Larry

After having been working as a nurse for so many years - and having gained some experience as a Unison rep, I realised that often it turns out that the Union is with the management. Loads of nurses and NHS staff within the UK are finding themselves in disciplinaries, and hounded by their managers - don't we just know it! When an investigation happens, they may choose to suspend you and then they may later ask you into a room, and say resign or be dismissed - it really happens!

I read your posts - don't you know that women in nursing are afraid of us! Some feel definately threatened by us. I am the only male nurse where I work - and on talking with my manager I said I would ask the girls (my team) what they thought - she was very annoyed with that phrase and said I was to call them nurses! I've made the mistake a few times...... This reference to us as male nurses is all about gender! NNothing more nothing less! Welcome to the feminist world laddie! Welcome to sexism gone mad!

As a male nurse you can often be seen as interfering, and misunderstood. Whereas a female nurse might have been more diplomatic. I am not familiar with your protocols in the US, but I wonder did your patient have a social worker? Could you not have called a meeting or case conference about the client, and what you suspected? We all, unfortunately at times are on the receiving end of complaints - in my country they nearly always take the client's side. Don't you have a union or lawyer who can properly advise you? In future, you need to be careful of getting involved with the patient, the family and the caregiver - your concerns you should have raised with the agency, and not gone back to that assignment. As for telling a client you are not coming back - you should not have said this - in nursing we are all replaceable. I understand that you appear very sincere, but also a little naive I think - even if things get a lttle difficult as they might, you need to change your mind - think positively and maybe take a few days off and get away somewhere. I hope I haven't upset you - as I know this is a distressing time for you - but as a colleague you need to think about yourself first, your family second and get a good representative to deal with it for you.

I work in the community. I look after people with leg ulcers, and post-op surgical wounds. We have a few diabetics, and also on my caseloads are clients for incontinence reviews. Part of my work is caring for palliative care patients, and giving emotional support and pain management. We will be notified at short notice that a palliative patient, seriously-ill will be coming home for the final journey. We provide equipment and co-ordinate services with the palliative cancer nurse specialist and other cancer nurses. I find it a little difficult looking after cancer patients...because my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2003 - she is now a survivor. When she was being operated for another primary tumor in March 2004 I found it especially difficult. I wonder if at at that time my employer should have offered me other assignments. It didn't happen because I didn't say anything. At that time we didn't have a manager. It was you just make the best of it. My wife at times when we plan ahead says to me - maybe i won't be there then, when we plan thinks for 10 years time. It really brings things home..... Perhaps it might be better if I found a different job to do, because I get referrals for people who 5 years down the line have a recurrence, but of course not everyone has recurrences, and i'm comforted that people with cancer live a long time now. I wonder how other nurses feel, and if its happened to them, and if they changed careers or did what?

I have been a nurse for over 24 years, and a man for longer! Since I moved into management I have noticed that there is a lot of genderism out there. Boy, the ladies want to keep men out of their domain. A lot of legal cases are going on against male nurses, and in some ways this profession has a distinct biase against us. There is not a lot of research literature about this - but often a senior nurse may choose to discriminate, or believe the worst about an individual because he's a man. They maintain their position by stating that the world outside is dominated by men, so why shouldn't they dominate the world of nursing. I do think that some female nurses feel threatened by us, and then discriminate against us because we are different. What do you think?

Actually I am in Band 7 as a 'G' - however much they pay us if they don't do anything about 'Improving Working Lives' more nurses will leave. Improving support structures and listening to nurses. Funnily enough I was earning more money in 2002 as a "d" grade agency nurse without the stress. Its ironic isn't it! My nephew died a month ago - he was shot in the street in the Philippines. Other difficulties were shared in our family. These events have made me re-evaluate things. Its not the money why we are in nursing.

I have just read all the posts - we all get stressed in this job! Currently I'm burnt out, literally. I've been in nursing over 26 years, and i've worked in several countries as a nurse, being France, Palestine, Israel and now UK. The problem in the NHS is the next level up and the fact that the support is appalling from management. They never take our side, or rarely...... The patient is always right - even if the client is aggressive - the nurse is at fault. I got a degree two years ago, and in my academic set - I've had a colleague who resigned when they put him under pressure (and he was innocent of any wrong-doing), another female nurse took three months off sick, and I ask my colleagues and they are completely stressed. Agency nurses are running the outfit, because long term staff sickness is up. The NHS recently introduced 'Improving Lives' for staff members - but my own frustration is on a bullying manager. Another colleague told me that she knew a nurse who they put the same pressure on and she dropped dead! That means that nurses here are really fed-up and depressed with the lack of support given to community nurses.

If i had a child I would not encourage him or her to take up nursing. I am a UK nurse born and bred and if I had the opportunity to get something better I would! I am for what its worth a glorious team leader, in charge of a number of nurses, and there is no support from my clinical nurse manager. Is it any wonder that nurses are stressed and the sickness rate is out of control in the NHS. They have recently put up our salary a little under Agenda for Change, but it does not compensate for the stress I am going through with this job. It doesn't matter how much Tony Blair puts into the NHS - if nothing is done about senior management. Improving Working Lives means nothing - if you show indifference about your staff. No wonder you cannot get enough nurses in the UK - the way they treat nurses! :rotfl:

I found 150 or so articles when I typed Aitken into Ovid database for full-text articles. However a lot of them concerned nurses working in the hospital - my colleagues and I in general work on our own in a small team, working within a multi-disciplinary team. I manage a number of nurses, however I cannot find much research about burn out amongst nurse practitioners working on their own with acute dying patients and their families - we are just expected to do everything so it seems by clockwork.

Are nurses allowed to get stressed or fear parts of their job? There appears to be a dearth ( a lack) of research about this....... My postion has changed.......in my postion in primary care.....at a moments notice we can be told to drop everything and make way for a palliative care patient to have increased support in the community. We have often to rush between the local GP and the pharmacy setting up a syringe driver and making sure that all drugs are ready, and supply equipment to the client. At this point I get nervous.....in the community we are not an acute service...but we handle very complex cases especialli with palliative care patients. Of course we try to give a good, quality service......and be confident. I hear colleagues feel like me.......but no-one stops to consider that we can get stressed as well. What do you feel? Even if you don't work in the community - stress of work applies to us all..... in general management is concentrated on policies and procedures, and although we have a professional counselling service through a private company.....management appears very distant when it comes to managers supporting nurses......

I just work normal houurs 8 - 430/5pm monday to friday with one weekend a month. My friend on holiday here from Florida says its not worth older nurses working in US, because its too hard to start again. Thats the bottom line!

In UK nurses in the NHS National Health Service, with 10 years reckonable service get 33 days paid holiday a year plus bank holidays which makes a total of 41 days. I am a nurse practitioner and I make 55,619.11 USD I make after tax 3,584 USD a month for 37.5 hours a week. People in UK have free health care. No queues for Flu jabs like in US. With a falling dollar I would have no advantage to work in USA. In USA I hear nurses only get two weeks holiday. It sounds pretty mean, and would appear that nurses are not valued there. What do you think?

Bamji, Andrew consultant rheumatologist Hospital league tables : There are lies, damn lies, and hospital statistics. BMJ. 322(7292):992, April 21, 2001. British Medical Journal 1. Sullivan, Timothy M. MD Regarding "carotid endarterectomy in SAPPHIRE-eligible high-risk patients: Implications for selecting patients for carotid angioplasty and stenting". Journal of Vascular Surgery. 40(3):596, September 2004. * 2. Maidment, Andrew; Krupinski, Elizabeth; Hendee, William R. Moderator Pre-menopausal women should be actively encouraged to seek screening mammograms. Medical Physics. 31(2):171-174, February 2004. * 3. Kraemer, Helena C. Current concepts of risk in psychiatric disorders. Current Opinion in Psychiatry. 16(4):421-430, July 2003. * * * 4. DeLong, Elizabeth PhD Hierarchical modeling: Its time has come. American Heart Journal. 145(1):16-18, January 2003. * * 5. Wechsler, Andrew S. MD Statistics for the rest of us. Journal of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery. 122(2):207-208, August 2001. * 6. Bamji, Andrew consultant rheumatologist Hospital league tables : There are lies, damn lies, and hospital statistics. BMJ. 322(7292):992, April 21, 2001. * * * 7. Sharma, Om P professor of medicine, Los Angeles My old school . BMJ. 320(7227):97, January 8, 2000. * * * 8. Droegemueller, William MD Time to discard the cookie cutter. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 180(4):889-895, April 1999. * * 9. Rutledge, Robert MD, FACS An Analysis of 25 Milliman & Robertson Guidelines for Surgery: Data-Driven Versus Consensus-Derived Clinical Practice Guidelines. Annals of Surgery. 228(4):579-587, October 1998. * * * 10. Schrott, Helmut G.; Bittner, Vera; Vittinghoff, Eric; Herrington, David M.; Hulley, Stephen Adherence to National Cholesterol Education Program Treatment Goals in Postmenopausal Women with Heart Disease: The Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study (HERS). Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey. 52(11):698-700, November 1997. * * wn, Elliot Lies, damn lies, and statistical issues? Lancet. 350(9085):1184-1185, October 18, 1997. * 12. Shann, Frank "Lies, damn lies ... and statistics". Lancet. 348(9038):1392, November 16, 1996. * 13. Healy, Pat Lies, damn lies, and NHS funding figures. Nursing Standard. 10(41):15, July 3, 1996. * * * 14. Hinkley, Bruce S. MD Letters. Spine. 21(11):1394, June 1, 1996. * * 15. Baines, Cornelia J. Breast Cancer: Can Good News be News? CMAJ Canadian Medical Association Journal. 150(2):139-140, January 15, 1994. *

We also have the same problems here - patients are not compliant. They need to know the reason that they are taking medication. Elderly people may need a dosset box (a 7 day box) from which to take their tablets if forgetful. They may need a care assistant to prompt them. They may also need their medications reviewed.

This news is interesting. Are you just importing Filipino nurses? Do you import from the Philippines other care workers?

Its all very well to dismiss the have nots in such a steriotyping way - but baloney....big? BIG? most of those who do not have are the little insignificant people that society runs over.......... At least in the UK our service includes everyone and is social. It may have its ups and downs but it is inclusive. It also doesn't discriminate, which brings it round to my original comment about poor America - America the greatest nation in the world - the market leader and the very big paradox about health care. You have stated that in actual fact everyone can get medicine from the ER without insurance but much later on in the diease progress.....thus proving in part that the care process is limited. I wonder if the mortality figures affect this breech? Despite the very weak state of the dollar at the moment - all the world watch Hollywood and consider that you are the richest, most affluent nation.....so why doesn't your nation invest in basic care for your people?

I have heard recent media reports that we are causing a shortage of nurses in the Philippines!!! This is poppycock! There are thousands of nurses still working in volunteer positions unpaid out there. Loads unemployed, and nurses in their 40s and 50s unemployed. The NHS is recruiting directly from the Philippines, but it is also being selective - it will only take nurses with two years hospital experience..... How can we get more Filipino nurses in globally? I am not a Filipino.

I have heard recent media reports that we are causing a shortage of nurses in the Philippines!!! This is poppycock! There are thousands of nurses still working in volunteer positions unpaid out there. Loads unemployed, and nurses in their 40s and 50s unemployed. The NHS is recruiting directly from the Philippines, but it is also being selective - it will only take nurses with two years hospital experience..... How can we get more Filipino nurses in? I am not a Filipino.

I have no idea about Europe - but we are now moving away from rationing of healthcare - everyone gets regardless of if they're old or not. Its not a perfect system and it has flaws - but we at least are looking at prevention.

It seems to me that you have a case against this employer on the grounds of constructive dismissal. You should not let the employer win - how long did you work there? Can your union take this matter up for you? You should get damages... Alas lots of us feel that we're important to our organization but all of us are replaceable

Every nurse and student nurse needs a personal accident insurance policy. When this kinda thing happens there union see it through, and the insurance policy pays up for the legal charges. I belong to the Royal College of Nursing in the UK (its a union) and they have a thing called Nurse Care Plus and it only costs £5 (9 bucks) a month. Thank goodness you didn't hit back! I know someone who did after a confused elderly man with dementia grabbed her breast (in a nursing home) - she got fired. I never found out what happened........ The fact is that clients think they can hit us..........carpet wise and its wrong.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1355213,00.html This is the UK where tobacco firms don't get sued like in the USA..... Of course we wish they could......... How are nurses saved from hazards in your environment?

I happen to support Bush and the US democratic way of life I merely brought up obesity, because its a problem here, and the news here covered a reporter eating one of your burgers!

According to the survey 47% of the population in the USA would eat the Monster Thick Burger...... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6505575/ No wonder healthcare is private....the US government cannot be blamed! At a time when TV stations in the UK are being dissauded from advertising junk food - is anyone bothered in the US?

In the UK we practice Equal Opportunity Legislation but its only skin deep. What are conditions like for you? Is their institutional racism where you work? Is their racism towards staff? Or is their a different racism towards underfunding or not offering the right treatment? What should nurses do? Frith,N (2004) Equal opportunities for all. Nursing Standard 19(7) 31