Let me (stupidly) try for a little middle ground here.

There is no way to compare the skills and training needed today in medical fields to what was needed 25 years ago. This is as true for nurses as doctors and pharmacists and lab professionals, etc. The discoveries and developments in the field alongside the massive leaps in technology have made it almost impossible to keep up let alone enter the field without extensive training.

That's true in many professions today but we're discussing medicine here and it is definitely true there. As someone who has been on the receiving end, I have had many wonderful nurses take care of me as well as a few losers. I've had experienced nurses who were lousy and new nurses who were tremendous and vice versa. But if I were to develop a list of the very best I've had, they all were both experienced and well trained......and the worst were just the opposite.

But there is this too: I have never had a great nurse who didn't have a "feel" for the job.   Call it passion or whatever, they have something in their personalities which makes them excel. And another trait is the they have a personal knowledge of themselves that tells them where they do best.   I have a good friend who is a Cardio ICU nurse who wouldn't be caught dead on a floor. Earlier she had been an excellent ER & Trauma Room nurse and as she got older was ready to slow down but still liked the pressure that ICU nurses can also have.

On the other hand, on my last visit to the hospital I met the best pro floor nurse I have ever had. She had a head for case management, a great bedside manner with patients, and the ability to put all the computerized functions now used on the floors to work for her. She seemed to do about twice as much with half the effort and a smile and a laugh thrown in to boot!


Now the one thing that I would say is that nursing like so many other occupations needs someone to "play god" early on. While there is no doubt that almost anyone can be trained, there are some folks who shouldn't be. The two nurses above each were "nurses" before they started training. They had the "right stuff" and there was a place for each in the field. Some people don't and need to be directed in another direction.   I'd love to see that for teachers as well because a teacher with no passion for the job will suck no matter how much experience or training.

My 2 cents. Take it or fuck yourself.


Spaw