Nurses are not just evil people who bleep you in the middle of the night to sign a chart - they are also friendly, thoughtful and have lots of chocolate. A nurse should be your best friend as a junior doctor. Tracey Maher tells us why. 

You may be familiar with the creatures who scuttle up and down the wards, some smiling, others snarling. The younger ones as a rule are slim and attractive, the older variety tend to be haggard and curvaceous. There is even a male variety these days, commonly referred to as the ‘failed medic’.

Junior doctors are generally fearful of them and rightly so. The wrath of the consultant can be nothing compared to the stares and sniggers of an army of these creatures. Unless treated with care, you’ll never find that cannula, or those notes - you will be running around like a headless chicken to the amusement of everyone.

This curious species can usually be identified by their uniform and their harassed manner. They are often found clutching a bed pan, eating biscuits and chocolates or gossiping in the corner of the ward.

‘They’, ladies and gentlemen, are nurses. So what is their problem? Quite simply - you!

The history

History has not always been kind to nurses, they are greatly misunderstood. In the nineteenth century they were referred to as ‘attendance’, who kept the ward in order, the patients clean and obeyed the doctor’s orders. Today, nurses are a profession in their own right, yet you lot often get confused thinking they are a subservient branch of medicine. This mistake on your behalf causes a few noses to be put out of joint.

Wound care, infection control and manual handling are just a few nursing specialities which seem to make medical students smirk. If you are guilty of sniggering at this list then perhaps you have never seen a patient die from pressure sores, or MRSA.

On a less drastic note, you will appreciate the manual handling skills of a nursing team when faced with an obese patient who needs to be turned, or rolled, or stood up in order to be examined.

As well as having their own realms of expertise, nurses are also the people who can keep you out of trouble and ensure your path to consultancy is smooth. That wrongly written dose, or that missed vital sign could equal disaster if not spotted.

We’re nice ... really!

Nurses are actually quite nice too - treat them well and with respect and you’ll be offered the odd chocolate, have a shoulder to cry on when medical life is not a bed of roses, and when you hang up your white coat at the end of the day, have some drinking partners.

But old habits die hard. Despite this invaluable lesson, things will not change overnight. Nurses will continue to think of you as an arrogant bunch, and enjoy paging you in the middle of the night to write up a bag of fluids, and you will continue to reprimand nurses for sloppy care, and find it funny that they have to wipe bottoms.

But amidst the traditional conflicts, remember, they are your comrades. A successful relationship with the nursing team can not only save lives, but make ward life a lot more fun!

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