tami.green

Well I believe the inability to get into school is directly related to faculty pay. Teaching is tough and there are so many options for nurses. If you have to work hard you might as well get the most bang for your buck. I don't believe that statistics bear out that we have a nursing shortage. We have thousands of nurses who choose not to work in nursing professions and particularly choose not to work in hospitals. The average age of a nurse in our country is 45-46 years old. We are no spring chickens. The lifting alone can be daunting as our hospital patients become sicker and heavier every day. Increasing pay is one way to solve the problem. Hospitals investing in mechanized lifting equipment is another.

Advances in pay, benefits and working conditions are directly linked to nurses organizing in unions. I am surprised to see so many disapproving entries. When I started my nursing career in 1982 I did not have any kind of job security...just an hourly wage and some miniscual vacation benefits. Today a nurse wouldn't even consider a job without a pension or at least a 401 k program. Shift differentials, charge pay, on call pay, safe needles, no mandatory overtime etc. all come from nurses coming together with a voice. The nurses association was a start but unions like the SEIU and AFSCME have moved us to another level. On a personal note my union activity led to my political activity which led me to the state legislature as a representative. I serve on the health care committee and today we passed a bill to mandate hospitals to have "no lift" policies and purchase the equipment to do it with within 5 years. The nurses lobbied the legislature to put the pressure on to pass the bills. The nurses came together from UFCW, SEIU and the WA state Nurses association together to get this landmark legislation. Unions may not be perfect. No organization is.. but I think you have to judge the tree by it's fruit. They have been great for nurses. Tami

Hard to believe the ignorance out there. There are some pretty amazing pictures of brain activity that your friend would have a hard time disputing. Especially interesting is the brain development of kids that have had trauma. The brain actually grows differently and they have poor impulse contol because of it. Sooner or later your friend will have someone in his life that will make him consider the possibility of a different scenario. Until then you will probably have to agree to disagree. Tami