CAN you believe this! - Bad Portrayal of nurses in my local paper

[purseOnalityRN]

Just wanted to pass on a nasty thing published in the Edmonoton Sun this Saturday Nov 4/06. I am in an outrage as this writer obviously does not understand our work beyond simple tasks. Is this really all some people think we do all day!!!***@@@$#$%$^

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THERE WOULDN'T be a nurse shortage if nurses performed duties that were conducive with their pay. Nurses are simply line workers who perform very low-level, repetitive tasks that could be done by individuals with no education. Emptying bed pans, changing catheters, helping the elderly to the washroom and feeding babies require the skill level of an uneducated person paid minimum wage. To justify their pay, nurses should be

expected to perform higherlevel tasks such as managing workers and making higher-level

decisions.

T.A. Ball

(Expect a response from angry nurses!)

LINK: http://www.edmontonsun.ca/Comment/Letters/2006/11/04/2230731.html

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[muffie, RN]

Dear T.A.Ball

Have you or a family member ever been a patient in a hospital?

Sincerely,

A nurse in a hospital

[HARRN2b]

Um, I do not think I will complete nursing school if only to receive minimum wage. I can earn that at Walmart! I would like to see this writer try to complete one of the required science courses

[HappyNurse2005, RN]

Was this in response to an article, or just a random letter to the editor?

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Comments listed under "Sun Comment Letters", so it's a newpaper readers response, not newspaper reporter. Bottom line under each comment posted is newspapers response:

(Expect a response from angry nurses!)

[nursecher]

I definitely would not want any uneducated, minimum wage paid person taking care of me! :uhoh21:

This person obviously wrote this to spark an argument and gain attention. Pitiful.

[clemmm78, RN]

yowza.

[Princess74]

I can not believe anyone would have the nerve to write this and shame on the paper for allowing it to be published.

[RachieH]

Well, at minimum, this individual is ignorant, and at most, has a serious beef with a nurse(s). Perhaps it's his ex-wife or something. Who knows why people write such things? Sounds to me like he could use a shadow shift on a med/surg floor or spend a night in a Level I ER. We'll see who wishes he could escort old people to the bathroom and feed babies.

My ex-boss, a very powerful attorney in New York, had an ex-wife who was a nurse. They did *not* get along in the slightest and she dragged him into court over and over again re the kids. She was a nasty, unpleasant, bitter piece of work and as a result, my ex-boss now thinks that nursing is a terrible profession. Irrational, but there you go.

[dekatn]

This is another sad example of the publics veiw of nursing, they don't have a clue what nursing is all about. Education is the key!!! We have got to find a way to educate and help the public understand what it is we all do, besides, empty bedpans. I never will forget when I announced to my family that I was going to nursing school, one of my family members made the statement that it seemed like a waste of time and money to go to school to learn how to empy bedpans!!

[TrudyRN]

Ha ha, too funny. I think maybe this was a plant, an intentional goad. It's too ignorant and ridiculous to be for real.

[TrudyRN]

This is another sad example of the publics veiw of nursing, they don't have a clue what nursing is all about. Education is the key!!! We have got to find a way to educate and help the public understand what it is we all do, besides, empty bedpans. I never will forget when I announced to my family that I was going to nursing school, one of my family members made the statement that it seemed like a waste of time and money to go to school to learn how to empy bedpans!!

My grandfather said, "Hmmph. Pots and pans." That was a looong time ago.