Nursing Trends
Everyone has been to a hospital or a doctor’s clinic at least once in their lives. I have been to a couple of them. The question here is, how do you address a doctor? We do so by calling the doctor so and so or mentioning his/her surname after the word doctor, right? The answer is yes.
Now, how do we address a nurse practitioner? Should we address them by their names? Or by their surnames? Or should we call them by their surname after Nurse? Let us find out.
You are already tense about the fact that you are in a hospital or a doctor’s clinic. And all around you, you see people with one condition or the other, making you more scared. Then, all of a sudden, you see a friendly, smiling face coming towards you. You suddenly feel at ease and not so uncomfortable anymore.
Yes, that is the effect that Nurses have on us. They make us feel relaxed and comfortable. So by addressing them correctly, your relationship with them will be more pleasant and harmonious.
So, if you are in the hospital and require assistance, it will be polite to address the Nurse Practitioner as “Nurse” until they introduce themselves. You can also call them “Nurse,” followed by the name you see on their name tag, usually pinned on their uniform.
Nurse Practitioners
Nurses are individuals with immense training. They can assess a patient’s health, diagnose illnesses, and prescribe medicines to most patients. The primary focus of a Nurse Practitioner is a patient’s whole well-being. Apart from that, Nurses should also have the following traits –
- Nurses should have good communication skills. They are bridges used in communicating between a patient and his doctor and family members as well. They can build good relationships with their patients through verbal and non-verbal communications as well.
- Nurses should be broad-minded individuals.
- Being respectful and showing professional courtesy are essential traits that Nurses should possess.
Some standard fields of practice are:
- Family health
- Child health (Pediatric care)
- Psychiatric care
- Gerontological and Neo-natal care
Other titles for Nurse Practitioners
Nurse practitioners have a hierarchy that varies and can also be addressed by different titles according to their areas of specialization. Those titles are as follows:
- Midwife Nurse
- Clinical Nurse
- Nurse Anesthetist
- APRN or Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
- Chief Nursing Officer
- Operating Room Nurse
- Nurse Care Manager
- Home Care Registered Nurse.
Titles you should not give to Nurse practitioners –
- Always remember to respect people. You cannot call a male nurse “Murse” and a female nurse “Furse”. Yeah, we go, looking for help in the hospital, and we have the nerves to call them these names. The only thing that matters is what they do for us and what we do for them at the end of the day—something to keep in mind.
- “You”, excuse me. Yeah, you.
Imagine yourself working, tired, sweating, and running from pillar to post. All of a sudden, a person that you don’t know stops you and asks you the same question. Would you like to hear that?
- Please do not call a Nurse ” Doctor”. They have different things to do, and they are highly skilled in their specialized areas. They are a part of the same health care system, but they follow different ways to treat and heal a patient.
How to address Nurse Practitioners in other forms of communications:
How do you go about it?. Plain and simple is the answer if you have to communicate via phone call, email, or maybe a note to your favorite Nurse. How do you go about it?.
Do so like how you would have if they were standing right in front of you. If you are writing an email or leaving them a note, don’t forget to mention their full name, roles or designations, and department names.
When you call the clinic or the hospital, and you get through a receptionist. Giving her the full name, area of practice, and work timings that your Nurse is working with will work wonders.
A Nurse Practitioner’s role is to give the patients the prescribed medical aid and take care of them. They do not care by whatever title you address them because their job is to portray their kindness and heal their patients in a caring way.
To build a long-standing relationship with your Nurses, the way you address them also has an impact. Remember, you are in the hospital, and you are going through a lot of emotions. You are scared, anxious and you are also troubled thinking about your health. Being rude or improperly addressing a Nurse would only add to the pressure.
They will do their job of treating you and getting you through the day, but that connection of respect and closeness will not be there.
So, when you are meeting a Nurse, then please be polite to them. Address them as Nurse Jane or John as the case may be. The Nurse will be the one to tell you how they want to be addressed that way or otherwise. We as individuals have our differences, so please remember that the Nurses get their preference too.
Also, keep in mind that their workload is heavy, so they can sometimes be flustered, just like us. Please do not be rude to the Nurse Practitioner and always keep yourselves in their shoes.
