Recently I was involved in a situation where we were left short staffed for a night duty in emergency due to some last minute sick leave. This meant there were three nurses off sick, and only one was able to be replaced. Working one down is achievable if the department is not overly busy, two down is not – particularly when all beds are full.
And so I worked a double shift.. I caught a taxi home to avoid a post-shift rollover with my car, then caught a taxi back to work the following day.
The taxi driver was asking me about when I had last worked etc. as I was probably looking pretty haggard by then! After I told him, his reply was something along the lines of, “oh well – I guess it’s not so bad for a nurse to work tired – it’s not going to matter if you make a mistake giving out headache pills, but it wouldn’t be good for doctors to do that!”
As we were just about pulling up to the hospital, I decided to bite my tongue. But it got me thinking about the perception the general public has about nursing. How do I explain to a taxi driver that my job is not about giving out pills?! How do I explain that my training is extensive, consisting of a university degree, post graduate qualifications in critical care and relentless ongoing education?
Nurses give out all the medications. All of them. Adrenaline, potassium, morphine, GTN, heparin, lignocaine, verapamil…. Antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, inotropes, diuretics, analgesics, anti-psychotics, anti-hypertensives…. We have to know a considerable amount about every drug we give, be ridiculously precise with administration methods and calculations, and know when a doctor has over-ordered or plain stuffed up. (Just last I witnessed a doctor’s order for a lethal dose of IV potassium, don’t think it doesn’t happen!)
We do comprehensive assessments on every patient, and have to prioritise care based on a likely diagnosis. Make no mistake, if the nurse at triage misses that the elderly patient has a potential leaking AAA, the patient can drop dead on the waiting room floor. If an arrest page or alarm goes off, we nurses will give you CPR, hook you up to a cardiac monitor & assess your rhythm, defibrillate and give drugs when necessary – and yes, this can be after working 8, 10, 12, 16 hours straight.
And so, sometimes I’m frustrated by community perception! I understand not everyone feels that way, but it’s not the first time I’ve heard some snide, throw-away comment about nurses being there to give patient’s their food. Most of the time I shrug it off, but just occasionally….
NB – Interestingly enough, despite public perception of what the job actually entails, nurses consistently rate very highly on the list of community perception of ethical standards in professions.
Hi Laurel – thanks for your comments, it’s great to have your feedback
Yes the Drs do the surgeries, etc. But nurses do EVERYTHING and get paid less. There would be no successful Drs without nurses. You are so right here about the misconceptions.
Is it public perception of just plain ignorance? When I was in the hospital for 3 days in June it was the nurses who REALLY took care of me! I think I saw the doctor only twice and one of those times was for surgery! Be proud of what you do and don’t worry about what others think. You can’t cure ignorance…
xoxo~
Doctors do what I call a ‘drive by’ whereas the nurse is the one who actually helps you get better. We’d be in a sorry state without nursing care.
@matchmaker – good point, maybe there is a degree of ignorance for those who haven’t spent much time in hospitals..
@Clara – I’m still not sure what the ideal model of hospitals would be, as I haven’t come across it yet! But you’re right, nursing staff are an important bunch
Thanks for this article, it is very true. On the flip side, the public perception of nurse’s ethics are very high… http://www.nurseweek.com/news/features/01-04/splitdecision.asp
I’m a Registered Nurse as well, and worked in two countries…Believe me, such comments come no matter where one is. You are NOT alone in your frustration! Welcome to the club.
Years ago I was a licensed practical nurse in the USA. I lasted about 3 years. I had been an army medic before that and went on to physican assistant school in the USA. I think they are training PAs in Australia now. I spent most of my career in emergent medical situations. I have to agree that the perception is that nurses don’t think or make decisions or inform the doc or pa how the patient is doing. These are all wrong and without a good nursing staff a 12 hour stint in the ER can be awful.
@Jes – Hi there, thanks for pointing that out – since I started in nursing, I have always seen similar stats – nurses are very high on the list of people who you can trust.
@Pentad – Ahh, I suspected as much! It’s almost like the profession needs a name change, as it’s original day to day tasks have changed so much.
@Bruce – Maybe a lot of this is due to the fact that cases that draw a lot of publicity in the media are only the ones where a nurse actually has been negligent etc. It doesn’t give a good indication of nursing as a whole. Once again it probably stems back to ignorance, like matchmaker pointed out..
Hi Ross,
Well said about the public ignorance!!
I really think the government’s effort to increase the number of nurses would be futile unless they fix this public perception about nurses (that we only do mindless tasks) first. What sort of talented and enthusiastic people would become interested in the profession if it’s not really respected!?
PS I emailed you awhile ago in regard to your overseas page…. and sorry I haven’t got back to you about it yet. Well, actually there is a lot to tell…
, and I just don’t know where to start to be honest!
Call for Stories from Nurses
Kaplan Publishing, the publisher of a broad range of educational and consumer books by and for healthcare providers, is now accepting stories for a new and exciting anthology, Beyond Borders: Nurses’ Stories about Working Abroad.
Kaplan wants nurses from all over the world to reveal what it’s like to practice nursing outside of their hometowns, in places like the United States, Jamaica, France, Indonesia and beyond.
Whether confronted with unfamiliar cultural norms, new medical language, or greater or fewer resources than you would experience at home, your story will open a window into the commonalties and cultural differences in how the art and science of nursing is practiced around the globe.
SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES.
Tell your story. If you are a nurse’s aid, a nurse, or a nurse practitioner please share your unique experience of working somewhere other than your native country. If you have a story of working in a town that is culturally very different from your hometown, we hope you will share this story as well.
Tell us how your experience has shaped the person that you are today.
Make us laugh, make us cry; allow your words to open a broader world for your readers.
All stories must be true and you must you retain the copyright if previously published.
Story Length:1,000 – 2,500 words
Submit stories in Microsoft Word, 12-point Times New Roman, double-spaced.
Each submission should include your name, address, phone number, and email address.
Tell a story that has a beginning, middle, and end.
Write from your heart about a life-changing or life-defining experience.
Multiple submissions are welcome.
All manuscripts selected for publication will be subject to editing.
Before final acceptance, you will receive an agreement that outlines the terms and conditions of publication.
Submission Deadline: April 10, 2009
Payment:$100 if published, along with two complimentary copies of the book
o By Email - Beyond Borders@live.com Please put your story title in the subject line. You can type the story into the body of the email, or send as an attachment.
o
Hi There
I probably have missed the deadline, but would have loved to written something for Beyond Borders: Nurses’ Stories about Working Abroad. I’ve just written a book entitled: Nursing Australia – A Guide to Working and Living as a Nurse Down Under
Working as an overseas nurse initially requires a much greater investment of energy than nursing at home, but the memories and experiences gained in return will reward you a thousand times over. Nothing in the world can replace the experience you gain and the general outlook on life you attain having stepped outside your own country and worked in another one for a while. To view your own country from another country’s perspective will open up your eyes to a whole new way of viewing the world.
See http://www.nursingaustralia.info for my experiences on Nursing in Australia
Emma
Thank goodness that I have found like-minded nurses. I am nearing completion of me three year nusing degree (Paediatrics) and have worked so hard to achieve this. Previous to this, I completed a degree in geography only to discover that I did not want to pursue it as a career. I have been comfronted by so many people that have a misconception of what nurses actually do and I do believe that it is due to ignorance. Only nurses and doctors truly know what we do and how important our role is for the patients welfare. In many instances, the doctors are asking the nurses for their advice so that they can make a proper diagnosis. The public do not see this however! One “friend” continually asks me how my shift was, wiping backsides all day!! It frustrates me so much.
Hi Gemma, nice to have you visit…
I can totally hear where you’re coming from with your frustrations! Good luck as you finish up on your degree & enter into a completely crazy new world. Stay strong!
I was a male nurse and because of the public image in my country I left nursing. It was difficult to explain nursing duties to every one I meet. They have a bad perception about nursing. When someone ask me about my job and I answer “a Nurse”, he or she says aaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have family members in all areas of healthcare, including nursing and medicine. I love nurses, but there are some serious issues in nursing that are not talked about. I think the main issue is simply that nursing as a group is too diverse. Unlike say medicine, where virtually ALL students are very bright and motivated, you have some RNs who are extremely bright and competent, and others who made it into nursing school but can’t do basic math or perform even simple technical tasks without error. Yes doctors make mistakes, but in my experience it has been nurses that make them more often and have less knowledge to correct the error on their own. Typically the best and brightest nurses tend to work in Critical Care and other highly technical areas. They also tend to be younger, male, and have more advanced education (I.e. a Bachelor of Science alongside a BN/BScN degree and/or training (I.e. former flight paramedic). This has simply been my experience. The problem becomes when the less intelligent/less educated nurses think they can perform at the same level as the other nurses. Mistakes happen, and public perception suffers for the group as a whole. At the end of the day, yes nurses work very hard doing all of the physical “day to day” tasks involved in patient care, but let’s not fool ourselves. The nursing role (and I’m talking plain old RNs here, not NPs, etc.) IS exactly that. At the end of the day, the doctor diagnoses the disease and prescribes the treatment, and the nurse stays at the bedside and carries out that treatment. It is what it is. I’m sick of the constant battle I see RNs in as they struggle to “prove” how valuable they are in comparison to other fields, doctors in particular. It reeks of insecurity. Nurses wanted to take over more complex care of patients in recent years. But now the ones who can’t handle it are complaining about it. The problem with the public perception of nursing is that NURSES as a group don’t know what they do and who they are. It is the only healhcare role in which the definition reads more like a jack of all trades master of none than any other field. One RN may very well be giving stool softeners, changing bandages, and pushing pills while another while yet another is adjusting ventilator settings in the ICU. This gap that nurses have created has caused the problem in perception. “Old school” style nurses who push pills and pride themselves as patient angels aren’t hungry for pubic “glory” and job perception as a nurse who runs the ER code team would be. Nursing is essentially too diverse for it’s own good, and yet still remains focued centrally on one dogma of what nursing it.
I am constantly searching on the internet for strategies to help me. Thanks!
Hey thanks for the well written post. I’ll be passing this one along to my friend. She’s currently a nursing a assistant and studying to become an RN, she’ll enjoy this one.