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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:
mogulfield · 18/12/2017 23:01

I know nothing about what doctors and nurses do, but I do when my son has been in hospital the nurses have been very professional, knowledgable and provided some outstanding medical care... it came across to me that nurses are fulfilling a lot of the roles doctors used to perform and are becoming ever more specialised and advanced (from a lay person perspective this is, I know doctors do an outstanding job and work very hard too).

Anyway, a very non succinct way of saying you’re not ‘just’ a nurse, you’re a nurse and what you do is amazing.

RebornSlippy · 18/12/2017 23:01

I'm talking about nurses working on general wards @Monoblock. In my experience, their autonomy is extremely limited and patient care is ultimately dictated by Doctors' orders and instructions. After exactly 2 minutes at the bed side with their heads in the notes I might add. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying it's what I have observed.

Original poster
bottleofwater · 18/12/2017 23:02

Yes its the being belittled that annoying me! Of course I know that I am not a Doctor, nor do I want to be one or think I should be thought of as one.

The point is its a different role & we slog away for three years to get our degree only for my family to no matter compare everything to the fact I am not a Dr!

Alot of it comes from that they probably didnt expect much from me as the focus was always on my sibling!

OP posts:
TryOurMustard · 18/12/2017 23:02

YANBU at all. You are only BU of you let comments from idiots irritate you. I'm working on developing an idiocy filter- you can't argue with stupid you have to let it bounce right off you. Whoever implies nurses have a low value are utterly ignorant and offensive.

Monoblock67 · 18/12/2017 23:03

Ask any doctor and they’ll say ‘ I trust the nurse’. Nurses do have autonomy when it comes to patients, yes they can’t change medications but they’re the ones who can suggest changes for the patients benefit. They go to the doctor and say ‘X’s blood pressure has dropped, do they maybe need fluids?’ Not ‘X’s blood pressure has dropped, what should I do?’

Bettyspants · 18/12/2017 23:04

Congratulations OP! I've had similar asa Nurse Consultant but do the same job as the registrar . Hold your head up high I've seen firsthand how lost Drs can be without a good nurse working with them

liz70 · 18/12/2017 23:04

Every member of staff in hospitals and other medical centres, from cleaners to consultants, is an essential cog in the running of these places. They are all of them essential to good healthcare, so to hell with any mindless, pointless, oneupmanship. It's utter bollocks.

BlossomCat · 18/12/2017 23:05

There's a reason why health care professionals work in Multidisciplinary Teams.
Because it is teamwork, and nurses and doctors bounce ideas off each other.
As a nurse, I will often gather the information (observations, pain; site, intensity, etc etc.) Discuss these with the doctors and then we agree that my initial clinical impression was correct and they write up the appropriate medication
(That I will often recommend to them)

You are never just a nurse, you ate your patients advocate.
Good luck with your career.

To be pissed off at being 'just' a nurse?
elephantoverthehill · 18/12/2017 23:06

Last time I went to see the Practice Nurse he/she prescribed me with the correct antibiotics for my UTI. The locum GP had got it wrong the week before. Nurses can prescribe and are better IMO.

RebornSlippy · 18/12/2017 23:06

Suggesting change is not the same as autonomous decision making @Monoblock. I get what you're saying, I really do believe in the 'value' of nurses as per the original post. However, I cannot agree with you that nurses are truly autonomous practitioners. They should be, but they aren't. Or not those I've observed in any case.

Anyway, back to the OP, ignore them if you can. If you can't ignore them, find a way to make it clear that your value is immense. If they've ever been hospitalised they'll know this.

BlossomCat · 18/12/2017 23:06

ARE your patients advocate. Im sure if you ate them you'd need a Clinical Nurse Specialist.

Monoblock67 · 18/12/2017 23:06

The above is an example btw, it’s not rote. It could be more like ‘X’s blood pressure has dropped’. Doctor ‘oh here’s a bag of fluids’. Nurse ‘but aren’t we worried about overloading him, he’s the cardiac failure man?’ Etc. Nurses know their patients better than the doctors and are ultimately more responsible for their care.

If a doctor has made a prescription error, and the nurse didn’t notice and administered it, they would be held responsible, not the doctor. How is that amount of responsibility ‘just’ anything.

MyYoniFromHull · 18/12/2017 23:07

The nurse is the person who recognises a change in a patient and gets them treated.

They are the advocate for the patient.

They collaborate with the doctor to get the right treatment, or the right decision not to treat, and keep the family informed and cared for too.

No such thing as 'just' a nurse.

TheFairyCaravan · 18/12/2017 23:08

But you are “just” a nurse in comparison to doctors

Doctors couldn’t do their jobs without nurses so there’s no just about it.

DS2 is a 3rd year student nurse. I’m as proud as punch of him. I’m in awe of what he does, He’s bloody amazing as are you bottleofwater

Monoblock67 · 18/12/2017 23:08

If a patient spikes a temp overnight, nurses first point of call would be to administer paracetamol if appropriate, then call the doctor to see what they wanted to do. There are some things nurses in general wards are allowed to prescribe before even getting doctors involved.That’s just one example of autonomy.

VanGoghsLeftEar · 18/12/2017 23:09

I have nothing but the utmost respect for nurses. Indeed, many I have met or known have had to tell a doctor what to do. I went to nursing school for three years before deciding I couldn't do it. It's bloody hard work. Ignore your family, you have the respect of so many others.

gettingbacktoresearch · 18/12/2017 23:09

Nurse prescribers can prescribe medication and doctors often defer to nurse specialists for treatment of things such as pressure ulcers!

Nurses are also now undertaking translational research on issues that directly impact patients rather than collecting data for medics and many are now gaining clinical PhDs!

The old image of a nurse is dead.... they are highly skilled, competent and experienced individuals and make a real difference to patient care and experience and have helped resolve many issue and alleviate suffering! They have many different specialisms and can work in Acute hospitals, the community, prisons, schools and actually it is the nurses that run the flying operating theatres in Chinooks in the army in conflict!!

peanut2017 · 18/12/2017 23:10

Op don't mind the stupid comments from family or indeed on here. Nurses are bloody amazing and doctors absolutely rely on them especially when doctors are only starting off.

Well done on your promotions

gettingbacktoresearch · 18/12/2017 23:11

Oh, and the shortage of nurses is the main reason beds are closed and operations cancelled as they are VITAL for patient care....

countycouncil · 18/12/2017 23:11

I didn't have a clue about the scope of nursing until I worked in a hospital. You are amazing and you should be very very proud of yourself.

ThatWasNotLove · 18/12/2017 23:11

Well your relatives better hope they never end up in hospital then, if they consider nurses as "just" anything!

WashingMatilda · 18/12/2017 23:11

YANBU OP
I'm a police officer and get this too sometimes, not from family or friends, more from others in the job. I'm 'just' a response officer supporting the big fish at the top.
Maybe it's a public sector thing?
Congratulations on the promotion!

FruitCider · 18/12/2017 23:12

However, being absolutely honest, in my experience, nurses are ultimately guided by doctors' decisions and lack any real autonomy. Is that what they mean when they make the references to you telling doctors what to do?

I have a doctor on site for 22 hours a week. The other 146 hours there are nurses. When the doctor comes I give them a list of tasks to do, not the other way around. The nurse takes charge of 130 patients whether there is a doctor on duty or not. Tell me again about how little autonomy I have and how I need a doctor to guide my work?

Lilymoose · 18/12/2017 23:14

I'm a nurse and quite often get asked by junior doctors what they should prescribe and the doses etc, and frequently have to get them to correct their prescriptions! If I was "just" a dutiful little nurse who would prevent patients from receiving the wrong medications?

Noicecupoftea · 18/12/2017 23:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.