Contacted Oprah Show About Nursing Issues

Nurses General Nursing

Published

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

If everyone is so concerned that they need an airway to educate the public regarding nursing issues, then why not merely buy a spot on the cable channels that are open to anyone? That way you can be assured that the things that you want said and heard are truly the ones that are broadcast. You can utilize the newest of the new nurses, as well as the veterans, to assure all points of view are heard. Why wait until an "Oprah" deems it an appropriate time? We are talking about everyday issues that seem to confound us all....not some sort of sensationalism that sells TV ads.

CJ, RN BSN CEN CCRN

Clinical Staff Educator

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Specializes in PEDS ~ PP ~ NNB & LII Nursery.

What about getting on Larry King??? ;)

rags

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Specializes in PEDS ~ PP ~ NNB & LII Nursery.

epona ~ "the teachers need to convey this to the students and urge us to not only give excellent care, but command respect in what we do."

~ respect is something to never be commanded but rather something that is earned.

i want to address something another poster said even though it is a little off topic for this post. i do however feel it is at the core of it and directly related. okay... now i'm talking like a politician... in one side of my mouth and out the other... maybe i should have ran for president instead of becoming a nurse.

lindarn ~ "i will once again say, our multiple levels of entry, with our different levels of "nurse", do nothing but confuse the public, and us, and more than anything, continue to splinter, and prevent us from being a unified voice to the public. this is not paranoia on my part, it is a fact. the public has no idea who we are, or what we are, and what we do. there are so many different "flavors" of the title, nurse, that it prevents anyone, including us, from truly understanding, and defining what a nurse is and what we do. and how we are important to health care.

we are not doing anyone a favor, least of all us, by continuing with multiple levels of education. most of us don't recognize the problem, so we don't insist on standardizing our education, and increase our level of education."

~ even though i completely agree with the first sentence, i have noticed the ones most upset about the adn vs bsn issue is the adn's and bsn's. others really don't find it to be an issue. a patient has never asked me what degree i obtained. even nurses that become my patients. i think if we stop focusing on the level of degree between us and unite as nurses then we will be of a greater power. we all do the same job with the same responsibilities (with the exception of the lpn, which i find many are wonderful and i have learned a great deal from)... we are all nurses no matter the route we took to get there.

that is my opinion anyway and i realize it may be different from others. i accept that.

rags

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rags......

I have to agree with you on that. The entry level has not made a difference in my career, nor do I think it makes me a more proficient nurse. I have lots of letters after my name, and the thing that the patient cares about is the care that I give to them on a daily basis. It is rare that a patient even askes what they all mean. I have found that many of the nurses that have taught me things in regard to nursing care, are the ones that are on the frontline, handling patient issues and care with great success, and have the time invested in learning the art of nursing.

As for Larry King.....If his favorite topic is the father of Anna Nicole's baby, are we sure that we want to be there?:lol2:

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I don't know where these people are working. I lovvvvvvvvvvvvvve my job. We got great ratio 5-1, i said b4 my work pays 10k a year to continue my education as a BSN. I am probably the first one on here to say that I am happy as far as pay. For all those people on here bi*****g then you are at the wrong hospital.

Ben

Ben, like the other nurses I am glad that your job is all peaches and cream, but in reading many of the post can you not even entertain the thought that you are in the minority and NOT the majority where that is concerned.

Obviously not everyone can work in your hospital or even in your geographical area. Can you spare a little sympathy for the rest of us?

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

What good would or could Oprah do

and who would really listen to her anyway

a waste of airtime

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
What about getting on Larry King??? ;)

rags

Now is there really any significant difference between Oprah and Larry.

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Specializes in PEDS ~ PP ~ NNB & LII Nursery.
Now is there really any significant difference between Oprah and Larry.

Other than anatomy, audiance that listens to them, time of day they are on the air, channel and set design...

No. Not much. :)

rags

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Specializes in cardiac/critical care/ informatics.

"i will once again say, our multiple levels of entry, with our different levels of "nurse", do nothing but confuse the public, and us, and more than anything, continue to splinter, and prevent us from being a unified voice to the public. rags

i don't believe it confuses the public, they don't know that some have an assoc. degree or bs or whatever. nurses don't walk in the room and say hello i am nancy nurse msn. they just know that we have had some kind of education.

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Specializes in CRNA.
Ben, like the other nurses I am glad that your job is all peaches and cream, but in reading many of the post can you not even entertain the thought that you are in the minority and NOT the majority where that is concerned.

Obviously not everyone can work in your hospital or even in your geographical area. Can you spare a little sympathy for the rest of us?

Nurses that are miserable in their current job setting have no one to blame but themselves. There are countless job and educational opportunities available to us. If you are unhappy with your work environment, leave! Why spend your entire career in a place you despise? You have to initiate the first step. Whining to Oprah, an individual whose only responsibility is to increase her Nielsen Rating by cooking up new mindless show topics, is not the answer.

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Specializes in Education, Medical/Surgical.
We will never move forward until we recognize and eliminate the problem. Of course, this is exactly where the hospitals and nursing homes don't want. They saw how the united group of PTs OTs, Pharmacists, moved forward, and how they made sure that their pay moved forward with their education. Hospitals see unified nursing has a threat to their control, and their "bottom line", which ends with nursing salaries, staffing, and other work place issues. They will do everything in thier power, legal or not,to maintain the status quo. Unfortunately we allow this to go on, and even help them along when we fight nurses who try to improve things in the hospitals. It has been my experience that nurses who do try to improve things, and "make noise", and buck management, are deserted by the nurses who we are trying to help. Nothing will ever change until we make the effort to change things ourselves. Stop waiting for someone else to "save" us. God helps those who help themselves.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

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.

________

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why not try writing editorials in local newspapers and contacting local news channels, if enough pick up the articles and stories eventually it will spread out of the local arena - personally i don't respect oprah or anything she has to say

just my .02

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