Nursing should be re-named?

[SunshinePie]

Was pondering over this recently, is calling “nursing” is a bit old fashioned? You now need a degree to be a nurse, and they often are pretty much doing junior doctor jobs. Calling it something else that recognises it’s academic demands, and also more inclusive to males wanting to work in the field…something like Healthcare Medic / Healthcare Practitioner/ Assistant Medic…. Or similar, you get the idea….

-YABU, it should be kept “nurse”, it’s traditional and has roots in “nursing an infant” ie breastfeeding (that reflects the caring nature)

-YANBU it’s old fashioned, insulting to people with degrees and esp males.

The list important people on my ward are the receptionist and the cleaner! If a nurse or HCA is off sick, we borrow another. If the receptionist is, we are buggered!

Often relatives specifically ask to speak to a doctor.

Who comes and asks the nurses who they are and what is happening with their relative

@lameasahorse

I'd be surprised if a nurse was unable to answer those questions and a bit worried really.

But different hospitals have different policies and can't is different to won't.

It's not the role of a band 5 ward nurse to be answering specific medical questions or update you about your relatives prognosis though?

sounds like an environment ripe for bullying from these tetchy posts. Is this just the UK or is it an universal thing?

@lameasahorse

I don't understand your point. Nurses acted within their job scope and got a doctor to answer your specific questions. But you sound unhappy with this?

Keep the name nurse.

Everyone knows what it means and it’s not insulting to men or anyone else.

Why confuse people by changing it to some meaningless generic title?

Very true! And never let a doctor Avesta central line, they have no idea!

Access.

A ward would not function without its doctors. And a ward wouldn't function without its other healthcare professionals.

Also, the nurses who are comparing themselves to FY1s (first year working as a doctor)... Apart from all the inaccurate stuff about FY1s being incompetent, it is hilarious and sad to see people comparing a nurse who has worked on a ward for a significant period of time to a new FY1 who changes ward every four months and has to get used to a new specialty each time.

But well done to you for knowing which drugs and doses you use most commonly on a ward you've worked on for ages.

FY1s are finding their feet. They remember the nurses who understand this and have helped them, and don't forget those who do the opposite.

@lameasahorse

I wasn't complaining. Just stating a fact.

and unless you were present when gge doctor spoke with the nurse you cant say if its accurate or not

This thread has exemplified why communication in hospitals is so bloody difficult. If you are all at each other's throats continually what hope is there of outstanding care for the poor old patient?

This thread deserves a home in the Daily Mail.

@lameasahorse

I'd be pretty unimpressed if the nurse in charge of my relatives care couldn't answer a question about their care

Worried too.

But that protocol is there for a reason.

Of course most of the time you’ll be doing what the consultant asks for anyway, because you are following protocol.

And of course when treatments need to be altered or aren’t working any good consultant team will take your opinion, and that of other experienced specialists into account.

But being a consultant is similar to being in any leadership role - you are not being paid for the 80 or 90% of the time that things are occurring more or less as expected, you are being paid for when they don’t. And when they don’t, it is the responsibility of the consultant team to decide what do to. It’s good leadership to make the whole team feel part of that decision, but whatever you think, they know it’s their decision. This is it to suggest nursing isn’t very important - it is , but is it is not primarily centred around diagnostic decision making, and when it comes to treatment plans, the buck stops with the consultant team, not the nursing team.

Of course they can? They aren't brainless idiots. HCAs often work in a pair with a nurse on the wards like when carrying our personal care for and moving and handling bed bound patients. The inexperienced HCAs will be learning from working with the nurses all the time. And they have ongoing training that allows them to carry out more complex tasks throughout their career.

@Luredbyapomegranate

Really?

Nurses are accountable for theor practice.

If a doctor prescribes a drug wrongly and a nurse gives it, they will be held accountable for their lack of knowledge of the properties of that drug.

The doctor told me to is not a defence.

The consultant is accountable for their own practice, not mine.

The buck stops with me.

@lameasahorse

Yes.

Whether I would or not would depend on lots of factors.