What do you think is a major problem in nursing?

Nurses Safety

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BETSRN

1,378 Posts

If you had to pick one thing that you thought was a major problem in nursing what would it be and what would you do about it?

Just curious! :)

I think administrators that have no clue and are unsupportive of their staffs are a major problem to productivity and morale.

BETSRN

1,378 Posts

Many, many problems - all of which could be overcome if nurses would stick together and show a little loyalty to their fellow professionals. Quit allowing the corporate administration to divide and conquer! Sore subject, rant over.

Any ideas how to come up against and/change the unit manager who uses the "divid and conquer" approach with her staff? very unproductive, to say the least!

BETSRN

1,378 Posts

The profession has many issues but I think a major one are the varying levels of education, all with the same licensure. If it confuses me, how do patients feel?

I don't think the patients know or care about the level of education. They don't care how the RN was trained as long as he/she can take good care of them. We are the only ones getting bent out of shape about this problem.

BETSRN

1,378 Posts

CNAs and QMAs are legally liable for their actions or lack of them. But ultimately the person in charge, in this case the nurse, is responsible. That is what BEING IN CHARGE means. Ultimately the DON is responsible for what happens in her facility.

They are NOT legally liable at all......... Tha's part of the problem some people encounter.

LADY, nobody said anything about being "legally licensed". CNAs and QMAs are legally LIABLE. That means get can get sued and taken to jail. That's what liability is.

CNA's and medical assistants are NOT legally licensed. They hold only specific certificates. That's the potential problem with unlicensed assistive personnel. They are working under the RN's license.

KrisRNwannabe

381 Posts

AllamericanGirl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I totally agree. Do these schools honestly think people are going to sit on waitlist for 8 years?? I also put blame on the states for not getting involved and trying to remedy the situation. I also agree with what you said about the pre-reqs. history, phlisophy?? come on. history has nothing to do with being a good nurse and well...phliosphy? my head doesn't really work that way. this is probably why my aunt thinks nurses from hospital programs are great cuz they don't worry about stuff that doesn't matter. i think these hospital programs need to open back up. it is obvious that mainstream colleges can't keep up with the demand.

kris

LPN1974, LPN

879 Posts

I understand what you are saying but the TX board of nursing or the 4 other states I've worked in do not consider CNA's to be licensed healthcare practitioners independently responsible for the care thay provide or fail to provide and that is what I'd like to see happen.

If anyone can come up with a case where a CNA was sued for their neglegence or malpractice I'd be very interested in hearing it.

I work in DDS, for my state.

Just to give you a little background, we have what are called LSTs....essentially the same as CNAs, just a different title.

These LSTs provide care for all ADLs.

At my facility they are not supervised by the nurses, however the nurses can give advice and they are expected to follow the nurse's advice, but they are supervised by their own supervisors.

But we have had instances where some of these LSTs were investigated for abuse and neglect and I have seen a few of them carted off to jail.

So yes, it can happen, I've seen it.

Compton

46 Posts

I also agree with what you said about the pre-reqs. history, phlisophy?? come on. history has nothing to do with being a good nurse and well...phliosphy? my head doesn't really work that way./QUOTE]

This is interesting. I see your point about nursing not requiring certain areas of study but if you are talking about college (not graduate school or such I assume) then I totally understand a university requiring those courses. When Teens enter college, they are young and sometimes they don't always make the choice they want (for whatever reason). Having a nice education as a base in many subjects not only helps them to learn about other areas of studies that might interest them but also gives them time to grow a little.

Last thing I want is for someone to come out of school and jump right into nursing and then lose interest after 2 years but not know what to do about it. These nursing schools you speak of sound great for college grades or older people who are more at ease with what they want. You know?

Does that make sense?

The demand does seem to be an issue. That should be fixed for the sake of training an ever needed field of knowledgable workers.

Compton

46 Posts

I also agree with what you said about the pre-reqs. history, phlisophy?? come on. history has nothing to do with being a good nurse and well...phliosphy? my head doesn't really work that way./QUOTE]

This is interesting. I see your point about nursing not requiring certain areas of study but if you are talking about college (not graduate school or such I assume) then I totally understand a university requiring those courses. When Teens enter college, they are young and sometimes they don't always make the choice they want (for whatever reason). Having a nice education as a base in many subjects not only helps them to learn about other areas of studies that might interest them but also gives them time to grow a little.

Last thing I want is for someone to come out of school and jump right into nursing and then lose interest after 2 years but not know what to do about it. These nursing schools you speak of sound great for college grades or older people who are more at ease with what they want. You know?

Does that make sense?

The demand does seem to be an issue. That should be fixed for the sake of training an ever needed field of knowledgable workers.

madwife2002, BSN, RN

26 Articles; 4,777 Posts

Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

The major problem in nursing is the nurses. :o

We get taken advantage of by

1. The patient :stone

2. Their Relatives :chuckle

3. Management :angryfire

4. Other health care professionals :coollook:

5. Our good will :p

We have a problem saying NO, we work under awful conditions, ie too few staff, not enough resourses.

It tends to be female dominated society (UK) so we do lots of moaning and complaining but shy away from rocking the boat.

madwife2002, BSN, RN

26 Articles; 4,777 Posts

Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

The major problem in nursing is the nurses. :o

We get taken advantage of by

1. The patient :stone

2. Their Relatives :chuckle

3. Management :angryfire

4. Other health care professionals :coollook:

5. Our good will :p

We have a problem saying NO, we work under awful conditions, ie too few staff, not enough resourses.

It tends to be female dominated society (UK) so we do lots of moaning and complaining but shy away from rocking the boat.

nicurn88

5 Posts

I believe one of the biggest problems in nursing today is poor nursing management. I believe that a nurse manager must create an environment of respect, shared responsibility and open communication, as well as, demonstrate trust and support for the staff. The manager must also encourage education among the staff. Our manager is harshly critical and lacks empathy and sensitivity. She also lacks the clinical experience and education that should be required for a midlevel management position. Our staff turnover rate is very high and overall morale is quite low. We do however, work as a team, despite the fact that we have very ineffective management and leadership in our unit. There are alot of changes going on with our hospital in the near future. We want our unit to be the BEST! Any managers out there that may want to reply, please feel free. I really needed to vent a little. Thanks.

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