Of Nurses And Their Self-Esteem

On November 6th, I published a blog post entitled "For Nurses, 'Just" Is A Four-Letter Word". The basic premise was that nurses' use of language that diminishes their expertise and importance has a far-reaching impact. That post has received a great deal of attention, so I believe I struck a nerve that resonates deeply with many nurses out there. (Thank you for all of the wonderful comments, by the way!) So, why is our self-esteem so collectively low?In the aforementioned post, I made the following statement:If you're a nurse, when was the last time you said, "Oh, I'm just a nurse" or "I'm not really an expert--I'm just a nurse"? If you stop to think about it, what are you really saying when you deny your expertise? Words are powerful, and the words we use to describe ourselves can have far-reaching effects--for others, and within our own psyches.Yes, words are indeed powerful, and when was the last time you heard a doctor say, "Oh, I'm just a doctor"? (One could argue that a family practitioner at a medical conference might feel somewhat inferior to a brain surgeon, but you get the idea.....)Despite our place in the collective cultural psyche as trustworthy and honest professionals (even while so many laypeople have no idea what nurses actually do), so many nurses seem to feel it necessary to diminish our profession by playing down our importance and our professionalism. Why?  Is It Patriarchy? Now, one could argue that the dominant patriarchal culture has historica...
Source: Digital Doorway - Category: Nurses Tags: nurse nurse identity nurse professionalism nurses nursing Source Type: blogs