To think nursing is not considered a 'profession' by the general public

[roseability]

We just mop up sick and wipe brows and all that

Do people really consider the nursing profession as 'educated' and on a par with other degree trained professions?

Or should nurses be defined as 'caring' principally, not allowing aspiartions of status to undermine this ideal?

What do doctors really think of nurses?

Just interested

I think nurses are totally over worked and underpaid.

As an ex student nurse, the media doesn't portray nurses as educated. Think Donna off holby city or the no angels nurses. This says it all really.

Oh dear - I don't really know what a profession is any more. Our carpet fitter told us all about his profession. I wouldn't have thought of carpetfitting as a profession tbh - but then I wouldn't have thought of nursing as one either.

I don't care what anyone but my colleagues, family patients and friends think. And I'm fairly sure they think I am professional.

Almost every member of the public I meet wherever I meet them think that nurses are undervalued.

I think nurses are generally considered as professionals. Anyone who holds another view may be from an older generation when nurses did not have such a central and proactive role in many ares of nursing. I am not a nurse btw)

Why is that Quattrocento?

i think of nursing as a profession,i think nurses must have to be very clever and are very over worked and by sounds of it underpaid.

I think that nursing is a profession, but that the lack of time nurses get to spend on individual patients means that often you can't see much difference between the nurse and the person who brings you a cup of tea. It's sad really. I come from a family of nurses.

My only experience is the nearly 3 weeks I spent in hospital pre/after giving birth.. Most were lovely, some were rude and disinterested. They were all overworked. I will never forget the lovely lady who came and gave me a cuddle when I couldn't sleep the night before my planned CS, and the positively saintly one who took dd off for a feed and settle when she was sceaming until 1 am and I couldn't get out of bed. I definitely loved her!

I do think nurses are underpaid and undervalued but I don't think they are professionals sorry.

However I think a lot of nurses are selling themselves short, too many senior nurses who should be leading just want to walk around with a clipboard IHMO. There are plenty who are not worth the massively overinflated salaries the NHS is paying them.

It's a great pity and a great disservice to all the others out there who are worth 2 or 3 times what the NHS is paying them

At the risk of sounding trite had a bad day or just wanting a chat?

Well I think of professions as being more traditional - like being a doctor or a lawyer - where barriers to entry are relatively/extremely high.

why do you not think nurses are professionals? We have a professional governing body as we are classed as such.

I think its a profession and I dont really care what anyone else thinks.I worked bloody hard for my degree and its as good as anyone elses.
As for mopping brows and wiping up sick....no, sorry to disappoint but i was too busy resuscitating babies. it really annoys me when people just assume nurses do all the stivying, its just not true. Where I worked the doctors really valued the nursing staff...and if they didnt the nurses didnt take any crap. The nurses were so experienced in their area of nursing that the doctors asked our opinions and decision making was a group thing.

It depends on what sort of nurse you are talking about?

Auxillary/Clinical Support Worker, would consider them vocational not professional.

Nurse training leads to a degree, so all those who say that qualified nurses aren't professionals are basically saying anyone with a degree isn't a professional too.

Hmm, that will please a lot of people on mumsnet

not a nurse but my god yes they are professionals (and have saved my sorry arse many times)

i love working with the nurses,the vibe the chat,teamwork.the nights out

what has upset you roseability?has someone had a go

We are definitely not considered as well educated as other degree educated professionals - otherwise we would be given the same starting salary. We don't get financially rewarded if we do post grad studies either . we are still regarded as "vocational" despite the huge changes in nurse education since the early 90's.

I have a first class honours degree in nursing from a reputable university, which took four years to complete.

What for? To not be considered a professional?

Erm, I don't think that anyone with a degree is automatically classed as a professional. Someone with a degree is just ... someone with a degree. Loads of people have degrees nowadays.

what quattro said

from wikki The term profession thus refers to an occupation, vocation or high-status career, usually involving prolonged academic training, formal qualifications and membership of a professional or regulatory body. Professions involve the application of specialized knowledge of a subject, field, or science to fee-paying clientele.[1] It is axiomatic that "professional activity involves systematic knowledge and proficiency."[2] Professions are usually regulated by professional bodies that may set examinations of competence, act as a licensing authority for practitioners, and enforce adherence to an ethical code of practice

so it would be the prolonged academic training/high status career

sorry cafebistro not all degrees are equal 'tis the same with most exams

There are tiers of professions though aren't there? Nurses are down with teachers rather than up with lawyers

DH is a mechanical engineer. You should read the whinging about professional status that goes on in the letters pages of 'Professional Engineering' magazine. But then, any Tom, Dick or gas fitter can call him/herself an engineer.

I am a nurse, married to a barrister, luckily he does not have the same views as you do Quattrocento

for your information, I gained more qualifications whilst at school than dh did, but because of the choice of PROFESSION i made, you do do not consider my social standing as high as my husbands?

tis an interesting comment though a lot of my friends mums were nurses and they rather rue the day nursing became a degree level thing and feel it lost it's way somewhat at that point

I think ppl (well me certainly) get confused by the different coloured uniforms - never sure who IS a nurse.

There was green, brown, blue & navy uniforms on the labour ward I was on 1st time round and I always seemed to ask the wrong person for the wrong thing. The standard reply was "I'm not allowed to do that. You need to ask a ...."

I only discovered who the mw was when she did my discharge papers. She poor woman was totally overworked and understaffed.

But can't give high enough praise for the mws who looked after me 2nd time round, especially the ward mw - so impressed. Major transformations had taken place. Wrote afterwards to say thank you but suspect a big wodge of cash in the form of a payrise would be more appreciated somehow!

Nursing is regulated though

You have to be registered with the NMC in order to practice, and adhere to a code of conduct

It is a specialised vocation in that you require a specific range of skills and experience in order to practice

You study at an academic level in order to achieve this

Profession? Dunno, have never been able to make my mind up

Actually lady i don't think the national census considers your social standing to be as high as your dh
has that changed for nurses does anyone know?

(except of course is it still the case that wives automatically take that of their husbands? you're in the clear if so!! )