[mo-mo]

[quote=WindwardOahuRN;2847339]No. Nurses here are no different than anywhere else. It's no more "romantic" to work here than it is to work on the mainland.
Case in point: The seven-week nurses strike five years ago.[/quote
You mean coconut bra's and big ol' hibiscus aren't part of your dress code? Wait a minute...I bet you don't even serve mai tai's when you make your rounds... or perform a brief hula upon admitting a new pt.

BAD Hawaii nurse, now go back to your little grass hut and take a time out!

[Pualehuanani]

[quote=mo-mo;2919340]

Originally Posted by WindwardOahuRN

No. Nurses here are no different than anywhere else. It's no more "romantic" to work here than it is to work on the mainland.
Case in point: The seven-week nurses strike five years ago.[/quote
You mean coconut bra's and big ol' hibiscus aren't part of your dress code? Wait a minute...I bet you don't even serve mai tai's when you make your rounds... or perform a brief hula upon admitting a new pt.

BAD Hawaii nurse, now go back to your little grass hut and take a time out!

I have to defend Windward Nurse here. She is right on the mark when she talks about what is going on in the Islands. I looked at her old posts and I have to agree with her. I know she is not from here but she certainly understandes the problems here. For all those who have lived through the strike, this is no joke.

[mo-mo]

[quote=Pualehuanani;2921422]

Originally Posted by mo-mo

I have to defend Windward Nurse here. She is right on the mark when she talks about what is going on in the Islands. I looked at her old posts and I have to agree with her. I know she is not from here but she certainly understandes the problems here. For all those who have lived through the strike, this is no joke.

It's true that striking is no joke. I feel grateful that I have never been in a strike situation (so far!) and didn't mean to make light of that subject.(The idea of it gives me a stomach ache!)I really was just joking and apologize if I offended anyone.



I DO think its funny how people romanticize what it is like to work in Hawaii (me included, before I moved here 3 years ago!).

The sad truth is: you go to work, you bust your a$$,you encounter some wonderful people and some real jerks.You do the best you can and some days you save a life and some days you know your best was not enough.
You get off work and your feet and back hurt. You go to the store you feed the kids you love the kids and put 'em to bed.You pick up the house and then crack a beer and zone out on the TV. You get not-enough-sleep, get up, and do it all over again.
Same thing in Hawaii, Montana, New York City, and Kalamazoo. Flowers or not, nursing is always hard work and Hawaii is not the Shangri-La of nursing:
As Windward said, nurses seem to be struggling here to be recognized as professionals (which didn't seem to be an issue to me where I lived on the mainland). And while the pay rate looks good on paper, it doesn't make up for the high cost of living in the islands. Living here is tougher than I ever imagined, and all the nurses I've seen come and go in just 3 years are proof of that.

All that said, I do still love this place and am honored to call Hawaii my home.(And I do wear a flower or lei at work on occasion!)

[mcubed45]

Originally Posted by Pualehuanani

I have to defend Windward Nurse here. She is right on the mark when she talks about what is going on in the Islands. I looked at her old posts and I have to agree with her. I know she is not from here but she certainly understandes the problems here. For all those who have lived through the strike, this is no joke.

heh mo-mo was just illustrating the kind've crazy misconceptions a lot of mainlanders have about hawaii. you'd be surprised how many don't even know hawaii is part of the US. i'm not sure how that happens when everyone knows there's supposed to be FIFTY states... lol one've my friends from here was registering for classes up in Arizona and the clerk asked for her green card. the clerk was dead serious too. when my friend told her that Hawaii was part of the US the clerk had to go talk to her supervisor.

[WindwardOahuRN]

Thanks, Pua. No offense taken at any of the responses. And yes, MCU and mo-mo---over-romanticizing is a grievous error seen often here.
Yep, it does get to be "the daily grind" all too soon.