Only lower class girls become nurses

[upsidelow]

I am a nurse, definitely from a working class background for which I am proud. I had it said to me that it's the poor or thick girls that become nurses. To be fair the person who said it did not know that I am a nurse but still...Is that what people think? That you don't need to be clever to be a nurse! I studied for three years, I also have post graduate qualifications too. My job is demanding and requires a lot of time and attention. I am not thick! Apparently bright girls being teachers...

Maybe some stupid people think that. I take a relative to hospital a lot, including A&E, I can’t figure out most of what the nurses do but I do know you can’t be thick and do it.

There are so many jobs nursing, teaching, medicine, pharmacist (and the related support jobs) where one of the essential skills is being able to concentrate one thing while chaos is going on around you but still have the capacity to be aware of what is happening around you. This is independent of academic ability and class although people in these jobs from less good comprehensive schools will excel at it
There are a lot of people (DH included) who are super smart but cannot "walk and talk" at the same time.

Depends on the route they take. My son's head of sixth form was horrified he wanted to do nursing as he "could" do medicine. I told him not to worry as one day the doctors would be calling him sir. Pretty well there now.

Well, according to another thread, teachers are partying and taking drugs. There’s some weird theories on here today.

I trained in the 1970s in a London teaching hospital.

The vast majority of us were definitely middle class, or upper middle class. Three of my set were the daughters of aristocrats.

I think that was usual in teaching hospitals then.

I thought that as a stupid and naive 17 year old. Then I lived with a nurse who had much much better a levels than me and was much more organised and dedicated to their studies and I changed my mind.

that's interesting.

Isn’t Peter Phillips’ girlfriend a nurse?
I hear you though-it’s regarded as a ‘blue collar’ profession so not considered as smart as some others. Same with radiographers, occupational therapists although I do know some posh physios-especially animal physios!

The comment made is simply insulting and extremely rude. So insulting that in your position I might have pushed back firmly and then left. This is not a generally held view by anyone of any worth.

Presumably the person who said it is elderly.

It's yet another one of these things that the out of touch elderly trot out because it was how it was in "their" day, 60+ years ago.

Some seem incapable of understanding that the World has changed significantly over that time, yet they still often live in their own little bubble.

The OP needs to just nod and move on, it's the best way as there's no way of changing the mindset of people who are set in their ways.

I remember my grandparents being like that, and my MIL is just like that. Completely unable to accept that times have changed.

One of my cousins went to the local college to train to be an electician, and MIL was aghast as how he was "wasting his life" with the old lines of "Only stupid kids go to college, only stupid kids become tradesmen etc! Stupid mare. It's antiquated attitudes like that which have caused the crisis in lack of plumbers, electricians, etc. He's now qualified, self employed and a higher rate taxpayer! Who's the stupid one?

Quite a few of my old school friends are nurses, we went to a good girls’ grammar school and are very middle class. Princess Anne’s son is dating an NHS nurse.

I guess you didn't read my post about my great aunt, nearly 100 years ago, training with well off middle class girls and how she was having a very different experience as a working class girl.

You are just ageist.

I started nurse training in early 80s - long before it became a degree profession - and lasted a year before deciding it was not for me. My intake - the group starting training with me - were not all middle class by any means. None were thick though.

Aren't you doing the same thing making the over sixties to be sexist, classist,etc on the basis of comments from your family.

My friend Ben is training to be a nurse. He's not a girl and he's not lower class.

Did you miss where I said "some". I didn't say all!

I’m a nurse. I went to a selective school and got AAA at A-Level and was pushed into an English degree that I didn’t really want to do, but there was absolutely no mention or support for applying to vocational courses such as nursing by the ‘careers advisor’ for my sixth form. It was academia or nothing, as far as they were concerned! I did my English degree despite being sorely tempted to drop out and pursue nursing for the entire three years, came out with a 2:1 and a load of pointless debt. I got a graduate job and spent a miserable six months there, then applied for nursing. I am SO happy now and a clinical specialist in my field.

If I had a penny for every time I’ve heard “you could have been a doctor with those grades”, I’d be richer than I’ll ever be as a nurse! Yes, I could have been a doctor, but I don’t want to be a doctor. They are completely different careers. I’m also pleased that the newer generation of doctors are mostly treating nurses as colleagues rather than underlings (that’s been my experience, anyway!)

I agree that many people think it’s a job for the working class woman, but I know so many nurses (female and male!) from all different walks of life. I doubt the stereotype will ever change but fuck ‘em, we do the job because we love it.

A hit harder now that there are more female doctors than male doctors among the younger cohorts.

Only by not very bright people themselves

I certainly was. It’s seen by many as a more ‘caring’ and therefore more feminine choice. I also had two (female) teachers advise me not to go medical school but to become a nurse or a teacher as they felt medicine was incompatible with being a mother.

I ignored them.

I’m glad your experience was different and I assume you became a doctor, but there are many women who will have heard this.

Growing up I feel like it was implied if you wanted to do "medicine" you became a Dr if you were a top were not quite there. I didn't see it as a class thing though.

As an adult I now understand they are actually very different roles and this was 💯 brought home to me when I was in hospital last year.

Maybe 80s TV perpetuates the posh male Drs and salt of the earth female nurses trope though?

My DD's friend qualified last year. She's fluent in English and Gujarti and knows enough Portuguese and Spanish to be understood and understand patients (Gujarti learnt at home, Portuguese and Spanish studied alongside GCSEs and A levels). On top of that she's managed to study and is now a nurse. She doesn't sound thick to me!

Even if there's the odd person who's struggled at school and has then gone on to be a nurse, they've obviously got the skills and qualities to study, then support, look after and be patient. If that's whatever whoever really thinks, then it's an insult.

My good friend is a specialist nurse practitioner literally responsible for keeping people alive. She is the one that carefully balances some serious drug cocktails to manage pain and sedation in emergency situations without ODing the patient.

I bet when someone is screaming in agony and begging for relief they wouldn't think she just the 'poor dumb girl'. Most people automatically assume she is a Doctor and she will straight up correct people if they do it general conversation. I think theres a strange assumption some have that nurse just change the bedding, do bed baths and bring lunch etc...

No! Everyone knows that nurses have to operate complex machines, have an understanding of complex biology and medications. Often an experienced nurse can be more useful than an inexperienced doctor and so on. I've never known anyone to be disparaging about nurses as being from one class or the other.
In fact if you read history many of the pioneering nurses came from upper classes.

Genuine question. What has being white got to do with anything, you mentioned it twice in your post.