This week has seen the re-emergence of the nursing myth of the “real nurse”.
One that those of use who don’t work as a staff nurse, as a ANP, or any other traditional patient facing roles, are familiar with.
Sarah Lee, in her tweet, shows this myth is still very much alive and kicking and one that, as a research nurse, I have plenty of experience with. As I’ve said before, my move to work as a research nurse was seen, by some, as an abandonment of my “true vocation” and an almost treacherous betrayal of those I left behind.
There is a diversity of roles in nursing, but not all are equally valued it would seem. But why not? At the end of the day, we are all registered by the same body and work towards a common aim. Why shouldn’t we all be doing it in slightly different ways?
As a research nurse I see myself very much as clinical. But even if I didn’t I wouldn’t cease to be a nurse. My passions remain the same as the day I started my degree 25 years ago and revalidation makes sure I am competent to continue practicing!
Maybe we just need to try and understand each other’s roles a little better. How do we make what we do more visible? Social media is a good place to start – I wonder if we can share more of the day-to-day. I think we might all surprise each other with what we get up to!
Join me in using the #D2DNursing and see if we can amplify our individual roles and promote a bit more understanding of what we all do! I’ll make a start 🙂
Receiving Consent 