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I think us nurses need to unite and educate the public on what we do.
There seems to be so much misunderstanding of our roles.
I can't believe some on here want Cna's ,med techs,and Lpn's to provide highly skilled care when most have less than 2 years education. None are degreed,except maybe Lpn's. Well,I know I only had a certificate of completion when I finished Lpn school.
But hey,the cheaper the better for some people,even if it includes possible death.
I agree, personally I think that nurses are the most under valued and a lot of times the most disrespected profession. I always say a great nurse is everything when ever someone stays in the hospital, They can make or break your stay. I know I wouldn't want someone with the least training do my care. I have said it before and l will say it again, RN's ROCK!!!
"... we have Nurses with Diplomas (Learned on the Job)"
Not sure where you got that info, but diploma graduates most assuredly are not "on the job" educated. Your CEO probably had a degree in Business or Healthcare Management.
My mother is a retired RN... she retired in 2000 and her entire training was on the job... she learned her profession working at a Hospital administered by the Sister's of Charity and most of her Supervisors were Sisters. She became a California Registered Nurse in 1956.
She had no college or community college or military training... she did have 4 years on the job working and living in the novitiate mother house adjunct to the Hospital... the first two years she recieved room and board and pocket money... no wages.
When she retired, she was PACU director of 17 years in a SF Bay Area Hospital and is still in contact with many of her nurses. They all say she was the best supervisor they have ever had and most say they were afraid of her because she had a no nonsense manor on and off the floor till they realized she was fair and had high expectations.
She was also first to acknowledge many of her new hires were tremendously smart and talented... unfortunately, that did not always translate into the mundane things, skills she had to know cold before advancement. Simple things like starting I.V's. Many were quick to learn... some never really did like the hands on patient care aspect and moved to other areas more administrative... one of her nurses had a brilliant intellect... she found she really didn't have the aptitude for hands on patient care... she left and became a very successful fund raising coordinator for the area Children's Hospital... this person would have ever graduated nursing as taught by the Sister's of Charity.
The Hospital CEO where I work has no management of business degrees... she took a small specialty Hospital 30 years ago and built it into a facility with 6 operating rooms and a 500 average monthly surgery census...
It was interesting to see when push came to shove... which is not unheard of for Doctors, especially new/younger Doctors, used to giving orders and making demands to take it out on Nurses... that approach had zero success when Dealing with her...
On more than one occasion, I heard her say to a young Doc that she realizes he or she thinks they are God... and that maybe outside my Hospital... but, in this Hospital she was God as long as the Governing Board saw fit to keep her as Administrator and CEO.
She was also fiercely loyal to the staff and would back a nurse 100% if the Doctor was in the wrong... not always that way as some Nurses will relate.
Our new administrator is very academically accomplished and literally has dozens of designations in her title... she has zero OR experience and has admitted it is a disadvantage.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 10-16-2012 at 12:10 PM..
She was also fiercely loyal to the staff and would back a nurse 100% if the Doctor was in the wrong... not always that way as some Nurses will relate.
I shudder to think what she would do if she had a nurse who was not on her toes!
I read a story once about an old general surgeon who was doing a procedure with a very new scrub nurse. The surgery went well, until the final sponge count. One sponge was unaccounted for. No one could find it. The surgeon insisted it was not inside the patient, since he had looked for it as soon as the count was done, and that he was going to close the incision.
The young nurse stood her ground and suggested maybe the patient should be x-rayed to make sure. The surgeon grinned and congratulated her for passing her initiation in "his" operating room. He then took his foot off the offending sponge. I have a sneaking suspicion the other nurses in the room were in on it.
We need both, good doctors and good nurses. If a doctor knows a nurse is good, he will virtually never second guess her.
I shudder to think what she would do if she had a nurse who was not on her toes!
I read a story once about an old general surgeon who was doing a procedure with a very new scrub nurse. The surgery went well, until the final sponge count. One sponge was unaccounted for. No one could find it. The surgeon insisted it was not inside the patient, since he had looked for it as soon as the count was done, and that he was going to close the incision.
The young nurse stood her ground and suggested maybe the patient should be x-rayed to make sure. The surgeon grinned and congratulated her for passing her initiation in "his" operating room. He then took his foot off the offending sponge. I have a sneaking suspicion the other nurses in the room were in on it.
We need both, good doctors and good nurses. If a doctor knows a nurse is good, he will virtually never second guess her.
The worst that I have seen is a Doc backdating reports... in other words making notes in a chart for a time he was not physically in the building... then he blamed the nurse for questioning him... the Doctor never performed another surgery... because he falsified records and then blamed the Nurse.
My mother is a retired RN... she retired in 2000 and her entire training was on the job... she learned her profession working at a Hospital administered by the Sister's of Charity and most of her Supervisors were Sisters. She became a California Registered Nurse in 1956.
That is not how one became an RN in 1956. Back then, most nurses were educated in "diploma programs", the vast majority of which were run by hospitals. The nurse did take classes, and had supervised clinical rotations. Such programs usually took 3 calendar years. Then they had to take the licensing exam. They did not get paid for this education, in fact, they paid the school. Now, most nurses are educated in academic settings, and get either an AAS or a BA/BS in nursing.
That is not how one became an RN in 1956. Back then, most nurses were educated in "diploma programs", the vast majority of which were run by hospitals. The nurse did take classes, and had supervised clinical rotations. Such programs usually took 3 calendar years. Then they had to take the licensing exam. They did not get paid for this education, in fact, they paid the school. Now, most nurses are educated in academic settings, and get either an AAS or a BA/BS in nursing.
I don't know what else I can do... post a copy of Mom's RN license and documentation from the Sisters?
Of course she had training throughout the Hospital and the Nurses with the most aptitude were selected for specialties... she was labor and delivery and this is how she came to California and went to work for O'Conner Hospital in San Jose' after challenging the California license requirements and passing the test...
She never paid anything to the Hospital for her training... she intended to become a nun... part of the deal was she agreed to stay on 4 years with the Sisters after finishing her training. She still owes the Sisters one year because she only gave them 3 when she was granted permission be her Mother Superior to go to California for one year... she then met my Dad and there was no going back after that. Mother Superior said Mom owed it to herself to see more of the world before committing to a lifetime as a Sister of Charity...
Each year at Christmas, she still receives a news letter from the Sisters... I went with her once to see where she trained and several said to me... "You know, your mother is the one that got away" Almost everyone she trained with became a nun...
She was 18 when she entered Nursing School and 25 when she arrived in California.
I work with a nurse currently that became a Nurse in Germany and successfully obtained her California License without any additional study...
Nurses, at least in the Bay Area come from every corner of the world and many paths lead to Nursing.
I have a cousin that has worked all over the world and presently works in Vienna Austria... she completed her entire training and became a full fledged Austrian nurse at age 17... she is now 37. Her Austrian training is accepted throughout Europe, Canada and she even worked for a year in Dubai.
I don't know what else I can do... post a copy of Mom's RN license and documentation from the Sisters?
Of course she had training throughout the Hospital and the Nurses with the most aptitude were selected for specialties... she was labor and delivery and this is how she came to California and went to work for O'Conner Hospital in San Jose' after challenging the California license requirements and passing the test...
She never paid anything to the Hospital for her training... she intended to become a nun... part of the deal was she agreed to stay on 4 years with the Sisters after finishing her training. She still owes the Sisters one year because she only gave them 3 when she was granted permission be her Mother Superior to go to California for one year... she then met my Dad and there was no going back after that. Mother Superior said Mom owed it to herself to see more of the world before committing to a lifetime as a Sister of Charity...
Each year at Christmas, she still receives a news letter from the Sisters... I went with her once to see where she trained and several said to me... "You know, your mother is the one that got away" Almost everyone she trained with became a nun...
She was 18 when she entered Nursing School and 25 when she arrived in California.
I work with a nurse currently that became a Nurse in Germany and successfully obtained her California License without any additional study...
Nurses, at least in the Bay Area come from every corner of the world and many paths lead to Nursing.
I have a cousin that has worked all over the world and presently works in Vienna Austria... she completed her entire training and became a full fledged Austrian nurse at age 17... she is now 37. Her Austrian training is accepted throughout Europe, Canada and she even worked for a year in Dubai.
Your mom went to a "diploma school". My mom went to one, too, in the early 40s. (Obviously, I'm older than you!) I am also an RN and we learned about the different types of nursing ed in one of our classes. These were schools run by the hospitals. Classroom instruction and supervised clinical experiences were part of it. One paid tuition! My mom had to work as a nanny for two years to earn the money to go to her school.
I don't know what else I can do... post a copy of Mom's RN license and documentation from the Sisters?
Of course she had training throughout the Hospital and the Nurses with the most aptitude were selected for specialties... she was labor and delivery and this is how she came to California and went to work for O'Conner Hospital in San Jose' after challenging the California license requirements and passing the test...
She never paid anything to the Hospital for her training... she intended to become a nun... part of the deal was she agreed to stay on 4 years with the Sisters after finishing her training. She still owes the Sisters one year because she only gave them 3 when she was granted permission be her Mother Superior to go to California for one year... she then met my Dad and there was no going back after that. Mother Superior said Mom owed it to herself to see more of the world before committing to a lifetime as a Sister of Charity...
Each year at Christmas, she still receives a news letter from the Sisters... I went with her once to see where she trained and several said to me... "You know, your mother is the one that got away" Almost everyone she trained with became a nun...
She was 18 when she entered Nursing School and 25 when she arrived in California.
I work with a nurse currently that became a Nurse in Germany and successfully obtained her California License without any additional study...
Nurses, at least in the Bay Area come from every corner of the world and many paths lead to Nursing.
I have a cousin that has worked all over the world and presently works in Vienna Austria... she completed her entire training and became a full fledged Austrian nurse at age 17... she is now 37. Her Austrian training is accepted throughout Europe, Canada and she even worked for a year in Dubai.
Your mom went to a "diploma school". My mom went to one, too, in the early 40s. (Obviously, I'm older than you!) I am also an RN and we learned about the different types of nursing ed in one of our classes. These were schools run by the hospitals. Classroom instruction and supervised clinical experiences were part of it. One paid tuition! My mom had to work as a nanny for two years to earn the money to go to her school.
I work with a nurse who has the equivalent of a BSN from South Africa. She had to take the NCLEX to get a Colorado license. Anyone who calls themselves an "RN" has to take the licensure exam.
Your mom went to a "diploma school". My mom went to one, too, in the early 40s. (Obviously, I'm older than you!) I am also an RN and we learned about the different types of nursing ed in one of our classes. These were schools run by the hospitals. Classroom instruction and supervised clinical experiences were part of it. One paid tuition! My mom had to work as a nanny for two years to earn the money to go to her school.
If you mean she worked for room and board and no wages I guess you could say she paid her way...
No one paid to enter the convent and she wore nun clothes and was called "Sister".
I showed her this thread last night and she doesn't see her situation as unique... there were 20 young girls in her group... 19 made it through and 15 took final vows and became nuns...
Your mom went to a "diploma school". My mom went to one, too, in the early 40s. (Obviously, I'm older than you!) I am also an RN and we learned about the different types of nursing ed in one of our classes. These were schools run by the hospitals. Classroom instruction and supervised clinical experiences were part of it. One paid tuition! My mom had to work as a nanny for two years to earn the money to go to her school.
I work with a nurse who has the equivalent of a BSN from South Africa. She had to take the NCLEX to get a Colorado license. Anyone who calls themselves an "RN" has to take the licensure exam.
There were quite a few of these nursing schools up until the 1970s. Many community hospitals ran their own nursing school to supply their nurses. Probably close to half of the hospitals in Pennsylvania had their own nursing school at one time and there are still a few around. I can think of two in Western Pennsylvania that are still operating.
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Your CEO probably had a degree in Business or Healthcare Management.
