What do you think/feel when someone tells you they are a nurse?

[Anonymous]

I expect they aren't book smart enough to bena doctor but want to work in healthcare. Also know they have a job I have no interest in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they have to work 12 hour shifts at the hospital? If yes, then why? I wouldn't be able to work that long.

I work 3 X 12 and then am off for 4 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they have to work 12 hour shifts at the hospital? If yes, then why? I wouldn't be able to work that long.

Not a nurse but I used to be in the medical field. I LOVED 12 hr shifts and wish that I could go back to them.

My cousin is a nurse who works 12-hour shifts -- in other words, she has a 3-day work week. She and her husband don't have kids yet and this is perfect for her. She gets to pursue other interests -- gardening, hiking and skiing, and is free to travel a lot.

Yep, I used to work Sun, Mon, Tues and had the rest of the week to myself, LOL

Now I work your standard M - F and I want to die.

[Anonymous]

Nurses used to be looked down upon, seen as women who walk around collecting bed pans, with a career ambition of marrying a doctor
Why choose nursing instead of medicine?

[Anonymous]

My honest first thought is about the amount of steps they must get on their Fitbit when working.

[Anonymous]

I'm a nurse, went to a top college and came from a family of doctors. I married a doctor (although we didn't meet at work and I'd been out of school for 5 yrs when I met him).
I used to be ashamed of being a nurse and felt like I didn't achieve enough (while also feeling that nursing was a better fit for me than medicine).
However, I get more respect in DC than any other city I've lived in. It's not a medical town so people often don't know any nurses (or doctors) so they assume we know more than we do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder why they didn't become a PA.

I wonder why they did not become a doctor, or pharmacist or some other better respected/paid health care professional

You sound pretty ignorant, CRNAs make 3 times what PAs make in many areas and are well respected. Also, not all nurses have to ask for urine, there are research nurses, informatic nurses, and many others.

This simply isn't true.

CRNAs like other APNs and PAs are mid level practitioners and generally speaking all make in 90 k to 150 k range. CRNAs are not making $300k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Impressed. Nursing is a hard job that takes caring and courage. Respect.

This. Absolutely this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder why they didn't become a PA.

I wonder why they did not become a doctor, or pharmacist or some other better respected/paid health care professional

You sound pretty ignorant, CRNAs make 3 times what PAs make in many areas and are well respected. Also, not all nurses have to ask for urine, there are research nurses, informatic nurses, and many others.

This simply isn't true.

CRNAs like other APNs and PAs are mid level practitioners and generally speaking all make in 90 k to 150 k range. CRNAs are not making $300k.

I thought PAs were considered sort of a joke compared to NPs, but I think the titles are confusing and I am probably mixing them up

[Anonymous]

I have a fairly positive perception of nurses. I view nursing as a straightforward career path --one is trained specifically, gets a job, moves up gradually. It seems like a good deal in terms of years/cost of education, hours, and salary.
I also think about how their work clothes look comfy, but aren't very becoming.
I think how I would not enjoy being a nurse, and am glad there are many who want to be.

[Anonymous]

Nursing is a second career for me and it was for many people in my class. I had a graduate degree and over a decade of experience in my previous field before going into nursing. I love it and wish I had made the switch sooner. I've met some incredibly smart nurses and some who I wouldn't let within 5 feet of my family members. You can find nurses in a multitude of settings and these settings impact how intellectually and physically challenging the job can be.
Setting (both which type of unit and what company) can also impact stress level and work/life balance.
I think most people I come across in my work respect nurses. You do have a few who see RN=refreshments and narcotics.

[Anonymous]

Nursing, medicine, and pharmacy are three very different fields. Nursing isn't a pre-medicine or medicine step down degree. Two very different types of health care. Just like people go into occupational therapy, physical therapy, rehab therapy, respiratory therapy, speech language pathology etc. Nursing is similar. It is its own profession and very different from medicine. There may be a few health care providers in nursing or other health care professions who did that as a second choice because they didn't have the marks for medicine but the vast majority of nurses, OTs, PTs etc did those professions because that was what they wanted to be. They had no interest in being a doctor - a very different career than being a nurse.

I find it amusing that people think that everyone in health care wanted to be a doctor. There are lots of very bright nurses who go on to all kinds of highly successful careers - all of whom chose nursing intentionally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I expect they aren't book smart enough to bena doctor but want to work in healthcare. Also know they have a job I have no interest in.

Really? How the f**k did you do in organic chemistry? Or were you an English major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I expect they aren't book smart enough to bena doctor but want to work in healthcare. Also know they have a job I have no interest in.

Really? How the f**k did you do in organic chemistry? Or were you an English major?

Really really well actually. Have taught organic chem to grad students. I also double majored in English. What is the point of this question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I expect they aren't book smart enough to bena doctor but want to work in healthcare. Also know they have a job I have no interest in.

Really? How the f**k did you do in organic chemistry? Or were you an English major?

Really really well actually. Have taught organic chem to grad students. I also double majored in English. What is the point of this question?

Other than returning your condescension with condescension, I think the PP's point was that nursing education is hardly simply a few classes in bedside manner and how to take blood pressure. O-chem, anatomy and physiology and clinical rotations in different units as well as a bunch of other stuff I'm not familiar with because my best friend is a nurse, not me, result in a rigorous education that includes "book smarts." It doesn't sound like you actually know about nursing as a profession, just that you have encountered nurses, assumed they're stupid, and do not respect them.