We’re Going Cosmopolitan on Becoming a Nurse EPS 165
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Episode 165 begins with Kevin and Keith sharing shameful childhood memories (Elizabeth stayed out of it!), and we again thank Elizabeth for bringing up a topic that most of you can probably relate to.
Once we got Kevin’s and Keith’s childhood traumas out of the way ( ! ), we launched into today’s subject, which is a conversation about an article entitled, “14 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Became a Nurse,” that was posted on Cosmopolitan.com on June 12th, and was written by Allyson Lenoci, a nurse in the Washington, D.C. area.
While the Ms. Lenoci’s article makes some salient points, she presents a certain focus that we at RNFM Radio definitely found questionable or potentially misleading, and we had a lot to say about it.
Meanwhile, over on FreemanWhite.com, nurse writer Dianne Foster posted a rebuttal to the Cosmopolitan article on July 15th, 2015. In her article, Foster provided a brilliant, thoughtful, and clear-eyed item-by-item response, putting a more positive spin on much of the perceived negativity in the Cosmo piece.
The Cosmo article offers many black-and-white statements to which Ms. Foster very calmly responded. Some examples of the Cosmo article’s narrow views include:
- “This is a very thankless, underappreciated job”
- “You will have the biggest love-hate relationship with your career.”
- “I highly recommend learning how to eat a lunch in two minutes.”
- “Your body will age quickly.”
These statements not only reinforce and perpetuate nurses’ negative stereotypes about nurses and nursing, they also tell the general public that nurses are truly unhappy people who potentially hate their jobs.
Ms. Foster finishes her article by writing:
“Remember the good days, hold the best memories — those are what keep you coming back. Being part of an effective team is very rewarding. Finding a clinical area of interest and pursuing it with a passion to become an expert in your area is incredibly motivating.
“And, there are so many pros to being a nurse – far more than the cons. There is no other profession where you will have as big an impact on someone’s life as you do in nursing. You get to wear scrubs with elastic waistbands and tennis shoes. You’re a superhero to patients and families and physicians. No two days are alike – you are not in a boring job. You will develop a bulletproof immune system and rarely get sick – and if you do get sick, you are surrounded by people who can help you! Nursing is consistently the highest ranked profession on the Gallup survey for public trust – that is instant honor and credibility!
“It’s a serious job, yes, and often a hard job – but, the rewards are many and attitude is everything.”
We’d love to know your reaction to these articles. What do you think? Does Ms. Lenoci make good points, or does Ms. Foster really nail it? Are you feeling positive, negative, or neutral about nursing? Let us know, drop us a line, and get in touch! We want to hear what you think!
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