I am no angel, of that I can assure you. ⠀

I am a nurse and I am human, through and through. I fumble. I feel. I make wrong decisions with the best of intentions. I get angry and sometimes have trouble filtering my words and actions. I’ve looked at people and erroneously pre-judged. I have 2 hands and 2 feet that can only ever be in one place at one time. I can’t miraculously make whatever you want appear or happen. I know people mean well, but stop calling nurses angels. Stop holding us to that impossible standard, please. It paints an unrealistic picture of what we do and what’s expected of us.⠀⠀

Like other humans, we nurses, don’t like it when someone puts their hands on us without permission, no matter how upset they may be. Nor do we enjoy it when someone, be it a colleague, patient, or family member, screams obscenities and insults to our intelligence, for any length of time. We can’t always make all of the pain go away, though we will try and wish we could. Sometimes we can’t convince the provider to give you what you feel, or even what we feel, you need, though we will try. Don’t fault us because we can’t perform miracles. Stop expecting divine acts from everyday people.

This unreasonable standard has lead to the public, even fellow colleagues, into believing that nurses can override their humanity. That when bad things happen at work that we can and should just brush it off as a part of the job we signed up for. Well, I’M TURNING IN MY WINGS and hanging up my halo. I never asked for them anyway. Nurses are often people-centered, but people includes those for whole we go to work for. Our families, our communities, and even ourselves. This angelic standard asks us to be saints that puts the whole world before us at all times, but nurses can’t carry the moral weight of world. We nurses have as much as an obligation to ourselves as we do others. You can call us great and call us amazing. You can thank the heavens for us, but don’t expect us to be an angels. Because you will be woefully disappointed.

Let’s #stoptheangelstandard Join me. Tag me in your conversations about the public viewing nurses as professionals who aren’t immune to natural emotions like fear, anger, and defeat. ⠀

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