CEOs outa touch, nurses to blame for not letting them know

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 9, 2007

Note to Peter Buerhaus PhD,RN,FAAN.....the last line of above article just about made my skull explode. Instead of exhorting CEOs to furfill their feduciary duty to the patients in their hospitals and keep themselves informed about what is really going on in the trenches, you decide it is the nurses job to do it for them. I know that Phds have a reputation for having their heads up their butts but really are you that clueless. First of all, CEOs know as little or as much as they wish. Second of all, I can't tell you how many nurses I know that suffered retribution for trying to clue managment in to the truth about the dangers to patients at the bedside caused by bad staffing. The effect of this returibution is to silence the rest of the nursing staff. Everywhere I have ever worked they have wanted one thing from me and that was for me to do my job and keep my mouth SHUT. People that do this stick around, people that don't are gone shortly.

Dr. Buerhaus is not saying that the average staff nurse should walk into the CEO's office and make a fuss. What he is saying is that the nursing profession as a whole has an obligation to study the effects of nursing shortages and nursing stress etc. and to educate the rest of the team about the implications of these things for patient care. He is calling on nursing leaders to do that. He is NOT asking the average nurse to take big risks with her job.

You are mis-interpreting Dr. Buerhaus' intent.

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 9, 2007

. He might even have to do the unthinkable and get a real job.

Dr. Buerhaus already has a real job. He is one of the strongest advocates for the nursing profession we have today. Your attacks on him because of your misinterpretation of that one sentence are totally unfair.

Perhaps if more nurses at the bedside and in mid-level positions would support those in leadership positions who are fighting for their benefit, our leaders would be able to be more successful. Bashing the very leaders who are making headway by doing the necessary research to improve the nursing situation only makes things worse.

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 9, 2007

"142 chief executive officers of hospitals as well as 142 chief nursing officers in hospitals. Buerhaus reported that approximately fifty percent of each group responded except for the CEOs. Only about 31 percent of the CEOs responded (less than one third). "
Okay, does this author have a problem with math or is this author slanting things? Just noticing that that'd be less than one-fourth and just curious.

I don't understand your question. 142 CEO's were asked to complete survey. 31% of those 142 people actually did complete the survey. That is slightly less than 1/3 of the CEO group (not less than 1/4).

Other groups of people were also surveyed. 142 CNO's were also asked to complete a survey. Approximately 50% of those people responded. Finally, 1697 RN's and 400 MD's were asked to complete surveys. Approximately 50% of each of those two groups responded.

So ... what's your question with that? It makes perfectly good sense to me. Am I missing something?

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · Jul 9, 2007

Dr. Buerhaus already has a real job. He is one of the strongest advocates for the nursing profession we have today. Your attacks on him because of your misinterpretation of that one sentence are totally unfair.
Perhaps if more nurses at the bedside and in mid-level positions would support those in leadership positions who are fighting for their benefit, our leaders would be able to be more successful. Bashing the very leaders who are making headway by doing the necessary research to improve the nursing situation only makes things worse.

Yep- I'm a big fan of his work, myself. He has a very common sense approach to his methods and conclusions. I think we're seeing more and more of this in modern nursing research, which is a breath of fresh air.

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · Jul 9, 2007

So ... what's your question with that? It makes perfectly good sense to me. Am I missing something?

It made perfect sense to me, too. The numbers (31% response rate) may imply a general lack of interest in staffing issues by CEO's- or at least a greater interest by nurses & docs (50% response rate). The response rates were notable.

Kenny B, I think you have your math wrong?

oramar · Jul 12, 2007

Dr. Buerhaus is not saying that the average staff nurse should walk into the CEO's office and make a fuss. What he is saying is that the nursing profession as a whole has an obligation to study the effects of nursing shortages and nursing stress etc. and to educate the rest of the team about the implications of these things for patient care. He is calling on nursing leaders to do that. He is NOT asking the average nurse to take big risks with her job.
You are mis-interpreting Dr. Buerhaus' intent.

If that is what he thinks then that is what he should have said. The statement you just made is one I can get behind. However, that is not the way the LAST LINE of the article came. Like I said I was quite impressed witht he article till that last line.

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · Jul 12, 2007

" Buerhaus suggested that these survey results should be used by clinicians to promote discussion about the nursing shortage in their facilities in order to implement changes. At the very least they should point out to nurses the need to better inform and educate CEOs and physicians about the nursing shortage and the impact on the quality of patient care."

Who better to inform and educate about the shortage and its impact on quality care than bedside nurses? You can't denigrate an established researcher (who for years has documented the impact of high nurse-to-patient ratios on quality of care, BTW) by saying he needs to get a "real job", and then in the same breath say it's not our job to inform higher-ups when short-staffing impacts our ability to provide good care. Whose job is it to make sure this info gets disseminated, then? The CEOs? Doctors? Wouldn't letting the higher-ups know that certain staffing policies are bad for patient care be one way to advocate for our patients?

There are ways to get your point across with higher-ups without being rude or losing your job. And if we don't speak up, who is going to speak for us (if we're not in a union, that is)?