This is an interesting article.
I am a male Nurse and we account for about 9-11% of the nursing workforce in Australia.
When I share with others (often when asked) that I am a nurse, I receive immediate judgement that often starts with the common misconception that nursing is a female profession.
It quickly escalates to “oh so you toilet patients and manage bedpans”.
Uh, no!
It depends what type of nurse you are.
In a 10 year nursing career, I have probably managed 10 bedpans. The reality is, when patients are unwell, they still need to do all the normal day to day things while in our care and I WILL HELP THEM DO THIS. Whatever they need, I will help them. I trained for this at University and can help anyone who requires the use of a bedpan to toilet (all of my experience with this was as a student where you manage a lot more than 10 bedpans!)
So yes, I do manage bedpans and help patients toilet but this is not everyday nursing for me.
Working in perianaesthesia, emergency, prehospital care and education, you do not manage many bedpans and toileting is not high on my patients, or my priority list in these environments.
I am male and experience this a lot but my female colleges also suffer with the same judgement. Obviously they don’t struggle with the female to male dynamics of the profession but they feel that no one outside of our industry understands what we do.
It’s a great time to point out that we work with many different nurses within our profession. From enrolled nurses to registered nurses to clinical nurse specialists nurses. But it doesn’t stop there. What about advanced practice nurses like nurse practitioners and clinical nurse consultants.
Nursing is a dynamic career that can take you anywhere you want. That can be well away from or towards bed pans!
Do you experience judgement about your role as a nurse?
Do you hear these comments?
ACN is calling for the Government to fund a campaign to educate the public and politicians on what it means to be a modern nurse in Australia today.
ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward told the Sunday Telegraph that people still think the role of a nurse is to deal with bedpans when in reality, they do highly skilled work and are being asked more and more to do the same tasks as doctors, for which they are not properly remunerated.
Ms Ward said a campaign, along with better pay and conditions and systemic changes, was crucial to tackling the workforce crisis and warned if the exodus continues: “Australians won't get the care they deserve” in hospitals, aged care homes and GP surgeries. #auspol #NursesAreTheSolution
Read more about what ACN is calling for here - https://lnkd.in/gEhMD-yf
