something? I think this should be part of our curriculum in nursing school. Instead, all of the emphasis in "professional relations" is put upon interdisciplinary as opposed to intradisciplinary.

In my opinion, it goes way beyond just being trained to "follow doctors orders." This is generated from within. For example, how often is a nursing students' question to a perceptor or instructor received as a challenge of their knowledge rather than as an opportunity to share their wisdom?

Also, I'd like to say I believe much of this stems from "divide & conquer" issues. It doesn't seem to me as if there's a general respect for eachother out there as simply nurses (as if this isn't enough somehow) rather we must emphasize "they're just an lvn" or "I'm a BSN" or specialty of this or that. It's so funny, all these initials, we within our profession don't even know what they stand for. Somehow, I seriously doubt the general public gets much good out of it.

Oh well, I know I've got some flight of ideas here (this is my first post). Let me know what ya'll think (not a critique of my post but of the issue). :)

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Apr 23, 2005

Do you guys think, perhaps, it might be because we don't demonstrate respect of and for ourselves?
Think about it, who's the first person you hear putting down another nurse (usually for the whole world to hear in the nurses' station)??? ANOTHER NURSE!
Who's the first person to turn in a nurse???? ANOTHER NURSE!
You don't see doctors doing this, not to the extent you see nurses doing it in any case.
How are we to get respect when we don't respect ourselves?
Can I tell you something? I think this should be part of our curriculum in nursing school. Instead, all of the emphasis in "professional relations" is put upon interdisciplinary as opposed to intradisciplinary.
In my opinion, it goes way beyond just being trained to "follow doctors orders." This is generated from within. For example, how often is a nursing students' question to a perceptor or instructor received as a challenge of their knowledge rather than as an opportunity to share their wisdom?
Also, I'd like to say I believe much of this stems from "divide & conquer" issues. It doesn't seem to me as if there's a general respect for eachother out there as simply nurses (as if this isn't enough somehow) rather we must emphasize "they're just an lvn" or "I'm a BSN" or specialty of this or that. It's so funny, all these initials, we within our profession don't even know what they stand for. Somehow, I seriously doubt the general public gets much good out of it.
Oh well, I know I've got some flight of ideas here (this is my first post). Let me know what ya'll think (not a critique of my post but of the issue). :)

WONDERFUL!!!!