In Response to @Air-Clinic's Public Forum 2: "Doctors are Sweet, Nurses are the Opposite?!" | My Perspective of the Nursing Profession as a Student Nurse
Okay. This is a really great topic to begin with and a sensitive topic as well. Thanks to @air-clinic for stirring up some of these questions. Before I start rambling, let me start off with a thought in mind:
A sense of right or wrong, good or bad, sweet or rude is fairly subjective and does not merit generalization over a specific field of expertise
Last week I shared my insights on the issue of gender specification for nurses and doctors, which should never be the case. Everybody is entitled to their own choice of profession regardless of the predominant status quo of gender in the profession.
The Nurse-Doctor Relationship
The health care team is a big system. It ia composed of medical technicians, doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, and even the janitors and institutional workers hwlping each other to peovide the best quality care to patients.
Among the most crucial relationship in the health care team is between nurses and doctors. Normally, doctors give out orders and nurses carry these orders out. Its a delicate balance. The nurses care on a day to day basis while doctors do their rounds and prescibe medications and treatment intermittently.
Where conflict arises
Both professions are autonomous meaning both are registered and are capable of making professional interventions on their own. Most problem of doctors with nurses is when they fail to carry out the orders in time or even failing to do it at all. This is usually where conflict starts, when the doctors see that the charts orders have not been carried out and assume that the nurses lack responsibility
However in defense of nurses, some doctors fail to recognize the importance of the daily nursing care as well. Nurses are there around the clock caring for the needs of each patient. There are a few cases in my opinion wherein I question the doctors orders simply because it is not beneficial anymore. The meds may be too expensive, the treatment may cause the patient discomfort. These are factors to be considered before a doctor calls out a nurse as rude or irresponsible for not carrying out orders
The Nurse-Patient relationship
Like any relationship, this has to be cultivated. In nursing school, we were taught to establish rapport meaning we need to be comfortable with our patients if we want to have the best interaction with each other. Sure enough, some nurses fail to do this. Some of us nurses continue with the tasks they need to perform without getting to know the patient which is very wrong. It is important to establish trust with patients before doing tasks as people are often offended with people they do not know or not closely associated with.
However in defense of nurses around the world, there are a lot of factors which can cause this. Most of the time, in my country the nurse: patient ratio is crazy. One nurse is expected to care for 30 patients! You cant possibly expect the nurse to put up a smile with that load of work. Even so, the salary of nurses are so low here. with a minimum of $USD 160 in one month!
Nurses are people too and we need to remember that. We have our needs as well and we also commit mistakes
Although nurses have personal problems which burden them, they should never bring their problems at work. However, patients need to realize as well that being a nurse is a hard job. We need to look after the psycho-social-spiritual-mental-physiological wellbeing of someone while looking out for your own. Its an arduous task. This is worth looking into
What can be done about this
When nurses are rude, it helps to tell them that there behavior is inappropriate. Although being rude is wrong, sometimes these are just the results of multiple factors: including the crazy alternating night-day shifting hours of nurses besides the tremendous patient load not to mention the personal problems and financial burden that strikes us all. The list can go on and on
Patients should work to establish the nurse patient relationship as well. It is a two way process as respect begets respect. Simply telling the nurse of his/her wrong behavior is enough to help the nurse get his senses right. The same goes for doctors. Its a delicate relationship after all.
What matters really is communicating our feelings well in a non aggressive manner. It is important to note that we all have problems and difficulties and learning to look at the other side of the coin helps us understand people better. We need to be aware of our actions as well. Having problems does not excuse bad behavior. If you have something wrong going on, talk it out, take a break, spend time alone. These are ways to calm yourself. We shouldn't have to let others take the blow from our frustrations in life.
In Conclusion
We shouldn't brand professionals simply because of an isolated negative experience we have had. There are a lot of factors which contribute to negative experiences of patients, nurses and doctors. Instead of branding professionals and clients as they are, an alternative would be focusing on understanding the situation and circumstance rather than resort to an attack on the person.
The issue of nurses being rude may be a wake up call for nurses around the world to reconfigure the system of nursing practice. This may imply that patient satisfaction in the world is dwindling which may be the perfect time for nurses to reconsider the profession as an advocate of patients. Nursing research may be geared towards looking into factors which look into the overall wellbeing and comfort of patients in their hospital stay. The branding of nurses as lower professions than doctors should be widely addressed as well and any misconception of the hierarchy of professions must be reformed accordingly.
Hey @josejirafa (Nurse Aaron),
Thank you for making this all important post.
You have essentially clarified all the factors we were aiming for while creating that PUBLIC FORUM.
Its not easy to be a healthcare professional. Be it a doctor, a nurse, a pharmacist etcz. So many hours of intense work are involved and sometimes one could really get stressed out and go overboard. We are advising patients to desist from these sort of "mentality" to avoid future problems.
In the end, whats really important is SAVING LIVES. Everyone in the health sector are important and must work together to foster universal well being for man!
Thank you for your contributions to humanity!
Stay blessed!
#AIR-CLINIC
That is true. Issues and conflict are inevitable in the health care team. We are after all just humans and bound to commit errors. But in the end what really matters most is that we continue to be true to our profession, in saving lives and making lives better.
Thanks so much for making these forums. It really helps people understand us as healtch care professionals. More power to us, more power to @air-clinic and to the people behind!
Well said dear... Seriously,rebranding de nursing profession should be done ASAP, cos it's getting out of hand. Atleast now I no why nurses act de way dey do when they do... kudos 2 all the nurses
#hug-challenge, #air-clinic
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You are an good Doctor/Nurse. Recognition of problematic area is the true talent in the profession. In some countries, Sometimes, due to more power Doctors are trying to dominate over the nurses, in few cases, the well experienced nurses are refused to carry Doctor orders out so there is conflict arising. Due to low salary, more workload, personal problems of nurses are making stresses. I am saluting your services. thank you!
Behalf of #air-clinic and #hug-challenge of @nairadaddy
https://discord.gg/rqded5m
Thanks so much! As an egalitarian, I just really want equality for everyone. Health care professionals are undervalued in the society much more with nurses and I want to change that mindset. Nurses have a part in healthcare and it is vital to recognize that. Same goes for other professions, we need to grow a deeper understanding of others if we want whats best for everyone. Thanks for stopping by@kunani and to @nairadaddy as well!
Thank you dear @jose.., You have vision mind and you are a good Nurse.
Thank you for caring and bless all you do.
Hello, I'm a nurse.
As much as I would like to deny it. There are some abusive doctors. So in behalf of the medicine community, I apologise.
Going back to the topic covered by this post, "Doctors are sweet, nurses are the opposite", there is an illusion to this belief, dare I say the statement itself.
Character transcend all professions and therefore should NEVER be pinned to one. Here's a nice clarification, there are countless doctors who are rude. But then again, there are also countless nurses who are rude. This is person specific and must not be tagged to an entire profession. (Sadly, it sometimes is.)
Going through this post, I could feel the passion you have for caring. I appreciate that and when you have that license and start to work, please don't lose that.
Doctors have legitimate reasons for getting angry when orders are not carried out and nurses have legitimate reasons for failing to carry it out. (Well, add sometimes to both sides again. :D)
The problem, as you pointed out, is the healthcare system we have in our country. So yes, can't really blame either side. (Please don't feel underappreciated, nursing is and never will be replaced by medicine, at least that's how it is in this current healthcare system.)
When I was a student nurse like you, I thought I was close to being a doctor. When I see this certain disease with this kind of lab results, I expected to order this kind of medication. I thought I just needed a little bit more studying and a license to be a doctor. My first week in med school was a truly humbling experience. Truly! With this being said, I do hope you follow doctor's orders because they have a lot, A LOT, of things in mind we nurses don't see because it wasn't tackled in school. I acknowledge that sometimes, nurses have a knack for identifying wrong orders. When this happens, please do not simply stare and ignore the order but rather bring it to the doctor's attention. We're talking about lives here.
Man, oh man am I rumbling on. I should just stop here. Let me leave this simple food for thought before I go. "Do you the think the current nursing and medical system is the problem or is it an individual problem?"
Keep pushing through your chosen profession and never forget why you chose it in the first place. Have a great day Sir!
P.S. - Where can I connect with air-clinic? It sounds like a wonderful community.
It really means a lot that you made such a long comment to state your point. Thanka for taking time to read and for guving such thoughful comments.
I presume you are in med school now? That's great! I wanted to be a nurse so I can be a doctor. But thinga are different now. I found more value in being a nurse as we are a dying profession. Not because of the number of graduates but vecause the essence of caring is slowly fading away. Before charts and medications and tasks, patients have to be first. I dont care if I dont chart well as long as I am ensuring the comfort of my patient. Gives me a sense of pride for being a professional (someday, fingers crossed lol)
I will continue to learn from experience and from doctors as well. I really appreciate dctors who ustify their orders or educate nurses as to the reason why this and that is given. Education is essential to create autonony much like health education is a thing for us nurses. Wll surely keep that passuon for learning alive
To answer your question, i believe there are a lot of things to change in the health care system. Not specifically in terms of individual corrections but collectively. I dont see why nurses are given the pay that ia due to them when we are saving lives as much as doctors. I juat dont want the low salary to be am excuse to commit errors. Coz mostly thats how it goes. If I have a high salary I would surely make use of my time and money to learn more and more and improve my care. I guess thats all im pointing at. Its more of administrative problems like the workload and salary that bothers me. If the salary here in PH increases I would surely consider not going abroad as most nurses do. Its a really cool job and i see myself as a nurse someday.
Thanks again for your warm comment. See you in @air-clinic. Glad you found your way in!
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