Collaborativeness!

It's my educated intention, that all us nurses, of any status, should harmonize together; for the sake of all concerned!

  1. Can nurses try to positively work together?

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      How can we improve positive collaboration?
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      Is it possible to respect each and every nurse,...striving to do a good job?
Collaborativeness!

Hi,

I've been involved, in some aspect(s) of nursing, since 1972. Since then, I've earned 3 college degrees - accounting, psychology, and sociology. I have a master's, in sociology,...with a concentration in gerontology. I also was commissioned, as a U.S. Army officer,...now honorably-discharged. I have successfully raised two sons,...and now have grandchildren. I have worked as an accountant, nurse, and sociologist. I taught anthropology, and sociology, at a local community college. I am now on the cusp of early retirement. I officially retire this January 1, 2017! I intend to stay active, be it part-time work, and/or writing articles, and/or books, etc. I am presently living with a woman. We've been together about 11 years. Lastly, I am an ordained, Christian, minister.

I have all but a "clinical," per Excelsior's College, to obtain an associate's degree, in nursing. Presently, I have the LPN designation.

I have had approximately 25 years experiences, working as a licensed nurse! This brief article is about "collaboration!" I have found so many instances, that all nurses,...except the saintly few,...that are hell bent on either destroying your career, or placing your license in a bad light! We all need to TRY and better ourselves! And stop acting like base animals! Let's help each other,...teach each other,...and stop all this back-biting, back-stabbing, whistle-blowing - on non-criminal acts, etc. We need to attempt to be both collaborative, and professional! If you see a nurse struggling with something,...help that nurse out! Don't constantly "judge!" Yes, we all can assess, plan, implement, and evaluate! We are supposed to care for our patients,...let's start caring for each other, too!!! Maybe, just maybe, we need a national nursing union as well?

I own a nursing company located in the Pittsburgh, PA, area. I am essentially the only corporate employee. If needed, independent contractors could be used, too.

Maybe this doesn't help positive nursing interactions,...this At-Will employment! It doesn't give nurses much say in their jobs!!! This needs to change!!! 50% of my nursing jobs, have ended due to the At-Will employment! When I have had "contract" based nursing jobs,...things went along smoothly!!! Also, may help for positive collaboration???

In ending,...it's my sincere desire, and hope, to see nursing, and all health related fields, interact on a more professional, caring, stance! I have known plenty of nurses, who have left the field, related to the toxic, unhealthy, lack of rapport, between plenty of nurses!!! Let's ALL strive towards a better today, and tomorrow!!! Can we ALL try to be supportive, one to the other? Also, having some patience, with each other, to a point, at least,...would be helpful, too! We need to REDUCE this being "written up," as well! Being more positive, with an eye towards teaching,...and less "police" actions,...might help shore up the morale in many nursing settings!!! Yes, if a nurse is abusive, towards patients, etc., and steals narcotics, etc., I can totally understand taking firm action! If they haven't broken any local, state, or federal laws,...let's attempt to be collaboratively caring, and supportive, one towards the other,...ok?

Some examples of unnecessary punishments: being written up for clocking out just a bit early,...when the preceptor stated that you could,...being written up for crushing a pill,...when a patient couldn't properly swallow,...and the prescriber knew about the issue anyways,...and not providing the piece of paper illustrating one's nursing license,...the use of keys, etc. Of the 50% of the nursing jobs I've held,...both positive collaboration, and a scrupulous approach towards punishment, was used! All-in-all, nursing can be very vexing! I NEVER had this problem, with the other 50% of my nursing jobs,...and the military, too! Being ADHD, BPD, and OCD,...didn't help, either!!!

Let's attempt to start a better chapter, in nursing, one towards each other,...and make going to work, and while at work, both positively stimulating, and enriching,...for everybody!!!

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Patrick61

About Patrick61

LPN; I was blessed to have been in a position to earn 3 college degrees,...in business, and the social sciences. Also, I have had the experiences of raising two sons, etc. I've worked in both civilian capacities, and military. I have no criminal record.

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Patrick,

I'm not clear on this. Are you a nurse? An entrepreneur? Both?

I find your exhortations to the nursing community to be more collaborative to be admirable.

The only problem, and it's a big one, is that there is no mutual monetary incentives for nurses to hardly ever act in unison unless maybe when voting in a union for the purpose of improving wages or working conditions.

Still in "right to work states" you might be amazed at how many nurses elect to opt-out of participating in a union while still reaping the benefits of unionization while not having to pay union dues.

This opt-out election on their part is within the rights, under state law, of nurses who do it but it truly underscores the "I, me, mine" attitude many nurses have.

This to me is the antithesis of collaboration and belies any attempt at nurses ever working in concert to make the whole stronger than the sum of its parts.

I do believe that individual nurses acting in unity would be good for nursing as a whole and even good for CQI of patient care but there are too many quislings among the rank and file and in so-called nursing leadership who are beholden to the powerful hospital corporations and their pay-to-play politicians.

I wish I could be more sanguin about this situation but time, experience and hard-knocks have informed me otherwise.

So Patrick, as you may have surmised, nursing disunity has always been good for businesses that have historically been more than happy to exploit this situation, often to their own benefit, and leaving the yeoman nurses with the crumbs.

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You've managed to get ellipses and exclamation marks to work together collaboratively in a way I've never seen before. If only nurses could learn to do the same. :yes:

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