I wonder......

[rncountry]

I wonder if someone collected stories from nurses all over the country about what is happening in healthcare, what we experience, the short staffing, the mandatory overtime etc... the REALITY of why there is a nursing shortage and why it is unlikely to get better, I wonder if such a book would sell.

I think this book should talk about the idea that patients aren't patients anymore, but "guests" or "customers" the stories of nasty and idiot physicians and how they often treat nurses. The stories of clueless administration, the no breaks, no lunches days. You guys know what I am talking about.

Would enough of the public read it and begin an outcry that would force change? Would they care or not?

I would like some imput on this.

[zudy]

regnursein99, I am so jealous!! Go for it! I can only hope you have a day from hell!!

[Youda]

Originally posted by regnursein99

My manager took me aside and warned me of this and said to maek sure I did not "sugar coat" any of my day. She wants it to be as bad as it possibly can be! Oh, this should be good.....

I don't usually wish for someone to have a rotten day, but . . .

May all your catheters leak. May all your IVs infiltrate. May all the doctors scream at you. May all your patients barf on your shoes. May you get three admits within 15-minutes of each other. May half the staff call-in sick. . . you know! A typical day! :)

[live4today, RN]

Andrewsgranny........DR. PHIL RULES!!!!!!!! :kiss I'm all for him having us on his show. He just loves to dig deep into a person's psyche, and we can give him a run for his degree.......that's for sure! :rotfl:

Okay......email the doc and let him know we are anxiously awaiting our show date from him. :chuckle

[MK2002]

Getting back to the original post in this thread, I decided to search Amazon using the phrase "nursing shortage" to see what books are available. The search produced a list of 23 books. All of them were either out of print or available on special order. Although I did not check every book, most or all of them have a publication date of around 1990, the time of the last major nursing shortage. In case you wish to view the list...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-keywords=nursing%20shortage&search-type=ss&bq=1/104-5450024-3917518

Writing such a book would require a lot of research with input and experience from across the country and from both management and employees. Given the current economy, such a book may or may not do well. Consumers have been trimming their spending on a lot of purchases, including books, and paying down their debt over the past month. That trend is expected to continue as the economy remains weak.

Be aware of an important issue here: you are in demand and new grads are in demand. When the shortage disappears so does the incentive to raise salaries and have them keep pace with other occupations. Bringing the message to the public would influence many others to seek a career in healthcare which in turn would cause salaries to further stagnate.

Enjoy the shortage while it lasts.

[andrewsgranny, ASN, RN]

:chuckle You got it girly. I think this will send his ratings soaring!

I'll put my people to work on it right away and get back to you on a date.

[andrewsgranny, ASN, RN]

He rocks!

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I love the idea of putting the docs in the background on ER for an episode!! Does someone have a link to write to? Brilliant!

[rncountry]

Youda, I can get a list of every nurse in the country if I can pay for it. At one time I looked into it and to get the list of nurses in Michigan alone was over $600, times that by every state and that is a substancial amount of money. Then there is the mailing cost, even if it is bulk mailing it is still several thousand dollars.

I have thought a great deal about a website, however I am clueless as to how to put one up. When several of us got together last time around when we talked about doing a nursing march on Washington DC, that is how someone who could do a website got involved, and trust me when I say he did it was for the money he believed he could make out of it. I don't mean money that would go to do the things we needed to pay for, such as mailing, permits to march etc... it was his own personal profit and that was something I could not and would not work with. That whole episode soured me for quite some time and I put everything to do with activism on the backburner until fairly recently.

Karen, I may very well take you up on your offer to help, be it a book or a website. And thank you for your information, you are always so well informed. For those who do not know it, Karen is the only person from the original group who were planning a march that actually pulled it off, in PA. Go Karen!

A book would take research for sure. I have gathered quite a bit over the last two years, though I don't believe I would have everything that I need at this time. And what I would need more than anything is stories from real live nurses.

regnurse let us know how things turn out would you? And MK, the nursing shortage is not going to go away, it is going to get worse. Not only is there is shortage of direct care nurses, there is a shortage of instructors, and class space. Only 7% of RNs hold a master's degree, and a master's is required to be a classroom instructor. Many of those with a Master's are on the verge of retiring. I, personally, am not enjoying the nursing shortage. No amount of pay increase can compensate for the constant stress, the frustration, the time it takes from my family and family life. I highly resent the days I have to work over unanticipated, like today, when I had plans to take my youngest to the fire barn for fire safety week. Instead he went only with his dad. Yes, he still got to go, but he was very disappointed that mom would not make it. And mom was pissed as hell that once again I was pulled to the floor from my wound job to take a primary case load, and still being asked to do wound care at the same time, AND had to miss time with my child. I resent being so tired on a regular basis that when I get home all I want to do is sit. I yearn for the days that I exercised on a regular basis, the days I wasn't so tired that I cheerfully played ball in the backyard with my kids, the times I actually enjoyed having a garden to weed, for the third year in a row by the middle of August I ended up neglecting my garden to the point I have some weeds that are chest high. Not to mention the tomatos that have rotted on the vine, the cucumbers and melons that went to waste. I resent all of it deeply and no amount of money can compensate for feeling like I don't have a life, beyond taking care of someone elses.

I don't want to hear Dr. Phil tell nurses to just get ahold of their lives, if you don't like it leave. That is not a workable solution. I work M-F and the only time I have ever seen the man is when he happens to be on TV in one of my patients rooms, so maybe I am being unfair, but from what I have seen I don't see how his brand of helping would be any help at all. Unless of course he decided to analyze adminstration.

[Youda]

rncountry, something like that couldn't come out of one person's pocket. Fund raising and donations. I could do a website. Heck, that would be the easy part.

And, I know exactly how you feel. Believe me, I do. The difference is that I always thought there was something wrong with ME. It's taken quite a while to figure out that I've been getting so many unrealistic demands, and threats if I don't keep accomplishing more with less, year after year after year. If I don't have the staff, being blamed for what doesn't get done . . . well, you know the story.

It's time. It's way past time to do something. Until recently when I started hanging around allnurses, I didn't know so many others were hurting, too. No one should have to live like this and feel like this just for a lousy paycheck. It's time.