#NursesUnited: Can we continue the momentum for necessary change?
Nursing has been plagued over the years by division within its ranks. However, recent events have resulted in nurses uniting together despite those divisions. What can we achieve to improve the workplace and patient care if we keep that unity's momentum going?
Nurses all over the country have united in protest against the comments made about nurses on The View. One single act has managed to unite many despite the inter-nursing battles of different specialties, RN versus LPN, and varying entry-level degrees. It's great to see nurses unite, but can we keep that momentum going to effect change in patient care?
Yes, ignorance of the role of the nurse is common within the population. It just so happened that some of those expressed their lack of knowledge on public television to quite a large crowd. Perhaps this will give nursing the visibility and opportunity to educate the public as to our role in health care.
But there are many other issues plaguing nursing that, in my opinion, are much more crucial in providing safe, effective patient care.
Staffing ratios
To date, only California has managed to pass legislation mandating nurse: patient ratios. We need to look to our legislators and put the pressure on them to start introducing bills reflecting safe, doable ratios.
Lack of uninterrupted breaks
We all need the opportunity to recharge during a shift, get nourishment, and empty that overfilled bladder. But how often does it happen that while on an unpaid break the phone rings or the pager goes off, and that break gets interrupted?
Mandatory overtime
How safe is it to force someone to work more than their scheduled shift because of a lack of adequate staff? The longer one nurse works, the more likely it is that he or she will be tired and prone to mistakes. We deal with people's lives where mistakes can mean serious harm or even death.
Lack of adequate functional equipment
How often do we have to run around the unit looking for that one piece of some type of equipment that actually works? How often are we borrowing from other units? How closely do we guard that computer on wheels we managed to claim at the beginning of the shift? Why are the powers that be not providing what we need?
Potential for injury
How many facilities offer enough lifting equipment and manpower to move patients without risk of injury to the staff or the patient? What about violence from patients, visitors, and even other staff members? There are not enough states with laws on the books specifically to protect nurses and other healthcare staff.
Focus on customer service
Nurses are not customer service representatives. We are knowledgeable healthcare professionals responsible for the care of patients to return them to their optimum level of health. Scripting, patient satisfaction scores, and a focus on "the customer is right" idea lead to actual healthcare coming in a distant second to keeping patients happy.
So where do we go from here?
How many of us are members of organizations that are pushing for such changes?
Many state nursing associations as well as specialty organizations have sections on their web pages addressing such issues, with ideas of how to fix them. National Nurses United (again, personal opinion) appears to be much more in touch with the issues of the bedside nurse than another national organization.
What can we do to continue being #nursesunited and push for the necessary changes? I will admit that one thing that turns me off of some nursing organizations is the political spin and endorsements, but is that really as important as working to improve nursing? Can this sudden unity over something that may be insulting yet not very significant in the day-to-day life of a working nurse continue?
I have news for the public. Every night that I have three patients, those patients are at risk and I am rationing patient care. If two become unstable, I have to choose which one to take care of first.
I may also be required to respond to emergencies in other units, leaving one ICU nurse in charge of five or six critically ill human beings. The doctor covering the ICU at night in these places is a family
practice physician with no training or experience in critical illness who doesn't know a ventilator from his or her elbow. This should be illegal.
I have seen dozens of tragedies and deaths directly
related to the way that safety is marginalized in favor of profits. I have seen a physician lie to the
coroner. I have spoken in the root cause analysis for these sentinel events but there is never any corrective action. As been there done that says, profits first and errors are collateral damage.
The things that I have seen in the last five years have taken a piece of my soul. I too I emailed my
elected officials for ten years only to the see the bill lost in committee. Maybe the genX nurses can figure it out and show us how social media can make the difference.
Right, but when you are forced to quit your job -constructive discharge- and now fighting with your husband because "if you kept your mouth shut you'd have a job and your son can have- " it really isn't worth it. Other people would be happy to have your job and not "complain" about staff to patient ratios, safety, training issues, etc.
I should have kept my mouth shut . I advise others to do what they can to keep their jobs.
Right, but when you are forced to quit your job -constructive discharge- and now fighting with your husband because "if you kept your mouth shut you'd have a job and your son can have- " it really isn't worth it. Other people would be happy to have your job and not "complain" about staff to patient ratios, safety, training issues, etc.
I should have kept my mouth shut . I advise others to do what they can to keep their jobs.
Are you opposed to Nurses standing in unity to ensure patient safety?
If you had a social media venue in which to contact your Senator and Congressman and the President to request safe staffing and tell your story, would you use it?
After leaving work (at 2130 this evening!) after ensuring the documentation was completed, I realized something that one of my personal colleagues and friends told me not very long ago. I've been in the nursing profession for over 20 years, but for the majority of time as a CNA. Now, having been an RN for nearly 6 years, I'm realizing that nurses make up the MAJORITY of hospital employees, and yet we are consistently dumped upon and virtually 'forgotten' by Administration. My friend, who also happened to be an Administrator (a REAL Nurses' nurse!) said: "About 75% or more of hospital employees are nurses. Imagine if nurses united, rather than fought among each other, how powerful and effective they could be as a GROUP against corporate rhetoric?"
Nurses need to find common ground and stop bickering among ourselves over petty and insignificant issues. We do have valid and important ideas, and we need to realize that united we are so much more effective and powerful than ever we could imagine. Nurses: UNITE!
Amen! It's easy enough for nurses to get behind a "cute" campaign on Facebook, but to really enact change, we have to put in the time to hound the legislators. Sadly, with the majority of us female (with kids and being often the breadwinner), people will feel themselves squeezed between saying what is right and bringing home a paycheck.
Posted and shared with the nursing groups I am a part of on Facebook, as well as my own posting.
This has been something that has been discussed in my state, but yet to come to fruition; I write my Congressional reps and know their offices well-there can be enough traction IF people are willing to connect with those who are doing this work already...power in numbers...
It is really not enough to contact congressman to complain about staffing. We need to go to the people who are affected by unsafe staffing ratios- the patients and their families. They are the ones who are affected when we have too many patients to care for.
We need to have large rallies in very public places, with the news, press, CNN with the cameras rolling. Just like teachers do. Here in Washington State, the teachers just settled a contract where they go raises, benefits improvements etc. The camera were rolling, the news and the papers were there, and they got what they wanted.
Why is it so hard for nurses to do the same thing? Probably cause nurses are not as uniformly unionized as teachers. And also because we lost the edge we had, when there really was a shortage of nurse.
The delay allowed the hospitals and nursing homes to petition our elected officials to expand nursing programs, dramatically increase enrollments, to the point that for probably the first time in history, there is a glut of nurses there is a significant glut of nurses, and new grads are going for years before being able to get a job. We have no one to blame but ourselves for this mess.
This is NOT and accident in any way shape of form. This was a strategically planned and targeted campaign, to dis empower the nursing profession, in the light of the power of nursing organizations like NNOC, and the NYSNA. These organizations have made great strides in allowing nurses to have control of their workplace, attain livable wages, benefits, and pension plans. And anyone who does not believe this, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would be happy to sell you.
This is what nurses needed to be fighting, not fighting to maintain an antiquated nursing education system (diplomas), and the ADN, which was instituted to streamline the nursing educational system, getting nurses in the employment pipeline in two years, instead of 2 1/2 years or three. Now they are done in two years, or supposedly two years.
Pump em out, and throw them out when they are burned out.
Folks we need to do a better job. We need to get our voices out to the public, concerning staffing ratios, etc, to OUR customer, our patients. I would not be against getting Kelly Johnson, Miss Colorado, with her popularity, and notoriety, to be our face to the public.
It has to start somewhere, but it needs to start. The PTB, are increasingly deskilling our professional practice and handing it to HS dropouts, to perform. If we continue down this route, we will not have a profession to practice in a few short years.
If a Facebook page was started in the interest of gaining public support for this bill, would the members here post their stories? If you will I will be happy to start and admin the page.
icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN
1,970 Posts
I have news for the public. Every night that I have three patients, those patients are at risk and I am rationing patient care. If two become unstable, I have to choose which one to take care of first.
I may also be required to respond to emergencies in other units, leaving one ICU nurse in charge of five or six critically ill human beings. The doctor covering the ICU at night in these places is a family
practice physician with no training or experience in critical illness who doesn't know a ventilator from his or her elbow. This should be illegal.
I have seen dozens of tragedies and deaths directly
related to the way that safety is marginalized in favor of profits. I have seen a physician lie to the
coroner. I have spoken in the root cause analysis for these sentinel events but there is never any corrective action. As been there done that says, profits first and errors are collateral damage.
The things that I have seen in the last five years have taken a piece of my soul. I too I emailed my
elected officials for ten years only to the see the bill lost in committee. Maybe the genX nurses can figure it out and show us how social media can make the difference.