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T
he young woman who
called to check a reference
on someone I'd recom-
mended for a job stepped in it. As
the interview about my colleague's
amazing skills and qualifications
wound down, she asked about my
own credentials, then replied, "Oh, well, you're just a nurse." Wrong
answer. A nurse is never "just a nurse." If I got the chance, this is what
I'd tell all those "just a nurse" folks.
On my soapbox
That nursing is more than what you think you know based on watching
daytime soap dramas. That we're like icebergs — not because of frozen
expressions or cold hands, but because there's a lot going on beneath
the surface that you don't see. Underestimate us at your peril. That we
didn't just wake up one morning and decide to be nurses. And that we
didn't stop learning how to be nurses at graduation: Experience is con-
stantly teaching us.
Maybe they heard that the job pays a lot of money (which, by the
way, isn't true), but if that's the only reason someone goes into nurs-
ing, you can be sure that they won't last long in the field. As for the
rumors that all we're really looking for is to marry rich doctors, well,
most of us learn pretty soon after working with them why that would
be a prescription for disaster.
So last time they visited a hospital, they saw us shooting the breeze
at the desk? Sitting around, paging through paperwork and playing
I'm Not "Just a Nurse"
We're more than most people realize. Marginalize us at your own risk.
Behind Closed Doors
Paula Watkins, RN, CNOR