Contacted Oprah Show About Nursing Issues

nurseinlimbo · Mar 20, 2007

I think it would be great if someone would address nursing issues on television from a nurses perspective. All we ever hear about is "code burgundy" (bed closures preventing patients from accessing care) and the mistakes that are made. Here in Canada the only time that nursing hits the news is when we are negotiating for higher wages, and the public thinks we make too much money already. If there was awareness of the working conditions, hours, mandated overtime, poor morale etc. maybe we would get some empathy.

My sister in law is also a nurse in a larger center, where there is a severe nursing shortage. She is 27 a new mom and her friends are all either quitting or going to prn only due to staffing shortages, mandated overtime and abusive nurses/managers. Todays younger educated women don't tolerate the treatment that is dished on us, and won't stay in a profession that doesn't provide or understand the need for balance in life.

I think we are on the edge of a critical shortage, and I'm not sure I want to be in the thick of it when it is at it's peak.

MichaelLooney · Mar 20, 2007

Hello everyone!
Yes, after visiting this website many, many times-I decided to e-mail the Oprah show to suggest a show about the issues in the nursing profession. No, I'm not a nurse yet-I start nursing school in the fall. I want to become a nurse so badly, but am scared to death after reading post after post after post about how horrible the working conditions are for nurses. It seems that nurses want to be heard, but nobody is listening. Some of the wages that nurses are getting paid and nurse-to-patient ratios are absolutely horrible for people who have patient's lives in their hands every day. Why not make some serious racket? Maybe all of you should contact the Oprah show too, which could possibly help raise a red flag. This is just an idea. What do you all think? Sorry if I sound naiive-I'm just trying to help.
Jennifer

It you're right...you are...but at the same time, its a good idea.

Problem with changing a nurse's wage (even though they're much more likly to be hurt or become ill on the job than a construction worker) is that you have people who will scream and say, 'I worked to get to MY position, so I want a pay raise, too!' Even though all they might do is type stuff into a computer all day and check blanaces people ow to a hospital or whatever. So everyone all up the line gets paid more, including the big high and mighty muckity muck who probably doesn't even know what colour the walls are in the nurse's box...er, breakroom. This means each patent will be charged more, insurance companies will decline more things, and everyone will go back to feeling the way they did before 6 months later.

That, on the flip side of course, means we'll have an influx of people going, "OMG! Nurses get paid decently! I want to be a nurse!" This means schools will see the massive profits that can be made, raise tuitions, requiring more aid and more out of pocket to cover the classes. This, of course, will mean even MORE bills people have to pay off when they get out of school, which means even LESS money...

I all trickles. Like this minimum wage rase they're talking about: Raise the minimum, and people making above expect a raise, too. The cost of this trickles back to the consumer, who has to pay more, and really aren't making any more money in the end, but might actually be making less at the end of it all.

Speaking of patient to professional ratio, there's nothing you can do about makeing people nurses. Its like the place I'm working for now. They're CONSTANTLY asking, 'How can we get more customers?' I answered, quite seriously, 'Hold a gun to their heads.' If someone doesn't want to do it, or doesn't have a way to do it, they're not going to. And you can't change that. We don't have enough nurses to handel the patients, but how do you expect people to want to become nurses when we went from being the perfect ideal of an order durring the wars, to being walked all over and disreguareded as inferrior because 'the customer is always right', until they're dead, so their families can sue us for things we had no control over?

I could go on forever...but I won't.

Simplepleasures · Mar 20, 2007

My question is this . Why don't we hear anything about the abuses in nursing? There must be someone or something squashing our voices. It's just unbelievable.:smilecoffeecup:

There IS, its called big MONEY healthcare lobby, nothing will change until we get a new administration in Washington,DC.This comes straight from many nursing home reform advocacy groups from ALL over the country. This administration and the old congress was no friend to healthcare reform.

I_am_Julia · Mar 20, 2007

if she did a show on nurses, she would have to highlight every profession out there because without really working within 'that' field one doesn't really know about the true "ins and outs".

television is mostly entertainment so hearing about someone's jobs woes is hardly entertaining.

she's not uninterested, she simply doesn't know what to be interested in. because we, as nurses, have been throwing our hands in the air and giving up. many nurses have the courage to say, "i don't like the image that people have of my professional career and i will do whatever it takes to change that image."

tridil2000, MSN, RN · Mar 21, 2007

Linda, RN Normally I am not a confrontational person. But do you ever post ANYTHING other than BSN, BSN, BSN? I sincerely believe that once would have been sufficient.
________

i only see it written once.

mdrkan · Mar 21, 2007

Just a thought, and I will preface with the fact that I am not savvy on the concept, but would unionizing be a viable option in correcting some of the problems we face.

Karen RN

CRNI-ICU20 · Mar 21, 2007

When she has her first real brush with a major health crisis....she might then give us a chance to voice our concerns....

I would rather see a SEA of nurses march on the mall in Washington DC...to bring attention to the crisis WE are living with and facing each day on BEHALF of our patients and loved ones.

When Reuters picks up the story....then maybe we will get some air time...

we tried contacting Oprah two years ago, and we live here in the Chicago area....we were ignored...

I think RNSC is right...

MichaelLooney · Mar 21, 2007

There IS, its called big MONEY healthcare lobby, nothing will change until we get a new administration in Washington,DC.This comes straight from many nursing home reform advocacy groups from ALL over the country. This administration and the old congress was no friend to healthcare reform.

What I want to know is why can't we do something against the abuses TO nursing? I love my job b/c I had a "porr little old lady" who broke my glasses and attemtped to break my arm as well. Had x-rays of the fractures she left in my wrist, but ended up loosing my job and nearly loosing my lisence over the whole matter. Only thing that didn't complete it was that she didn't have even a bruse on her.

That's just an example of physcial. We also suffer emotional and social damage as a normal occurance, as well as many other forms.

miko014 · Mar 21, 2007

I've been saying that there needs to be some public education on a nurse's job for a long time, and I think Oprah would be a great way to get attention - if the show was done correctly. They should just get a camera to follow some nurses around for a whole shift and show what we really have to do. Of course, there would have to be a lot of bleeping and scrambling to protect pt confidentiality, haha. If it was a step toward getting some attention, then it would be good, but we need to do more than that. We have to get some people with power (preferably political, haha) involved and figure out a way to make nursing a less abusive profession. When I worked retail, they used to yell at us if we were on the clock for longer than 5 hours without a break (we clocked out for breaks). Nurses sometimes have to go whole 8 or 12 hour shifts without even peeing. That's a problem! We need to do something, but it has to be more than just Oprah! The public should be aware of what really goes on, and why they sometimes have to wait for their pain medicine!

NursSissy · Mar 21, 2007

Last week in our local paper there was an article about a book a gentleman just wrote about bad bosses, I can't recall the title or author but did remember him quoting Nurses are at the top of the list of abused employees. On the average are verbally abuse 6-12 a year by doctors. We have 1 urologist that probably abuses 12 nurses a day! I wish I could remember the title!

ZootRN · Mar 21, 2007

If you wait for someone to come and magically fix the problems plaguing our profession for centuries, you are wasting your time. We are the only people who able to help themselves, and there are no knights in shining armors to rescue us.

Lindarn, I always enjoy your posts, and I think you have a quality of a true nursing leader. Can you think of anything that would get us a real attention and will help us to move on, not that Opra's housewives stuff? If I would see a real nursing leader, I would join a movement in a heartbeat, picket lines, TV shows, whatever, just can't stand this whining anymore. I visited a state nursing conference last September, thinking to join a forces. Well, I did not see a FORCES. It was same whining on different level of how to attract new grads, and how to communicate well, and what else is lacking in our profession. I could not believe people were driving and flying from all over the state to listen to it. Why don't we come up with the plan, lay out our goals, and start working toward them? Allnurses is the perfect place for this, as there are literally thousands of nurses from across the country.

msnrn3 · Mar 21, 2007

I have e-mailed Oprah on several occasions about suggesting a show. You would think she would be interested, especially since the nursing shortage is going to get even worse. I have never recieved a reply. It would be a great idea for National Nurses Week. Any suggestions how to get her attention. Maybe a rally outside her studio during National Nurses Week??