Bus Sighting, or, Nurses Are A Waste of Time

[trailerparkmedic]

I take the bus to school. I'm obviously a student, since I drag a backpack around, am normally studying flashcards, and there are several schools near mine. This was today's conversation.

Weird Old Dude: "Are you in college?"
Me: "Yup, I go to Large School."
WOD: "Oh, that's nice. You must be one of those lady doctors."
Me: "Nope, I'm going to be a nurse."
WOD: "That's too bad. What a waste of time for a smart young lady."
Me: "I hope you don't think nurses are a waste of time when you're hospitalized and see your doctor for 5 minutes a day and that's only because your nurse knew enough to call him when you started tanking."

Thankfully WOD had good timing and I got off the bus a minute later.

Crazy thing is that one of the nursing professors was also on the bus and she stopped me. She asked how far along in the program I was (she teaches seniors and grad students, so she didn't recognize me) and asked what I was interested in. I told her either oncology or ER. She laughed and said I'd be a great ER nurse.

I'm mostly confused about the whole thing, and really dreading wearing my uniform starting next week.

[iradney]

Nurses have a very hard job. My Mom's a retired nurse, my Aunt's a retired nurse, one of my step cousins is currently a nurse - the stories I've heard made the hair on my arms rise.

[C. Cecil Ivanish]

Me: "Nope, I'm going to be a nurse."
WOD: "That's too bad. What a waste of time for a smart young lady."

Unfortunately I heard this quite often (not directly) and seen it once.
My sister is a doctor, she is 30 but looks much younger so she is often mistaken for either a student or a nurse - and an inexperienced one at that (as if nurses started working in the hospital at 18 with no formal training... mah).
When I am visiting my family in Italy, I usually agree with my sister to drop by at the hospital (which is in walking distance from my parents' place) during her lunch break to have lunch together and a chat.
Once I was early so I went to the ward she works in to wait for her. She arrives, finishes filling some papers in when a patient - a nice-looking lady apparently in her 50s - comes out of a room and tells my sister "I am feeling very very woozy, can a doctor see me please?" My sister replies "Please sit down, I will be with you in a second", and proceeds to pick up what she might need (stethoscope, pen and paper, whatever). The lady starts SHOUTING "I don't want to see you, I need a doctor, I want a doctor, not a nurse, I am sick, I need a doctor! If you were good enough to be a doctor you would be studying!"
Luckily the head nurse, a matronly lady of a certain age, is walking by; she stops the shouting lady and tells her "OK, OK, do you want me to help you?" then turns towards my sister and winks.
The lady: "Yes, please, a doctor, not that nurse"
The nurse: "OK, I will assist you. Just be aware that *I* am a nurse, and that you just refused the assistance of the only doctor available for at least one more hour."
The lady seemed disappointed. And apparently her new symptom was just a need of attention.

[Amina516]

Oh, he's right...Im a HUGE waste of time. I go to work and get paid to look pretty and drink coffee. . I had one lady look at me all bug eyed when I told her I was going to give her some morphine for her chest pain..."YOU CAN DO THAT?!?!" she screeched...? Who the hell else did she think was here at 3am..?

Good luck with the schooling, TPM. Itll be over before you know it. PM if you ever need anything.

[LillFilly]

Ohhh, I hope you can wear a jacket over your uniform when not at work, cause I think otherwise you'll get stopped for medical advice every 2-feet.

Good luck in your studies, always good to know there's another person out there trained to save lives!

[Sparky]

Well, you did say he was a "weird old dude."

It used to be that nurses were perceived as "the doctor's handmaiden." Often by the doctors themselves. It used to be that there were pretty much only three careers for women: nurse, teacher, and secretary. Things have, to put it mildly, changed, though nurses were ALWAYS professionals doing important work. Well, not always. Only since maybe 1900 or so. Anyway, there's still a stigma to "pink collar" work. Maybe this guy, being old, was trying to say he thought you could do better.

Of course, he was an idiot. I'm sure you could be a doctor if you wanted to but not everyone's cut out for that, just as not everyone's cut out for nursing. Next time, tell them you thought about becoming a doctor, but didn't want to take the easy way out.

That explains the "old" part. The "weird" part is pretty self-evident.

[Seshat]

All I can say is that nurses are incredibly important.

Doctors are essential, of course, doing the diagnosing and figuring out solutions. But someone has to monitor the patient! And someone has to know everything from managing morphine drips (or even more dangerous substances) to sanitary handling of biohazardous materials.

[Amina516]

. Next time, tell them you thought about becoming a doctor, but didn't want to take the easy way out.

I like this!!!!

[Sapphire Silk]

I take the bus to school. I'm obviously a student, since I drag a backpack around, am normally studying flashcards, and there are several schools near mine. This was today's conversation.

Weird Old Dude: "Are you in college?"
Me: "Yup, I go to Large School."
WOD: "Oh, that's nice. You must be one of those lady doctors."
Me: "Nope, I'm going to be a nurse."
WOD: "That's too bad. What a waste of time for a smart young lady."
Me: "I hope you don't think nurses are a waste of time when you're hospitalized and see your doctor for 5 minutes a day and that's only because your nurse knew enough to call him when you started tanking."

Thankfully WOD had good timing and I got off the bus a minute later.

Crazy thing is that one of the nursing professors was also on the bus and she stopped me. She asked how far along in the program I was (she teaches seniors and grad students, so she didn't recognize me) and asked what I was interested in. I told her either oncology or ER. She laughed and said I'd be a great ER nurse.

I'm mostly confused about the whole thing, and really dreading wearing my uniform starting next week.

Your instructor hit the nail on the head Take it from an ER nurse; you'd fit right in.

You will never experience anything quite like nursing school. Some of my most memorable experiences come from when I was a student. It's tough, but the tough part is mostly mental. I know you can do it! Feel free to PM me if you have questions; I'm currently an instructor myself

From Sparky;
It used to be that nurses were perceived as "the doctor's handmaiden." Often by the doctors themselves. It used to be that there were pretty much only three careers for women: nurse, teacher, and secretary. Things have, to put it mildly, changed, though nurses were ALWAYS professionals doing important work. Well, not always. Only since maybe 1900 or so. Anyway, there's still a stigma to "pink collar" work. Maybe this guy, being old, was trying to say he thought you could do better.

Florence is dead, the days of nurses being the doctors handmaidens are long gone. We are partners with physicians in health care. While certainly our scope of practice is limited, our judgement, knowledge, and observations are crucial to a physician's plan of care. They can't function without us.

I ripped into a professor at another university (not a nursing prof, but economics) for using the term "pink collar." More and more men are coming into nursing . . . and we need them. And we are professionals, not grunts. I find the term "pink collar" demeaning to all the people who work in nursing.

Thanks everyone, for the kind words on nursing! You made my day

[blas]

I'm so glad I have a car.

Granted, I run into idiots everywhere I go.

I don't even tell a lot of people I want to be a lawyer anymore. I got enough shit for wanting to be a paralegal first, "You wanna be a good-for-nothing pencil pusher?!" all that crap, then it's "Then you wanna be a LIAR?"

Oh fuck you all. I do what I want.

[NorthernZel]

Let's just say this:

If I have to take a blood test or get an immunization shot, I'd choose a nurse over a doctor every time.

[Food Lady]

Let's just say this: If I have to take a blood test or get an immunization shot, I'd choose a nurse over a doctor every time.

Absolutely. And if he's cute, even better.

[jedimaster91]

Oh, he's right...Im a HUGE waste of time. I go to work and get paid to look pretty and drink coffee. .

You have to go to med school and specialize in cardiology for that.

Crazy thing is that one of the nursing professors was also on the bus and she stopped me. She asked how far along in the program I was (she teaches seniors and grad students, so she didn't recognize me) and asked what I was interested in. I told her either oncology or ER. She laughed and said I'd be a great ER nurse.

You brave, brave soul. Good luck to ya!

They can't function without us.

Be nice if they would realize that sometimes.

More and more men are coming into nursing . . . and we need them. And we are professionals, not grunts.

Me like male nurses. They're hawt.

[Pagan]

I've gotten referred to as just a pharmacy tech. Pisses me off to no end.

If you think it's that easy, let's just drop you in without, you know, any training.

[Damien]

Nurses are a Godsend.. I am always thankful for the nurses that have helped my family. They are some of the most hard working, heroic and humble people I have ever encountered.