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

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Nov 5, 2006

*scratching head*
Funny........I thought that is what we do..........

I think he meant what he said. I love the show General Hospital and have watched it for years but I have to say it portrays nursing in a very bad light. It's definately not reality TV. This jerk probably get his info from TV shows.

TazziRN, RN · Nov 5, 2006

i did, and now for your viewing pleasure:
mr. ball (if that is your real name), could you possible be any more ignorant in regards to nurses.
" 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."
first off, when a person is admitted to a hospital, it is because they require nursing care. you obviously have extremely limited knowledge of what nursing care is. your nurse is expected to know the physiology and pathology of your condition, which includes interruptreting signs and symptoms, lab values, test results, possible complications from treatment, evaluating the effectiveness of treatment, and continuous monitoring and documentation of your condition. they are expected to ensure that any medication provided is the correct medication and given under the correct circumstances, and if you think medication administration is only about handing out pills, guess again, it's not that simple. they are expected to know the pharmakonetics of the medications you are on and the signs of any adverse effects these medications may produce, and evaluate the effectiveness of that medication. they are expected to educate you in regards to your condition and treatment, in fact they may be required to teach your spouse/so, or family. they are expected to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching they are expected to be sensitive to your cultural, religious, and personal needs while under our care. they are expected to perform as your advocate at all times, irregardless of whether or not you can speak for yourself, and when we piss someone off higher up the food chain while we advocate on your behalf we do this we suffer the retaliatory consequences. they are expected to ensure your safety while you are a patient, anything that could possible cause you harm while in our care we are responsible for. they are epected to do for you what you are unable to do for yourself, and that includes the simple tasks of brushing your teeth or combing your hair. our job is far more than performing routine repetive tasks. if you think any uneducated person with no training or education in sterile technique should be changing catheters, think again.
"to justify their pay, nurses should be expected to perform higherlevel tasks such as managing workers and making higher-level decisions."
contrary to your belief, nurses do not mindlessly follow physicians orders, in fact we are responsible to ensure that any treatment/orders prescribed by a physician is appropriate for you and if not we are responsible to refuse to implement your doctor's order. nurses are expected to manage and coordinate your care with the other disciplines within the hospital. that includes contacting your doctor, arranging your tests, arranging for physiotherapists or occupational therapists, arranging for respiratory therapists, your treatments, and even arranging for spiritual/religious support. in fact nurses also manage each other on the unit. in fact we are responsible to ensure that any other department (xr, lab, dietary, physiotherapy, housekeeping, etc) involved in your care does their job, despite the fact that they have their own supervisors. in fact the nurse is responsible for any care we delegate, including walking you to the bathroom. if what we delegate is not done, or done incorrectly, we are responsible. we are also expected to coordinate your care when you leave, and that includes follow-up appointments and tests, home care, and home instructions. in fact we are legally responsible and accountable for everything we do while your in our care and can be.
should your condition present or deteriorate to the point that you require life-saving measures, nurses are expected to initiate those measures that will save your life. nurses are expect to manage life and death situations, is that high-level enough for you?
"there wouldn't be a nurse shortage if nurses performed duties that were conducive with their pay."
if you think the nursing shortage is due to paying nurses too much, you are sadly mistaken. you obviously don't pay much attention to what the government has done when it comes to restructuring our hospitals and health system. you obviously have not clue as to the horrendous working conditions nurses are forced to work under. nurses often will work past their shifts without overtime, and often without a break. we are expected to tolerate abuse in all forms: verbal, physical, sexual, emotional, etc. we lack upper management support. we are expected to perform our jobs not matter what, despite the fact we often work for institutions that do not create a working environment to facilitate us in that endeavor. in fact nurses are expected to tolerate working conditions that would not be tolerated in any other job.
nurses are highly educated professionals in charge of you health and well-being while you are in their care. it will be your nurse that will know more about your current condition while you are under their care than your physician. they are accountable and responsible for anything and everything that could possible affect you while you are in their care. apparently you don't think that's worth much if you feel we only deserve minimum wage.
you are clueless about nurses and the nursing profession. in fact i've only glossed over the surface. perhaps mr. ball you should stick to subjects you actually have knowledge about. since your purpose was to elicit angry responses from nurses, i hope your satisfied.
yes, this person may be the equivalent of an internet troll, however it does provide an opportunity for nurses to educate the public about what we do.

dusky, you rock!!

battpos · Nov 5, 2006

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

either you believe in the free press... or you don't.

Kelly_the_Great · Nov 5, 2006

I did, and now for your viewing pleasure:.

LOVED IT!!!

Yes, this person may be the equivalent of an internet troll, however it does provide an opportunity for nurses to educate the public about what we do.

Great job, DusktilDawn, very well written.

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Nov 5, 2006

either you believe in the free press... or you don't.

Yeah for the 1st amendment! Yes this person has the right to be heard and we have the right to reply!

brendamyheart · Nov 5, 2006

Freedom of speech. That is what the Constitution promised. Including all post replied at All Nurses and Mr. Ball.

battpos · Nov 5, 2006

Yeah for the 1st amendment! Yes this person has the right to be heard and we have the right to reply!

these are NOT two mutually exclusive things -- I certainly never implied that. I was merely reminding someone that the editor needs not apologize for printing someone's letter. In the marketplace of ideas, as in this thread, it is obvious that faulty ideas are quickly identified as such. That couldn't have been done without some very thoughtful replies.

puglie · Nov 5, 2006

Oh well . Some people are just ignorant. IF nursing were only that easy LOL

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Nov 5, 2006

Oh well . Some people are just ignorant. IF nursing were only that easy LOL

Yeah, no kidding. I want to feed babies all day!

purseOnalityRN · Nov 5, 2006

so happy to see all the responses to this!

got off night shift this morning - emptied my bladder right before leaving the hospital and welll welll -- my eyes struck wide when i saw the article posted in the nurses bathroom.:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire

it sickened me after the hellish night shift.. makes me feel totally undervalued by the public.. i only hope that this ignorant bast**d is one in a few that actually perceives nursing in simple tasks... i know that hope only goes so far - one day i hope the public eventually appreciates nurses.

i have forwarded a copy to the center for nursing advocacy + will be writing a letter to the editor of the paper.. i would be great if others could do the same..

[email protected]

P_RN, ADN, RN · Nov 5, 2006

All these years I have wondered where did all the Nurses go. TA Bull has
finally discovered the reason. Absolutely perfect! Believe it or not they
don't teach bedpan emptying in College. It would be such a benefit to the
students not to have to cogitate long and hard about which end is up. He's
got it!
Now as for walking the elderly to the restroom, I will concede that. Now if
he would just let some unlicensed person move his relative to the restroom,
never mind that her blood pressure bottomed out and she fainted. Why we'd
never know because we are over paid line item no bodies. It's good to know
that all a Nurse needs to do is "manage workers." That's just peachy-keen.
Wish I'd thought of it.
Forget walking and baby feeding, we could just go to the corner store and
find some vagrant to give shots and pass pills. For after all some of the
vagrants might know their way around a needle-maybe?
And why bother to have a professional in the operating room? We could just
train chimps or spider monkeys to hand the tools about. The don't even wear
scrubs so the hospital could save on linen.
I regret that I didn't figure this out before I wasted my time learning low
paid tasks. Why I could jsut go to Walmart and pick up on any profession
there. Surely there is a worker who needs managing.

My little love note to the paper.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2006

ouch!