How My Father Unfortunately Sees It

"Ang mga nurse ay katulong lang ng mga doktor."

These were the exact words my very own father told me when we talked over the phone last night.

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These were also the exact words which caused me to burst in rage, anger, and fury. Sorry! It doesn't sound like I am really mad! Do I?

Honestly speaking, I didn't expect this to come out during the course of our conversation. Never did I ever anticipate this from anyone - more so from within my family.

This all came when the idea of me working as a "medical transcriptionist" was brought out to my father in the open. 

It is not quite new that I have plans of going back to the BPO industry. More so, that I wanted to be part of a healthcare account - for me to at least still be able to apply what I have learned back in college. 

Therefore, when I got the chance to apply for a healthcare account post, I immediately took advantage of it. 

I'm proud to say that my mother has always been very supportive of whatever plans I have. 

Alas, it's the complete opposite when it comes to my father. He has always disliked the thought of me working outside the four corners of the hospital. Moreover, he has always wanted me to gain at least 2 years of clinical experience with the hopes of me being able to go out of the country.

But, I definitely begged to disagree.

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As far as my memory serves me right, I have been taught back in nursing school that NURSING is a unique and noble profession which has its own sets of Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics and several laws governing its practice among others. 

Over 100 years ago, Florence Nightingale defined nursing as "the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery" (Nightingale, 1860).

In addition, nursing has been defined by the International Council of Nursing as "... encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well and in all settings. Nursing includes the promotion of health, prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people. Advocacy, promotion of a safe environment, research, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health systems management, and education are also key nursing roles."

On the other hand, medicine has been defined by Wikipedia as "the applied science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness in human beings."

None of the definitions provided mention that one is superior over the other. None even stated that nurses are just mere helpers of doctors.

While it may be true that the functions of a nurse and a doctor oftentimes overlap in meeting a patient's needs, nursing and medicine has a completely different focus in terms of patient concerns.

A nurse is more focused on identifying and monitoring the patient's nursing and coping responses to actual or potential health problems. Meanwhile, a doctor is focused on identifying and monitoring pathophysiological and diagnostic responses to treatment. 

Furthermore, the nurse would decide on the most appropriate nursing interventions based on evidence and research. The physician, on the other hand, decides on the most appropriate medical interventions and evaluates these together with the nurse and the rest of the multidisciplinary team.

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No one must act as if one plays a more important role in the healthcare system than the other. No one must look down on other medical and allied medical professionals as if they are not part of a health team.

Having said these, nurses and physicians therefore must work hand-in-hand to obtain the maximum level of recovery of a patient. Nurses and physicians, alongside with other members of the health care team, must work in a multidisciplinary and complementary approach towards patient's full recovery.

Ever since I have joined the Alliance of Young Nurse Leaders and Advocates International, Inc. (AYNLA) back in 2010, it has always been an advocacy to uplift the status of the nursing profession. Also, we have committed ourselves to work for the welfare and empowerment of fellow nurses. 

To quote my colleague and co-blogger Syaoran Pe in his blog nurse.after.shift, "What these few white collar people (doctors) don't know is that we nurses are far from being their helper. They need to be reminded that we are their teammates in the healthcare team. Nurses are in no way subordinates of the doctors. Nursing in its own rights is an independent practice in the hospital."

While it is saddening to note that this degradation of the profession came from my very own father, it is but a wake up call for us nurses to defend our noble profession. Let us continue to educate the common people, be it members of our family, that we nurses would heed to the call of uplifting the profession that Florence Nightingale once has started.

So, to my colleagues in the nursing industry, I leave you with this parting words from an interview I recently had,  "Nurses, it is time to stand up. Speak for your own rights. It is time to empower ourselves. Nobody would help uplift the profession than us fellow nurses. It is time to let other medical professionals know that we will not allow ourselves to be degraded. It is time to put an end to exploitation. It is but time for us nurses to unite."