Self magazine article

thisnurse · Oct 30, 2001

fiesty i have the utmost respect for you as a nurse and as a person. you are very brave. thank you for telling the truth. im sorry you got fired

trying to further the cause of our profession. we will all benefit in some way from the truth.

is there anything we can do?

shannonRN, BSN, RN · Oct 31, 2001

fiesty, i think it is awesome that you stood up for something that you believed in and i think it is awful that you got fired for it. i was wondering if you could post a link so we could read this article. thanks and good luck! :)

Stargazer · Oct 31, 2001

Feisty, I made a point of picking up this magazine last night. I thought the article was excellent (great picture, by the way!), but I thought it would've been more thorough, and effective, when they stated that most nurses interviewed asked that their hospital's names not be included because of their fear of reprisal, to note that, in fact, you DID lose your job as a direct result of speaking out.

Are there not whistleblower laws that could help protect you here or that would give you some recourse? I can understand that you might not want to become invested in a big legal battle, but damn, I hate to see them get away with this. It would be so satisfying just to put the fear of God into them by letting them know you had grounds for legal action and were "considering" it.

dawngloves, BSN, RN · Nov 3, 2001

Great article! I hope it scares the pants off the gereral public. I'd like to tell them this is only the tip of the iceberg! I also have some horror stories to tell them about short staffing and unexperienced nurses in the unit.

fiestynurse · Nov 5, 2001

**********

Stargazer · Nov 5, 2001

Yippie-ki-ay, fiesty! Let us know what happens...

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Nov 6, 2001

Email sent to Self magazine editor:

Thank you very much for the investigative report " WHERE HAVE ALL THE NURSES GONE?" on the nursing shortage and hospital staffing conditions written by Sheila Weller in your November 2001 issue. It is accurate, well written, and along with numerous nurses antidotal stories, fact filled.

As an RN with combined 25 years healthcare experience from nurses aide to RN BSN, I have seen the acuity i.e. how acutely ill the patient is, continue to increase. Patients that 5-10 years ago would be in intensive care units are typically placed on general medical/surgical units while the staffing has decreased to care for these often unstable patients. The amount of medications many hospitalized patients take to stay alive is 2 to 3 times the amount of 10 years ago. We are able to keep alive persons who would have been dead 10 years ago and these individuals need careful, sometimes hourly assessments and understanding of thie medication regemin, to catch problems in their earliest stages. A nurse caring for 10 patients without any assistance is in a precarious situation. If a patient is harmed due to his/her inability to properly assess and get prompt treatment due to understaffing, he/she lives with that guilt forever and may loose their license to practice nursing, therfore ending a career.

Why was such an important investigative story NOT identified on your front cover and relegated to page 180 of your magazine??? Nurses are glad that this story was published ....isn't it also an exclusive? Why not place it under that banner, SELF exclusive, along with the article " The crutcial health news your doctor may not share". It is EQUALLY important that the public be made aware of the health hazzard of nurses being mandated to do 16 hour shifts, unlicensed assistive personal performing electrocardiograms and being passed off as "patient care technicians" with a patient thinking they are a nurse, and that due to a nursing shortage, they may see a nurse only ONE time in eight hours. Patients stay overnight in a hosptial these days because of the need for NURSING ASSESSMENT and monitoring of their medical problem---one time a shift is inadequate. Please give consideration to reprinting this article in a future issue of SELF in a more prominent location---it may save someone's life.

Despite the working conditions found in some hosptials, nursing is practiced in many varied settings and can be a truly rewarding career as I have experienced. I hope that your readers will realize a nurse uses the "3 T's": thinking, technology and touch to help improve lives everyday. I actively work as part of the Delaware County Nurses Association/PSNA to interest more young persons along with second career folks will consider joining our profession. We are fighting an uphill battle and hope that the pending federal legislation, Nurse Reinvestment Act and the Nurse Employment and Education Development (NEED) Act will be provide an incentive to join our ranks.

Sincerely,

Karen O'Hara RN,BSN

MSN/FNP student

Fiesty: thanks for our your efforts on behalf of the profession. Have you been able to go with students to any other facility, or teach class?? Keep us up to date. Karen

saracorbett · Nov 6, 2001

Dear Feisty Nurse and others here:

I'm a writer for the New York Times Magazine, working on a story about the nursing shortage. I hadn't known about the SELF story until I read it here...I will promptly pick up a copy. I'm stunned that a nurse would lose her job for speaking out. I started reading this board because I'd logged on to post a request for nurses to interview here. I don't know if the SELF story makes you more or less reluctant to talk to the media, but I *am* looking for nurses who want to speak forthrightly (and anonymously, if need be) about their working conditions or who could steer me toward other helpful people, articles, or organizations. The New York Times Magazine is the long-format Sunday magazine which reaches a broad international audience weekly. Our stories tend to get a lot of attention and often help bring about change. I hope maybe some of you will consider getting in touch. Thanks for your time.

shannonRN, BSN, RN · Nov 6, 2001

i picked up the magazine after seeing all of the posts on the bb. i have to say it was well worth the $3. i think that the public needs to be informed of these issues. shedding light on the problem instead of sweeping it under the table will lead to changes, hopefully improvements, regarding nursing in healthcare.

hats off to whoever wrote that letter. i was also wondering why the title never made the cover. i think a nursing shortage is crutcial news!!!

fiesty, i have to applaud you for being an advocate. not many people are as brave as you. please keep us up to date and good luck!!!!

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Nov 6, 2001

Go Fiesty!! Rah Rah!!

I also bought the magazine and went directly to the "Self exclusive" but thought that I had gotten the wrong issue.

I think that the article was very much worth a cover mention, and well written.

Fiesty please keep us up to date, I am behind you.

radnurse2001 · Nov 6, 2001

you go girl, i hope i wasn't too hard on you, my soapbox gets a little high sometimes. good luck, and if you need help with anything, dont be afraid to ask-

Anne

WriteStuff · Nov 6, 2001

Fiesty et. al.,

I just read this thread and it is one of the best so far.

First.......to Fiesty, - I just want to say "thank-you" for taking advantage of an opportunity to speak the truth for all of us in this profession who have for too many years now been trying to BE HEARD with the same message.

I have not read the article, and don't even know what "Self" magazine is! Can it be purchased on the racks in any store that sells magazines to consumers? Is it directed toward a specific kind of audience, or what? I will most certainly buy the issue if I can find it.

Now......I am OUTRAGED to learn how you have been treated by your employer over this whole thing!! You have been violated in a way that transcends even the intent of our First Amendment Rights! We have the right to freedom of speech, yes, but I ask you...........when you are speaking the TRUTH about something, and are punished for doing so, that seems to me to be an even GREATER miscarriage of justice!!

We all know that employers today take advantage of the "at will" firing rule in order to rid themselves of perceived "trouble-makers". There has to be some recourse for you in this situation. You have brought NO HARM to them by speaking the truth about our profession and I for one would be hard pressed to march their greedy, self-agrandizing asses into a courtroom and MAKE THEM PROVE whatever the "grievance" is they have against you!

The BOTTOM LINE of your message in the article is PATIENT SAFETY, which is ALSO THE BOTTOM LINE OF OUR LICENSURE! I for one think that the Boards of Nursing need to be on the front line is this patient-ratio fooforaw since they are the ones who HOLD US TO PATIENT SAFETY IN THE FIRST PLACE!!

I think that what your employer has done to you needs to be spread across the front pages of every major newspaper publication in this nation.........(boy am I pissed!!!!)

But a message has to be sent to our money-grubbing employers that it's NOT ABOUT BUCKS FOLKS, IT'S ABOUT PATIENT SAFETY and how we are jeopardizing our very licenses day in and day out because of the greed factor.

And Fiesty, you have to know that there's a landslide of support out there for you should you decide to take legal action. Sign me on Fiesty.....a petition on your behalf would be a great way to start!

Bonnie Creighton,RN, Minnesota