Re: Notable Nurses - Laura Berg - Accused of sedition
Without taking sides, I wish to expound on what I consider another aspect of this matter. When are healthcare workers allowed to bring their personal beliefs into their workplace? A) NEVER. No religion, No political, No personal , No cultural, No gender based, No diplomatic or undiplomatic ideas or attach them to our careers or jobs since this is a country at war, always will be at war either on our own soil or in a military fashion. If I worked in an abortion clinic, and wrote my opinions about it to a paper, okay. If I said that congress is to blame for women murdering embryos, for the doctor to be allowed to commit murder, and thus I felt killing was immorally taking palce on American soil etc etc ... would that get me into hot water, sure. Would it be wrong? Depends on who you talk to. Sadly this does mean we HAVE TO THINK B4 WE WRITE, ACT, TALK, and yes use tact, that is a sign of professionalism. Silence is Golden, Less said soonest mended, all that, UNLESS WE WANT TO INVITE CONTROVERSY INTO OUR PRIVATE LIVES. If I as a CNA think its okay to verbalize a belief against war, while working in a VA hospital , go public with it, than I better be woman enough to protect my right to do so IF I Do IT NOT IN AN ANONYMOUS Matter, for once I speak out, anything can and will be used against me. I hold my peace many a day knowing I am the C N a, I answer to doctor and nurses but I would jump in and fight for abortion rights to be upheld or not be uphheld on my own time from my own computer if I did not work at an abortion clinic! This is a newer code of ethics being taught to PCT's and only for maybe the past few years,which most students do not remeber, so many older students or people who went to nursing school even 10 years ago had to learn. This is another way our country has changed since 2001. It was a slow train coming for most people, but then again this writer has chosen to ride public transportation for 20 years ,gave up her car for "wings" never travels by car, only mass transportation when needed, bikes on a bicycle all over creation, when it rains I take the bus.I also wondered if the VA hospital had a policy written in her employee orientation handbook about what one must and must not do in a situation where the press asks questions, or anything in the culture of the VA hospital on oh let's dare say how to handle a pt who is a terrorist, or a pt who is an illegal alien with false credentials and Id, or mayhaps what one is allowed to say and do at work on their work computer, rather than library computer in town or at home. Probably nothing much is said about all that but what exactly is in Q here amounts to ethics, pure and simple. WE as healthcare professionals are held to a higher standard if and only if we do our jobs at work, leave our personal beliefs out of the entire equation due to sesitivity of each of our pts. What if her superiors feel she harbors ill will towards pts in her care, not just the war itself, there is a whole other ballgame. That woman needed to research her material, find out what in the world a nurse is doing working in a VA pschye center rather than building up the next generation, I hear its better by far and easier to build up our children than to repair men. There is nothing one can do about the past, its the future that matters, in future generations she can be a hero, now is the time to quit wasting time and if you can no longer agree with policies of a government, work somewhere else. Work in schools... there is the place to start... work with women, work with people who appreciate the effort.
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