A Day W/O A Nurse

lindarn · Nov 18, 2008

There was a movie out a few years ago called A Day W/O A Mexican... some fog blew over CA and all the mexicans disappeared. What followed was chaos... crops rotting cause there werent people willing to do the job for the low pay, etc...catch my drift? Any who... what if one day all the nurses just refused to go to work or walked out of their jobs all at the same time. Say 3 am when probably most likely to be a calm period. Im trying to make the walk out, hopefully, a little less stressful on the pts, but who am I fooling. Anyway, should it happen for a day, week? Would that get the attention of a nation? Would the President of the USA have to declare a state of emergency? Would we get respect or would there be a backlash? Just curious?

In March of 1970, the entire Post Office went on strike from coast to coast. For years, they were treated like the step children by the Federal Workers system. They finally had enough, and went on strike.

They brought the country to its knees in three days. No Post Office jobs are highly sought after, provide good pay and benefits. Only brought about by workers who had the guts to do what they knew they had to do.

My father and uncle both worked for the Post Office for man years. That is how I remember this. Nursing needs to finally decide to take the drastic steps in needs to take to improve our profession, and bring it the respectability that it deserves.

No one respects a pushover. We need to get over our collective "martyr mary" mentality, and take control of our profession. Period. I feel that this is what it will take to get control of our profession. Along with each state nursing association withdrawing from the ANA. That would be the first step. The second would be to declare the NNOC our professional organization, that truly represents the best interests, of not only nurses, but ultimately, the patient. Next step is to have laws passed the cease the "deprofessionization" of our profession. No more Medication Aides, no more office "nurses" calling in prescriptions for the doctor. No more school secretaries giving meds and injections to students.

After that is accomplished, declare a national nurses strike, and wait for the fallout. They will be begging us to come back. There will be no one but useless "Nurse Administrators" to care for the patients. They will finally come to realize that WE are the most important workers in the hospital. WE can do every other departments job under our Nurse Practice Act, but they cannot do ours. Let the dust fall where it may. JMHO and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN · Nov 18, 2008

While I agree this is what is needed, it will never happen due to the inability of all of those in the Nursing profession to unite and make it happen.

And while your at it, I think the LPN's should join the RN's, that would cause big problems in LTC and offices. And just maybe they will respect LPN's a bit more too, maybe allow us back into hospital jobs, allow us to get certifications (like in wound care), We are responsible for the health, treatment and safety for 20 or more pt's every shift. Yet are told we are incapable of handling the same situations in another setting (usually with more back up and tools). I'm tired of being treated like an overpaid CNA.

I remember a pt demanding I get an RN because she wanted pain meds and didn't want to be taken care of by "just" an LPN. I went and got a RN, who walked into the room and when she heard what the pt wanted she said " I'll go get your nurse, the LPN, she gives meds, I don't" pt was very co=operative after that.

nursemike, ASN, RN · Nov 18, 2008

While I understand and appreciate the sentiments, I modestly offer that we ought spend that day off working the drive-thru window at a fast-food place. I am not making light of concerns about the stress and hardships of being a nurse, but there are plenty of other, less rewarding jobs that can be hard and stressful.

The "national strike" idea has undeniable appeal, but it really is not how professionals behave. I am far from convinced that "professional" as a class distinction is really relevant in modern society, but to the extent that it is, I think it has to imply a higher level of commitment than a trade. I am not a more important person than, say, a plumber, but the needs I meet as a nurse are a bit more urgent, usually, than the needs a plumber meets. Plumbing is actually an example of a trade that does have significant influence on public health, but in the short term, a backed-up toilet isn't as immediate a concern as a backed-up bowel.

For that matter, people have died because the person flipping their burger wasn't careful to make sure it was fully cooked.

I'm not advocating martyrdom, and the fact that others have it tough does not invalidate conerns about the problems in our profession. I don't even think it's wrong to come here and vent and maybe fantasize a bit about ideas to get the attention of TPTB. And I haven't been a nurse long enough to make comparisons based on personal experience as to how nursing used to be vs. how it is, now. But it does appear to me that significant progress has been made through measures such as educating the public that their chances of surviving a hospitalization are better when their nurses have five patients to care for than six, or ten.

I know I'm being a wet blanket, here. But I think we have to recognize how many people would die unnecessarily if we really did "bring the country to its knees." And then, after blowing off a little steam, we need look for practical ways to make things better. Collective bargaining may well have a place in the equation. On a small scale, just looking out for each other during our shift would help. Nursing research and education undoubtedly have a place. But we aren't Teamsters. A "Day Without Truckers" could make an exception for letting loads through that were life-or-death matters. A "Day Without Nurses" would be a day a lot of people wouldn't survive. Or, we could make an exception that those with patients who really needed them could report to work, in which case it would be pretty much a day like any other.

Let's face it: we're screwed. Copy%20of%20wink.gif

Fiona59 · Nov 18, 2008

Up here in Canada, both grades of nurses are unionized.

Here's the catch. In my province, we are considered "essential service workers" just like the unionized police, paramedics, etc. We cannot go on strike. We have walked picket lines on our days off.

A few years back the LPNs walked off the job, they were mandated to return within 72 hours and their union fined over $1,000,000. Management, families, and the RNs realized how much work they really do.

Did we gain love and respect, hell, no.

Butterfliesnroses · Nov 18, 2008

I agree things would be crazy without nurses. However what about a world without aides. NAC pay isn't wonderful at all! I think they should raise RN, LPNs and NACs wages. It wouldn't work to just raise CNA wages because there should be a significant gap (as there is now) due to the training a nurse must go through compared to that of a NAC. But NACs could make more working at Wal-Mart. I once had a cook state that the nurses had to be fed leftovers first because if they passed out from hunger then the resident's would really be screwed. It made me feel like a nobody. Using that same logic what if the aides passed out from hunger?

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Nov 18, 2008

LOVE the idea/concept but it would NEVER happen---

1)Mgmt has known for years and years that the majority of nurses are compassion driven--not financialy driven. That means we will stay late to make sure our patients are in clean dry sheets, we will forgo our breaks so that our pts trays get passed and the elderly stroke pt get fed a hot meal vs a cold one an hour later. We will volunteer to come in on our day off so our unit is not short staffed, because we have all worked short staffed before and it sucks and we dont want our fellow nurses to have to work that way if we can help it.

2) Lets say somehow that this would work what would the hosp do?? They would have CNAs/QMA's/pharm techs/er techs/emts etc etc etc basically anyone that showed up work the floors...they would bend the rules to make sure basic minimal care was done and they would find a way to make it legal!!

3) $$ does talk after a day all they would have to do is announce we are paying time and a half and some of the staff would come back--still short a few days later they would pay double time..eventually they would get a bare bones crew in to make sure the work was getting done and then pay would once again drop.

But i do LOVE the thought!!!

soulofme · Nov 18, 2008

I understand that this will never happen but has there ever been a mass picket (say for a WE) at the state's capitals? A national picket? That would be one way to have millions of nurses (lvns included) show "we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore."

dreamon · Nov 18, 2008

I understand that this will never happen but has there ever been a mass picket (say for a WE) at the state's capitals? A national picket? That would be one way to have millions of nurses (lvns included) show "we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore."

We need something like that. I hope in the coming years nurses will be ready to join forces and make some changes. I know I will be happy to put my money where my mouth is to make a difference.

GN Dave · Nov 18, 2008

Also, you forgot to mention that most of us would be under arrest for patient abandonment, followed pretty quickly by loss of license...

twistedpupchaser · Nov 18, 2008

I remember a strike in Australia by Nurses, (In Victoria) which went for several months. I understand that skeleton crews worked the floors providing the essential tasks only. Elective surgeries were cancelled with theatre nurses only working emergency surgeries. I was a teenager at the time and only remember the news reports because it didn't happen in my little corner of the world.

I believe that there was a PR, (public relations not the other PR) backlash but the nurses held firm and got payrises and some of their other demands met, maybe an older Australian Nurse may remember more of what happened.

Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN · Nov 19, 2008

Why not a "million nurse" march?

I'm not on board with the idea of nurses walking off the job midshift, and if there was a day that no one showed up, night shift would have no one to report to and would be forced to stay. That has nothing to do with being a martyr, it is about doing your job properly.

Blee