Why so much competition between nurses?

[MrsCrypes]

Every now and then, I attend nursing conferences, nursing fairs and have always noticed that there is this constant competition between nurses. I attended a PRI certification course and some nurses were so great to speak with and I actually got to network with. Then there were others who "knew it all" and could not carry a conversation with because they would somehow mention their degrees, years of specialty / being a nurse and i just want to yell, "This is not a competition!" I sometimes just want to have a down to earth conversation with a nurse and not a conversation in which they are reciting their resume to me....

What are your thoughts, stories or experiences with this?

[MrsCrypes]

Sometimes the more letters behind the name and the more personal horn- tooting, the more inferior the nurse....I've known several like that. I really don't care how many letters you have behind your name....can you actually be competent and professional? That's what I respect most.

oh c'mon tencat, can't blame a person for accomplished work behind their name, but the horn- tooting I can agree with. I have also known the nurses with a good amount of achievements behind their names and are not snobby about it at all. :)

[showbizrn]

experience + professionalism

go hand-in-hand.

sure

credentials matter---

but credentials

ain't

the end-all be-it-all.

not in nursing

or

any career

for that matter.

just my

[NurseCard, ADN]

I know a nurse, a former co-worker, who has completely left the nursing profession to sell cosmetics, or so she claims. She caught me on Facebook one day and told me that she had quit nursing, said "I hate nursing!", and then proceeded to try to get me to sell the cosmetics along with her.

Well, not two days later, her status was: "I now have my MSN and I'm now a board certified psychiatric nurse!"

Long story short: sometimes those credentials really DON'T mean anything. :)

[Crash_Cart]

I am going to defend nurses here that do that...........Not because, I think rolling out your resume is the way to start a friendship, but I think nurses are judged constantly and Always trying to gain trust with their patients, families, doctors, social workers, co-workers, etc..... Some of us may tell about our experience as a defense mechanism due to years of constant judgment. I remember one family member told me I could not start on IV on their Mother unless I could name every vein he pointed to on his mother's arm.........We get defensive and we should not, but it is soooo hard not to. Everyone just needs to be more supportive and try to remember most of us got into this profession to help others and do some good. Some of us are better at math and some of us are better at starting IVs.............Maybe we need to develop better social skills or maybe we just need to forgive each other for being human.........

Hey.. nothing wrong with that. ...Absolutely! ...I do like and appreciate nurses you know,

...My friend, I understand exactly what you are saying. I too have been on the same "judgment train" myself on many occasions just like yourself and yes I even hated every minute of it just like you did.

My point is this,... You and everyone else who decided to get ourselves into this mess we call nursing are fellow colleagues. What this means is that we are on the same team together, a part of a fraternity we all share. There's no need to show up at a nursing conference or even at a community college during a lecture to "compete" against one another who is fighting in the same war is all I am saying.

..Oh, and for all you "judgment" types out there, my user name doesn't really accurately reflect who I am if you must know. :) It's simply the user name I have chosen and I have no desire to post my resume here at the moment.

Yes, I openly admit, we all could improve ourselves as human beings and I'm certainly no exception to that concept.

My Best.

[labdad1234RN]

"No one can make you inferior without your consent" _Eleanor Roosevelt

not just nurses but in almost any area of experties. we live in a competitive world and the letters after your name state you get the credentials to differentiate yourself. i taught in a university in a previous life both undergrad and grad levels. one thing has struck me in all those years. people have become obsessed with the degree, not the skills. what is important is to see beyond the attached creds. Those wonderful folks who rightfully earned those credentials, more power to you!

Remember why we are in nursing regardless of our backgrounds. Being "snobby" does not make one nurse better than another.