With the recent introduction of HIV into Russia, however, that will change. An awareness of infection wasn't the only difference between their health system and in the United States. There was a guy who came in and they said it was going to be minor surgery. They don't scream, they don't even ask for pain medication. And Russian nurses often share that stoic attitude, Allen said.
Russian nurses occupy a different place in the hospital hierarchy than their American counterparts.
U.S. nurses receive a more comprehensive education, allowing them to make many informed decisions about the care that a patient is receiving. Nurses fold surgical gauze in place of cotton balls. Not only do nurses lack the education required to make decisions, their input is also not welcomed. It is that way in much of the world, she said, but not in the United States. One would expect a newly graduated American nurse like Thompson to bridle under the Russian system.