I start the RN program in fall and spend a lot of time reading on this site. It can be very discouraging to hear there are so many problems in nursing like mgmt issues, politics, patient ratios, poor working conditions, long hrs, endless expectations, etc.
Why don't RN's come together and change this? I can put up with a lot but some things I just will not tolerate. Schools are limited in the amount of students a RN programs allows so the field is somewhat limited. It seems many left the profession because the above.
It doesn't sound like a lot are unionized. Located in the Motor City (Detroit), the UAW worked a long time ago when working conditions were poor. I don't know if this would be the answer, but I would like to know why RN's don't take a stand. Thanks!
My initial instinct is to stay away from the union. However, because Texas does not have much experience overall with unions, I have to be honest and admit that I don't really understand everything that a union entails.
I am aware of the most superficial aspects of the costs and benefits but I would really love to hear from those of you who pay union dues. Tell me how things are better. And tell me the downside too. If it were a perfect thing, unions would be sprouting up like weeds around the country. But they're not. Why? I am here to learn.
change requires sacrifice of some kind(even the ability to say"poor me").
change requires powerful leadership.
fear? hopelessness? denial?
from what i have seen, after nurses compain about the problems and are given a possible way to change it, they go crawl under a rock. i just don't get it. i assume that each individual nurse is scared to death to have her name affiliated with any such mission for fear of becoming unemployable. i hate to say that i understand, but i certainly don't agree.
a lot of other nurses will immediately say something like....you will never change it or something like that and they won't do anything to help. i wonder if they are to blame? i can certainly relate to what they are saying after seeing countless organizations and petitions and such and none of which can conjure up the number of people required to make the change.
california did it!!!!!
and then there are nurses who complain and then when offered some sort of way to help make a difference they immediately deny that they have any problems with the field and that they love it.
i don't know how to describe the people that don't fall into the above.
I also have to agree that I don't agree with the strike...not that I have anything against any one who has done it. But the reasons are stated in previous posts and the main reason being the burden on the nurses....MONEY.
I guess I lean towards petitions and organizations that are trying to change things.
I, too, have stood up to fight......encouraged and patted on the back....thanked by employees who never gave me the time of day and pretended they didn't have the same feelings as me in the end. I received phone calls after termination from co-workers who were chronic out-loud complainers at work but insist that they keep quiet and they told me that they wished they could be as honest as me.
yes indeed! in california, they have nurses that come in to allow people to take their breaks. since med-surg nurses can only have 5 patients, then they cannot watch yours while you are on break, as that would exceed their nurse/pt ratio. it makes so much greedless sense, it doesnt even sound like this country. and if they can do it, we can do it! we can make a better life for ourselves, and better outcomes for our patients.
All you have to do is read any thread with an emotionally charged issue. I have come to the conclusion that nurses can't work together. I think for all of our similarities there are too many differences. In addition, the qualities that make us great nurses-specifically independent thinking and strength, predisposes us to be opinionated.
Physicians believe they are professionals and share a common bond-the time they have spent becoming educated and putting in time. Nurses are individuals, with different levels of schooling, different certifications and different belief systems on patient care. We don't define ourselves through out similarities, but by our differences.
All you have to do is read any thread with an emotionally charged issue. I have come to the conclusion that nurses can't work together. I think for all of our similarities there are too many differences. In addition, the qualities that make us great nurses-specifically independent thinking and strength, predisposes us to be opinionated.
Physicians believe they are professionals and share a common bond-the time they have spent becoming educated and putting in time. Nurses are individuals, with different levels of schooling, different certifications and different belief systems on patient care. We don't define ourselves through out similarities, but by our differences.
As always,
JMHO
Maisy
OUCH.....I never thought about that ....or put it into words any way.
You are right.....SADLY.......right. Hmmmm
I'm still not giving up. California did it!
California DID IT!
CALIFORNIA DID IT!
It can be done! Not doing anything is the worst thing at all.
It is all about ONE THING.....SAFE RATIOS! Imagine...5 patients in MED SURG! Wow! I remember those days!
All you have to do is read any thread with an emotionally charged issue. I have come to the conclusion that nurses can't work together. I think for all of our similarities there are too many differences. In addition, the qualities that make us great nurses-specifically independent thinking and strength, predisposes us to be opinionated.
Physicians believe they are professionals and share a common bond-the time they have spent becoming educated and putting in time. Nurses are individuals, with different levels of schooling, different certifications and different belief systems on patient care. We don't define ourselves through out similarities, but by our differences.
As always,
JMHO
Maisy
We certainly are a diverse group. But unable to unite for that diversity? I don't know. I'm a pretty skeptical guy but I think we will. Maybe not now, but it will happen in time. Nursing is a unique profession but not so dissimilar that we are an exception.
Doctors, lawyers, teachers, auto workers- all have been able to form strong political bodies. I can't believe we are any more or less opinionated or diverse than these groups. Lawyers argue the color of the sky! Doctors are divided into sub-sub-sub-specialties. If these trades can organize themselves, I know we can.
I would first like to see the ANA become stronger and more politically active, but I haven't written off supporting a union. Again, my instinct is to stay away but I have seen things get overwhelming for nurses in my hospital. I have been forced to open my mind to drastic solutions. And I have watched hospital administrators tremble at the mere whisper of "union."
I don't believe our forum debates, even when they devolve into heated arguments, prove that we can't get along. This is a great place for us to work out our thoughts and opinions, even blow off some steam. In fact, I think our active presence here implies that we do get along. We do come together. We are together even as we stand as individuals, with our own stouthearted opinions.
We need this forum for a lot of things. But I bet if you could pour through every discussion, you would find a lot of agreement and unity. The disagreements tend to put off a lot more heat than light and stand out more, yet there is greater solidarity here than meets the cursory scan of the forums.
We are going to make nursing better. And participating in these forums inspires me. I find myself becoming more political (and thoughtful, especially after reading others' ideas) and the nurse activist in me is coming alive. My future is getting brighter and I plan on playing a part in making the future of nursing brighter.
Nursing, as it exists today, is designed to burn people out. The rule of the owners of the various places where nurses work is this: use as few nurses as possible to get all the work done, regardless of the impact that it will have on the quality of the care being given to the patients. I have been an RN, BSN since 1996 and it has been, at times, a very difficult career. Does anyone remember Laura Gasparis Vonfrolio, RN, PhD? She organized a Nurses March in Washington DC back in 1995 and at least 10,000 nurses showed up! I went to the next Nurses March and fewer nurses showed up, but it was still an inspirational event. She also used to publish Revolution: The Journal of Nurse Empowerment. I think it has been the goal of both the corporations that own hospitals/nursing homes and the government to reduce nursing to be nothing more than an easily exploited blue collar job. But in the end, this will hurt the community and the nursing profession too. The only thing left for nurses to do will be to ban together in blue collar-like unions that will go on strike to get what they want. This will cost the corporations more money, and they will pass this expense onto the public and the government. It is time for nurses to get together and form a high profile, professional organization that is capable of influencing both the political structure of Washington, DC and educating the public about the hazards of a deteriorating nursing profession in America.
I don't have much faith in union after dealing with it. Things really weren't much different. I guess they can control how many patients you have....that is probably the most important thing to me any way.
I will try again. Here is a newer petition.....let someone try. If we do nothing, nothing will happen. People are out there trying to make things change. As long as we sit back and ignore it, they can't do it.
The petition is confidential and your name cannot be seen by the public.
I, personally believe that the more noise that is made, the more likely something will change. At least educating the public MIGHT force hospitals to use it as a competitive marketing tool......that they changed their ratios so come to them.
All you have to do is read any thread with an emotionally charged issue. I have come to the conclusion that nurses can't work together. I think for all of our similarities there are too many differences. In addition, the qualities that make us great nurses-specifically independent thinking and strength, predisposes us to be opinionated.
Physicians believe they are professionals and share a common bond-the time they have spent becoming educated and putting in time. Nurses are individuals, with different levels of schooling, different certifications and different belief systems on patient care. We don't define ourselves through out similarities, but by our differences.
As always,
JMHO
Maisy
I agree. We need more consistency in our credentials, role expectations, etc. Without that, we don't FEEL as if we are all in the same profession to begin with.
I do not doubt that by banding together, nursing could change. What I do seriously doubt is that it will ever happen. Trouble is, every one of us has felt we could be the change we wish to see, and gone to bat for it, only to get it stuffed down our throats, leaving us wishing we had never bothered in the first place. After that, we become much more jaded and selective about where and when we vocalize our opinions and dig in our heels, having been effectively silenced, swept under the rug, or otherwise threatened with the security of our job.
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jeffrey_rn
40 Posts
My initial instinct is to stay away from the union. However, because Texas does not have much experience overall with unions, I have to be honest and admit that I don't really understand everything that a union entails.
I am aware of the most superficial aspects of the costs and benefits but I would really love to hear from those of you who pay union dues. Tell me how things are better. And tell me the downside too. If it were a perfect thing, unions would be sprouting up like weeds around the country. But they're not. Why? I am here to learn.
Thanks ahead for taking the time to share.
-a fellow nurse-soldier