nursingforsocialjustice

There are curious gifs that I see on social media about how much a job should not matter because it is not your real life. If your job isn’t your real life, what’s real life? This notion that I am replaceable and that people who are above me in the hierarchies that exist in the modern workplace can results in feelings of disconnection, being a nameless, faceless number that no one would miss. As a nurse, I might be replaceable in the sense that there are other nurses, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a valuable asset to my workplace.

I am fascinated by one’s career choice, especially careers that are high compassion and low prestige. In Canada sometimes the heroic narrative of choosing medicine as a labor of love and human sacrifice for the greater good is just as strong as the narrative of nursing as an endless endeavor of caring and altruism. But, all you have to do is turn on Dr. Pimple Popper or Gray’s Anatomy or Scrubs or Murdoch Mysteries and you know what a prominent position physicians have in the 20th and 21st century world and what a sometimes valued (but sometimes murderous or sexualized) position nurses have in the same world.

I think it is important to reflect on the reasons why I became a scale every so often, especially when I feel worn out and a little bit disillusioned about public perception of nurses, perceived value of nurses, and some of the higher level decisions that are made in health care. I need to regularly remind myself that I am doing something worthwhile, that makes a difference.

Love,

Michelle D.