Why are people so ignorant?

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There is a friend of mine that's always making smart comments about nurses and nurse aide's, and I noticed it started after I told her I wanted to be a nurse. She'll say things like "why would anybody want to be a nurse? I'm not wiping anyone's butt except my own." O_O she also talks down on community college because she goes to a four year university. I find these things very offensive. I don't say negative things about her major, even though I think its dumb. I know how to keep my mouth closed, I never try to put others down. Has anyone else experienced this?

I have one friend who insists (and truly believes) that his 1.5 GPA from a CSU is worth more than my 3.5 from a community college. It drives me absolutely INSANE. When I point out to him that he barely scraped by with a C in calculus and that I got a solid B he says it's because his class was SOOOO much harder, even though my professor taught the same exact course at the local CSU campus as well as at my school. I know he is just projecting on me because I am working my ass off and getting stellar grades and he is about to flunk out but it is still beyond irritating. What set me over the edge was when he came home for summer vacation, after MONTHS of laughing at the idea of me being a nurse/saying that engineering(his major) was soooo superior to nursing, he told me "I don't want to do engineering it is just too hard, I'm thinking about changing my major to nursing. They make a lot of money." He honestly thinks his 1.5 from the CSU is going to be competitive because PFFFT he went to a CSU!!!! BOW DOWN LESSER COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOLK. I was so ****** I flat out told him he would never get into a nursing program in CA unless he had a time machine and could go back in time and put ANY effort at all into his education. He has since gone back to school up north and has yet to say anything negative about me and my choices so far, which is very nice :D

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.

It could be jealousy. I don't think everyone who has a negative view of nurses secretly wants to be one. Some people think it's gross, too much work, etc, and there's zero jealousy there.

However, I'm not sure why an alleged friend would make it such a point to say so if there wasn't more going on. Even if she isn't interested in nursing, maybe she feels insecure about her own accomplishments. Who knows.

Just remember, it isn't about you, it's about her. Don't sweat it.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Sounds like she's just jealous. Screw her and her judgements. You do nursing, if that's your desire.

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I have friends that have 4 yr degrees in English. They are some of the most well read baristas that you will ever meet. :)

I would not worry about it too much.

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Wow, thanks for all the replies everyone. I'm definitely going to put some space between us. Its not even just the school thing either. She acts like she is better than everyone else and seems to think she knows everything. And she's only completed her 1st year. I am not going to let anyone discourage me from nursing, I'm 100% sure this is what I want to do. My mom is also very supportive so that helps too. I know that one day I'm gonna be a great nurse, and I can't wait to start "wiping butts"

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At one point I had a full time job, but I was thinking about making a change to nursing. It was something that I always wanted to do, but did not know how to go about doing it. My cousin's mother had went to lpn school and was a nurse. So I asked my cousin where did her mother go to school at. She told me that she did not know. I had to be really smart in order to go to the school where here mother went. So I asked her if she could ask her the mane of the school. She told me no because the school was no longer there. So I said okay and continued to work my job. I found out a couple of years later that she had went to a technical school that still existed! Guess who told me? My cousin; she forgot what she had told me a couple of years earlier. I had also expressed me wanting to be a nurse with my friend at work one day. We both know someone else that was an lpn. She asked me what made me want to be a nurse? She made the comment that I had to be very smart inorder to be a nurse. I guess she assumed that since I worked in a factory that I was not smart. She said that our friend was smart, and that she made straight A's in nursing school. Well I have always been an A and B student in high school, and now in college I have a 3.8 gpa. Okay last one! My friend is an RN now. When I enrollled in the same school that she graduated from, I called her to ask questions about the program and the job. Since she had already made it through, and had been working for 5 years as an RN, I felt that she could be my mentor. She told me that she did not reccommend nursing for me, tt was an awful job, and she wished someone would have to her not to be a nurse. A few months later I read her posts on facebook about how she loved her job :confused: !

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When I had only read the title of the thread, my initial reaction was "Is this a rhetorical question?" but I decided to read further ;)

I think the thing to remember here, OP, is that you will probably go through your entire nursing career meeting people who have no idea what you do. Some will be complete strangers, some acquaintances in social settings, sometimes family members. And in each case, the person will look at you and either be shocked at what you actually do (should you take a few minutes to describe it)...or simply think you're some oddity because THEY KNOW that nurses "don't do that" (whatever "that" is).

Some people I meet think my life is like Nurse Jackie's or something out of the series ER. Others think I just sit with old people holding their hands and fetching jello. When I give a brief description of my actual job--I'm a nurse manager for an ambulatory surgery center specializing in endoscopy--and I also frequently do hands-on work with patients in PACU, admissions, or the procedure room as needed--they STILL don't know what I do! LOL....

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My friend is an RN now. When I enrollled in the same school that she graduated from, I called her to ask questions about the program and the job. Since she had already made it through, and had been working for 5 years as an RN, I felt that she could be my mentor. She told me that she did not reccommend nursing for me, tt was an awful job, and she wished someone would have to her not to be a nurse. A few months later I read her posts on facebook about how she loved her job :confused: !

This could also be due to how people like to pretend they have awesome lives on facebook, lol.

I think it definitely comes from a point of insecurity and jealousy. I've been guilty of putting my friends down in the past, definitely ashamed of it, but you learn how to deal with your issues instead of lashing out. However, it does require being called out on it. I was a total jerk and called my friend's community college "super high school" when we were 18, now at 24, guess who is at a community college? This jerk. Thankfully, she's much more gracious than I was at that age and she doesn't rub it in my face, but it did take her having a serious conversation with me to realize how dumb I was being. At the time, I was afraid she would go on and have a career and forget about me all while I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. It didn't mean I didn't love my friend, it was just insecurity and I hope it's the same case for you. Just talk to her and try to work it out.

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i get the same thing. i get criticized for trying so hard to get in to RN program in a community college when i have been accepted to universities and private schools. they think community college is ghetto, when i have alot of classmates who graduated from prestigious universities and now sitting in a class with me, lol. people could be so naive.

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My mom told me once that I shouldn't become a nurse because, "it becomes your life". Well, duh, that's what a career is, lol! I never let her comment bother me, because she was the one that told me growing up that I can be anything I want to be.

You already know that it takes a special kind of person to want to take care of other people, in all of their "glory" (ie: wiping their butts, cleaning up their urine, etc), and someday, your "friend" may be in a position to rely on a nurse to take care of her, and will be thankful for nurses like you that are willing to wipe butts besides their own.

I'm sorry that she's not supporting you and what you want to become the way a friend should :nono:. But, kudos to you for not turning the other cheek, even though it would probably feel really good to let her have it. And, graduating or attending community college doesn't bar you from ever attending or obtaining a bachelor's degree at another institution, it just means you're being frugal with your resources, and not overpaying for classes offered at both institutions.

Keep your chin up, and if she continues to try to make you feel bad about yourself, let her know that her words are hurtful. If she can't understand that, you may want to re-evaluate your friendship.

lots of so called "friends" desert you, once you take on nursing as you career. worse yet, if your trying to be an rn, all so called friends drop off at the way side.. especially when u start to be successful, thts when they hate u the most

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Please don't let that discourage you from your dreams or goals. I have had some many people talk about community college vs. a university. At the end of the day, the choice is ultimately up to yours. People who frown upon a community college concerning nutsing school are clearly not attending for the right reasons anyway. The patient and improvement of healthcare is ultimately what is supposed to drive the applicant. Your degree and respect does not change, plus you can save money! Ignorant people will be around forever so ignore your friend! ( I have a friend who always says ignorant things but I check her quickly, we argue, then we're back to being friends again! Don't worry! ;)

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Honestly you're better at going to a community college because it's cheaper.. And there is always a bridge program to get your BSN at most universities.

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