Earlier this week, the mister and I were watching Judge Judy as we do almost every night. He likes all those court shows and I am just along for the ride most of the time. But, this time I was listening because it was a case that I thought was interesting. The girl claims she contracted some sort of infection after receiving a tattoo. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary until the girl asked if she could present her expert witness.
You see, this expert witness was a registered nurse. She was going to tell Judge Judy what cellulitis is and the symptoms and treatment of it. She shared with Judge Judy her nursing license to show that she was, indeed, a registered nurse. Judge Judy then asked her about her education, which I am still unsure why when she had a valid nursing license in front of her. The RN stated that she had her Associate’s Degree of Nursing and was working on her Bachelor’s degree.
Now, for those that are not familiar with the difference, I will tell you since I have been through the ADN program and have one class left in the BSN program. We all take the same test, called the NCLEX. An RN is an RN despite whether she has an ADN or BSN behind her name. In the past few years of taking my BSN classes, I have had ONE medically-focused class which was the same exact class I took with my ADN degree (Assessment). All the other classes have been focused on community and public health or research. A BSN is often necessary for those that want to pursue management or case management positions in nursing. I am not downplaying a BSN, but in this situation, it should be a mute point what degree this woman had. Like I said, an RN is an RN in terms of medical knowledge and our licensing test.
After the potential expert witness shared her educational background, Judge Judy did something that changed forever how I think of her and her show. She told this RN that she would not consider her an expert witness because she doesn’t have her Bachelor’s degree. Seriously?!? This woman is fully capable as an RN to explain cellulitis to anyone. She is a medically trained professional. Just because she was lacking some extra non-medical classes should not eliminate her from being an expert witness.
Well Judge Judy has lost a viewer with her prejudiced opinion. She is apparently clueless about the educational requirements and knowledge of RNs and, because of this, she has offended this RN and, no doubt, countless others. I suggest she get her facts straight next time she decides to treat a clearly-capable expert witness like a piece of trash.
Wow… I can’t believe that! I find it interesting that she was more concerned about a piece of paper from an educational institution instead of what practical and hands-on experience the woman had. I would personally feel more comfortable trusting an RN with an Associates and 10 years of experience over an RN just out of school with a Bachelor’s degree.
Is she really a judge even? Who knows. I am a real estate apraiser and I give expert testimony all the time. I happen to have a bachelors degree (in english ) but it is not required of our profession. Plenty of people in my profession do not have them and are still considered experts in the field. I guess a nurse that just got her bachelors but never worked would be a more qualified witness than one with years of experience. Ridiculous.
That is my point exactly. She was being so rude to this woman and she had been a nurse for years. A few extra classes does not make a better nurse.
I have always been interested in appraisal. Is that hard to get into?
Judge Judy passes unfair judgement too often. She is a stuck up snob.
I agree that you should write the show and ask any others that were offended by this. I didn’t see it. I give up on her long ago when she cared more about ratings and putting on a good show then the real people in front of her.
I agree with you on the ratings vs. being a real judge who performs a job. I haven’t watched since this show! ha!
THIS WAS RIDICULOUS!!!! I also love to watch Judge Judy, BUT I also find her to be INTENSELY closeminded, very often stereotyping people. In fact, she’s one of the most labeling people I’ve ever witnessed in my life. I saw this particular episode and was furious! I’m not a nurse, but I must tell you, I do medical transcription and I CAN ALMOST testify about what cellulitis is and what treatment is takes!! This was RIDICULOUS!! Registered nurses go through a GRUELING education process – and they only get their licenses when they pass the NCLEX!! DUH DUH DUH, JUDGE JUDY! You call yourself smart and educated, but you’re not NEARLY as smart as you think you are. Hey, here’s an idea for all you REGISTERED NURSES out there – if you happen to encounter Judge Judy in a hospital and YOU’RE the poorly educated registered nurse who is supposed to treat her – DON’T. Make sure you tell her you only have an associate’s degree, you don’t have your bachelors, and that she wouldn’t want you to treat her … and make sure you pass it around to all the other registered nurses on your floor, that Judge Judy only wants registered nurses with bachelors degrees to treat her. Good luck, BEECH!
haha! If that wouldn’t make all those nurses lose their license, that would be a fantastic idea! 🙂 This whole thing had me so mad. I still won’t watch her show and have no desire to do so.
I did not see this particular show but she has done thid before. While I agree with Robyn that she has experience in the court I do believe she needs to get over herself when it comes to other’s giving their “expert” advice.
She absolutely does need to step off her high horse and see people for who/what they are.
You should write to the show and make this known to her!
Yeah, I don’t think she would give a darn though. She seems to be very stuck in her ways.
I’m not a fan of Judge Judy myself either. I’ve watched here and there on occasion and she is just too closed-minded to listen to other people. Granted she has a lot of real life experience in the courts, but there are too many times she just dismisses certain people because, at first glance, they may fit into her stereotype of certain society members.
She is very bad about stereotyping people. I agree.