The Nursing community is growing by the minute, and so are the stereotypes in nursing.
Can you believe that up until today, there are still a lot of nursing stereotypes everywhere?
Here are eight of them that should definitely stop now:
1. The “Sexy Nurse” Stereotype.
Nurse costumes are very popular these days, especially the sexy nurse costumes. Some people think about nurses in a way that professionals clearly do not appreciate.
2. The “Physician’s Helper” Stereotype.
People who are not well-informed think that nurses work for doctors and are physicians’ little helpers. The fact is, nurses and doctors must work together. It is in the nurse’s job description to make sure that the doctors are kept updated of the patients’ status. Therefore, nurses do not work for doctors. They work with them.
3. The “Female Nurses Only” Stereotype.
Even children believe that nurses are all supposed to be female. We all had this thinking that men cannot be nurses, as nursing is a profession only for women. I hope this stereotype would stop soon because my male colleagues surely would not be happy about it.
4. The “Male Nurses Are Gay” Stereotype.
This is just a follow-up for stereotype # 3. To end this issue, I am certainly sure that most, if not all, male nurses are NOT gay.
5. The “Nurses Are Perfect” Stereotype.
People think that nurses are knowledgeable, intelligent and perfect. Of course, nurses are smart, but we do not know everything. We are humans too, and we can make mistakes as we go. Being a good nurse means learning how to admit your mistakes and confusion.
6. The “Nurses Are Scary” Stereotype.
Some people think that nurses were born and made only to inflict pain and harm on them. Even some kids are raised thinking that nurses are monsters and will stab them with syringes to death. Some even think that we could insult or humiliate for them to comply with what we need to implement. I hope people could be educated that nurses exist because they want to help people in general.
7. The “Nurses Are Experts On Technology” Stereotype.
People think about nurses this way because nurses are able to convince their patients to comply with positioning or the like. Some people think that nurses can operate equipment and machinery easily. They just don’t know how much we try to look like we are not too confused.
8. The “Nurses Are Born Nurses” Stereotype.
Nurses are not born nurses. Some people may look up to nurses like they have been nurses all their lives. However, we have learned our way on how to become the good nurses that we already are.
People should know that a nurse still makes mistakes and still finds time to learn every day even after they have already finished going to school. Nurses learn a lot from the people they work with and the patients they take care of.
About the Author: Mary Elizabeth Velarmino Francisco earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree from the Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Philippines. She is always happy to share her passion for writing and blogging. With coffee running through her veins, she enthusiastically battles each day, one article at a time.
