groan, getting fired up again about articles in nursing mags

[oramar]

There is section in RN magazine called Helpline. Managers send in questions and advice is given, these questions are located on page 26 of April issue. The first question is from a manager who complains about older workers getting negative and nasty in response to change. The second question is about nurses in ICU refusing to volunteer for precepting, the nurses say they are too overwhelmed to take on new task. The advice given to these managers is the usual garbage. It is automatically assumed that the nurses are at fault and all they need is a change of attitude. Mangers are advised to use a little carrot and maybe a little stick to clear up these bad attitudes. Could somebody please advise these managers to sit down with their nurses and talk to them like adults and find out what it really bothering them. My guess is that these bad attitudes are directly related to very real problems these nursing are experiencing in their working enviroment. Maybe those ICU nurses really do have to much to do to take on precepting duties. Maybe the older nurses are nasty because the lift team was eliminated in order to cut cost. Respectful managment would at least look into the facts behind the complaints. The real danger in this bad advice lies in the fact that these distressed units will soon be short staffed because the real problems are not being addressed.

[RNforLongTime]

Originally posted by sanakruz

You mean the ones that tell us to fake orgasms? I LOVE those mags......:roll

I don't need no magazine to tell me to fake orgasms. I already do this on a regular basis. Sometimes it's just necessary to get it over with already!

[RNforLongTime]

Someone in my unit decided to post at the bedside (computer) a "did you remember to" list....mouth care, bath, pain assessment, turn, etc. Most RN's in my unit took this as a slap in the face as it was all basic nursing care type stuff. Some people removed it but it was just re-posted the next day.

I think that when a family member sees this list that they will become more vigilant in making sure that this stuff is done and being a bigger PIA than they already are sometimes!

[mattsmom81]

Originally posted by liberalrn

Perhaps a simple equivalency will clear this up:

Nursing magazines are to real nurses as Cosmo and Glamour are to real women. Questions?

:chuckle Luv it!

[emily_mom]

Originally posted by nurse-lou

I don't need no magazine to tell me to fake orgasms. I already do this on a regular basis. Sometimes it's just necessary to get it over with already!

:rotfl:

Reminds me of that line in 'Something to Talk About' with Julia Roberts. "I have orgasms everyday! I'm just used to having them when you're not in the room."

Back to topic. I don't subscribe to any, because I want to get the most bang for my buck. I know Nursing2003 sucks, as we always get cheesy articles at school.

If I only get one, which one should it be? I sneak peeks at AJN at work, and I like that one.

[Rapheal]

This fires me up too. But think of all the things magazines tell us to do. If I listened to them I would be eating 6 servings of vegetables a day, making daily facials a part of my skin care routine, and of course, doing aerobics with weight training 3 times a week. I would spend lots of quality time with my family, make homemade Easter and XMas decorations, volunteer weekly, and of course, make time for me (which would include quality magazine reading time).

[eldernurse]

To nurse Lou, vigilant families are OK as long as they don't have unreal expectations on how long this care should take. I can turn, clean, do mouth care and medicate in about 3 minutes, see ya in a couple of hours! I hate the ones who say, you haven't seen my loved one in hours! and I just did everything 5 minutes ago while they were in the bathroom!

I really hate those mag's that have the cutsy new nurse (or old nurse) stories that are supposed to warm your heart. If I wanted to read Chicken Soup for the nurses soul I would buy it!

[gwenith, BSN, RN]

Like I said the unrealistic goals set by those magazines are really a form of professional bullying! It is time and more than time that we actively refute the garbage that is written.

You do not see "How to complete your ward round in 5 minutes" in medical magazines! You won't find articles on "How to sort out a familys social problem in 30 seconds or less" in a Social Work magazine, then why do we tolerate them being published in our field?

[-jt]

I think thats exactly what the problem is but its just cheaper to ignore the real causes & pressure the nurses to "behave".

We should copy our comments here & send them to that magazine. But its not the only one. NursingSpectrum is notorious for this kind of attitude too & why I canceled it long ago.

I like AJN & Advance for Nurses much better.

[fab4fan]

Oh, please...Advance is just as bad. I remember an article where they interviewed nurses from one facility, and one dingbat said, "I used to get upset about short-staffing, but now it doesn't bother me anymore."

Can anyone say, "Sucking up to mgmt.?"

I guess the only really good nursing journal I get is the one from ENA. As I said, I don't care for AJN, because it is the mouthpiece of the ANA. Nursing 2003 is a bit dumbed down, although I realize they are trying to reach nurses with a wide variety of levels of experience.

And I hate those, "Chicken Soup" articles too.

[suzannasue]

The last time an article in a nursing mag made me angry was when the unit manager made copies of it and passed it out during a staff meeting...the article was written by a nurse who considered it " an honor " to be required to "wear many hats"...

such as televison repairman, housekeeper, cook, troubleshooter for computer problems, plumber, while working...first of all, I had already been pizzed by reading it in my own copy of the mag, but to have it thrown in our faces as an example of "how we should feel " ...well, I almost went nuclear right there in the meeting !!!!

Needless to say, my comment to the manger was "this is SO VERY CONDESCENDING, I cannot believe you have the nerve to expect us to take this article seriously "...then I ripped it to pieces right in front of her...

My subcriptions to nursing mags have become little more than a tax write off...I read what I feel is pertinent to my performance and blow off the rest...

[fab4fan]

susannasue: You are my hero!

[SherRN]

Revolution is the mag that is the best. I get RN and had gotton AJN and Nursing 2001-2 I let them lapse. I like Advance also but have not had an article crammed down my throat by mgmnt.