Is this any way to retain nurses?

[Owney]

Administrators do not view nurses as anything but expenses.

In order to illustrate my point let me tell you a little story. My Friend Bob, an RN, MBA and accountant, told me about his Brother Kevin, a CPA in administration in a large hospital. Kevin found a submission for re imbursement for all of the travel expenses and accomodations of a physician's girl friend (a non-physician) who had attended a conference in Hawaii. Kevin showed this to another adminisrator, and was told, "Don't worry Kevin, if we can't make budget, we'll just lay off a few nurses."

Administrators view nurses not as needed assets, but strictly as expenses. The longer you show loyalty and knowledge, the less they want to hear your opinion of how to better manage their hospital.

Nurse salaries account for 85 percent of every hospital admission. How is it that we have nothing to say about how to make health care cost efficient?

The ANA SUCKS! They helped to fire me from a major health care system. California leads the U.S. in bedside nurses making health care policy. I am pleased to hear of union efforts in Alberta. I may have to move to California or Canada to practice in an environment where bedside nurses MIGHT be listened to.

[vibe9]

This story illustrates my point very well. If we (nursing) rely on labor unions or nursing unions or any kind of union, it only reinforces and perpetuates the notion that we are common hourly manual labor, a line item expense that must be controlled. We may need unions for the short term but that is not the answer. We must unite, become active in the political system to get laws changed that will recognize the contribution and value of a professional RN. We must also understand the environment we are working in and the people (administrative types) that we are working with. Economics and money is the bottom line. If revenue does not exceed expenses, your doors will close, you will be out of business, and no one will have a job at that place of business, hospital or otherwise. Instead of setting an adversarial situation with a labor union, why not acknowledge the issues that administration has and demonstrate how nursing can help them solve those problems. Why not focus on what we bring to the healthcare system, what our contribution is to the outcome of patients, how we help the hospital. Bickering and demanding things from administration does not work, will not work, and only makes things worse. I have read comment after comment here from nurses that "administration" is not interested in good patient care and only interested in money. I don't think that is exactly true. In any business, to be successful, the first thing you must have is a quality product that people want and will come back for because you did such a great job. Administrators know this very well. Sure they will ALWAYS look for the cheapest way to deliver the product. It should be the job of nursing to demonstrate how nurses help keep the product very high quality and contribute to customer satisfaction. Everyone knows (even administrators) that you get what you pay for. So instead of petty bickering over some contract, why not stand up and look for ways to create a win-win situation, demonstrate with quantitative data how nurses help the hospital improve itself and deliver high quality care that people will return for, show how nurses GENERATE revenue not consume resources. Everyone wants the $$$, even nurses, we all want higher wages, better benefits etc. We need nurses to assume positions of authority and decision-making in hospital administration. It is easy to criticize when you do not have all of the data and facts. We need to know the facts and get the data and show that we are all on the same team working for the same goal--good patient care, good patient outcomes, good place to work, and everyone making a good living!!!!!!

I AM SHAKING MY HEAD.

I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT UNIONS. I TRAVEL NOW TO GET AWAY FROM SOUTHERN HOSPITAL NURSING DUE TO THE ABUSE THAT IS DONE TO THE NURSES FROM ADMINISTRATION AND MD'S.

THIS IS WHAT I KNOW

I KNOW I WANT TO TAKE CARE OF MY PATIENTS IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT. IF WE CAN'T DO THAT THEN WE NEED MORE NURSES. IF WE DON'T HAVE THEM THEN SEND THE PATIENTS WHERE THEY CAN GET THAT CARE.

OH I FORGET THAT WOULD MEAN THEM LOOSING MONEY. HMMMMMM. SO THEY WOULD RATHER PUT PATIENTS LIVES IN DANGER FOR THE DOLLAR. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO FIGHT FOR ADEQUATE STAFFING TO PROVIDE SAFE EFFECTIVE HEALTHCARE. IN MY EXPERIENCE ADMINISTRATION DOES NOT LISTEN NOR CARE. HELL WE EVEN HAD MD'S COMPLAINING ABOUT THE STAFFING ISSUES BECAUSE THERE PATIENTS WERE NOT GETTING ENOUGH FROM THE NURSES DUE TO SHORT STAFFING. THE MANAGER WAS MORE WORRIED ABOUT THE PROFIT SHARE CHECK.

YOU TELL ME HOW TO MAKE THEM LISTEN AND DON'T BLOW SMOKE UP MY BUTT. I AM READY FOR SOME GOOD HELPFUL ADVICE NOT JUST A BUNCH OF WORDS ON PAPER.

I WOULD LOVE TO GO HOME AND WORK. I LOVE THE PEOPLE IN MY STATE AND LOVE MY STATE. I JUST CAN'T WORK IN THOSE CONDITIONS.

[vibe9]

"Is it just us, or does anyone else get the impression that this hospital is doing all it can to drive our nurses out of their jobs???...... "

It isn't just you AND many hospitals ARE trying to drive activist, assertive, self-confident, political, independent minded, etc. nurses out of the field, without a doubt. They want only compliant, passive, sub-assertive, obedient, "yes, sir. no, sir. three bags full, sir" types to remain.

I AGREE COMPLETELY!!!!

[Energizer Bunny]

Can you turn your caps off please? It's very hard to read and is read as "shouting" on the net!!! Thanks a bunch!

[music]

When nurses speak for themselves in a unified and professional manner, they have more power than they realize. Paying dues to a union to bully and badger only makes you look less professional in many nurses eyes. HOWEVER, over the past 2 years, after reviewing many posts on this and other sites, and speaking with many nurses, I have come to the realization that unionizing may be the only way for SOME nurses at the time. So, this is not an attempt to put down any nurse who is in a union. It is just a request for you to think about how you view yourself as a nurse and who you want to speak for you.

There are many of us who are realizing that it really is up to us as a group to show the public a more professional side. We don't want to be seen on the sidewalk carrying signs and using our patients as pawns to get what we want. We have found that there is another way and we are growing in numbers. The unions have become a BIG business. Do you really think they care about you..............NO, it's only YOUR MONEY that will help them to keep growing and to gain more entry into politics and creating public policy that may not in the long run have your best interest at heart....or your patients and the doctors who care for them.

You can easily check this out on http://www.stopunions.com on their links to the SEIU and CNA financial statements for 2003 and 2002. This is what union dues go for and this is truly a BIG business. You can bet your bottom dollar that anytime the nurses in these unions go on strike, the salaries of the union employees and top administrators keep getting paid. But the nurses who walk off the job lose a lot in many ways.

You can also see what nurses who don't believe in unions feel about speaking for themselves at http://www.onevoice-ourvoice.com

Click on some of the links to see what other nurses around the state and country have to say.

WAKE UP.................We are in demand and needed everywhere. We have our own voice. LET'S USE IT. Instead of complaining about how bad things are, let's surprise our administrations with a unified, professional approach that works for both of us.

Thanks for listening