Nurses are the largest and most trusted healthcare profession, but we’ve never been the most respected.
Chronic, pervasive, inadequate staffing, AMA efforts to restrict APRN scope of practice, the latest Department of Education (DOE) action to declassify nursing as a profession are explicit examples of how this lack of respect shows up.
It is tempting to be outraged about this recent DOE decision. Maybe hard not to be. I applaud my colleagues for speaking out against it. It’s not that I’m not outraged. I’m just tired of spending the valuable time and energy it requires.
Plus, I have a different strategy to share. One that may not be so draining on our time, energy, and creativity.
If you are game, read on.
Sometimes, we give up our power. By not respecting ourselves and/or our colleagues. Let’s explore this a little.
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
Respect for Self
Have you ever said, “I’m just a nurse’? Over apologized for something that wasn’t your fault or entirely your fault? Asked a question that you had a good idea about what the answer was? Or repeatedly compromised your own health or that of your family’s to work overtime, skip meal breaks, or feel like you shouldn’t ask for help?
These are or at least can be examples of internalizing what the world has told us about ourselves. That nursing is easy or simple, that we are not worthy of respect, or that we are somehow inadequate if we ask for help. When we believe these falsehoods we can’t help but have them show up in the way we express ourselves. We may, and probably do, know on some level that they aren’t true, yet without self-confidence they can take root.
And hey, I’m guilty of all of these behaviors at some point in my career! But not recently!
Developing emotional intelligence over the years with counseling, life experiences, meditation, and medical improv have all helped me to claim my own sense of power. Physical posture, body language, tone of voice are all ways to demonstrate confidence. It can, and has for me, represented hard personal and professional work. But the more I practice, the easier it becomes. I know I can’t make someone respect me, but I can identify, expect, set limits around and respond with respectful behavior.
Respect for Colleagues
And where is respect for our colleagues when we participate in behaviors like gossiping, undermining others’ success, competing to be the nurse a patient likes best, or imposing status values to different nurses because of their experience or specialty?
These behaviors are not exclusive to nursing but they do represent symptoms of internal and external oppressive dynamics embedded in the healthcare hierarchy. They are also reflective of how women are often viewed treated in our society.
We don’t have to play these status games. We can treat ourselves and colleagues with dignity! Even just being award of how we give up our power can be an important step in building a stronger collective and transformative presence. Not overnight but over time.
In summary, the DOE can send out a message that nurses aren’t professionals. We nurses know it isn’t true. And so do many of our colleagues teammates from different healthcare disciplines. And so do many patients and families we’ve cared for.
Let’s make sure we’re showing up with all the respect for our selves and each other that we deserve.
What are your thoughts? Is this a sensible, realistic course of action? Will it help?
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