why would anybody speak poorly of nurses? I don't get it. I totally agree with catletuce. My grandmother was RN and not only she was a combat nurse in WWII and saw things that we only see in movies like Saving Private Ryan, she worked her whole life in hospitals and clinics dealing wiht very tough situations.

some professions do reflect some qualities, and say somehting about the people, but i cannot think of one negative thing to say about such honorable profession as a nurse.

I have to say, I admire nurses. I can't get my blood work done without passing out or screaming in terror. To be able to handle all that is highly admirable, because I know I couldn't do it.
Cat probably wasn't putting down nurses. IMO, she was implying that BM should have more sense BECAUSE she's a nurse. Not saying whether that is right or wrong, but to me it implies a respect to the profession. That nurses have sense and honor and since BM is one she should have more. (?)

But that's just how I saw it, correct me if I'm wrong. ;)

2 stories about nurses ... 2 in my family

My sister who was an ER nurse ... Her son comes home he is 16 had been out playing football comes home says mom my chest hurts she looks at him says take some tylenol and go to bed it'll be fine in the morning. Next morning he comes down to breakfast ... he says mom my chest still hurts she finally "looked" at him and said OMG no wonder your chest hurts you broke your collar bone off to the ER she went.

My SIL is a nurse .. my neice not feeling well for a couple of weeks my SIL blowing it off oh she's fine just that stomach flu going around she prescribed bed rest and plenty of fluids ...christmas break from school. Neice wakes up at 3 am my SIL can hear her moaning she runs into the bathroom neice is on the floor ... starts seizing my SIL calls ambulance .... my neice was headed into a diabetic coma .... undiagnosed diabetes neice had been sick for 3 weeks.

Just because they are nurses doesn't mean they know it all .... Both my Sis and SIL talk about how they see sick people all day long at work and don't want to see sick people at home.

"Cat probably wasn't putting down nurses. IMO, she was implying that BM should have more sense BECAUSE she's a nurse. "

I think that is the case, but just because you're a Nurse doesn't mean you don't have those same emotions as a parent that everyone else does.

I feel if a mothers profession is going to be brought up in the posts, take into account as a nurses we stare our own mortality in the face everyday. I see some pretty awful things on a regular basis. Sometimes I come home from work and am pretty jacked up on a adrenaline rush, can't sleep, or am over emotional because of some trauma I saw.

So perhaps being a nurse might make it a little more difficult to not give into your kids to stay home from school when lets say at work you took care of a 5 yr old dying of cancer, or saw a kid come into ER that had been horribly injured.

So, why should BM be held to different standards because of her profession. That would mean SS29 should expect his ex to be a poor role model as a mother because she is a stripper, right?

Not meant as an attack towards Cat38 in anyway, just pointing out that sometimes the stress of the job makes you want to come home and hold your kids a little tighter and yes I too have been guilty of keeping my son home from school on occasion when he was little just because I wanted the day with him. I don't think that makes me a bad mom, it certainly doesn't make me a perfect one.

But whether I did so because I'm a nurse, I can't really say. I do think being a nurse has made me a lot more aware that my loved ones can be snatched away from me without a moments notice and maybe I love a little harder/hold on a little tighter because of it.

I'm in no way saying Cat38's DH's EX should be excused from poor behaviors but nor should she be held to different standards just because of her career choice.

That's all..

~Cat

I agree with June. I didn't see it as an insult to all nurses. My SD's mom is a a 'nursing student' (for nine years she's been a 'nursing student') and I would think that if she's taking all these classes in healthcare, she would know better than to let her daughter jump on the trampoline while one of the other kids sprays water from the hose, so it's nice & wet/slippery. I would think she might think more about the possibility of injury, especially if she were actually a nurse that deals with sick & injured people. Just the weekend before last, SD went to her house after having a minor foot surgery. She came back with the incision full of dirt because BM let her run barefoot at the soccer field. The incision was on the bottom of her foot. I would think a parent would have more sense, but certainly if she is a nurse or nursing student, she would be held to a higher standard when it comes to health care issues with her children.

That's not the same as saying every nurse is neglectful or poor parents. But, I also have more respect for nurses so they should be held to a higher standard... just like other professionals.

"Just because they are nurses doesn't mean they know it all .... Both my Sis and SIL talk about how they see sick people all day long at work and don't want to see sick people at home."

Amen to that!

My poor DS walked around with a broken wrist for 3 days because

A. I just went through the whole fractured arm thing with him for 8 weeks he couldn't have possibly done that again 1 day after his cast was finally off for good!

B. I am NOT going to sit in the ER for 5 hours for a sprain when I just got home from the hospital!

Being a nurse didn't always make me a better mommy, that's for sure. Gee, now I feel guilty about that all over again, lol..

~Cat

"she would know better than to let her daughter jump on the trampoline while one of the other kids sprays water from the hose, so it's nice & wet/slippery."

Yea, well this is exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about and aslo exactly the sort of stuff my DS would do as soon as I turned my back. Yes we should be heldto professional standards AT WORK. We are not professional Mom's and granted most nurses have good common sense but we also have the same "mom" emotions and it is different when it's "your kid", trust me.

When DS's good friend had half of his face ripped off by a great ane I adminstered first aid, got him to the EMT's 2 mile away, picked up the big flap of skin off the ground and brought it with us on ice to the hospital. If it were my son I would have been hysterical and do not think I could have funtioned with my nurse cap on-I would be reacting with my mom hat on. Kwim?

~Cat

I didn't mean to imply that nurses should be held to a higher standard. Nor does your profession dictate the kind of person you are. But I just didn't see where Cat was insulting nurses. Sorry if it came off that way.

Excuse my poor spelling! My Doxin was walking across my keyboard as I typed-Yikes, talk about poor professional standards..

I honestly don't think it was intended that way-Not meaning to scare you off Cat38!

It's just almost all her posts say somewhere "And she's a nurse!"

And I'm always left thinking "So? What the heck does that have to do with anything?"

It doesn't make you a better mother/ex wife or a worse one, just handy when one of the kids are bleeding.

And God help me if I am being held to my professional standards of care when I'm off duty with my family-that's a lot to live up too. I'm just doing the best I can here & don't run screaming in the house unless you are bleeding to death! (Bet you all heard that growing up)

~Cat

At my ss's 5th bday party he fell off of a picnic bench backwards and landed on his head. It made a terrible thump and he screamed. My dh picked him up. My MIL, who is head of nursing on 4 or 5 floors of a big hospital (including ICU and telemetry), started freaking out running all around and going "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." I calmy grabbed something cold from the cooler and placed it on his head. He was fine, but overprotective granny lost her mind. It is funny looking back. She even jokes about how she is the nurse and lost her cool and I am not a nurse and knew what to do! haha

"Yea, well this is exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about and aslo exactly the sort of stuff my DS would do as soon as I turned my back."

I'm not talking about SD doing this when her mom turns her back, mom was participating in it. Okay, maybe I'm a little more than biased about that crap because SD gets hurt and BM calls CPS on US for not taking her to the doctor. I'll admit nobody's perfect, all parents make mistakes.

Where I am coming from, if I let SD do some of the things her mom does, like riding a piece of cardboard tied to the back of her truck in the snow or riding an ATV or riding lawn mower with no helmet or safety gear, BM would throw a fit that I was putting her daughter in harms way, but it's okay if she does it. It's just ironic that she's a nursing student (and EMT certified) and her daughter gets hurt constantly doing stupid stuff at her moms, with mom playing right along. That's what BM considers fun. (and she doesn't work all day anywhere, let alone as an EMT or nurse, so she can't say she's under that stress) So, I'm sorry I'm a little biased there and I do know what you mean reacting with your mom hat on. I used to do the same thing when I had a hard case at work... go home and hug the kids with greater appreciation.

"And God help me if I am being held to my professional standards of care when I'm off duty with my family-"

I didn't mean it like that. I just mean that some professionals are held to a higher standard in their day to day lives.. police, nurses, teachers. Yes, they are all human and nobody is perfect, but I don't expect a cop to be a cop all the time... not professional standards... just a higher standard than say, just a process server.

Ima, I understand, your situation is a little extreme. But you can't say your SD's BM does risky/unsafe activities with kids because she is a EMT. Yes she should know better, for goodness sakes any parent should irregardless of what their professional qualifications are. That being said, as a EMT I would think she's seen a few closed head injuries and it might frighten her-but ya never know.

I ride a motorcycle (donorcycle) helmetless where allowed by law-except in large city area such as Chi Town or Miami.

Poor judgement? You betcha-of course I know better! But I like the wind in my hair.

Would I want my kid doing that-Hell no. And if he knew I did that he would be furious. I'd like to think no mother would encourage risky behavior, but sadly that's just not true.

~Cat

" just a higher standard than say, just a process server."

Why? I wouldn't.

Off time is off time. Of course an emergency situation is different but in everyday life I expect the same normal and respectful behavior from everyone. Don't always get it, but there ya go..

I love when we can have these debates/discussions in such a nice tone. It's been really fun & interesting to get all the responses by the way. Thanks everyone!

~Cat

ok my mom is a nurse my daughter is in college wanting to be a nurse, my reference to dh ex being a nurse is that she should have some common sense and SHE DOES NOT... by the way that is what she always says when dh wants to know something (she says I think i know what im talking about i am a nurse you know) BLAH BLAH BLAH....

I have nothing but respect for nurses... I am an interior designer with a business degree.

I was stating the (shes a nurse ) because thats her excuse for why she says she knows everything..

My problem is
She lives with her parents whom smoke in the home even though her son has been on a nebulizer machine 3 or 4 times a year.
She lets their 6 year old ride in the front seat with a airbag.
she never makes him do his homework.
he had 8 cavities when I made him a dentist appointment.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that she can afford to live on her own and she choices not to so that she can be lazy, and pay for attorneys taking DH to court for money she doesnt deserve, because if she did I would be the first person telling DH to pay up...

Thank you for clarifying Cat38!

Never could make the connection with what you were posting about and the fact that she's a nurse. If she did all those same things but was a interior designer, would you state her profession in your posts?

"I was stating the (shes a nurse ) because thats her excuse for why she says she knows everything.. "

You didn't say that in your posts, now it makes more sense to me. It was really bothering me and seemed like her being a nurse should in some way mean she should behave differently than any other person..if that makes sense..Anyway thank you for your post and clearing that up for me.

As far as your issues with care stepson receives while in her care, I understand and feel for you.

It's just awful and I do not understand how any mother could let her child suffer so.

~Cat

cat, i dont really know if i would or not... I guess I just get sick of her saying it all the time.....

Nurses really have one of the toughest jobs. I have several friends who are nurses - one is in pediatric oncology at Stanford. I can't even imagine how difficult that is. I think it takes a very special person to do that job and an angel to watch over little kids suffering with cancer. My ER nurse friend says that unless you are really broken or boiling over with a fever, then suck it up because you'll live. So, I can easily see how one would say take an aspirin and I'll see you in the morning.

Lol Geri,
Your friend sounds a lot like me & my mother..I know it sounds a bit harsh, but you get that way after yr.s in this profession and any other caregiver career I think of.

Cure it or kill it, that's my motto!

~Cat