Letter of support

[zumalong]

A friend and nurse sent this to me. Wanted to share with everyone. Too bad there are not more Dr. Greenberg's out there.

Hailing one of health care's priceless resources -- nurses

Commentary. By Michael Greenberg, MD, AMNews contributor. Jan. 28, 2002.

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The U.S. Dept. of the Interior spends millions of dollars to protect our nation's endangered species. It writes long lists of plants and animals whose populations are dangerously low and hires scientists to figure out ways to increase their numbers.

Too bad they haven't turned their attention to nurses.

In the fragile ecosystem of medical care, nurses are the ones who create the protective environment essential to the well-being of both doctors and patients. We cannot function without them. Their job is to provide knowledge, comfort, care and compassion.

But, lest nurses be offended by my comparing them to the plant and animal life that are on the endangered species list, the metaphor stops here. My point is that it seems society expends greater resources and energy on the protection of birds and flowers than on protecting the viability of the nursing profession.

Throughout my training, it was as many nurses as doctors who turned me from a green medical student into a full-fledged physician. At times, nurses were my primary source of learning. Because the housestaff was overwhelmed, an operating room nurse took the time to teach me the fine points of suturing. When she saw I had mastered the technique, she put the needle holder into my hand during a procedure. "The student is ready to close," she informed the surgeon.

My initial assignment during my first post-graduate year as a pediatric resident was the newborn nursery. Not yet a father, and uncomfortable in my awareness of how little I really knew despite the magical initials that had been recently appendaged to my name, I admitted my fears to the head nurse.

Her smile put me at ease. "We're going to teach this young doctor how not to drop babies," she announced to the other nurses in her unit. And by the end of the first week, I was a pro.

Even more frightening to me were the high-risk nursery and pediatric intensive care units. But by admitting my ignorance and asking for help from the nurses in each area through which I rotated, I felt myself respected and supported. And I believe the patients were better cared for because of the partnership I created with the nursing staff. At least they prevented me from killing anybody.

During my dermatology residency, nurses I met while moonlighting in attendings' private offices taught me medical techniques and also provided me with an education in business and practice promotion.

A significant part of the success of my more than 20 years in practice is directly attributable to the wonderful nurses who have worked with me. Along with my office staff, they maintain the "sacred space" in which patients and I interact. Nurses are full-fledged partners in the health care equation, offering not only their compassionate perspective but also their eyes, ears and hearts. I am indebted to them for the many times they have prevented me from doing or saying something foolish, or worse, harming a patient.

Hospitals and office practices have difficulty filling vacancies as nurses discover they can earn higher salaries in other professions. But beyond the money, nurses are disappearing because as much misery as managed care has brought to doctors, they have been affected more than we have. Nurses traditionally have been the human interface between the hospital and patient. While our time with patients was measured in minutes, nurses spent hours with patients. They were the ones who knew how patients were really doing and informed us at the first signs of trouble.

With the advent of managed care, many nurses have been relegated to shuffling papers and recording information. And as much as we didn't become doctors to argue with insurance companies, nurses didn't earn their degrees to push pencils.

Unfortunately, I don't have a solution for the problem. Raising awareness of the crisis is a good start. Nurses are a priceless health care resource that is not being renewed or protected. And if we as doctors don't do something to reverse the situation, both our patients and our own profession will suffer. Let's not wait until nurses become extinct.

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Dr. Greenberg is a dermatologist in Elk Grove Village, Ill. and author of the novel A Man of Sorrows (http://www.anovelvision.com/). You can contact him by e-mail ([email protected]).

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Copyright 2002 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

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:) :) :)

[nursedawn67, LPN]

All I can say is ...WOW :)

[wolfox]

What a great essay!

Here's what irks me. Night before last the state TV news did a broadcast on the nursing shortage here in New Mexico. They interviewed several nurses who gave their opinions on why there is a nursing shortage. Then they ended the broadcast with the announcement that the state is dedicating $50,000 to investigate the cause!!

Save the taxpayers' dollars! If the FREE interview with those two nurses isn't enough, here's a suggestion for the legislature: Take $50 out of petty cash, go out for dinner at the local "Chili's" and chat with the waitresses...WHO ARE EX-NURSES!! They are there because the working conditions and PAY is BETTER!!!