University of North Carolina's CRNA's comment to: What Nurses think of Med Students

"Mike, I may be able to offer an interesting viewpoint as I started off as a HUC, went through nursing school, worked as a nurse, and am now in a graduate degree program in the medical world. You need to understand the history of medicine, and the history of nurses. 

Medical Doctors used to be revered as Gods (and some still think that they are) because they used to be the only people that studied the human body in depth and attempted to treat illness that affected it. Obviously we have learned A LOT about the human body with autopsies, microscopes, scanners, and advanced technology. Doctors also used to make house calls. Now there are many different avenues to study and treat the human body. Doctors no longer have a monopoly, and thus are no longer revered as Gods (by many). I personally revere Doctors with high regard and respect and understand that they spend an insane amount of time studying and training. However, not everyone does.

There is much debate about how long nurses have been around, but most agree that the first recognized nurses came from World War I. They were the women that "nursed" injured militants during their injuries. There was no schooling, no formal training, it was all hands on. Well, that has obviously also changed over time. 

Nursing has been struggling to become a recognized profession among other medical professionals (such as Doctors), mostly because of the "holistic" viewpoint. We are trained to not only understand and treat the physical and physiological (science based) aspect of a person, but also their emotional, spiritual, sexual, mental, etc... aspects. An easy way to put it is that medicine is based in pure science, where nursing is not. Therein lies a lot of the conflict. Nurses and doctors are not seen as equals. (and I don't think they should be)

Today, you must also understand the difference in schooling.

Doctor = Bachelors (4 yrs)

                    Med School (4 yrs)

                    Specialties/residencies (2-6yrs)

Nurse = Associates RN (2-3 yrs)

                 Bachelors RN (4-5 yrs)

                 Nurse Practitioner/CRNA (2-3 yrs)

                 DNP/PHD (2-3 yrs)

There is a big initiative and mandate for advanced practiced nurses to obtain a doctorate level degree to close some of that gap. I don't personally think that it will ever be closed. 

I could go on and on in different viewpoints from what I have observed in practice, and what I have learned throughout my schooling. Nurses used to have to stand when a Dr entered the room, and offer their chair, etc... That has obviously changed. There is a loss of mutual respect from both ends. There is also the male/female superior/inferior aspect (I don't care to go into that one). There are also a lot more male nurses today, whereas a male nurse during WWI and WWII was almost unheard of (or you were thought to be a homosexual).

As a student you are caught in a strange gap. As a CRNA student I went from being a smart competent ICU nurse to a lowly stupid student anesthetist. I imagine that being a med student is the same. All eyes are on you at all times, and you should know EVERYTHING. It is a difficult position to be in. 

The solution? Can't we all just get along, and help each other out? It would be nice."

Also

Mike,

"This is an interesting viewpoint. Perception and attitude are everything. If a med student is perceived as arrogant or cocky, nurses do not want to help or direct them to hospital policy/procedure. Or help them in any way for that matter. I have met and worked with many med students. If a med students enters a nurses world (ICU for example) with a team approach, rather than "I'm the doctor, you're the nurse" attitude, then they will both learn a lot from each other. I wish doctors and nurses could always work together as a team. Doctors and nurses are trained very differently, but both depend on each other."