Would you "adopt" a nurse or allow yourself to be "adopted" (For Nurses' Week)?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

"By adopting a nurse you are sending a care package. You can reach out to who you are adopting asking for their amazon wishlist or address whichever they are comfortable with in order to send them something."

I keep seeing these "adopt me" profiles pop up on facebook, and it makes me cringe a little bit. I would feel so uncomfortable soliciting gifts from the public, but apparently a lot of people are okay with it.

Discuss. Are you up for adoption? Have you adopted a nurse? Would you do either one?

Specializes in Travel, Home Health, Med-Surg.

I would be embarrassed to be on either side of this. I would not accept nor adopt a nurse. I would donate money (and have) to those in need who are hurting the most from this economic upheaval. Who comes up with this stuff!

9 Votes
21 hours ago, JadedCPN said:

I'm not even comfortable partaking in all of the free giveaways they're doing for the "hero" nurses on the frontline. Mostly because my area has not been hit hard at all, I work pediatrics, and our hours have been cut so I really don't see myself deep in it compared to the nurses in NYC and other places. But also, the hero thing is nauseating.

I couldn't agree more. Yeah, no freebies or skipping to the front of the line for me.

3 Votes

If my employer can’t see fit to give me an acknowledgement or, better yet, equitable pay, I certainly don’t want handouts from the public. Give it to someone in need.

3 Votes
Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
On 5/4/2020 at 8:38 PM, Sour Lemon said:

I would feel so uncomfortable soliciting gifts from the public, but apparently a lot of people are okay with it.

Unless we're a narcissistic sociopath,we all have a need to feel like our energy is spent in a productive manner; we need to feel like we're contributing members of society.

This adopting thing is just another way to feel as though one is making a contribution and helping out in this current crisis.

I want to help those who want to help others.

So, Sour Lemon, how do I claim my gift?

4 Votes
Specializes in School Nursing, Pediatrics.

I got asked by a friend to join to a local group, and I did, but just to lurk and see what it was about as I hadn't heard about it. Nurses are posting about their careers etc, and people are "claiming" them to adopt. SO, yeah, I am totally not doing this. I don't need stuff and I don't need to send stuff to anyone I don't know and I really don't need anymore added stress, this seems too stressful to me at this time. Plus it seems its all the new and younger nurses (in this particular group, and the friend that asked me is my friends daughter), I've been a nurse for 30 years, I don't need adopting at this point! I got a free coffee and donut today at DD, I'm happy with that!

5 Votes
Specializes in Community Health, Med/Surg, ICU Stepdown.

Ahh I think no. Can they donate PPE or supplies to somewhere that really needs it in my name if they want to do something for me? Nurses are paid well in my area and I would feel like a loser accepting free stuff I can afford on my own while others have lost their jobs and are relying on public assistance. It's nice that people want to be charitable but I think the charity should be directed elsewhere.

5 Votes
Specializes in ER.

I would, if it was within my workgroup.

1 Votes

Grasping at straws but what if these nurses are actually planning to give away their care packages to someone in need?

Yeah, there are probably nurses who are asking for care packages for themselves, but is it wrong to do so? There are nurses who live paycheck to paycheck. There are nurses who have been laid off or lost their job offers as a result of the pandemic.

Should they just graciously wait and hope for someone to donate something or actually tell the public what they need right now?

(Assuming that they are not asking specific people to donate. For example - Hey Oprah, Can you donate "x" of money to my charity...? The name of the charity? It is called "my charity.")

3 Votes

Nobody needs to “adopt” me. But I have enjoyed the endless free lunches we have received for the past two months. It’s been saving me money!! I have saved money on gas and shoes and food.

I had a couple of neighbors put cards in my mailbox for nurses day. It made me smile. But I won’t solicit gifts from people.

I also don’t feel uncomfortable with people recognizing what we actually do. For so long, the public thinks I simply give out meds, draw some blood, and put bandaids on. Now, they actually realize all that I do to keep people alive. I’m hoping that we come out of this with people continuing to pay us the respect we deserve. We live in a society where professional athletes and actors are given the highest respect. People listen to their opinions and take it as fact because they are so highly paid. I’m just hoping that changes a little.

8 Votes
Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
1 hour ago, DTWriter said:

Yeah, there are probably nurses who are asking for care packages for themselves, but is it wrong to do so? There are nurses who live paycheck to paycheck. There are nurses who have been laid off or lost their job offers as a result of the pandemic.

No, I don’t think it is wrong. Even though I posted that I’m not comfortable accepting the free stuff since I’m not experiencing the worst of covid, and the whole hero thing being shoved down our throats is nauseating to me, I absolutely think anyone else who does feel comfortable taking the freebies should do so. And they won’t get any judgement from me. It’s definitely a personal choice either way so there’s really no wrong answer.

2 Votes
Specializes in Community Health, Med/Surg, ICU Stepdown.
3 hours ago, DTWriter said:

Grasping at straws but what if these nurses are actually planning to give away their care packages to someone in need?

Yeah, there are probably nurses who are asking for care packages for themselves, but is it wrong to do so? There are nurses who live paycheck to paycheck. There are nurses who have been laid off or lost their job offers as a result of the pandemic.

Should they just graciously wait and hope for someone to donate something or actually tell the public what they need right now?

(Assuming that they are not asking specific people to donate. For example - Hey Oprah, Can you donate "x" of money to my charity...? The name of the charity? It is called "my charity.")

That is a good point. I didn't think about nurses who have lost their jobs or been furloughed. Not all nurses are working right now and you are right, just as many others right now may need more help than usual, they do too. We shouldn't assume all nurses have kept their jobs and paychecks. Thanks for the reminder to not be so quick to pass judgement.

4 Votes
Specializes in Dialysis.
On 5/5/2020 at 12:03 PM, Sour Lemon said:

They're not through Amazon, directly. They seem to be nurse-created. The Amazon wishlist was just a suggestion made to potential "adopters".

This makes me sick. It will make the general public believe that all of us are only out for what we can get. I'm sure like any other occupation, that there are folks in our midst who are. But most aren't. In this time of trust issues, this isn't a time to be creating more.

On another note, I did give my mom my Amazon wish list. But, well, she's my mom...and she'll laugh at me anyway

2 Votes
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