Nursing Voices

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

The Hard Boiled Virgin

Here’s a picture of the hard-boiled virgin. The man is “testing” her to see if she’s done. I don’t know how a virgin becomes hard-boiled, but some of you have voiced some intriguing ideas.

Men fawn over girls who look like this young woman. I had a classmate named Mary when I was in nursing school. She was a knockout. Leagues of men adored her, and they all wanted to take her out on a date. Mary enjoyed the attention, but she wasn’t a tramp. She was a rare combination of beauty and brains, and she was very serious about her studies.

I never thought that being beautiful would have a downside, but Mary occasionally had problems with sexually preoccupied patients. She approached this challenge with dignity and grace while providing superb nursing care to dirty old men, horny teenage boys, and the sporadic sexual pervert. They would grab at her, and she would bob and weave. They would ask her out on a date, and she would tell them she was their nurse, and nothing more. Some of the men exposed themselves to her and she would just walk out of the room. I was amazed at her unflappability. She was never demeaning when setting limits on inappropriate behavior, and she always enjoyed taking care of her patients.

Maybe the hard-boiled virgin is a nurse. She looks intelligent and kind. She also looks like she can take care of herself. Watch out! I think she’s going to put this guy in his place.

13 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

the hard boiled virgin should not dress like that if she doesn't want these vultures dressed in fancy suits sniffing her shoulder :)

5:42 PM  
Blogger Kris said...

I had patient grab me every time I came in to do care. I was told that other than asking nicely or switch patients, there was nothing much I could do. As I was changing piggybacks at the pump, I could feel his hand approaching my ass in the dark. Without turning from the pump, I said, "If that hand makes contact with my backside, you'll be pulling back a bloody stump." We got along fine after that.

9:48 PM  
Blogger The Curmudgeon said...

I remember hearing complaints about this when I was in college from the nursing students -- but I don't really understand: I mean, you have needles, you have ice packs, and various other things... and you aren't afraid to use them....

(And I should have known you'd have/find that book after we asked....)

10:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

May, I was thinking the same thing. Maybe something not showing the collarbone, hmmm?

10:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

When I first saw the title to this post, what popped into my head was '15 minutes'. That's how long you boil an egg. Wonder if it takes 15 minutes to boil a virgin LOL. BTW I agree with May also. I know women are supposed to have freedom of expression also, but from the time of the cavepeople a low cut dress always gave a guy one thought in mind(or should I say the OTHER head?)

12:55 AM  
Blogger Mother Jones RN said...

I wish I could say that I had this book in my collection, but I can't. I *cough* borrowed the picture from eBay. I wanted to bid on the book, but it was expensive. And yes Curmudgeon, I posted this book cover in your honor:-)

6:18 AM  
Blogger Cyndy said...

Another of society's mis-use of word associations; assumptions such as "fat people are always jolly", and "brawn and brains don't go together" have never been less appropriate than they are today, but still they persist. How we struggle with these things; how often do you hear mentioned in families "that Susan got the looks, but Jane got the brains"? This reminds me of Izzy's problem in "Gray's Anatomy"; I hope I haven't offended anyone in mentioning this show.
Please May; you can't be serious; Nurses uniforms have never been as non-sexual as they are today, but still the insinuations persist. And anyway, it's not the suits that are the problem, it's the hospital- gowned ones.

7:48 AM  
Blogger Lea said...

Maybe this gentleman is fitting the Hard-boiled Virgin for suspenders to hold her dress up.

Maybe not.

9:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

cyndy...you sound like i offended you. i apologize, that is not my intention. all in the name of fun, i did not even mention anything about nurses. i commented on the picture, and the thought that the title of the book seemed inappropriately opposite. how can a hard boiled virgin show off her lovely shoulders just like that, and not be sniffed by men in suits? i found that thought funny, not offensive, and not in anyway generalizing.

10:33 AM  
Blogger Jean-Luc Picard said...

I suspect she has been in hot water a few times to get hard boiled!

2:11 PM  
Blogger poody said...

I worked forever and a day it seems in trauma. My dearly departed friend Nancy and I were working one Valentine's Day in the neuro /trauma unit. I had a pt. who was recovering from a double aneurysm clip. He was doing pretty good too. I had put up signs all over the room proclaiming it to be Valentine's Day. I asked him if he knew what day it was with Nancy at my side. He replied of course,it is Valentine's day.I was so proud and I told him how I wanted to get him a big bouquet of flowers but that was forbidden in the unit. He smiled so sweetly and said that's okay and I got something for you too. What i asked, he said " Love in a jar." Love in a jar? How did you get love in a jar I asked "honey, you just squirt it in !" he replied.Nancy and I both almost fell to the floor laughing at that one. I guess I did kind of walk into it. I too have had pt's. cop a feel when you are holding them over for dressing changes etc. Yeah, buddy you are looking so good to me right now! NOT! I love my work I love my job. As home health nurses it is a different scenerio when you are alone at a pt's home and they start with that inappropirate behavior. If there is even a hint of that we send out our male nurses for then on!Simmer down now!

11:38 AM  
Blogger poody said...

P.S. Izzy on Grey's Anatomy would be so busted long before she killed her fianc/ pt. in the cardiac unit. I have worked with residents before and they don't even have time to do their laundry much less find time to have affairs with critically ill pts.I am not offended by this show just feel that shows like this belittle our profession.This is how we get the people in the profession who haven't a clue about nursing they just want to be that TV persona and even now in 2006 nurses are still seen as little more than dressing the set. In reality especially at a teaching hospital where they work, the ICU nurse would never ever leave her LVAD pt. alone with a lowly resident. NEVER! And when they dragged that crash cart in the room she would have been on that like stink on sh**.

11:46 AM  
Blogger Cyndy said...

No problem, May ;))))<--- these are my chins!

10:39 PM  

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