What smells?? ER!

Nurses General Nursing

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doctors firing nurses??? :(

what the heck was on er tonight? carter gets to decide how much money to spend on security measures, and then is going to fire three senior nurses to pay for it??? when did docs have anything to do with the unit budget, and when did they start firing nurses?? tell me this is not normal practice at any hospital...please.

i have had it. i know they have a medical advisor- does this guy have delusions of grandeur? does he need a psych consult, or one of those metal charts upside the head? someone on this board suggested an episode from the nursing perspective- let the docs take the background for an hour. i love that idea.

let's start a revolution...i'm off to find a feedback link, and i expect all of you professionals out there to send in letters.

back in a minute.

Specializes in ER.

Thanks folks for the letters. I get that this is not supposed to represent reality, I've been frustrated by so many replies that minimizethe issue. Sure, there are more important issues in nursing, but this one, right now, is what I wanted to post about.

Imagine if someone posted about their pet and got replies that there are more important things to worry about...it's just rude.

Originally posted by Pretzlgl

Here is the email that I sent to NBC. The only thing that truly bothers me is that we need nurses! Portraying nurses positively is so important today.

--Just writing to express my concern at the flippant way that characters on your show decided that firing 3 nurses would solve their acute budget problem. I realize that this is "entertainment", but in light of the severe nursing shortage, I find it very irresponsible to continue to portray nursing as a second class profession. As a Registered Nurse who constantly works short staffed I find it particularly offensive. While I watch ER as a means of escape from reality, the general public really does not know the difference. Perhaps an episode promoting nursing or portraying the true value that nurses bring to medicine would be beneficial. Thank you for allowing me to express my concerns.--

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We are all entitled to our own opinions.

Thanks for your post Pretzlgl.

IMO, the public needs to know more about the reality of nursing

in order to support nurses and nursings efforts.

After all, it is the voting public which sways those politicians.

Originally posted by Youda

OK. I'll do it, too. If you'd like to send an email in protest of the 3 nurses getting fired, send it to [email protected]

Here's the email I just sent to NBC:

ER is one of my favorite shows, and I watch it regularly. Unfortunately, a real problem with the show is the lack of nurses. If it were not for the character of Abby, there are no nurses in "ER." This is laughable since nurses are the backbone of any ER.

I am horrified that you so easily "fire" 3 nurses to buy metal detectors. How about showing what would happen if three nurses were suddenly gone from a typical ER? I can guarantee you that an ER would stop functioning AT ALL if 3 nurses were fired, and the doctors wouldn't be able to function, either.

This country is facing a severe nursing crisis. The networks could help this by a fair and ACCURATE portrayal of the plight of nurses dealing with this shortage and the TRUE reasons for it (management ineptitudes, cost cutting at the expense of patient care and nurses salaries, mandatory overtime, burnout and high stress).

Your show is entertaining, sometimes laughable, in its departure from a real ER. Try putting the nurses back in the show. There's more of us watching than doctors, if you're looking for ratings!

Thank you!

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Absolutely right on.

Originally posted by canoehead

Imagine if someone posted about their pet and got replies that there are more important things to worry about...it's just rude.

Yes, it would be. It would also be rude to tell people that they shouldn't express their opinions on a public bulliten board. Maybe from now, if we don't like hearing opinions contrary to our own, we should start our thread with "Only reply if you think like me......."

:confused:

Heather

Well said Heather. What would be the point of having these BBs if we all thought alike just like automatons. Myself, I think the varied opinions is what keeps me coming back, don't know about anyone else. As far as the subject at hand, ER is for entertainment. If you enjoy it, watch it. If you don't, change the channel. What about the nurses on soaps? Do you feel this is an accurate representation of nurses? How many of you have written to the soaps re: this? To take it a step farther, how about the nurses in Media Movies? The public has their perception of nurses, and like many other things, change is slow in coming.

Specializes in Home Health.

Well, I stopped watching ER after they killed off Lucy. I just hated that, it was so awful. Then making Carter a drug addict, tho cetainly understandable, it hurt me to watch the change in such a wonderful sensitive doctor.

Now Scrubs...that is the show for me! Hilarious!

I am finding more and more I don't want to watch serious medical shows. I want to escape from that. But I do love CSI! It's got the medical facts, but doesn't have anything to do with hospitals or nursing.

I think there are too many medical dramas and lawyer shows on TV right now.

I don't even want to think about when Friends ends.....that will be awful!!

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I agree w/Heather. We have the right to agree or to agree to disagree, and if anyone is interested in gagging opposing opinions, only wanting to be stroked the right way, perhaps they should not start threads, or participate in threads likely to incite opinion-expression. I have had many disagree w/me on various issues here and never considered it "rude" when their disagreement was registered in an intelligent, relevant and polite way. Instead of getting upset and taking it personally, I re-read these posts 2 or even 3 times to see why they disagree and find merit in what they say. Critical thinking demands unemotional evaluation of what others (and ourselves) are saying w/o taking it personally all the time. Or in other words, "growing a thicker skin"!

I STILL say, when one finds a program offensive one only need use the "off" button and perhaps take positive action the way suggested here. I don't go into fits over Baby Story and all the other silly labor/delivery portrayals on TV ( My speciality); I simply choose not to watch.

I just want to know how cheap these metal detectors are!? Only three nurses? No wonder people think we are whining about our pay packets! How about getting rid of a few docs? That would be a little closer to the mark is my guess?

Originally posted by Aussienurse2

I just want to know how cheap these metal detectors are!? Only three nurses? No wonder people think we are whining about our pay packets! How about getting rid of a few docs? That would be a little closer to the mark is my guess?

That's sure right, Aussie! Most of the ER's I've been in, it goes like this: patient walks in, nurse puts him in a room, does assessment, nurse orders the lab and tests the docs will want, nurse does the vital signs, nurse cleans the vomit off the floor, nurse helps patient get undressed for the doctor. Doctor stands in the hall and reads everything the nurse wrote, doctor walks in asks a few questions, scribbles in the chart and hands chart to nurse. Nurse explains meds to patient, nurse helps patient get dressed, nurse . . .

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

apparantly, nurses and metal detectors are considered "cheap" with metal detectors being worth slightly more. (just kidding)!

I just can't resist researching worthless facts.

According to "Security Planet" a premium walk-through metal detector costs about $5,000.

http://www.securityplanet.com/cs5000.htm

Let's see now . . . if one nurse makes about $35,000 a year (low wages there, but let's just say that), then total wages for 3 nurses would be $105,000 for the year. If you bought 4 walk through metal detectors = $20,000, then the ER just saved themselves $85,000/year and got 4 metal detectors thrown into the bargain. Sounds like the suits on ER are more "real to life" than we all thought!

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Youda, you rock.

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