In the Beginning...

By now, those of you that read (or sporadically check, more than likely) my blog may have noticed that I have some issues with nursing education, the people that enter into nursing education, the people that populate nursing education, and the people that have completed nursing education.

Did I miss anyone?

Oh yeah, the nursing unions, we'll get to them in later posts.

I'm glad we've cleared that up because widespread criticism just isn't the same when you start excusing people from the festivities.  In a nutshell, that is why I write this blog; I can't stomach the thought of being the only health professional on the face of the earth with an active moral, ethical, financial, and satirical conscience so I feel led to call out those that I see doing wrong and those allowing wrong to be done.  In the course of this calling out I hope that I may meet some like-minded individuals but more importantly, I want to meet and hear from those that disagree and those that know better. 

I write this blog because, in my time spent learning how to be a nurse from those that are nurses, I will inevitably learn how not to be a nurse and that's where everyone benefits.

An opportunity for learning and having a laugh at others' expense.

Another QOTS!

They're coming in from all angles!  This one thanks to a "resident".

"You know, I've noticed that some of the darker young ladies that work here have a...protrusion on their backsides.  What could they possibly be doing with that?  I know I wouldn't know what to do with it."

Probably paying the bills...

New QOTS!

We can ring in another winner!

"You know, over 600 people applied to the faculty this year and only 210 were accepted.  Just think that for each one of you, three other people wanted to be in your place.  Congratulations, you all must be very smart."

Oh, you'd be surprised...

The Guy, in the Room, With the Problem, You Know?

Ever since I've immersed myself in the world of Nursing, I've been confronted again and again by gobs of things that are wrong.

Things that are wrong with the education of nurses comes to the forefront most often right now:  little to no preparation for the world of acute care, too much hand-holding through clinical experiences, unrealistic perceptions of the nurse's role within the healthcare continuum, and the fact that it takes four years to teach students skills and concepts that could be taught more effectively by taking them in pairs to the wilderness and shooting one in the leg while handing the other a belt and a book on nursing diagnoses, to name a few (more on the result of this later).

All in all, there have been a number of disturbing discoveries; none, however, as disturbing as the insistence of the Nursing Faculty to continually refer to those under our care as "clients".  As far as I can recall, people requiring medical care from medical professionals were referred to as "patients" and there was a very good reason for this (I don't get tips from patients).  Let me begin by being very dry for a moment and pull some definitions from the dictionary.

cli·ent

/ˈklaɪənt/ Show Spell –noun

1. a person or group that uses the professional advice or services of a lawyer, accountant, advertising agency, architect, etc.

2. a person who is receiving the benefits, services, etc., of a social welfare agency, a government bureau, etc.

3. a customer.

4. anyone under the patronage of another; a dependent.

You may begin to understand the origin of my disgust after reading the definition. You may say, "Yeah, but #1 and #2 fit the bill pretty well" and I'd agree with you up to the point where we both read #3.  Regardless of seeming to fit, I will fight tooth and nail against any insinuation through terminology that health professionals in Canada have "customers".

In contrast, the definition for "patient".

pa·tient

/ˈpeɪʃənt/ Show Spelled

–noun

1. a person who is under medical care or treatment.

2. a person or thing that undergoes some action.

3. Archaic . a sufferer or victim.

I like this much better.  Even "sufferer" and "victim" fit the bill better than "client".  This is simply because if the individual is under the care of a nurse who feels a little "icky" because they drank too much the night before and just can't seem to locate their self-respect and a doctor who can't remember if he's getting four-hundred or five-hundred dollars per person for selflessly exacerbating drug-seeking behaviour at a walk-in clinic two nights a week then, gosh darn it, they are on the road to victimhood.

Quite simply, I've never heard or, more importantly, read one shred of logic behind the switch that seemingly took place over night.

Honestly, I'm looking for some answers here.  Answer me.  Educate me.  Give me something because I'm not seeing how referring to the people who require medical care in the same way as those who requisition the services of an attractive, ambitious, yet uninhibited woman is doing the medical profession any favours.

Oh, and as for the two scrub-bunnies previously mentioned (I know that's demeaning to me as well, thanks); eventually, one of them will figure out that the belt is for the wound and the book of oh-so-useful nursing diagnoses is for toilet paper.