What's a big issue in nursing?

angelac1978 · Sep 15, 2003

well I'm not a nurse or a nursing student, but here are a few I can think of:

euthynasia, pain management, the use of lesser qualified personel to fill the gap left by the nursing shortage, working 8hr shifts vs 12 hour shifts, mandatory overtime, the shift in nursing becoming a "customer service" profession, thats all I can think of now...

Good luck in your search!

A

TeenyBabyRN · Sep 15, 2003

Here are a few for you

* Legally mandated nurse/patient ratios

* Nursing unions and strikes

* Use of travel and agency nurses to alleviate shortage conditions

* Responsibility of hospitals/other employers to provide protection of nurses from violence in the workplace (abusive patients, etc.)

* Mandatory floating to unfamiliar units (patient safety? responsible practice?)

* Smallpox vaccine (recommended? necessary prior to exposure?)

* Image of nursing as represented by media (recent example - Clairol pulling Herbal Essences shampoo ad following complaints by nursing organizations that the ad depicted nurses in unprofessional and irresponsible light)

* Nursing in the military or military reserve (and effects on shortage when reservists are called to active duty)

* Family-centered care - family members present during resuscitation

That should be enough to get you started :cool:

PJMommy · Sep 15, 2003

What about ADN versus BSN preparation for an RN...

shape0fmyheart · Sep 15, 2003

Thanks a lot! Those should really help me out :kiss

det01 · Sep 15, 2003

Originally posted by TeenyBabyRN

* Nursing in the military or military reserve (and effects on shortage when reservists are called to active duty)

Did you know they can even call up former military nurses years after they resign from the military? One of my teachers is a former Navy nurse and she said they can call her back at any time (I think she said untill she is 71 or something like that) no matter how long she has been out of the military.

wildcard · Sep 16, 2003

How about the nursing shortage and the shortage of nursing schools/programs... it seems like every nursing school in the country has a waiting list about a half mile long. many who would like to become nurses must wait for year(s) before getting into school.

SnowieRN · Sep 16, 2003

Small pox vaccine? It was recommended to me by my MD that I ***NOT*** get it. He said something about allergic reactions happening to some people that get it? I kind of want to get it (I believe in being vaccinated against everything I can be, why take a chance?) but that scared the sh*t out of me.

TeenyBabyRN · Sep 16, 2003

President Bush, medical expert that he is :rolleyes: recommended the vaccine for health care workers who would be prepared to respond and care for patients in the case of a smallpox outbreak.

The vaccine is a LIVE virus and can cause very serious, even fatal complications such as severe rashes, encephalitis (caused by autoimmune or allergic reactions), and complications involoving the eyes. Accidental innoculation of the eye (caused by touching the vaccination site and then the eye area) can lead to blindness. Vaccination of a pregnant woman usually leads to fetal demise or neonatal death.

The site of vaccination is an open wound that takes 2-3 weeks to heal/scab over, with the possibility of accidental innoculation lingering until this time.

According to the CDC, "Vaccination within 3 days of exposure will prevent or significantly lessen the severity of smallpox symptoms in the vast majority of people."

The CDC also states that there is enough vaccine ready to vaccinate everyone in the U.S. should an outbreak occur. Therefore, I believe that the risks associated with prophylactic vaccination outweigh the benefits at this point.

PJMommy · Sep 16, 2003

I recently read something about recent research showing that those of us who had the vaccine as kids may actually still be protected....

Not to get political or anything but smallpox and anthrax aren't high on my list of biochemical weapon concerns... Viruses and toxins are more concerning (ebola, botulism, etc.).