allnurses mentioned in AJN and it ain't flattering

[actioncat]

There was a mention of the lethal injection discussion in AJN. It was kind of an embarrassment; they discussed a posting where a few individuals expressed a great desire to take part in lethal injections. Too bad.

ADMIN NOTE: Here is the link to the AJN article for those of you interested in reading it:

http://cms.nursingcenter.com/dev/library/JournalArticle.asp?Article_ID=573335 Thanks - Brian

[Monica RN,BSN]

ajn article

professional organizations, including the ana, the international council of nurses, the american medical association (ama), and the american public health association, have expressed their opposition to members' involvement in executions. the ana position statement says: "the code for nurses, nursing's ethical code of conduct, stipulates that 'the nurse does not act deliberately to terminate the life of any person.' the obligation to refrain from causing death is longstanding and should not be breached even when legally sanctioned." participation is defined as "assessment, supervision, or monitoring of the procedure or the prisoner; procuring, prescribing, or preparing medications or solutions; inserting the intravenous catheter; injecting the lethal solution; and attending or witnessing the execution as a nurse." the ama's council on ethical and judicial affairs likewise states that "a physician . . . should not be a participant in a legally authorized execution."

"unlike other methods of execution, participation of health care professionals is essential for lethal injection," writes jonathan groner in the november 2, 2002, issue of the british medical journal . "medical skills are needed to start intravenous lines, set up intravenous infusion sets, and measure out and administer the appropriate drugs." for example, at the execution of jose high in jackson, georgia, in 2001, it was a nurse who first tried to start a peripheral iv line in the inmate. after about 30 minutes of unsuccessful attempts, a physician was called in to insert a central catheter in high's right subclavian vein.

refusing to participate is not simple. according to human rights watch, in the early 1980s california's corrections department successfully lobbied against legislation that would have protected state-employed physicians who refused to participate in executions, retaining the right to force them to do so.

although a few states, such as new mexico, specifically exempt health care workers employed by the department of corrections from taking part in executions, in most states their participation remains a murky topic. this has led such critics as groner to compare the practice to nazi germany's euthanasia program, in which the state used clinicians to kill physically and mentally handicapped people.

whether clinicians' involvement in executions constitutes a violation of ethics isn't obvious to all nurses. on an internet nursing forum at www.allnurses.com , a nurse recently posted the question, "i'm wondering if nurses administer lethal injection in places like [texas] or any other states that take part in capital punishment. if so, what is the salary like?" to which another nurse replied, "how dare you try to steal my ideal job!!! i too am very interested in this kind of job."-- dalia sofer

apologies but with a sensitive issue like this we have to be careful that we do not violate copyright and although copyright is very murky in the land of the internet "fair usage" is usually allowed i have edited but left the important bits (i hope) . gwenith

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I read this yesterday in my AJN. Even though those who were quoted claim they were just joking around, they crossed the line. Open mouth and incert foot! If you TRUELY are a nurse, your emphesis would always be on caring for people!

Even if they were not joking around, nurses like a lot of people in America are pro-death penalty. Some of the people put to death have committed horrible crimes. To say that they would willingly assist in the execution to me is not so controversial. I'm sure there were nurses in Oklahoma that would have willingly started the IV that killed Mr. McVeigh. If one is pro-captial punishment, then it is not a stretch that they would do this.

Yeah, it's a bit odd that somone would say they are actually seeking out the job, but who am I to judge?

I care for criminals all the time in my hospital, murderers, rapists, drug pushers, etc. I don't judge them. And no, I wouldn't want the job of being part of the medical team that kills a convicted death row inmate, but wouldn't judge those who do participate as not being a "true" nurse.

Let me also say, I find the article very poor journalism.

[weetziebat]

I read this yesterday in my AJN. Even though those who were quoted claim they were just joking around, they crossed the line. Open mouth and incert foot! If you TRUELY are a nurse, your emphesis would always be on caring for people!

To me it was obvious the poster was joking, as we all have done - not expecting the AJN to be lurking looking for something they can twist to make their story. Personally, I have never had any respect for the AJN, and have never subscribed. I could not work in a prison because I could not, in good conscience, give nursing care to prisoners who have murdered, raped, tortured people etc. I am also a firm believer in capital punishment. Does that make me less of a nurse?

[LydiaNN]

To me it was obvious the poster was joking, as we all have done - not expecting the AJN to be lurking looking for something they can twist to make their story. Personally, I have never had any respect for the AJN, and have never subscribed. I could not work in a prison because I could not, in good conscience, give nursing care to prisoners who have murdered, raped, tortured people etc. I am also a firm believer in capital punishment. Does that make me less of a nurse?

In my opinion, it would only make you less of a nurse if you refused emergency care to a prisoner who was brought to you. Like you, I stay far removed from situations where I would have to do that. As far as being pro- death penalty, of course it doesn't make you less of a nurse. Just because we have an ethical obligation to provide care to our patients doesn't mean we have an ethical obligation to worry about what becomes of people who aren't our patients!!!

[LPN1974, LPN]

Ahh, sorry, someone else already did. lol

[LydiaNN]

Talk about yellow journalism! In some senses an Internet BB is no more reliable than a bunch of strangers yakking in a bar. Many of us have met others from this board or had private conversations, but many others stay largely anoynomous. Personally, I've never had the sense that anyone on one of my threads wasn't involved in nursing, but it isn't hard to imagine that we may have trolls among us. Most BBs do. How can Maureen Shawn Kennedy and AJN put aside the fact that they have absolutely no idea who made the comments in question and include such a conversation in their rag?

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

I haven't said anything in any of my posts that I wouldn't say anywhere else - to an AJN interviewer, for that matter. But I do think that for AJN to appropriate a discussion off of an informal Internet forum is bad journalism at best and outright fraud at worst., especially since it's obvious that the journal edited the thread content to suit itself. I don't currently subscribe to AJN, but you can bet I'll never do so again, either.

I agree. The "credentials" of those who responded to that thread are completely lacking. Nor did it sound like a very serious nursing discussion to me, more like a venting discussion. (Similar to the "Who would you Taser?" thread.)

AJN should not have allowed this casually-spoken, flip thread to be used in a serious discussion about lethal injection, that's all there is to it.

[Antikigirl, ASN, RN]

Well it is a good reminder for people to always remember that the internet is public territory and things can and will be copied and used for whatever purposes someone deems fitting...So one must always be aware ...

Personally, I feel that nurses have as much right to anyone else to post their opinions about any issue they feel like talking about. I am quite sure a nursing forum isn't the only one to discuss serious issues like this...ethical cases that really open eyes and gets you thinking about how you, yourself, truely think about things! I am sure other forums have discussed this, heck I know it because I was on a news forum that discussed this a year or so ago...

Never be ashamed of your own thoughts, feelings...just be leary of where you display them...they can and will be used someway somehow..and for this case...heck, at least we know where and when...many times we will never know!

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Just to let you know that ANA sold AJN about 5 years ago.

From ANA's website:http://nursingworld.org/ajn/

The American Journal of Nursing, the official journal of the American Nurses Association, is owned and published monthly by Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA.

While ANA does directly publish some columns in the journal, it does not have editorial control over the overall content of the journal. ANA currently publishes the following columns in the journal: "Politics of Caring," "Issues Update," and "Health & Safety."

AJN Questions and Concerns

AJN Content:

Questions about content in the journal as well as requests for submission information, author guidelines, back issues and archived articles should go directly to AJN at [phone].

Contacting AJN:

Call Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins toll-free at 1-800-627-0484

--------------

Correction:

Author of article is Dalia Sofer.

News Director is Maureen Kennedy.

Need glasses to see that lighter italic print.

[Kyriaka]

Interesting-did you report this to Brian? I wonder if it is legal for them to reproduce threads from this forum.

_______________

I am sure it is.

I post on a Lyme disease forum and we have had our threads also published.

[sjt9721, BSN, RN]

Poor journalism? Of course! Smacks of the CBS/Dan Rather brou-ha-ha a few months ago...(please, no political tangents!) :)

I am for the death penalty. I don't believe it makes me less of a nurse. I have read and re-read the ANA statement on nurses participating in executions and I'm wondering...

Would a nurse be in violation of ANA ethics if they were part of a jury that convicted and sentenced a felon?

[actioncat]

Why would it be illegal of them to reproduce something from a web bulletin board?

I don't know how I feel about the death penalty. I am not certain I like the idea of government sanctioning murder. At the same time, I feel like who am I to judge someone who has had a family member or close friend murdered and wants the murderer to be put to death. I am not in their shoes. I imagine a desire for vengeance would be quite powerful.

Still, there is a difference between being pro death penalty and becoming gleeful at the prospect of taking part in an execution. If you think this is doing good for society, there are probably thousands better ways to do good in our society. (Perhaps fostering a child that lacks adult role models and is heading towards a life of crime!)