Let's call Oprah

KeithEMU · Apr 18, 2006

To make changes often means sacrifice. This is where being a patient advocate can put you to the test. Nurses that are thinking of leaving their current employers are at the least risk, not that is would be that much easier for them. In addition to having an expose', a lot of thing need to be done by each and every nurse. Refusing patients when over loaded, refusing to do things outside of their Scope of practice no matter who it is telling you to do it, stop letting Docs and Admins push you into doing what you know is wrong, talking to other nurses about the need for them to do likewise, and much more. Is it easy? Heck no! Could you lose your jobs, yes. Could the hospital or facility look for things to report you to your Nursing Board. They might. I have always hated unions, but that is because most places use them to get more then they need. This is one of the areas where Unions are NEEDED! Activism isn't just about finding someone to plead your case, it's about fighting for what is right every day. So sure, find someone to show the public what is happening. But you can do so much more. Write letters to the editor, anonamously if you have to. They might have trouble publishing it anon, but you can try. Talk to local news about posibility of anon interviews and what they can do to protect your identity. There is so much you can do. Don't limit yourself to one avenue. Evaluate all your posibilities and pick a few that work. If we all do this thing WILL change. and soon. There is great strength in numbers fighting for what is right.

NHRNmomof3 · Apr 19, 2006

I agree nurses need to be exposed in a positive light in the media and someone needs to help us get or points across. The media is all over the health care field about med errors and unsafe situations they see us putting patients in. The problem is society, because of the media has not seen the root cause of how these things can happen and what actually is in place already to avoid such errors. I had to read From Silence to Voice: What every nurse must know and communicate to the public for my professional nursing course last semester. I am in agreement that every nurse must read this book. It is written by two journalist who are in favor of promoting nursing and nurses through the media and the barriers we encounter and create.

Nurse Carole · Apr 19, 2006

In early December 2005 I completed the "paperwork" to suggest topics to Ophra. Have not ever had a reply.

TsunamiKim · Apr 19, 2006

“fight bigotry with excellence” i believe this quote is attributed to oprah.

i just read through all the posts and found a lot of negativity when we should be focusing on action. i do not feel the need to discredit oprah’s journalistic credentials or her personal motivations: even if it were justified, which i doubt, it gets us nowhere.

we need to focus on tangible goals and on informing the general public of how the sometimes inhumane conditions under which we are forced to work directly endanger our patients: ordinary members of the population at a time when they are at their most vulnerable. this is not just about nurses and the so called “nursing crisis” it is about every man, woman and child in the us and the very real dangers of the current “nursing exodus!” one important factor should be born in mind here: the audience who watch oprah’s show on a regular basis are extremely sensitive to the underlying issues that we should be focusing on raising.

1. dangerous staffing levels that overstretch healthcare workers to their breaking point: how can we properly care for our patients when we remain so consistently overwhelmed?

2. mandated overtime that forces badly fatigued nurses to continue working past the point of exhaustion: who is held responsible when an exhausted nurse makes a mistake or a serious medical error harms a patient?

3. no redundancy of personnel to cover breaks so nursing staff are left stranded for 10 or 12 hours without the opportunity to eat, drink water or even urinate: how can we possibly be expected to function in surgery, in the icu or any medical unit for that matter, when we are almost comatose from such inhumanely abusive demands?

4. the extreme level of personal accountability that comes with the rn license without adequate authority or genuine control especially over dangerous understaffing situations: how can any nurse be held responsible for negligence when they never had the opportunity to demand the proper backup or qualified help?

5. proper protections from retaliation by managers for conscientious healthcare workers who blow the whistle on negligence: how can we protect our patients from harm if we are bullied and intimidated into silence by risk of job loss with career jeopardizing character assignation?

oprah’s audiences have families and their families need safe quality health care.

they will be the recipients of substandard attention on a hospital unit that is understaffed. it might be their own daughter’s promising nursing career that ends when she crashes her car after a 16hour shift. their father, mother, wife, husband or child might be the patient on the or table who is briefly “abandoned” when no relief arrives and their nurse insists on breaking scrub after 12 grueling hours of continuous standing at the field without a break. we are human beings too! although they will be the ones eager to seek accountability from rn licensed personnel when the mistake is made and their family member is harmed due to a “preventable medical error,” they need to know where the real fault lies much of the time. they must be made to realize how helpless nurses really are to control a safe staffing environment and that their outrage should target the greedy for-profit institutions and corrupt managers who prioritize their “bonus” over safe patient care. they and their loved ones are the patients harmfully impacted by unreported negligence while hospital staff remain successfully intimidated into silence by self-serving managers protecting powerful corporate interests. on the basis of her audience’s interests oprah is an ideal format to showcase a very real crisis like this.

due to the above reasoning i think that oprah would be a very good outlet to broadcast our message. however, i think oprah is motivated the most by people and groups who have clear cut positive goals with regard to change. she may be far less inclined to listen to complaints without solutions. a previous post remarked on this too: what do nurses what? what do you hope to accomplish from highlighting your appalling working conditions? those eager to silence nurses will try to diverge from the most relevant issues and make everything just about pay. would being paid a whole lot more help you to choke down the abuse, the inhumane demands, the risks you are forced to take when you are left stranded? we must insist on identifying this artificially created crisis in realistic terms: “the nursing exodus.” statistics show the number of rn licenses in all us states; how many rns choose not to work in nursing? how many have been forced out of hospitals as “downsizing” makes the environment less workable and more dangerous for those left behind? this is not just about nursing pay, it never was. deliberate understaffing and the toxic work environment are driving the nursing exodus.

let’s stay on task and not dilute the impact with petty infighting over personal preferences and doubts about whether oprah is the right person or the best choice for propelling our concerns into the media spotlight. why stop at oprah or try to select the perfect spokesperson anyway? no one single avenue will ever be enough to get this issue dealt with. i was also told that michael moore is right now actively soliciting health care horror stories for a new film project. i have contacted him with no reply yet, but one has to understand how difficult the task is to sift through all of the submissions to find the most worthwhile and effective cause to spotlight. this is the problem with contacting oprah as well. i think targeting the above issues in order to prevent medical error horror stories is the most worthy goal and we need to persuade michael moore, oprah and others that this is the case.

my own course of action will be to post a petition on the petition site very shortly. i realize that targeting just one particular compliance line’s failure to investigate the wrongful termination of one employee in retaliation for blowing the whistle on negligence in one hospital’s or may seem personal and perhaps even futile. however, the hospital is very prestigious and my hope is that their iconic status will compel them to take far reaching actions that could force changes industry wide. their influence is huge as they are involved in the upper echelons, the very top organizational level of patient safety, advocacy, ethics and medical law groups in the us. their current very public stand on patient safety will seem like so much sanctimonious preaching, hype and hypocrisy if they do not agree to take appropriate action in my case. to publicly refuse to do an investigation casts doubt on their integrity as well as the credibility of their compliance line and other compliance hot lines delivering similar empty whistleblower protection hype right now. my own situation has been elaborated upon in several other threads under the name tsunami kim, but the issues of understaffing, breaks, retaliation etc. have been subjects discussed by numerous nurses visiting this site. we need to do something about it now.

the reason my petition has been delayed for so long is due to the links i have added to help readers focus on the real issues faced by nursing staff today and how these issues negatively impact patient care. it will be a valuable resource document because of the links so watch out for it and i hope i can count on strong support from conscientious nurses like you once it is posted. i have also begun writing a book that i call “iconic immunity,” about my experiences as a whistleblower and the mighty institution that silenced me. the book will focus on many of these important nursing issues, the necessity for all institutions to follow regulatory guidelines and the dangers of allowing any facility to hide behind their iconic status placing them beyond public scrutiny. we all need to be more proactive if we hope to change the current situation. we must focus on what we should try to accomplish by gaining media attention. no one media figure has the power to fix the problems we face and we will never even get her attention unless more than one of us gets in touch with her. there are other potential candidates and additional avenues to approach them.

we could post a petition on the petition site that specifically targets appealing to opera or michael moore for help.

we all need to do something as it will not do itself!

tsunami kim.

grinnurse, RN · Apr 19, 2006

"fight bigotry with excellence" i believe this quote is attributed to oprah.
let's stay on task and not dilute the impact with petty infighting over personal preferences and doubts about whether oprah is the right person or the best choice for propelling our concerns into the media spotlight. why stop at oprah or try to select the perfect spokesperson anyway? no one single avenue will ever be enough to get this issue dealt with. i was also told that michael moore is right now actively soliciting health care horror stories for a new film project. i have contacted him with no reply yet, but one has to understand how difficult the task is to sift through all of the submissions to find the most worthwhile and effective cause to spotlight. this is the problem with contacting oprah as well. i think targeting the above issues in order to prevent medical error horror stories is the most worthy goal and we need to persuade michael moore, oprah and others that this is the case.
my own course of action will be to post a petition on the petition site very shortly. i realize that targeting just one particular compliance line's failure to investigate the wrongful termination of one employee in retaliation for blowing the whistle on negligence in one hospital's or may seem personal and perhaps even futile. however, the hospital is very prestigious and my hope is that their iconic status will compel them to take far reaching actions that could force changes industry wide. their influence is huge as they are involved in the upper echelons, the very top organizational level of patient safety, advocacy, ethics and medical law groups in the us. their current sanctimonious preaching will seem like so much hype and hypocrisy if they do not agree to take appropriate action. to publicly refuse to do an investigation casts doubt on their integrity as well as the credibility of their compliance line and other compliance hot lines delivering similar empty whistleblower protection hype right now. my own situation has been elaborated upon in several other threads under the name tsunami kim, but the issues of understaffing, breaks, retaliation etc. have been subjects discussed by numerous nurses visiting this site. we need to do something about it.
the reason my petition has been delayed for so long is due to the links i have added to help readers focus on the real issues faced by nursing staff today and how these issues negatively impact patient care. it will be a valuable resource document because of the links so watch out for it and i hope i can count on strong support from conscientious nurses like you once it is posted. i have also begun writing a book that i call [b
tsunami kim,

hi kim-

i agree with your post and your take on how to get our message out to the public. you have referred to a "petition" site and i don't know what you are talking about and was hoping that you could shed a little light on that. i am all for this and i will do whatever i can to get this going. i am a new nurse and in the past 2 months i have been asked to do things that were #1 unsafe for the patients that i had and for my license #2 refused to do and am most certain to be reprimanded for the next shift that i work.

grinnurse

tlcprn2u · Apr 19, 2006

Oprah and Michael Moore both sound like good options. But they still are only a vehicle to get the story out there.

We, the bedside nurses, the ones who deliver the care to the patient, are the ones who can do something about the current healthcare crisis gripping this nation. It is a complex problem that requires an innovative approach.

We can get together with our fellow RNs throughout the country by joining the conversation about the solutions to the problem at: www.valuecarevaluenurses.org.

We are the most respected professionals by the public at every poll that is done, so our statements will carry a lot of weight.

We can do all the suggested actions mentioned by a previous nurse: write letters to the editor, have meetings with legislators when they are in their district, refuse to "triple up" in the ICU, refuse an unsafe assignment, hold hospital administrators accountable for their own policies and "matrix" or "grid"; in other words, we can take the decision to become true patient and profession advocates by acting as such.

Midwest4me · Apr 19, 2006

Wouldnt it be marvelous if they could strap one of those little hidden cameras on a few nurses, edit the video so as to not show faces of patients etc and just let the general public follow several nurses around over several days, oh heck, one would be enough. Hey for good measure we can make them 12 hour days.
First, my guess is that most of the video would be unusable because of the excessive speed and quick movments most of us manuever in any given day. The whole thing would be a big blur.
But hey that may be a start to show just exactly what the life of a nurse in a facility is like. No names, no faces, a generalized discription of the facility, and the cold hard truth.

Good idea--the 12 hr shifts--then the challenge becomes this: How many areas (and what kind) of nursing should be videoed???? No doubt should have some hospital(pediatric, ER, med-surg) and LTC represented, but in the long run there will be some nurses feeling that their specialty areas were not well-represented(if at all). I think 20/20 or 60 Minutes would be better options to explore the nursing issues.

twotrees2 · Apr 20, 2006

Maybe someone with the time and desire can try to convince Oprah's staff to do an expose on nurses and how we are treated? My opinon is she is a corporate suck-up and wont touch this.

i know ive emailed the whit house and bill oreilly and never hea back - i email every few months and will contne to do so - even if they dont do anything at lest they are getting the complaint - even gave em idea of what to do - fake a patient history and go in and reside wherever for a while and investigate undercover - someone knows oprahs email wont hurt to write lool. may not help but sure makes me feeel better knowing atleast im trying lol. hugs tracie

twotrees2 · Apr 20, 2006

I have considered the Opah Show numerous times myself! I think if Oprah did a show on the nursing shortage, and what
"Real Nurses" have to say about it--- We would finally get Someones attention! Maybe a lot of people-- maybe the entire nation! I say do it!! Big name nurses- wont tell it like it is, I'm afraid.They need to hear from us peons working in the trenches! But I'm sure there may be retaliation from employees- who won't want their employees to be associated with it - because it will make them look bad. They will probably find a way to "terminate your position"
Similar to what happens when word gets out that someone is talking about unionizing!

and the states wont help - i ws falsely accused andterminated of something else ( umemployment just rolled their eyes andmade an on the spot decicsion that they falsely terminated me and gave me unemployment ) because i called state - the real sad opart is these places are good at manipulating thenumbers so it looks good no matter how they staff. it has to be an undercover operation where the staff and management is unaware the person is investigating them and then let them see what short staffing does to the residnets !! and to the staff - its pathetic how they can arrange the numbers and manipulate the situation and come out stinking like the rose. hugs tracie

twotrees2 · Apr 20, 2006

She also did plenty of sensational shows about "druggie nurses" or dangerous nurses. Face it, talking about the nursing shortage just isn't sexy enough for Oprah.
Besides, I would rather see a reputable news show handle this problem. I don't think Oprah has the chops to handle this seriously.
(My fantasy: Mike Wallace showing up at some hospital admin.'s office and saying, "Hello, I'm Mike Wallace, and I'd like to ask a few questions...")

maybe if a LOT of folks emailed someone theyd think about it 0 i email bill oreilly every other moneth or so - tell him go undercover at ANY nursing home especially in small towns and big cities ( not like ritzy medium neighborhoods where i find they tend to do better at staffing just cause its privately run ) ( and not during state survey tine as we all know we get plenty more staff to trip over each other when state comes in to meake it look good) heres his emai lif anyone wishes to join me on the band wagon lol. [email protected] LOL good luck - i know i will keep trying. hugs tracie

twotrees2 · Apr 20, 2006

Maybe you're not, but plenty of your colleagues across the country are. We should care about each other. Just because it may be comfy in your corner doesn't mean there aren't a lot of truly horrendous situations out there.

for one thing the show can be on the fact that we have to do assembly line nursing these days - pushing along and just barely getting the bare treatmensts and meds out. we have no time to9 assess our residents unless a crisis comes about and many tyimes a crisis could be prevented in our area ( nursing home seetting) if we had more time to assess our patients thourougly - we have to rely on nursing assistants to knhow if our rwesidents are dperesed have bed sores and are possibly getting UTIS and URIs - and they arent really trained for thet. ive had ptients and family complain they havent even seen the nurse more than once in the shift an that is so true - its sad - and its sad i have to feel guilty when i end up 10 min behind because of grieving family members i need to stay and help them too. they neeeded more of me and i had to say im sorry i have to go.l its heart breaking - if i wanted to work assembly id go to the factory.

twotrees2 · Apr 20, 2006

Oh well that explains it.
While it is true that she is not an investigative reporter, I'm guessing that is what you are looking for, it is not true to say that she does not have journalistic credentials. In addition to her degree, she began her career as a news and television reporter.
Oprah was the driving force behind a bill which established a national database of sexual offenders, has established schools in Africa, and her philanthropy for a number of causes should not be questioned.
You don't have to love her, but be accurate.
So no she does not ambush people with her microphone but she clearly is respected enough to be tremendously powerful and influential and when she speaks a lot of people listen whether or not you like her or not.
Having said that, I maintain that it is not her job to save us. There are any number of solutions that have been proffered in our fight to "save" nursing and they almost always fall to infighting and inaction. There is nothing to stop us from advancing our own media campaign to expose the world to what is going on in the healthcare industry but once again, nurses are looking for someone else to do it for us.

well i say i have tio agree - when i had called state and had supposedly most of my coworkers backing me not ONE stepped freward to back me. it was sad.l the inspectors would ask how thigs were and they d lie through their teeth afraid to oose their job. i dont regret it - id do it all over in heartbeat if i had to. but we have to learn to stand together or it wont work i know that now.l .