The top 10 nurse myths that need to go away!

by Sean Dent • May 15, 2012 , , , , , ,

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I recently was doing a little research for school when I realized there are some common and popular nurse/nursing myths out there. It seems there are two trains of thought: There is the public’s view of the nursing profession, and then there are those who actually know about the nursing profession.

I’m not sure if it’s our own fault or if Hollywood has a stranglehold on the general population’s opinion. This particular top 10 list is intended for all those who are considering pursuing the profession of nursing–I’d like to call it the “Here’s what we are not and don’t do” list:

  1. We don’t wear all-white uniforms.
  2. No, we stopped wearing caps a long time ago.
  3. We do more than pass medications.
  4. We do more than just clean up “poo.”
  5. This is not Grey’s Anatomy – we’re not secretly sleeping with all the doctors. Nor is this House – we do the blood draws.
  6. No, not every “nurse” is the same. There is a profound difference between a Nurse Practitioner and a Nursing Assistant (about 6-8 years of education).
  7. We actively collaborate in the decision-making process and don’t just take orders.
  8. No, we are not all women.
  9. No, we work in other places besides hospitals and physicians’ offices.
  10. No, we didn’t fail at becoming doctors. We chose this profession.

I know, I know, we’ve beat this horse senseless, haven’t we? I have to admit, I am just scratching the surface here. I think we all could generate an endless list of nursing urban legends.

What would you add?

Sean Dent

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Sean Dent is a second-degree nurse who has worked in telemetry, orthopedics, surgical services, oncology and at times as a travel nurse. He is a CCRN certified critical care nurse where he's worked in cardiac, surgical as well as trauma intensive care nursing. After five years as an RN Sean recently attained his BSN and is now a full-time Nurse Practitioner student. He has been in healthcare for the past 15 years. He originally received a bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sport Science where he worked as a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC). More

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3 Responses to The top 10 nurse myths that need to go away!

  1. bed15

    Nurses (and other professions) have a use for stethoscopes too, not just doctors ;)

  2. dogfairy@gmail.com

    • RN

      Registered Nurse

    We are people, and we have feelings. We don’t like being verbally abused and belittled and we do need breaks. We are NOT doctors and we do NOT interpret your family member’s CT results and MRI results. We should NOT be paging the doctors for you at all hours of the night unless it is really necessary in an emergency or changing situation.

  3. Travelnurse01

    Honest to god we are not here to hurt anyone, or take your place as the parent. We have cared for neonates for 10- 30 yrs. I think we know more then you will every know. So leave us alone. Don’t second guess us, don’t tell us we are wrong, don’t go crying to the charge nurse when you think we “looked at you wrong or won’t listen to you or was talking mean to you”. We have 3-4 sick newborns we are caring for, we have important things on our minds and believe me you are not in the top 10.