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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be pissed off at being 'just' a nurse?

613 replies

bottleofwater · 18/12/2017 22:45

Three times in the last week Ive had different family members making sarky comments regarding some recent achievements & promotion at work.

Usually comments along the lines of "Oh Florence Nightingale you will be telling the Doctors what to do now" " You will be a surgeon in no time" & " What do nurses know about blood pressures, they are not doctors".

Im so fed up of how its like being a nurse is rubbish & that only Doctors are of any value Angry

Also comments regarding how I dont make the same amount of money as other family members but thats probably another thread!

Not sure what they think nurses actually do but aibu to be pissed off at the constant sneering at me?

OP posts:
FruitCider · 19/12/2017 21:03

Ringle the rivalry is created by the public, pitching us against each other. At work it’s not a thing. MDT - multidisciplinary team.

Headofthehive55 · 19/12/2017 21:03

I think you need to recognise that nursing is hugely diverse from the CEO to a band five newly qualified they will be doing very different roles. There are some nurses who will not have done any personal care in years - and there are some who do it everyday.

AmeliaFlashtart · 19/12/2017 21:04

So because I don't think all nurses are saints, equal to doctors and worthy of equal pay, I'm mad and need to see a doctor?
okay...........whatever.

I've said it many times nurses are part of a team, I'm not disparaging their role nor am I elevating to it to the level of a doctor which it appears is desired and felt entitled to - get over it, its a very common view!

Why don't you show me evidence to change my mindset instead of attacking me? 16 pages and there's no cohesive argument coming from the nurses here, its all over the place, you can't even agree if you are poorly paid or paid more than a doctor in some cases!

FruitCider · 19/12/2017 21:04

teaandcakes I’m sure areas that are medic led like a+e have less nurse autonomy, I don’t think anyone is disputing that.

FruitCider · 19/12/2017 21:05

Amelia no one has said that nurses deserve the same pay as a doctor... that’s come from your own ideas.

ringle · 19/12/2017 21:05

Fruit, I'm not from a medical background but I notice it when I deal with healthcare folk. It seems like a communication block (from the point of view of my health)

Headofthehive55 · 19/12/2017 21:06

I agree manchester

TeaAndAMarmiteSandwhich · 19/12/2017 21:06

Amelia - wow! I don't think the nurses on here are entitled! Just sticking up for themselves and a bit happy at being looked down on.

As I've said already on this thread - where I work ALL members of the MDT give equal voice and are equally valued. We all have different training and different backgrounds. Some are at the start of their careers and some have over 20 yrs experience in their area (admin, psychiatry, GP, nursing whatever it may be). Sometimes the new starters see things with fresh eyes which is very valuable.

I agree that some doctors (e.g. Psychologists) have PhD level academic qualifications - but they need these to be skilled at what they do. It doesn't make them better, superior, more important than any other members of the MDT.

It sounds Amelia, like you value academics and education and think that those with more qualifications are superior to those with less. I, (and perhaps many others) value other things alongside education - like experience, practical observation, empathy, learning on the job, different perspectives, hard work, skill etc etc ...

I hate heirachical systems and people looking down on others. Why can't we all accept we're great and our perspectives are all equally valid and bring something unique. No-one is better or worse than anyone else! Just different.

FruitCider · 19/12/2017 21:08

Really sorry to hear that ringle. Generally in my team us doctors and nurses look after each other!

ringle · 19/12/2017 21:09

That's good fruit.

dontbesillyhenry · 19/12/2017 21:10

Wow there are some bitter wasters on here! And I'm not referring to the nurses amongst us

BiglyBadgers · 19/12/2017 21:10

^You mention the example of the IT manager getting more pay for managing a small team?
a cock-up in the IT systems may cost the company millions of pounds, cause untold chaos. Loss od data? peoples details leaked? systems down? passengers stranded? orders delayed? The knock on effect could be huge and cause lasting damage to the reputation of the company. You might not like it or get it but it's business and its all about profit which is why they command a higher salary.^

So clearly you know much about the IT profession as you do about nurses. I can assure you that many, many IT professionals who would at worst cause someone a small irritation get paid vastly more than a nurse will ever do. I know things because I was one and worked in IT for over ten years. As much as I appreciate you making me feel so important I really can't accept your outrageous flattery as fact.

Headofthehive55 · 19/12/2017 21:11

amelia if they do the same job why do you not want them to get paid the same?
Because sometimes they do do the same job.

SheffUK · 19/12/2017 21:12

Not all nurses wipe bums, and not all bum wipers are nurses.

Part of the dissatisfaction in remuneration on here is likely due to the previously mentioned role creep; in a drive to reduce costs, nurses are being trained to perform more procedures and take on more responsibilities, so that a junior doctor's time is freed up, which allows them to take on more responsibilities etc. usually associated with consultants.

The same thing is happening in general practice, physiotherapy, mental health...

ringle · 19/12/2017 21:15

So the shadowing period is getting shorter, the earn your keep period starting sooner?
It has been like that in law since the recession.

CauliflowerSqueeze · 19/12/2017 21:15

I think it’s because the pay is so low and that nurses are supposed to love their vocation that people might say “just” a nurse. The money should be tripled, in line with their true value.

thegoodnameshadgone · 19/12/2017 21:15

I think nurses are fucking amazing and I couldn’t do it. Underpaid and under appreciated for the most part.

ringle · 19/12/2017 21:17

Ooh! Nosy Parker here. What do nurses earn? Did someone say up to £48k?
But with v good pension scheme?

FruitCider · 19/12/2017 21:19

No ringle, it’s not just the shadowing part that is getting shorter.

For example in my service they want to half the GP sessions to 12 hours a week. To do that they want volunteers to train as non medical prescribers, which traditionally has been a band 6/7 job, they want band 5s to do it. As a band 5 I do far more technical work than I should for my grade but I do it because it wouldn’t get done otherwise....

GetOutOfMYGarden · 19/12/2017 21:19

Also, there's lots of misinformation on this thread. Medicine is not an integrated masters, it is a bachelor of medicine and a bachelor of surgery.

Also, nurses should not be taking full responsibility for medical students training at ANY point as they are not medically trained (they are trained in the art of nursing) nor are they insured to do this - shadowing is fine, as medical students need to learn how the MDT functions, but nurses cannot supervise medical students, the same way doctors cannot supervise nursing students, since they are two separate disciplines. If you are seeing a nurse do this, you need to speak to both the nurse and the medical school because it's not useful for either party.

AmeliaFlashtart · 19/12/2017 21:20

Wooow this thread has grown arms and legs since I last checked! Amelia, you’re so full of hatred, honestly. Nurses are just asking for respect which they so deserve

The good ones have my respect as you can see from my first post. Don't let the facts get in the way of hurling insults though ladies.

Full of hatred?
Gratuitously nasty?
unbalanced?
unhinged?
need to see a doctor?

All because I disagree with the notion nurses do the same work, take on the same responsibilities and are entitled to the same pay and status as doctors?

Attack the argument, change my mind - c'mon it is easy to hurl insults, do you think they have any effect coming from strangers on the internet?

FruitCider · 19/12/2017 21:20

Up to £48k for a band 7 who works regular nights.

I’ve been qualified for just under 2 years, get a huge secure environment allowance and will get around £27k this year. Most nurses stay on band 5, and never see band 6 let alone band 7!

ringle · 19/12/2017 21:22

Secure environment allowance?

what is it?

Chocolate254 · 19/12/2017 21:23

Theres no changing your mindset Amelia, You are quite simply off your head attacking people and demeaning people "wiping bums" so full of hate!
So yes you do appear mentally unstable as why would anyone do what you are choosing to do right now which is troll a thread.
Anyway i'm not feeding the troll anymore..

BiglyBadgers · 19/12/2017 21:24

Asking what a nurse earns is like asking was an engineer earns. It depends. Nursing is a very wide and varied profession. Do you have a specific qualification, responsibility and specialisation in mind? Do you mean nurse, ward sister, nurse practitioner, modern matron....?