If you speak your mind will you get a bad assignment? Come on..come clean!

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My girlfriend seems to be afraid to speak her mind because of the fact that the management system can always send her to the lesser or busier hospitals as a float pool thing shes in.

Again, insulted that I'm being painted with such a broad brush. Are you involved in nursing? No? Then how the hell do you know what is going on on the floor? I'm sorry, but your girlfriend's float pool nursing job is HARDLY representative of nursing.

To JanfRN--seriously? You are seriously telling me that nursing has not changed for the better in the last 10, 20, 50 years? That autonomy has not improved, nursing education has not improved, salaries and work conditions have not improved, respect between RNs and medical providers hasn't improved, and that any improvement that HAS occurred has not been driven by nurses? You are seriously saying that you don't see nurses on here who post about their good, even great working conditions? Well, let me rectify that. I work in a great environment with more than adequate staffing, superb technical resources and support, where I have a voice and it gets heard. Our VP of nursing is very receptive to floor nurse input, and each unit has significant autonomy in how policies and procedures are implemented and applied in their respective departments. I have friends who work in sh$t environments, and friends who work in facilities that are even better than mine, from a nursing perspective. Nurses vote with their feet, too, and facilities like mine have NO PROBLEM filling the few positions that open.

Change IS slow, as it will be in any huge organization or culture. But to say that nurses make no difference in our professional environment, that when we see a problem we have no ability to implement a solution, that we've been brainwashed and beaten down into thinking that we can't make any improvements, or that we're too fearful and timid to speak up--that's absolutely untrue, and I can't believe anyone is seriously perpetuating this myth. Sure, individual nurses feel that way--I see those threads, too. But it certainly isn't universal and characteristic of our entire profession.

And THANK YOU, airbrushguy, for popping in and protecting us. Yes, we were all walking around like zombies, completely unable to see any problems, think of any solutions, or realize that we worker bees have the power to change anything, until YOU came and opened our eyes.

Kind of like someone who KNOWS someone who has kids, and gives you parenting advice. Thanks. I really think your second hand, outsider perspective, based only on your girlfriend's experience, is seriously inaccurate and honestly insulting. Your girlfriend isn't being treated well in her job? Rather than admonishing, educating, and inspiring all us poor nurses, how about you encourage her to FIND A NURSING JOB where she's treated with respect and dignity. Believe me, there are plenty of them out there.

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Very well thought out. I will definately shuffle what you have typed here.. but please consider my views too? Thanks.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

CuriousMe, I think you're jumping to the conclusion that I was singling you out for bad behaviour but it simply happened that my post asking people to play nice was being posted while you were also in the process of posting. Sniping, as in personal attacks, of which there have been many on this thread, will not be tolerated. I'm closing this thread and will have to confer with the other staff as to when or whether to reopen it.

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