Recently social media has exploded with clips and comments related to Monday’s episode of The View. Naturally I had to wait until this came across my Facebook newsfeed to see such idiocy since I know better than to dumb myself down by actually watching the show. But alas, today I was subject to the comments made by Michelle Collins and Joy Behar.
Honestly I wasn’t that surprised. Even Joy Behar’s ridiculous comment about a stethoscope only being used by a doctor didn’t really shock me. It just made me sad. It made me sad that we live in a world where some people think stay-at-home moms watch soaps all day, teachers just babysit your children for you, and yes, nurses are just, well, nurses.
Ms. Colorado gave what was in my opinion a beautiful monologue touching on the basic truth that nurses are so much more than a simple title can imply, and she concluded by saying, “I’m a lifesaver. I’m never going to be just a nurse.” And it occurs to me now why she had to say this.
She had to say it for people like Michelle Collins who think the “menial task” of taking care of someone with Alzheimer’s is amusing, and especially for clueless knuckle heads like Joy Behar who actually think a stethoscope is simply for a physician. EMTs, paramedics, LPNs, CNAs, Respiratory Therapists, and all the wonderful people who make up healthcare, in addition to Registered Nurses like myself, should line up to slap her into reality.
Regardless of their ignorance on The View, nurses feel this need to justify that they are more than just a nurse. Due to people like Joy Behar, who see us as they will, we have to fight to say we are more. But I say we are enough. We are more than enough.
Yeah, I’m just a nurse. But let me tell you what that means.
I’m just a nurse, the angel of mercy who will hold your hand when you cry. After bad news is delivered I’ll be there. After the doctor leaves with their stethoscope I’ll still be wiping away your tears, hugging you, praying with you, and explaining those big, confusing words in a way that’s more understandable.
I’m just a nurse, the nurse who makes you feel human in an often unhuman-feeling environment. I’ll be the one making you feel more comfortable as I explain what all those beeps and pings mean, or bathe you with dignity when you’re far too weak to wash yourself. I’ll be the one you can discuss bodily fluids with and who wipes your bottom. I’ll put my hand in places that make you blush if that’s what you need, but I’ll do it with compassion and care. I’ll care for all the unspeakable things for you, holding back your hair as you vomit and helping you clear the sputum from your throat. I’ll do all these things because I care, not simply because I’m just a nurse, but because I’m your nurse. And you’re a human being that matters.
So yeah, I’m just a nurse, a nurse who knows how to titrate dangerous cardiac medications up and down without a physician present to keep your vital signs compatible with life. That’s the same nurse who will detect life threatening lab results and symptoms before they become a dire emergency. The same nurse who if it does become a life and death situation will perform advanced cardiac life support to bring you back to your family.
Yeah, I’m just a nurse. I’m a nurse who will fight tooth and nail to keep you alive. I’ll also help you accept your own mortality when you don’t want to fight anymore. I’ll lead you through the grieving process, and your family too. After you pass from this earth I will assist your family in the next steps, and I will approach and handle their grief with sympathy and empathy. In a way that would make you proud.
Yep, I’m definitely just a nurse, and I’m proud of it. I’m proud to hold the honorable title of nurse. I fought hard and worked even harder to obtain it. I studied like crazy, and I persevered through grueling exams and licensure boards. I still work at it. Every day I continue to advance my knowledge for my patients. I renew my certifications, participate in research and quality control, and am always on the lookout for advancement opportunities in my practice.
So women like those who spoke so erroneously and thoughtlessly on The View may assume I’m just a pill pusher, butt wiper, or perhaps even just a holder of doctors’ stethoscopes everywhere, and while I do all those things, I also do so much more.
After all, I’m just a nurse, and that title encompasses what mere words cannot even speak. Lifesaver? Advocate? Advisor? Counselor? Teacher? Pain-reliever? Friend? Yes, I’m those things too. But you can just call me a nurse. I’d like that.
Sarah says
I am glad you wrote this. I was in the ICU and then the regular part of the hospital for several days this summer when I overdosed on Tizandine. I’m only 27 but live with chronic pain, several neurological disorders, and another painful genetic condition. None of which emerged until I was 23. I couldn’t deal with the pain or the relationship problems that my pain caused.
And while not every nurse that I had was a joy, there were some nurses who were angels. There was one nurse who gave me the will to live and try a new treatment as she worked a 15 hour shift and sat up with my husband and me late into the night before her shift ended. She told me that I was strong and I could endure. And for the first time, I felt like it was true. And she said she wished that she could take me home to take care of me. And just knowing that impacted me and made me see my worth.
I have read a lot of posts about how many healthcare professionals wear stethoscopes, but I love how you wrote more about the job description. Thank you for caring for us, our families, and seeing us at our worst and giving us your best. (I read your blog a lot, but don’t comment often. This one really hit home for me.)
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much for commenting this time, and thanks for reading along. I appreciate you sharing your personal story with me. I’m so blessed you have been positively impacted by nursing. God bless you.
Shelley Wilson-Bergschneider says
This brought me to tears!!! I had to leave the nursing profession after a back injury from lifting a patient on an incredibly busy night when as usual with most Level 1 Trauma Centers we had a high load of patients and were dangerously understaffed. To this day I don’t blame the hospital or my unit for the accident but hate it for the fact that they took away my true JOY IN LIFE!!! It I always felt it was “my calling” to be a neuro trauma nurse!! The thought I got that taken away in 2002 still makes me cry because I miss my job!!! However it did help later when my own Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s because I was able to take care of her,know what to expect, etc. Nursing can also help you in daily life!!!! So, KUDO’s for an amazing read!! And as they say, “Once a Nurse, ALWAYS a nurse!!” Nurse on, Sister!!!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thanks so much for commenting and sharing!
Justa says
You cannot be a Nurse if you don’t have a big heart. Nurses sacrifice a lot of things for their patients, Patients needs first before anything else that’s Nurses do, Nurses don’t drink and eat until they finished giving medications and care to the patients. They go to the washroom when they can’t hold it anymore, Nurses got kick, spit, hit, punch by the patients, abused and harassed . Nurses offered their hands to hold on and shoulders to cry on to the patients with or without family. In a retirement or nursing home, Nurses are the family members of our seniors, Nurses provides seniors personal needs from their own pockets, foods , clothes, blankets, mittens and socks.
You cannot be a Nurse if you don’t know how to use the Stethoscopes, Yes! Nurses cannot do their job without Stethoscopes. God Bless All The Nurses In The World!!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Rebecca Porter says
Beautifully written! I’ve been a nurse for 10 years, NP for a bit over one year, always first and foremost a nurse. Thank you for writing this piece!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Debbie Goodrum RN BSN says
And the stethoscope…it belonged to me, doctors usually borrow mine
Amy Pidgeon, RN, BSN says
Isn’t that the truth
Alan Fenstermaker says
A very good book could be written about what I don’t know about medicine and its surrounding professions. My daughter and niece are nurses. It seems to me (in layman’s terms) that doctors treat a disease or injury and nurses treat the patient. They provide the priceless link between medical technology and humanity.
Paula says
I am a retired nurse.I worked for 40+ years and was forced to retire, I really wanted to work longer but after having 3 cervical & 4 lumbar surgeries, a diagnosis of fibromyalgia & chronic fatigue syndrome I just couldn’t do it any more. Being “just a nurse” for so long and doing those things that we never had enough help to do certainly played a big part in my physical disabilities but I wouldn’t trade my years of nursing for anything. I spent over 30 years in the operating room, pushing stretchers, moving patients under anesthesia, moving equipment and lifting heavy trays of instruments. I never slept sounding because I was “just a nurse” who was on call so much of the time. I didn’t eat real food at real meal times not to mention being able to go to the bathroom when I needed to. But I talked to my patients and prayed with them and their families before they were wheeled into surgery. I held their hands as the they were administered anesthesia and I was there when they were told their prognosis. I cried with families when the doctors told them their loved one didn’t survive the surgery. Then I went into administration and I still took care of my patients. Sometimes it was scheduling their procedures or talking to them explaining the procedure, or making sure all the right equipment was in place or educating my staff on the procedures, it was going to administration to ask for things for the surgical department or the physicians, or more nurses and better salaries, it could be negotiating a discount cost for those without insurance but always with my patients first in my endeavers. When I was 17 I felt God call me into mission work, nursing was my mission field and patients were who I ministered to. To sum it it for 40+yrs I worked hard at being “just a nurse”!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Love your comment! Thanks so much for sharing!
Lee locke LPN says
I’m a nurse who works with alzhiemers and dementia patients!! Thank you for the words!!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you!
Joleen says
These people on the veiw are a joke until they are in the shoes of a nurse or nurses aide they need to shut their mouths on that show all they are on the veiw are a bunch of hens that like to hen peck hard working people. They need to get off their fat butts and get to kow the facts about nursing field
Freds says
Joy Behar is and always has been a bully. Sad.
Barbara says
I love your comment Joleen. How true that is. It’s sick when a bunch of fat, uneducated, stupid women can get together and make fun of other people. Guess that is there job though. They must get so much gratification from being so stupid.
Angela Rupp says
I am not a nurse. I am a personal care worker. I use a stethoscope in my profession as I provide medication passes to someone’s Dad, Mom, brother, sister, Grandfather, Grandmother, or friend. Certain medications cannot be given if a pulse is too low, or if blood pressure is too low. Stethoscopes help us keep your family member or friend safe and alive!
Riesa, RN says
Yes you do! and your job is just as important as mine in keeping our patients safe. It is sad that we have made so little progress in teaching people what we do as a profession, but sadder that people are so disinterested until they have a personal experience with the healthcare system.
Riesa, RN
Frank Walsh says
I am a nurse, have been for almost 20 years. I stepped out of character today and started to watch this show “The View”. I do not watch these nonsensical talk shows hosted by failed actors actresses and public figures.
It took all of 10 minutes for me to understand that while this was a public mocking of the nursing profession, and done poorly at that, this speaks more to the character of the individuals on “The View” than nurses. If you want to talk fan base nurses have a lot more fans than “The View”, ask anybody who has been affected by the care provided to them and loved ones, our fan base spreads the entire globe! ABC should seriously consider this cast as in the 10 minutes I watched today they seemed to be content to make fun of others and interestingly enough came off very uneducated in doing so. But I guess making fun of others does not require the ability to know what a stethoscope is!
Cheers,
Frank Walsh, RN
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thanks for commenting Frank. 🙂
Mike Reiner says
You know its a very sad state of affairs that someone on national television can make light of a nurse or what they do! BUT the fact still remains, if Joy Behar fell off the face of the earth today, nothing in this country would change, life would go on as we know it. If nurse’s did the medical system as we know it would cease to function! That right there shows you the magnitude of how wrong she was!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Carol says
Thank you for your post. As someone who was raised by a nurse, I am forever greatful for the wonderful men and women who take on this calling.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you!
Shelly Burke says
AWESOME, agree (I’m an RN too!) and sharing!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you!
Cynthia says
so well put! Also you comfort and support etc family and friends and others who care about your patient!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you!
sharonpritchettscraper@gmail.com says
Thank You Brianna for being a NURSE !!!!!!!!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Stephanie Harris says
Excellent explanation of the review you wrote! I don’t think you left anything out and you NAILED IT KIM! YOU NAILED IT! I am not a nurse by degree, however I have had a lot of education in the healthcare field regarding nursing, and I have a heavy back round in personal caregiving. I am always eager to learn any information in healthcare. I personally applaud you and all nurses who have strived and succeeded in earning their degrees, as it is exhausting and stressful in doing so! I have a theory of my own, and it is this: There are nurses by degree with only a degree lacking the ability to own compassion, care, empathy, even consciousness for their patients. Some have even gone as for as stealing their pain meds via P.O. or intramuscular, intravenously for their own abuse! Then their are nurses just like you and so many others that out way the previous ones, which I as a patient myself thank God for you and the others that certainly out way the others! I also feel I am a nurse by instinct, compassion an inner need to help anyone in need of care. I have always gone above and beyond in personal caregiving, and have cared for others who didn’t even ask! I get a wonderful sense of gratification in doing so and always have since I can remember! By any means I am not anywhere comparing myself with Licensed nurses at all, I’m just making a point. It certainly is ashame that people like you mentioned are so unaware and uneducated so oblivious! Nurses actually do it all! They really do!! AND THEY THINK STETHOSCPES ARE TOO BIG FOR NURSES! PLEASE!! THEY HAVE NO IDEA HOW SMALL POTATOES THAT TOPIC IS FOR A NURSE TO USE!
Sandhya says
Thank you Brie for writing this piece. I have been a nurse for close to a decade. I love what i do. It gives me peace and joy to know everyday at work i make a difference in someone’s life.
I know it it quite unusual comment towards nursing in a public platform. This does not make me angry at all. It only tells me when assessing the situation that some part of community is unaware of the advancement in nursing. So being a nurse we must teach them. We are nurses. We spend the most amount of time with our patients helping with daily care, interpreting medical jargon, and listening.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you for commenting.
kristi harbin says
hi km kristi harbin im from alabama and I am a cna an i lve my job love taking care of ppl i work in a nursing home and I love my residents. being a cna is hard alot of ppl think we do nothing but we do so much more then what ppl think that we do!! i a care taker a friend i become family. i know them what you prob don’t know i do bc i am with them 24/7 7 days a week 365 days of of the yr.
Jim Katz says
To ALL of you ladies and gentlemen who are “just nurses”… this guy who is “just an EMT” can’t thank you enough! You all mean so much more to the world than a talk show host EVER will!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Brenda Yale says
Beautifully written. I have been for 32 years and continue to be proud of my profession. Brenda Yale
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Brenda Yale says
I must share with you that I just read your essay aloud for my husband. I fought back tears the entire time….
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much!
Pati says
So glad you wrote this. One of my favorite aunts is a retired ER nurse, several of my cousins are nurses and my wonderful niece just started nursing school so when I saw the small minded comments of these people I was angry because I know how hard so many people I love dearly work and they are oh so much more than just a nurse. I guess my first thought was they have must never needed a nurse in the past because how could they even begin to make light of what Ms Colorado was talking of. I experienced that horrible disease with my grand daddy and it broke my heart daily but the nurses he had helped me get through. But then my second thought was a little meaner…Lord help them if/when they need a nurse lol but all the nurses I know would still do their best and take the best care of them. But maybe, just maybe they could miss the vein a couple of times. Ha. God bless.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Lol. Thanks for commenting!
I'm just a nurse..... says
I’m just a nurse as well…. we all know where we stand and do not have to explain what we do to anyone. Those we touch already know and thats what matters. We are all GREAT NURSES!!! and each of us know what it takes to do what we do;
I’M JUST A NURSE!!!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Debra Everhart says
I have been a nurse for 37 years in the pediatric and home health arenas. Healthcare and the role of nurses has evolved tremendously during this time. Now we are even responsible for knowing whether the doctor is ordering the correct meds, treatment etc. The comments on The View only show their ignorance. I just don’t understand why they wouldn’t get their facts straight before making such comments on national TV . It does not shed a very good light on them. I’m sure Michelle Collins and Joy Behar will hear plenty about this
Liz says
I am a medical assistant and I use my stethoscope on a daily basis. My doctor I work for uses his. I use to work as a cna/med aide where I use my own stethoscope for blood pressures, etc. While I am not exactly a nurse still try to help my patients that I see every day whether is it to make them smile or help them feel more at ease being at the doctor’s. Those who haven’t walked in the healthcare field shouldn’t say what they don’t know. Until they actually spend a day in the life of a nurse they will never know what nurses really do. A nurse is not “just a nurse”, they are so much more
snm says
I am not a nurse but have something to share… My son was 6 months old having seizures.. Yes I say that as plural because he had 3 in a 45 minute period that it took to get him to the emergency room… They transferred him to the children’s hospital in our state. Which was almost a 2 hour drive for me.. Once to the children’s hospital there was a lot of blood drawn and Several several tests ran to see what could be wrong.. An on call neurologist came to the hospital (it was memorial weekend).. As test after test was ran my baby was tired and cranky and screaming… This mom was trying to hold it together and help hold him down while watching him being poked and pried on.. Yes it was all for his own good and I knew this.. But let me tell you a little more that happened around midnight in that little hospital room.. This mom lost it.. I remember he was finally asleep and I completly broke down. His dad was off in the army in Afghanistan I could not get ahold of him. I had another child left with a relative that was only 4 whom knew something was wrong but in her little mind mommy was who was supposed to be there to comfort her when something was out of normal and she knew mommy was not there so it must be something majorly wrong.. I sank to floor with uncontrollable sobbing and then the nurse came in… He saw me at my worst I apologized for my sobbing.. I told him I knew it sounded selfish but I just wanted to rock my baby to sleep and hold him to make sure he was ok.. He hugged me and told me everything was going to be ok that GOD would never put more on us than we could handle… He explained what every single machine was doing and that the nurses at the station even had cameras to watch his every move while in that crib.. He said I had the best doctor in the state.. This did not make anything go away but it sure made it easier.. Day 2 and 3 he was still there bringing me food and drinks to the room so I would not have to leave my child.. Without me asking for any of this. On day 3 I asked why he was still at work he said he had taken about 6 hours off for some sleep and came back.. I asked why he said that He felt God telling him I needed an extra shoulder to cry on and that he wanted to personally help get my baby better… That evening he asked had I been outside I told him no.. He said well in exchange for me helping your baby could you do something for me of course I said yes… He asked me would I go outside to the parking lot and promise to spend 10 minutes just watching the sun set. I did not want to.. But I went and you know what he did not want that for him at all he wanted that for me because he knew I needed that fresh air more than I knew I needed it.. So you see to me… There is no such thing as just a nurse… This nurse went above and beyond his job and saw me as the human I was not just my son.. We got to go home on day 4.. Guess what I received phone calls from both the doctor and nurse themselves checking on me and my baby… So you see there is no such thing as just a nurse… My son is now 3 and is seizure free and perfectly healthy.. I thank this nurse for the extra work and the extra prayers for my son, myself and my family… #nursestouchlives #godheals #nursesgoaboveandbeyond
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much for commenting and sharing!
JACKIE says
I am with you, I am proud to be just a nurse. I have worked with every type of patient you can imagine and all of those experiences have molded me into the person I am today. To this I say thank you to everyone have been blessed to take care of and their families for allowing me to grow. To Joy Behar and her cohosts I invite you to come spend a day with me or even a few hours, I think you will have a different outlook.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thanks for commenting.
Ashley says
Everything you said was so beautifully written and undeniably true. I am not a nurse, nor have I personally ever been hospitalized as of yet (other than the birth of my children), but I will never, NEVER forget the night my father passed away. He suffered with heart disease, but his death was still unexpected, not just to us, but to the hospital staff as well. We walked out of the room that night, after he was gone, and saw three of his nurses there, standing against the wall, holding each other and sobbing. One went to my mother and hugged her, the other two came to me and my siblings. My dad was gone, but they were still there for us. I will never forget that. The nurses were the ones that truly helped our family. One even came to his funeral. I won’t even get into the nurses that were there when my older brother had cancer as a child. My mom still gets Christmas cards from a few of them thirty years later. Nurses don’t just help heal bodies, sometimes they help heal broken spirits. God bless nurses.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much for commenting and sharing!
Gail says
The true fact is even tho these comments were I know in my heart that every fellow nurse would go above and beyond to give her the best care possible. Because that is what we do and who we are. Nurses are the nonjudgemental ones that care for our patients regardless of race, religion, insurance, social status or attitude. One day she will have the pleasure of being cared for by one of us and maybe she will get a small glimpse into what we actually do.
Gail Claborn RN
PICU
Lubbock Tx
Barbara says
Thank you for your eloquent words. I have been a nurse since 1971, working with both adults, pediatrics and neonates. Each with it’s own possibilities and experiences. I did not see the View in real time as I have no interest in their opinions but did see the exerpts. I was also disappointed in two of the panelists on the Meridith Vierra show, Lance Bass who questioned the talent of Miss Colorado although he said he admired nurses and especially Yamaneika Saunders who questioned if “Joe” even existed and felt the whole story was made up. I pity them for their ignorance. Nurses must be doing something right as the are consistently viewed as he most admired profession. Yes, I am a nurse and proud of it.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you for commenting. 🙂
Suzanne RN says
I saw that episode of Merideth Vierea too. Was shocked by what they said and wondered why that was not getting the same attention.
Paula Dollens says
I m so glad you wrote this .Some people have not one clue what nurses do . Are jobs are far more important than any talk show that love to people down.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Sylvia says
Eloquently stated. I’ve been a nurse for almost 38 1/2 years. I have done what you have expressed and currently work to bring more people to meet their goal of being that advocate, supporter, planner, executor and assessor of those who need/want our services. Being a nurse (and now nursing instructor) has ALWAYS been a calling and I’m PROUD to call myself a nurse.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
KaDee Foran says
I have had some nurses who weren’t very kind or compassionate, but they have been far outweighed by the nurses I have had interactions with who have done their best to help me in whatever way I needed. After I had my 3rd baby, I developed post partum cardiomyopathy which caused congestive heart failure & a whole host of other heart problems. I told a nurse in the maternity ward that that something was wrong & she responded disrespectfully. However, a week later when i was admitted with the heart stuff I was taken to a room & immediately moved to ICU. Every nurse I dealt with during that stay was pleasant, helpful & respectful not only to me but to my loved ones as well. I had 2 nurses in particular who actually went above & beyond during that time. One of them could be counted on to joke with me & allowed me the small dignity of walking to the toilet in the corner of the room rather than using the bedside commode (it’s the little things) even though I wasn’t supposed to get out of bed because of how my heart was acting. The other nurse who, as I mentioned, went above & beyond, took me down the hall as soon as I was allowed out of the bed & took me to a room where I could have a real shower. Later that day, as I was waiting to be transferred out of ICU, she told me to go ahead & call my husband. She said to have him bring our kids up & call when he got to the waiting room. She then took me to the waiting room (she wasn’t supposed to because my heart monitor didn’t register out there) and allowed me a few precious moments to see my babies. I hadn’t seen them in 4 days & they were barely 3, barely 2 & 15 days at the time. I was & am so incredibly grateful that there are so many wonderful people who are wiling to give their best to take care of those who might just be at their worst.
Millie Perich says
Thank you so much for putting into words the actions of those who have said ” I’m just a nurse”. I have been a nurse for 44 years and now volunteer at a homeless shelter, as you guessed it, a, “just a nurse”. Last week a resident came up to me and thanked me for treating those at the shelter like human beings. I think I realized that I was not just someone who took a b/P or explained meds but I was a nurse that made someone feel like a person not another invisible homeless being.
I drove home that night thinking of how lucky I have been to have had a career that makes a difference. While my bank account may not be the greatest, my profession has made my heart very full and my spirit very full!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Awesome. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Joy Anderson says
Brie, I truly DO NOT understand how grown women could say the things that they said. I am 54 and have several health problems. In the last few years I have been hospitalized several times. ALL of the nurses that I have dealt with the have been MORE than”just a nurse”! Nurses know just as much (usually) as the doctors. If I could only choose one from a doctor or nurse, I would definitely pick a nurse. They have medical knowledge, caring, compassion, great hands to hold, and shoulders to cry on. They watch over you and help in ANY way they can. Show me a doctor who would do the same (LOL)! I definitely would rather have”just a nurse” any day of the week! HUGS and THANKS to ALL of the nurses out there!!!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much!