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

SmilingBluEyes · Nov 6, 2006

I have found such ignorance 9 times out of 10, can't be corrected. Why? Because such people don't care to be educated at all. I bet all the words written in rebuttal will fall on deaf ears, in his case. BUT they may open up many other eyes in the process, and that to me, can't be a bad thing. I just personally, would be careful how much vitriolic anger I would infuse into any editorial I wrote, as I would be representing nurses nationwide, and usually people will listen more openly when the tone is not too angry or adversarial. Keep fighting the good fight!

Jasmine777 · Nov 8, 2006

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!!

I agree that many people have no idea of what nurses actually do. Even the patients that we take care of, many times only see a few things and they form an image of what our job consists of. What would be a good way to educate the public about what we truly do? there is never enough time to talk to the patients as it it, let alone explain why we perform a certain task and what is the rationale and science behind it (e.g. checking an IV site for example). And would patients really want to hear?

None of us nurses like that the public has a negative/false view of nursing...we need to find ways to change that.

bethin · Nov 8, 2006

My reply:

Well, Mr or Ms Ball, the next time your loved one needs to go to the bathroom, you do it. I'm much too busy polishing my nails and keeping a chair warm for the next shift. After all, according to you, anyone can position a bedpan. Hint: try not to throw up when that explosive diarrhea hits you. I hope you know ACLS and PALS. You'll need it if you want to successfully save your loved one if they should happen into cardiac or respiratory arrest. Better start off figuring out what those letters mean. And when the surgeon yells at you after you saved his butt, don't cry. It happens daily and you need to learn to suck it up. You've got other patients to worry about. And that dying baby whose parents abandoned her? You know, the one that you held in your arms as she took her last breath? Don't cry. Others need you. And while we're on the subject of babies, is it ok if the cord comes out before the baby? Are babies born sunny side up or down? Don't fret. If you're lucky a doctor will be there. If there isn't a doctor then keep your mom on speed dial. She probably knows. Although, chances are she's not speaking to you for being an immature twit after giving her an IM shot (that's intramuscular to you twits) that hit the sciatic nerve. And you got to think fast when those old men whip IT out. Don't worry, it won't be the last time you get peed on. Ooops, maybe that wasn't urine to begin with. What are you going to do for that blood sugar of 45? Give orange juice? What are you going to do if they aren't conscious? What fluids do you start? At what rate? Do you call the doctor now or wait for the patient to stabilize? What are you going to do when a patient, who has a PCA (that's patient controlled analegesia in twit speak) has respirations of 8? Patients can go downhill while you're in the bathroom relieving your bladder. Expect to do that once in a 12 hour shift. And don't expect food. Get used to eating standing. Don't fret about those swollen ankles. You'll learn to buy shoes and socks bigger. You'll learn to spend all the holidays with your friends......at work. You'll learn to love full moons. Make sure you see your doctor because you will need antidepressants after you see another child die due to drunk drivers or child abuse. You'll learn that your very best may just not be good enough to save that dying baby. You are competing with God after all. He holds the purse strings. Try not to bring your work home with you, it upsets the family. Get used to the 5am calls asking if you can come back from your Mediterranean cruise early. Don't worry about getting stuck with dirty needles. It doesn't hurt.

Smiling represses the gag reflex. So the next time you're cleaning up explosive diarrhea, don't smile. I'd love to see you lose your lunch that you ate cold while standing up.

purseOnalityRN · Nov 8, 2006

here is yet another posting in the paper's opinion section.. the first one is really bad, the next one is a sort of rebuttal.. omg i don't know where to begin how frustrated i feel reading this in the newspaper.

:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire

re: oct. 29 letter. i oppose carol carbol's labelling of nurses as professionals. nursing should not be awarded the same status as a true profession such as law, accounting, medicine or dentistry. a true professional performs highly complex tasks and demonstrates a high level of judgment. nurses must follow policy and procedure and make low-level operational decisions. as an accountant, i am insulted that a nurse would believe they are my equal.

ivan miller

(don't get sick.)

re: nov. 4 letter. t.a. ball. i certainly hope that if you ever need a nurse your opinion of nurses takes a drastic change. walk a mile in my shoes! there is a nursing shortage because nurses are overworked and under-appreciated by people such as yourself. i have been a registered nurse for 31 years. i make life-and-death decisions on a daily basis. would you want an uneducated person paid minimum wage administering your medications? starting your iv? assessing your wound or incision and changing the dressing without knowing sterile procedure? changing your tracheotomy?

joanna hysler

link: http://www.edmontonsun.ca/comment/letters/2006/11/07/2264780.html

purseOnalityRN · Nov 8, 2006

Here's my letter:

RE: Nov. 7: Ivan Miller,

It's unfortunate that you find it insulting nurses are regarded as professionals. Nurses save lives, tend to sick ones, create a shoulder to cry on for family members, and make critical decisions on a daily basis - ones that you may never understand or find important because you do not possess the years of training a registered nurse must endure. We would not need four years of university to simply follow a manual. Unfortunately you are incorrect - we do perform HIGHLY COMPLEX tasks, and demonstrate a HIGH LEVEL of judgment ON A DAILY BASIS - we are regarded as professionals. There are over 25 000 nurses practicing in Alberta today. We are the quarterbacks of this health care system and it is truly demeaning to have a member of the community make an opinion without walking in our shoes. It is also surprising an accountant would demonstrate such insolence.

DusktilDawn · Nov 8, 2006

good grief!!! what is in the water in edmonton, alberta?

here's one today from m.a shipley:

http://www.edmontonsun.ca/comment/letters/2006/11/08/2276720.html

as a hospital administrator, i have to agree with t.a ball's nov. 4 letter. nurses currently perform higher-level tasks. however, they still perform many tasks that should be done by unskilled workers. this is very costly to the health-care system. job protectionism by the union and their nurses prohibits the system from hiring the right person to perform the right job. staffing would be less complex and labour costs would decrease significantly if there was a better fit.

m.a. shipley

(bitter medicine?)

having been through the process in the mid 90's with hospital restructuring that resulting in the almagation of 2 hospitals, here's my response:

oh please!!! i've been through a hospital amalgamation in the mid 90s (thank you government and your restructuring plan) and unions did squat about protecting nursing jobs, or any other unionized jobs (housekeeping, dietary, etc). in fact nurses with 10 years or less experience were "laid off." it was interesting to note that despite practically closing one hospital and combining the staff of both (after lay offs of course) how little management was let go. skeleton staff with twice as much management was the result. in fact management then and still to this day receives approximately 12% wage increases each year irregardless of whether or not they are competent in their job. amazing how much the severence packages were for the hospital's 3 ceos its has had since that time. talk about costly to the health care system. some things never change, hospital administrators continue to blame nurses and/or their unions for whatever is wrong. afraid to look in the mirror m.a. shipley?

James Huffman · Nov 8, 2006

Folks, this is a losing battle. Kind of like having a fight with a monkey using, well, fecal material. You'll just get dirty, and the monkey enjoys the fight.

Writing ranting letters to the editor is a widespread practice. When someone writes something like this, you'd be surprised at how many people just roll their eyes, and go to the next piece. Nurses here (in the States; again, I can't speak for Canada) are respected, and usually have high approval ratings when such polls are taken. I honestly wouldn't worry about this too much.