[ad_1]
Nursing is a highly valued and skilled profession. But social media has been flooded with discussion about the “mean nurse” stereotype, with people claiming that nurses are often former high school bullies or “mean girls.”
As nursing students progress through their programs at ASU, they may have to confront the realities and myths of this stereotype in order to develop the next generation of caring and competent nurses.
The stereotype of the “mean nurse” is often discussed in the context of nurses being cruel or uncooperative with each other. But Judith Kirschmer, dean of the Edson College of Nursing and Health, says this debate is not a new phenomenon.
“Nurses ‘eating their own children’ has been a debate in the industry for 50 years, ever since I’ve been in this field,” Kirschmer said.
Kirschmer also said there is too much focus on the bad behavior of some nurses, which ignores the good work of most nurses in the field, which can create a self-fulfilling prophecy. He also said.
“We live in a hierarchical system in the health care industry, and I think we often adopt the expectations of those above us in the hierarchy,” Kirschmer said. Ta. “(We’re) being told it’s going to be hard, you’re not going to be treated well, but we act like that’s the case.”
ASU nursing students also feel the impact of the “mean nurse” stereotype both in social media discussions and during their time in clinical settings.
Laila Halvorsen, a third-year student, is in ASU’s accelerated nursing program. She spoke about her own perception and her experience with the stereotype of her as the “mean nurse.”
“It’s upsetting to hear that,” Halvorsen said. “As with anything, you’re going to be rethinking yourself, which can be a good thing. It definitely keeps you in check.”
Students in the Nursing, or BSN, program are required to complete eight 12-hour shifts each semester, working one-on-one with a registered nurse in a clinical setting. Unfortunately, some nursing students see the “mean nurse” stereotype played out in real life.
“While I was there, we had some very unfriendly and unprofessional nurses,” Halvorsen said. “But when I worked with my team and ASU in general, they handled it very well. (I was) removed from that environment and placed with a new nurse. ”
Elizabeth Wakefield, a junior in the nursing program, echoed this sentiment. She spoke of her experiences with nurses who were unnecessarily cold and did not adequately explain procedures to Wakefield or her patients.
But both Wakefield and Halvorsen sympathized with the nurses who had been unkind to them and understood the risks of burnout and the rigors of nursing as a career.
“A lot of nurses who have been there a while often get burned out,” Halvorsen said. “There’s a lot of things in nursing itself that could change. There’s a lot of verbal abuse (or physical abuse) from patients that you have to deal with.”
“A lot of them are not getting the results they promised when they were hired, or even if the nurse says, ‘We can do this,’ managers don’t do the administrative work and just let things go. I’m saying, ‘Please do better,’” Wakefield said.
Katalin Owens is a fourth-year student in the nursing program and serves as Barrett College Nursing Student President. She discussed the steps she would like to take when entering this profession to prevent future students from having the same experience.
“In the future, I just want to be kind to the nursing students so they feel comfortable in the environment they are in,” Owens said. “How will future generations know how to become nurses?”
Steps should be taken to reduce unkind behavior between registered nurses and nursing students, but the stereotype of the “mean nurse” can start early in competitive nursing programs.
Andrea Hernandez is a third-year mechanical engineering student who started her third semester in the nursing program at ASU. She spoke of the competitive and “cliquey” environments she sometimes experienced.
“You have to maintain a certain GPA and a certain grade. That’s why it’s so competitive,” Hernandez said. “A lot of people don’t try to help each other unless they’re in the same friend group. If you’re not in the same friend group, they don’t cooperate because they mess up the curve. It’s from.”
According to ASU’s Continuing Eligibility Standards, students entering the nursing program directly must maintain a minimum course GPA of 3.5 each semester. Students who are not admitted directly or who fall below eligibility requirements may compete for remaining spots in the program.
Hernandez said many students who try to compete for spots in nursing programs start out as community health majors, where they face a uniquely competitive environment and often experience disdain from directly admitted nursing students. Ta.
“I have some friends who are studying community health, and a lot of the students that I enrolled directly were making fun of them for doing community health…They weren’t smart enough to enroll directly. “I can’t imagine working in community health care,” Hernandez said.
“I remember a lot of people saying that if they got into community health, they wouldn’t even want to continue in nursing because community health has gotten so bad,” Hernandez said. Ta.
Nursing is an intense career, which explains why nursing majors are so active and competitive. However, this competition may contribute to behavioral patterns that contribute to stereotypes of the average nurse.
Nevertheless, nursing students and ASU alumni are working to combat this stereotype and participate in the field.
Alexandria Lewis is in her final term in the Accelerated Nursing Program and is president of the Student Nursing Association.
“Most of the nurses are very nice,” Lewis said. “The majority are very kind and eager to help, especially once they’re in your position. But some are stuck in their own ways and know their own schedules and systems. .”
She talked about the importance of finding community and working within a professional team.
“I think once you form a sense of community, once you have the motivation for what you want to do, you don’t have that kind of hatred and that kind of mean girl (behavior),” Lewis said.
Lewis also drew attention to the introspection it takes to become a great nurse.
“Be conscious of what you’re entrusting to others, and give yourself space to say, ‘Okay, I need help, but I’m not just going to leave it to someone else,'” Lewis says.
However, this issue goes beyond internal operations and may require some level of interpersonal communication when faced with unkind behavior.
That’s why Chris Chew, a recent ASU graduate, published a magazine article last March to give students and recent graduates the tools to confront any bullying behavior in their profession head-on.
Even Krashmer is working to counter this stereotype within Edson University.
“We try to frame our work in a very positive way, frame our interactions with actual colleagues in a positive way, and try to instill in our students any bias that makes them think that this is the way we do things. So we’re constantly fighting this stereotype. We need to get treatment,” Kirschmer said.
The stereotype of the mean nurse has plagued their careers for decades, but new nurses are joining the field every day, undaunted by unkind acts, and providing care to those in need. I’m excited to do it.
Correction: To better represent the nursing community, a new header illustration was published at 8:40 p.m.
Edited by Sadie Buggle, Walker Smith, and Grace Copperthite.
Contact and follow the reporter at syramir2@asu.edu. @nerdyoso At X.
Like and follow The State Press on Facebook @statepress At X.
Continue to support student journalism, to donate In today’s national news agency.
[ad_2]
Source link