The solution to nursing problems

[Dave Frederick]

I posted this before and it seems to have been lost.

I think we can corrent all of the major problems in nursing by simply having all of us take the same day off. Let's say February 11th, 2003, all nurses on duty go home and no, I repeat no nurse comes into work that day. This would include all LPNS, RNs, ADNs, BSNs, MSNs, and RN/Phds. Exactly 24 hours later we return to work and see have some meaningful discussion with the powers in charge.

[LasVegasRN]

Like most Americans who want the United Nations to approve of war against Iraq, we would need the approval of NLN and ANA in order to make any mass demonstration effective and acceptable. In that same vein, it would also be extremely helpful to get the backing of the AMA.

I agree with OB/GYN NP.

[Youda]

Originally posted by jnette

I'm with you, Youda ! Another ol' hippy ready to rumble !

And with you, too, JT ! You guys have it right !

This is SO off-topic! But, have you seen the fall fashions in the department stores? Tie-dyed peasant shirts, bell bottom jeans, and platform shoes. Sound familiar?

Well, this old hippy remembers Kent State, and I'm ready to rumble, too. I'll even wear white boots and sing some Nancy Sinatra. Anyone for a sit-in (or sit-on) at the State Capitols? Who can run it by the ANA?

[-jt]

No they wouldnt.

Because you would never get every nurse in the country to walk out on her pts & risk her license. The few who did would not just get fired, but would be brought up on state charges.

When we had the massive protest in 1995, there were 35,000 people (not even all RNs) who had the guts to participate. And there wasnt even any job risk or license risk in doing that event. So some had to work, but Where were the rest of the 2 million RNs in this country on that day? They werent there.

Their unions were there, their state nurses associations were there, their professional organizations were there ---- and a few thousand RNs were there. This thing was so publicized & advertized for many months by many organizations. But where were the RNs ????

Oh they were all complaining - but they didnt show up in the hundreds of thousands to lift a finger to help themselves & take a stand to make their voices heard - even though just marching in the street en mass would have been a safe & easy way to do that. They couldnt even do that much as a group, and you think youre going to get them all coast to coast to walk out on pts, open themselves up to charges of pt abandonment, & lose their licenses & means to make a living?

If the majority of the 2.7 million US RNs had shown up in DC last time, we might not be in this situation today. But for some reason nurses dont work that way. So lets be realistic & come up with a more effective plan than walk outs that risk pts lives & RNs licenses - and marches that not enough show up for & are out of the publics minds as soon as the news ends & Letterman starts.

[-jt]

>

Ditto.

I like the idea of simultaneous regional protests across the country but the ANA cant run it. The organization doesnt work in individual states. The state nurses associations themselves handle nurse political activity in each's own state. Every nurses week they put on their own rallies & lobby days & other polictical events at the state capitols. For the next Nurses Day, pass your idea on to your state assoc now, before they already plan how to spend their limited funds (which come from the members dues - so if youre a member suggesting how they spend your money thats even better). You might be able to get this good old fashioned sit in included in the plans. Or just take the bull by the horns, organize a few nurse friends & put it together yourselves. Youd have to pay for permits & if you get enough of a crowd, traffic control.

[Youda]

-jt, I for one am sick of it. If you've got any ideas, tell me. I'll be one of the first in line to help.

You can't imagine how much heck I've gone through the last several years fighting for patient care and my own rights. Like most nurses, we become so isolated from each other that we don't even know anyone else is fighting, too. If anyone says anything at all, it's in a whisper, because we know if we say it outloud, someone from Big Brother management will hear and we'll start paying a price for THINKING. If you don't think it's like that out here in the trenches, then you are wrong.

[-jt]

Oh yes I can. Im right there in the trenches too! I think you had a great idea. I suggested promoting it to your state assoc & trying to get it done for the next Nurses Week. (it takes time to organize such things). Ill promote your idea to mine & some proactive nurses I know in other states. Maybe others will too & we can get the ball rolling.

I think the only way nurses will get any response to our work conditions is to have a "walk out". >

Just reminded me - when 1500 RNs in Oregon went on strike last year for 2 months, the dockworkers offered them jobs..... and some RNs took them! :)

Those guys are great. But you know why the president & Congress & everybody is paying attention to them?

Because they are a union - and they are politicly involved - and they are sticking together. What did other RNs do when the 1500 RNs in Oregon went on strike? They signed up with strike busting agencies & went to Oregon to cross the RN strike line - which helped the hospital to delay doing what the staff RNs needed it to do.

Its funny to hear suggestions of the US having a national nurses walk-out. I cant imagine it, because right now, nurses are having legal ones all over the country & other nurses cant wait to rush in behind them for the "strike pay".

National RN Unity - it would be great if such a thing actually existed - but that fact that it doesnt, doesnt mean we cant still try.

[rncountry]

I don't believe that a national walkout day is possible, however the image of what would happen is certainly entertaining!

Julie you know I started on the march bandwagon once, and I am curious, do you think that the nursing shortage has been in the news enough now that if there was a march the news media would pay attention this time around? When we were talking about this before Laura Vonfrolio Gasparis sent a copy of her tape from the last march she organized to her. I didn't see it since we are separated by several states, but Michelle said it was very inspiring. The other thing I have thought about, in line with what is happening regarding terrorism, is that the public should understand seriously, that given a major attack here it is possible that there would not be enough nurses to ultimately take care of massive injuries past a few days, the idea of working 16-20 a day for long periods to deal with that is not workable. Anyway thinking about ways to present to the public the reality, what do you think?

[ceecel.dee, MSN, RN]

The management staying to cover for the walk-out are nurses too. They probably have an issue or two as well. I don't think we can solve this with the continuous chorus of "it's us against them". To get the respect we have not been able to attract yet, we must act respectably. We must have great pride. We must demand to have THE say in our practice. We must work WITH physicians, not FOR them. We must refuse to accept the crabby days of others, when we are never allowed the same option.

We cannot wait for management....we must all demand this in how we practice every day. It will catch on.

[James Huffman]

Are we so self-centered that all we can talk about is our licenses?

It is unethical to abandon a patient without providing for continued care. As I pointed out in an earlier post, such a strike would entail the deaths of probably several hundred people. What would our answer be to the families of those who died?

Nurses who don't like their jobs can always leave them. But don't imagine that you can just skip out for a day and return with no consequences. Such a strike would hurt nursing more than we can possibly imagine. The public as a whole is very sympathetic to nurses and our concerns. A strike of this nature would wipe out that good will completely.

Jim Huffman, RN

http://www.NetworkforNurses.com

[-jt]

Yeah I know. Ive been thinking about you while reading this thread. :)

I do think that a march or other massive event that does not put the pts at risk would get attention now. But then what? That cant be all there is. What happens at the end of the day when everybody gets back on the train & heads out of DC? There has to be more.

Right now there are a lot of bills in state legislatures & in DC that would take the control out of the employers hands & help fix many of the problems, but the hospital associations are fighting against them. They have alot of money with which to do that. Fighting for those laws are the ANA, the state associations & other nursing organizations but they have only the funds & support of their members - a fraction of the nations nurses - to do it with. So its David against Goliath. David has won before but its been harder & taken longer. But if Davids brothers & sisters helped out from their own vantage points....who knows what wonders could occur?

But a march alone isnt going to do it. There has to be a continuous, ongoing onslaught by nurses aimed at the powers that be - and with no risk to the pts. With a march, nurses would make their presence & objections known (although the majority will not show up) - but when its over, then what? They have to also make their voices heard. 2.7 million is a pretty loud voice. And a lot of email, letters, and phone calls flooding legislative offices. And those are considered to be votes. 2.7 million votes would get attention ---- and action. The problem, as you know, is how to get all those nurses to DO any of it.

As for a walk-out, well, the public is very supportive & is on our side already. When we have a legal union strike at work over these issues, we still put the pts first & give a 10 day notice before the strike starts to allow the hospital to either come to terms & avoid the strike, or move the pts to other facilities for their care, or enlist enough nursing management to provide it there. Even then the public is still on our side -- the community & even the pts visitors walk the strike line with us. But to have a wildcat strike ---- where, without warning, we just dont show up for work & the nurses who are there just leave, abandoning the pts & giving no time for other arrangements to be made to provide the pts with the proper care --- Doing something like this would backfire on us in an instant & we would lose all the public support that we now have.

Who is going to support us if we have shown such callous disregard for the lives & well being of their loved ones entrusted to our care? And as professionals, how could we do it in the first place? There are other ways to make a statement without risking someones life.

[Youda]

Originally posted by James Huffman

Are we so self-centered that all we can talk about is our licenses?

James, I don't think anyone is implying the devastation to real people isn't an issue. But, this is a thread about NURSES, not patients. Heaven knows we think about our patients above ourselves most of the time. It is healthy for us to start thinking in terms of ourselves and what we need. Historically, that has not been the case.

While we consider our own needs, though, it doesn't mean that our concern for our patients and those lives is lessened. It just means that we are starting to care about ourselves ALSO.

[frankie]

Dave, let me know the day - I will spread the work - frankie:roll :roll