A hint for my Physician friends: Stop telling intelligent nurses they “should have gone to med school”

This is a pet peeve of mine that I was reminded of yet again today.  One of the physicians that I admire most in the world, who has mentored me, taught me, supported me in my career and education,  said the following when I ran into him working on my dissertation…. “I told you you should have just gone to med school.  What are you 5 years into this PhD now?  You would have been in your residency if you had just done what I suggested (Paraphrased, because his speech was long).”

I know he meant this as a compliment and so I do want to say “thank you” to him for thinking I have the intelligence to become a physician, but I also had a whole lot of other things I wanted to say, some of them said, some of them not.

I said….

“If I had wanted to be a physician I would have done that originally.  Nursing’s view on patient, disease, and health has always been consistent with my personal paradigm on health.  I love my patient contact and now I am equipped to provide evidence to the problems that plague my patients and their family.  Can’t you just say instead… WOW, I love how intelligent you nurses are!  Can you help me research this problem, come up with a plan of care, and then educate me, my staff and my patients on it?”

His response – “Chuckling”.  He then promptly turned to go into another patient room.

Physicians…. YOU NEED NURSES…. You need them to help you research, to educate you and your patients, to monitor and care for your patients 24/7 when they are critical, and to provide a different paradigm on health/illness/disease.  Please embrace their intelligence and then encourage the health systems you work for to send the brightest back to school for their MSN, DNP, and PhD degrees!

Stop telling nurses they are  “so smart they should have been a doctor”.  It is condescending to them and their profession.