[grannynurse FNP student]

"Sec. 734.302 Use of official authority; prohibition.

(a) An employee may not use his or her official authority or
influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of
an election.
(b) Activities prohibited by paragraph (a) of this section include,
but are not limited to:
(1) Using his or her official title while participating in political
activity; . . ."


~faith,
Timothy.

Tell me, just how does identifying yourself as a nurse employed by the VA system violate the Hatch Act? And before you say she used her official title to participate in a political activity, one may need to be certain of the definition of political activity. Letter writing, to a newspaper, is not clearly defined as a political activity, unless it is defined by someone who supports the man in power. Of which we only have to suffer thru two more years.

Grannynurse

[MultipurposeRN]

Of course this nurse had a right to say what she thought. And her employer has a right to enforce policies that may cause an employee to reflect badly on them. I work for a Catholic hospital. They don't care what our politics are. However, we did all have to sign a statement documenting what values we would exhibit and that we wouldn't engage in activities contrary to the hospital's values. Which means maybe I have a right to be a stripper on the weekends, but don't have a right to wear my hospital name tag while doing so.

[boabchic1]

I whole heartedly agree with you. Here in Australia, no need to sign a document stating that we swear allegiance to our employer. As all nurses work by the ethical code of practice...We can do whatever we like on our time off ,without our Hospital ID badge on. However, if I was witness to misconduct of a patient, relative or of another staff member I would instantly report it! I have stood my ground on protocol issues when I was working in the Cardiac stepdown ward as In charge on night duty. And I was right to refuse a transfer from ED on Tridil infusion. As not enough skilled nurses on the morning shift for cardiac monitoring in the ward area. My Nursing Unit Manager supported me in my decision. 'Patient safety comes first'.

Originally Posted by MultipurposeRN

Of course this nurse had a right to say what she thought. And her employer has a right to enforce policies that may cause an employee to reflect badly on them. I work for a Catholic hospital. They don't care what our politics are. However, we did all have to sign a statement documenting what values we would exhibit and that we wouldn't engage in activities contrary to the hospital's values. Which means maybe I have a right to be a stripper on the weekends, but don't have a right to wear my hospital name tag while doing so.

[SFCardiacRN]

Fair or not, Government employees have restrictions. This includes VA nurses. We CANNOT go out on strike and we take an oath to support the commander-in-chief. This is similar to a soldier marching at an anti-war rally. It will be tolerated UNLESS he is in uniform. It's the uniform that will get him in trouble. Besides, the nurse did not lose her job. She just got hassled for her ill-chosen wording!

[panamared]

The problem I see is that she has every right to her opinion and to express her opinion, but there is a proper forum for expressing views. It appears to me that she is not trying so much to be a patient advocate as she is trying to advance her political opinions and using her limited perception of the effects of the war as a nurse to justify her opinions. As stated by in earlier posts she knew she was crossing the line (or at the very least thought she was).

Disclaimer. I personally support the war. Having seen combat personally and lived a great deal of my life in Central and South America I have witnessed first hand both the brutality of combat, it's immediate disastrous after effects and ultimatley the good that can come of it later. Simply take a look at the history of El Salvador, Guatamala and Nicaragua. If those countries seem obscure then look back a few more years (i.e. Japan and Germany vs. Russia).

War unfortunately is a reality. No more can ER nurses advocate for the elimination of skateboards than VA nurses advocate the cessation of human conflict. I personally see the role of the nurse as the person who tries their best to pick up the pieces after someone is broken. Nurses are advocates, not politicians. I'll concede that it is a very fine line, but one that she intentionally crossed. I would assume that she knows that in government work squeeky wheel occasionally gets greased but more often gets kicked. I admire her passion and concern which I share. But if she is willing to stick a hand into the fire she should accept that it might get burned. Actions have consequences.

Long live the American soldier, the American flag of freedom is dyed with his blood!

[mark hamel]

Demoracy Now..... http://democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/02/148237

[celeste7767]

I was unable to bring up the interview or get access to the full story, but of primary importance is who is investigating this VA nurse? It just says that the nurse is being investigated for sedition which is treason. Whether or not she is a VA nurse doesn't seem to have anything to do with it. It sounds as if she is being investigated by some federal agency like the CIA, FBI, or Bush's Secret Police. When I took Government in high school we were told that we could criticize the govt., the president, etc. all we want. It is only illegal to shout "Fire:" in a theater. And we are not legally allowed to advocate violent overthrow of the government. We can, however, advocate emphatically getting rid of this administration by whatever means are at our disposal, i.e. impeachment, recall, etc. When she said "forcefully" she did not say "lock and load".

[weirdRN]

Originally Posted by ZASHAGALKA

Laura Berg, from the interview:

"She is my director at the Albuquerque V.A. And she said, you know, you may express your opinion, but we prefer that you do not say you are a V.A. nurse. And so, I am saying I am a V.A. nurse. And some of my fire in writing this letter about Katrina in Iraq is from my experience as a V.A. nurse. I'm stepping -- I'm stepping, you know, off the edge here, and I do feel that there is some jeopardy to me and my position."

And here's the rub. She's violating the rules that protect her job and her freedom of speech. She knows she is. She says right here she is. Her manager told her not to. She understands the rules, not doubt about it, just doesn't care.

Deserves immediate termination. But, she's a federal employee, and they are difficult to fire. And that's why it breeds incompetence like this. And this is why nationalizing healthcare is such a bad idea.

~faith,
Timothy.

Timothy,
You are a very smart, very wise man. My hat's off to you.

[luvmy2doxies]

I thought freedom of speech was inherent in our Bill of Rights.....but so much of our rights have been taken away lately, I am unsure if I have the right to say anything.

I can say this tho...I have 2 sons in the military. One of them has been to both Afghanistan and Iraq. The stories he has told me are probably edited for my benefit, but they are still unreal to me. I am very glad he was able to make it home at all, and in one piece to boot. My other son? Well, he was in New Orleans, stationed at Belle Chasse Naval Air station during Hurricane Katrina. I went down there after the hurricane and assisted for 3 weeks. I saw first hand the government response. I don't think I need to go into that....most of you are intelligent enough here to have read the news. All I can say is that this was and will be for a long long time, our great National Shame. And I think only a change in policy from every aspect of government, both democrats and republicans, from all offices will acheive any change in the near future. It's easy to blame someone, but the fact is, it's time for a change.

In case you are interested in the definition of sedition, here is the one from Wikipedia.com:

"Sedition is a deprecated term of law to refer to non-overt conduct such as speech and organization that is deemed by the legal authority as tending toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often included subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent (or resistance) to lawful authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws.

"Because sedition is typically considered the subvert act, the overt acts that may be prosecutable under sedition laws vary from one legal code to another. Where those legal codes have a traceable history, there is also a record of the change of definition for what constituted sedition at certain points in history. This overview has served to develop a sociological definition of sedition as well, within study of persecution.

"The difference between sedition and treason consists primarily in the subjective ultimate object of the violation to the public peace. Sedition does not consist of levying war against a government nor of adhering to its enemies, giving enemies aid, and giving enemies comfort. Nor does it consist, in most representative democracies, of peaceful protest against a government, nor of attempting to change the government by democratic means (such as direct democracy or constitutional convention)."

I don't think that the VA nurse in question was attempting to create an insurrection or anything, I think she was just trying to express her own opinion, as guaranteed in our Bill of Rights. Reminds me of another patriotic American, a gold star mother, who lost her son in Iraq--seems she was wearing a t-shirt that had a set of numbers on it, representing the soldiers killed since the Iraq war was started. I didn't know wearing a t-shirt could get you arrested....but arrested she was. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about here....Cindy Sheehan.

I better stop before someone confiscates my home PC.


signed: Hmmm....can I still remain anonymous??

[Hellllllo Nurse]

Originally Posted by soliant12

So wanting to forcefully remove a sitting President is fine in your eyes?

Personally, I would LOVE to see this happen.

Originally Posted by soliant12

All the nonsense at Mrs. Kings funeral was typical for........ which is a total lack of class and respect for someone else.

The same can be said of your post.