deehaverrn

janfrn...what are CPers? not familiar with that one, also as far as the people going to neonatal instead..do they have a choice? just asking because when i was on light duty, some of my coworkers were outright rude and nasty to me over my restrictions, while i had no control over where i was assigned on our unit..admittedly many of them didn't want me around because granted, i couldn't lift, but even hurt, i was better than many of them, and i needed my paycheck so the alternative of just quitting my job wasn't an option--now that my injury got worse and i don't work some express concern..but it is some of the ones who were the nastiest--even trying to get me to do things that i wasn't properly trained for back then..plus since i often could only work part of the shift due to restrictions in work hours, they would get mad at me for the employer not covering the rest of my shift, and of course the boss encouraged that practice and sue...i thought an IME was an independent medical exam..which is actually where a doctor who is not your regular provider but IS paid for and employed By the insurance carrier does an exam for the express purpose of the insurance company then using the findings to file a petition to terminate, suspend or otherwise decrease your compensation..they were hoping the findings would support their side..if you want something done..go to your own doctor and ask for the procedure or for a recommendation of someone who can do it..choose a neurosurgeon of your own not the one employed by your insurance company that is a conflict of interest, and he is making a lot more money doing their bidding than looking out for your interests, in most cases the IME doc wiill and should explain to you that he is NOT your doc and will not be providing treatment for you, also, always get your own docs opinion of anything they recommend..their aim is to decrease the insurance company's cost bottom line

I have back issues which led to me losing my job, since i am unable to sit or stand without pain, at least for any good amount of time (say more than an hour total), I can't work..although of course the workers comp ins. agendy and my former employer will keep disputing that..although my employer a large medical center terminated me and isn't offering me any job they have..they say that i could be employed in many areas, including many phone jobs..as well as non nursing ones..this is complicated by the fact that i actually have always..always disliked talking on the telephone...but somehow that makes no difference..although for them neither do my pain complaints which they describe as purely subjective despite my ample evidence of spinal abnormalities on MRI as well as a positive discogram. Unlike you , i do feel like my pain meds affect my cognition, not even trusting myself to drive if I need to take my narcotics..and the neurontin makes me constantly feel exhausted (i tried not taking it, and felt more awake..but kept having terrible electic shock like pain in my legs..so i restarted it). Anyway, more education never hurts...so if you are able to then get your masters (can you do that while on disability in your state..cuz in minne you can't i don't think). doing nursing education might be really good for you, i think it would be good to have someone who has actually worked as a nurse teaching new ones instead of people who have only a book education which is often the case. Good luck.

i have a spinal condition (too many things to go into detail) but it means than the only position that i'm reasonably comfortable in is reclining..i have pain meds ( a fentanyl patch continuously as narcotics for breakthrough pain), i don't go out much but i do have a handicapped placard, and yes i have had the same reaction, although most people just give me dirty looks, while some say things loudly enough for me to hear like "she shouldn't be parking there" and worse..thank goodness though none have confronted me..i have had to become conscious of waiting until i have left a parking area BEFORE i leave a parking area..since by law you are not supposed to drive with the placard still affixed to the rearview mirror, i would get in m car and then drive off...now i wait because before people used to even beep at me and give me dirty looks when i was backing out of the spot..its ironic because even my own sister was talking about being at disney world and how people "who didn't even look disabled" were going around in wheelchairs and getting right onto the rides through a disability access...i told her "well people could say the same about me",,,the thing is that i won't even go to a park like that...some don't make any allowances..and i would really need than to be able to accomadate my disability..even with all my meds..i can't tolerate being up and about for even 4 hours..so i would need to be able to have quick transportation and get right onto rides and stuff with my family although many rides i wouldn't be able to tolerate at all..Anyway..try to get a thicker skin (although i agree that this person was wrong and doesn't have the compassion needed to be a good nurse so the school should know about her treatment of you) but in nursing you need to be able to tolerate a lot of abuse because you are constantly having to deal with problems with docs, family members and patients who are only thinking about their problem and not all the things you are doing! Good luck to you..hope you are now in a different clinical group!

my job..when i was in charge i was usually more busy with patients than other nurses..(300 del month) when it was busy..which was always..charge nurse would need to take the triage area..which basically was everyone coming up from the ECU for pregnancy problems including r/o labor, preterm labor, car accidents, physical abuse, etc...could be the worst assignment of anyone on the unit at times..and docs calling about scheduling issues would get upset that you couldn't solve their problems just because you were preparing for an emergency c section on a MVA person who was abrupting and latex allergic! stuff like that happened all the time,..sometimes i had patients overflowing into other rooms but still all mine..like 7 pts all myself plus in charge...and nurse manager asking why you didn't get replacement for sick call out for that night or go talk to postpartum pt who was unhappy that her lunch tray was late..which is why i stopped doing charge nurse..although it took a while and nurse manager was unhappy and felt it was like i was refusing an assignment since i was more qualified than others to keep being in charge..it was just too stressful...although the new charge nurses still continued to overburden me..like trying to have me have 3 labor pts when other nurses had only one..saying "you can handle it better", and then they wonder why one nurse has more "letters praising her care"--its because she is only ever given one pt at a time! so worst nurses get more thankyous from pts (at least at times)

I have lots wrong in my back..I suspect that my pain is a combination of all of them rather than just one. Until recently, my pain was relatively well controlled if I didn't do much other than resting. I do have Vicodin and Skelaxin to take for breakthrough pain. However, I have never reached a point where I could be active in any way without taking this extra medication. Also, I am constantly drowsy and falling asleep..maybe as a result of the Neurontin that I take. When I take my "breakthrough meds" I am even more sleepy as well as a bit dizzy. I always have issues now with concentration and focus, as well as memory. I really don't believe that I could do any work, much less as a nurse. In addition, recently i have had increased pain..even lying down doesn't help, and I have had to take my extra meds. To me this is a major step backwards. I have all ready lost my job, all those benefits and that seniority. I'm waiting to see if the court will grant the insurance company's request to reduce or suspend my compensation. (due to their vocational experts testimony about jobs that I could supposedly perform..based on their doctor's opinions). Yes, I had my own doctor and expert (for which I had to pay over $5,000 out of pocket), but it is up to the judge who he chooses to believe. If they lose, nothing changes right now...and I get my expenses back. But if I lose, the judge will stop or reduce my compensation, plus I am out the money i spent. ARrgh. Anyway, I'd like to write more..but I am in too much pain right now. At least the anger takes my mind off it slightly!:angryfire

Thanks for all the concern and well wishes. I haven't gone back to work, as my pain is not controlled even with medications. Last time I wrote I was taking Kadian (a kind of long-acting morphine), and experiencing many unpleasant side effects. These ranged from constant nausea and incapacitating constipation, to drowsiness which sometimes meant inability to stay awake. And I still could not do much of anything without being in pain. My Pain management doc finally switched me to the Fentanyl patch..which has been much better. I am still in pain when I do anything other than lie around, but can actually do some light reading and watch television (thank goodness for Tivo because I still fall asleep readily so have to rewind often). About the only other thing I do is family obligations such as occasional dinners at the parents, or one of my kid's activities. Even then I need to supplement with narcotics to get through it.. of course, there are the doctor appointments and worse..the legal proceedings. I think that most of us assume that Worker's Compensation will take care of us if we are injured...what a great fallacy that is. If this is how government regulation works..forget about the health care issues now in Congress! I get 2/3 of my 2004 salary (since that was the year before I was injured), but my lawyer receives 20 % of that ..which is standard in my state. And I needed that lawyer because the insurance company filed to stop my compensation, despite that even their initial doctor agreed with me! I have been to court about six times and so far have always won..but it only takes once for the worker to lose benefits. On the other hand, the insurance company can just keep refiling every six months with a new issue. They generally have paid what they owe as far as medical costs, although if the doctor's office or pharmacy doesn't fill out their forms just right they will not. Also, they have sometimes been behind thousands of dollars in compensation at a time. And keep in mind that the worker never gets any increase in payments regardless of inflation. The strategy for the insurance company is to keep harassing people until they feel it isn't worth continuing, and also offering a pittance as a settlement just to get them to leave you alone. And once they have decided that you have reached "maximum medical improvement", if you arent judged to be over 50% impaired they only have to pay you for a maximum of 500 weeks. (and with a back injury it is pretty much impossible to go over 25%) It doesn't matter that you can't work..they don't really consider that in their formula. In fact, they don't consider many things..like inability to sleep, or focus, or medication side effects... Anyway, more workers should be aware of this stuff. I know that I would have refused to do a lot of things. As far as my injury ..I just was pushed backwards when a stretcher bumped my leg...with immediate sharp severe pain in my back. My MRIs show many things wrong with my back...multiple bulging discs, degeneration, annular tears, pretty much a result of the daily stress which was put on my back in my nursing career. ..and make no mistake..I was told by a physical therapist years earlier..when I had strained my back..that I had great body mechanics! This is a complete fallacy that they tell you..that being strong and fit and using good body mechanics will prevent back injury..it won't! 120 lb women are just not meant to be lifting and turning 200 plus lbs! Since I worked in a delivery room, I often lifted and pulled women of all sizes, not to mention all the bending ..and since my hospital had antiquated beds and stretchers it was even worse. :angryfire Since I can't even tolerate sitting at the computer for an hour, it is impossible to even consider getting employment..although of course the insurance company doesn't agree. They are now claiming that I can return to work..although at a light or sedentary job. I guess that I should be happy that they are finally conceding something..but it is still too much. And guess what...to reduce my payments, they only have to convince the govt. that their doctor is correct in my being able to work a sedentary job, and that there are jobs that I can do. They don't even have to show a job being offered to me. Its hard to believe in this economy. Like any employer would chose to me rather than someone without issues! Anyway...I'm in way too much pain to come back to this again tonight! Thanks for caring!:heartbeat

don't think that she should have been fired for putting the problem in the chart, but if i put things in the chart every time the pharmacy sent the wrong dose or even the wrong medication...i'd be charting all year..and for no good reason. i would think that they might have an incident form which should have been used or even a phoneline to make a verbal report. one thing that i was upset about getting cited on my evaluation for...our computerized medication administration system had some glitches...when you must give a med late or even not give it there is a place to mark a reason (med not available -arrgh pharmacy. pt refusal, N/V, NPo, etc...) HOWEVER the nurse manager just receives a report that says.that you gave x number of meds late or x number of meds not given in that month-long period...it doesn't include ANY reason, however justified, when I complained because pharmacy will enter a new medication in the computer for a certain time but neglect to send the actual medication to the floor in order for it to be given on time..pharmacy thinks its not a problem because we can just give it whenever it arrives (of course that would mean we're standing right at the tube and have nothing else to do), and they all refuse to acknowledge that we, nurses, are getting bad evaluations because of it...plus since it won't "show up" as LATE for the next shift, it is possible for the dose to be completely missed yet we were told to only pull up and administer meds for our own shift. Yeah, I think this system is definitely soooo much safer!?! If the pharmacy and the educational nurses would just listen to those of us who actually use the system..we could probably fix the problems, but they don't really care what we have to say.

what is the regular rate for nurses ...like without any rotation..say with 20 years experience?

I can appreciate the thought here, however some states don't completely bar narcotics use in their NPA. Then what happens (at least when it is worker's compensation and the insurance companies are completely in charge) is that the doctors clear you to work..and you then have to either work or be fired. Right now they are trying to get me to the point where my back is not hurting but I am able to work. I'm up to 40mg of Kadian given twice a day right now. Its not controlling the pain and it makes me feel nauseated, achy, a little dizzy and extremely fatigued. Part of this could be also that I am unable to sleep through the night. Last night I slept from 12-2, then awake all morning until fell asleep again at 12 until 3, now still awake and gave up on sleeping for a little while. (Its depressing to lie in bed just trying to sleep but in a pain..especially when I feel soooo exhausted). My pain management doc feels that it is just taking a little longer than usual for me to be able to tolerate the medication. When I express my concerns with the idea of driving or working he brushes it off and says he has many pts on narcotics who are docs and nurses. I know that he will shortly clear me to work too. I've checked with my state board and they say it is up to me to decide whether I'm competant. My hospital says that they have no policies against it. My nurse manager says that if my doctor clears me to work she will assign me accordingly. I seem to be the only one who thinks that it is unreasonable...but I really do need the income so what exactly am I supposed to do? Right now I can't even go out of the room to get something and remember what I was looking for!! Anyway, I just keep hoping it will work out. I do think that the pain also made it difficult for me to concentrate and do my job. At this point, my pain has worsened to the point where I simply could not work with it. I have actually broken down and cried in patient rooms and while charting, I've had to call my family to drive me home because I was in so much pain that I could simply not do it on my own. Despite that, my previous doctor wanted to increase my hours and decrease my restrictions. He also couldn't understand why I didn't just take my Vicodin while at work. In fact, he acted like I was just malingering by not doing so since that meant my pain was unbearable after only a few hours of work. It would really help if the whole system was actually fair. If I do end up going back while I still am "impaired", I plan to make sure my argument is clearly on record (when I have read some of my old doctor and treatment records I am appalled at how inaccurate they are). I'll try to be assigned to nonpatient care but I doubt it. I will meet with our Nurse Executive and Human Resource Vice President (hopefully) and finally write to JCAHO and the Health Dept. I really don't want to have to do the final step and even moreso I don't want to have to involve the state board. I've written to them anonymously and their response was that they don't have a rule against it..but that if they have a complaint they will investigate. The thing is..I don't want to lose my license either..then the WC will probably make me work as a clerk or something with less salary. Its so extremely depressing and frustrating!

I do think that it is interesting that our state BON and ANA have policies and assistance for impaired nurses who have addictions, while in my case they have nothing. I require medicaton to treat my pain from a back injury suffered at work. My doctor clears me to work, and thinks it is okay for me to take my narcotic medication to control my pain level. Even though I have continually told everyone that my medications make me drowsy and interfere with my ability to concentrate and focus, since there is no rule against it in my hospital or from the state BON, the worker's compensation system says that if I don't work as ordered ..I will forgo my other compensation and eventually my job. Instead, I am forced to go to work despite the pain,, because I am afreaid to make a mistake. I sometimes am unable to even control my tears while in a pt room and the pain is terrible. While I recognize that addicts need help, I think that it is terrible that nurses who have been injured are left with absolutely no where to turn. I have tried everything...different doctors, different procedures, different medications...nothing has stopped the pain, Unfortunately, even though my hosptial adamantly adheres to strict policies to deal with alleviating patient's pain complaints, they have no such compunction when dealing with their own employees. IT is easy to say, that I should find a new employer...but who is going to hire someone with my physical impairments? Right now I would be in too much pain just after driving to work and walking to my department to even consider working...unfortunately, soon I will have an "IME" with the worker's compensation doctor and who knows what I will be told. I'm also now trying to find a new physiatrist because my last one "concentrates his practice in acute pain and people who he can utillize treatment modalities with.." he's not interested in caring for patients who will require "chronic pain medications". Since I work for my town's hospital it is difficult to find doctors who will treat me with the proper regard for myself as a pt..and not instead be considering the "politically correct" way of considering the hospitals perspective instead of what is right for me. Since it is painful to drive, I have avoided going to another area to access impartial providers. Also, if I take my pain meds and get someone to drive me..it would interfere with their exam...kind of Catch 22. Anyway, since soo many nurses that I know have been injured on the job, it would seem that our BON would have a better way to deal with us.

must first confess that i didn't read every page..just first and page 6, so i apologize if i missed important stuff if you are an "at will state" they can fire you whenever they want. but it does sound like overkill to report to the bon i know someone who gave a po med IV and she had absolutely no consequences (the pt required extra monitoring but was thankfully unharmed), i thought she should at least be suspended and have to take a medication safety course since she ignored many safeguards in the whole process.. I only give prn meds 5 minutes early...otherwise i call and get an order for the change. I have come across nurses who thought if the order called for "two capsules every four hours" they could give "one every two hours"--even had patients argue with me that this was the way they wanted it.

Land D can be extremely stressful, its not really "a day at the beach". I worked med surg for five years before changing to labor. While on med surg, I only ever had 3 surgical emergencies...which required patient transfer to the OR, plus some codes and the inevitable deaths. In almost every case, these deaths were expected and came after long illness and to elderly peoople. When death comes on an obstetric floor it is always a tragedy. Babies born too soon or with abnormalities or those who had unforeseen complications during the pregnancy or birth process...their passing is life changing for their families. As the nurse you have to cope with the medical issues as well as the emotional ones. The detachment which is sometimes possible on a med surg unit can't be maintained--you cry along with your work. I couldn't even attempt to count the numbers of women whom I have rushed to the operating room for an emergent delivery. The women who I have helped to deliver stillborn babies after someone couldn't find a heartbeat in the doctors office or by ultrasound. The women whose water broke at 20 weeks. Especially if your facility is at all short staffed, basic needs become a problem. You can't simply take a break to eat or even use the restroom, unless help is available. YOu can't really plan your day to organize duties and schedule your lunch or break. Laboring women can be very unpredictable and are sure to need you right when you sit down to eat. You also need to consider the physical strain...needing to turn and lift women of sometimes greatly enlarged size...often further compromised in their helpfulness in this endeavor by either pain or anesthesia. Many of the nurses that I have worked with now have orthopedic problems attributable to these duties. I don't want to be completely negative. There is absolutely nothing so rewarding as to be there while a new life comes into the world. As the nurse, you are often the lifeline these patients and families cling to while they navigate unknown and shark infested waters. while waiting for the "ship captain" to come and deliver them to safety. Families NEVER forget you..they have your picture in their baby albums. Right now I am coping with a work related back injury..and I can tell you that THIS is the one thing that I truly miss! It makes me weep when I think about the fact that this is something I will most likely never be a part of again. Even though you may have been there as a student, it is not the same at all. I know that some of our longtime nurses aides who went to school and became nurses...had severe reality shock when they came back and worked as a nurse, even working with us for years..they had no idea of the skill and responsiblity that we had. I would say that you should try it..but only if your hospital allows you to transfer if you don't like it. Sometimes after all the time it takes to train for this specialty, the hospital requires a certain amount of time spent working there before you can transfer. Good luck, let me know how it goes.

a worker who refuses to join a labor union or to participate in a union strike, who takes a striking worker's place on the job, or the like. --this was in the dictionary under the word "scab" I really didn't think of it as being name-calling just that this was a term for someone who takes a job during a strike I used to be against Unions too. I thought that Nursing didn't need them. However, due to our inability to be a cohesive force otherwise, I have changed my mind. And yes, also because of the success of teaching unions. I think that the failure of many public schools has more to do with the decline of the family than of the capability of the teachers. My children are in public school with a union, and they are getting excellent educations. My daughter is a Dean's list student at a very prestigious university, so they must be pretty good. But back to my point...at least with Union contracts nurses have some power. I recently hurt my back, at work, and let me tell you, NO ONE is protecting my rights! Another nurse that I know was fired, because she was unable to return to work after hurting her back! She is still fighting in court, because our hospital claims that it is work related. Can anyone explain to me how other professions have certain injuries that are pretty much guaranteed to be related to their work automatically, but we, as nurses, don't have the same? Yet disorders of the feet and back injuries of varying degrees are so prevalent in nurses but somehow not attributed to our time being spent constantly on our feet on concrete floors and lifting and turning heavy patients. This kind of thing could be different if we all stuck together. Yet, secretaries with Carpal Tunnel have no problem. All the bunion surgeries and orthopedic helps for our feet should have been totally covered as workplace related, I'm quite sure that my fellow workers were not out "wearing high heels" which is the biggest cause of bunions! It was the concrete floors under their feet! And all the back problems are from not having enough staff and mechanical assistance. In my state, the employer doesn't even have to give a reason for firing you. They can wait until you work for them for 19 yars and then just let you go. With a Union this wouldn't be possible. I do agree that there can be problem, but it seems to be the best choice available. In a more perfect world, our nursing leaders-in management and education would be helping the profession instead of just enjoying the view. I am quite sure that there are all kinds of reasons that nurses choose to cross picket lines. Some good and some not. My opinion is that we would be better off as a profession if they did not. Many in the public are not well informed about strike issues. Actually if you think about it , many of them don't even really know what nurses are doing for them in the first place. Many think any female in scrubs or in white is a nurse...When asked about how their nursing care was ...they will relate more to whether they were brought cold water or juice than actual medical issues. And they are more likely to compliment the nurse with the pleasant manner and smile, while not recognizing the nurse who recognized the ominous pattern of their fetal monitoring strip and rushed in to intervene. In short...they don't always know what's good for them. And before anyone says it...yes, it's always better to be both competent AND personable! Anyway, if we counted on public perceptions to change the way hospitals run things we'd be waiting a long time! If anything, I think that hospitals and physicians treatment of nurses as a profession is getting worse. The AMA is much more successful in protecting physicians practice than the ANA is for nursing. Recently I learned that nurse's aides in area doctors offices can not only draw blood,triage pts phone calls, and perform EKGS , they also administer both oral and intramuscular medications! They don't even have licensed nurses, not sure how they can be considered "nurse's aides" then? Even worse, the public in this office probably thinks that the person in the white uniform IS a nurse. When I recently contacted my states board of nurses as well as the ANA trying to find information to help me when my hospital kept assigning me to areas where my limitations imposed by my back doctors..they were no help at all. I can't even get an answer as to where I will stand if I need to continue taking narcotics to control my pain...my state does not expressly prohibit the practice. Anyway, I have been forced to either work while in pain or stay home and take the medication. I feel that taking the medication affects me too adversely to work with...so I have to make a choice. I think that maybe if we had more political power we could change this type of thing. The hospitals really don't care and won't simply do what's right, unless they are forced into it. What is probably going to happen in my case, is that eventually the hospital will fire me, because there will be too much sick time in my record due to my pain issues. This isn't right, but like I said, No One is protecting us. The California nurses have managed to have an impact on our states as well as their own. Although patient ratios and safe patient handling legislation has not yet been passed in my state, I hope that it will be in the future. I know some wonderful nurses who I am positive would cross the picket line should our hospital ever become unionized and actually strke. These are women that at present dont take breaks or lunches and stay extra time , but never put it in the time books. I have known some of them to give their own money to patients and families for meals or transportation. I tell them that I think their altuism is great, but that they aren't really helping any of us by not charging for their time worked...for one thing it makes it look like the rest of us are simply not trying hard enough, if they can always manage to avoid needing overtime, but mostly because they DESERVE to be paid for their skills and hard work. Anyway, I don't think we should denigrate each other. I apologize if I offended anyone. I just think that we are unable to establish political power if we don't stick together..hosptals that are forced to close because of the lack of staff WILL negotiate and consider the issues before them. While to us as nurses, the patient may be most important, they are running a BUSINESS, that is why we need to be organised and realize the pitfalls of our only looking at things more emotionally. The hosptals will continue to pay as little as possible for as few nurses as they can get away with employing. Dividing more and more of our work out to unlicensed staff only clouds the issue. Anyway, I don't like some of the insults on here either. But please know that even "line crossers" who are doing it because they want to help the patients, are really only hurting EVERYONE in the long run.

Actually, she was perfectly qualified for her scholarship because it was written at the time as for "spanish surname" which she did have as her name was Rodrigues. I'm not taking "one incident" because there are many as I said. I feel that giving out scholarships simply on the basis of one's race or ethnicity is WRONG. This is definitely reverse discrimination. Seeing my daughters friends get full scholarships simply because they are hispanic despite her being a harder worker and better student is ridiculous. Now she has a huge amount of student loans to pay back while they do not. How can anyone say that this is fair? These are not impoverished people but rather they come from equal (in one case) and far superior (in the other) incomes. One's father is an anesthesiologist who pays cash for cars and houses..I don't think that they needed the scholarship. All discrimination is simply wrong. I believe that scholarships should be given out for achievement and financial need, not because of race.

WAIT ..didn't that I just say that I wasnt trying to say that strike nurses were incompetent or drug seeking? HOw is that "demonizing" or "name-calling". The FACT that that particular nurse was drug seeking was emphasized when she was caught and convicted! Because somewhere she worked she made a mistake and was discovered.. I was just making the point that not all strike workers did so for altruistic reasons. As far as your implying that I would ignore such behavior in my own group, I beg to differ since I would definitely report anything that I felt was detrimental to patient care! So who is :making snide comments about another group. Also I'm not sure what group that would be..since you ASSUME that I'm Union when I am not. I don't want to name call or allow you to do so..but we all know what happens when you ASSuME. I simply was voicing my support for what these nurses are doing for the profession. While I agree that there are some abuses with Unions in this country, on the whole, the working class would be greatly worse off if Unions had not won many rights over the years. Working hours, overtime, breaks and salaries included are all benefits that Unions won for the people. Nursing as a profession would be much better off if we were ALL union. Witness the teachers of this country. They are virtually all Union (at least in my part of the country). They have much better benefits across the board. And they also have great PR..you hear all the time about how they are underpaid and overworked...how often do you hear that about nurses? Oh, and please believe me, I'm not trying to say that teachers should not be well paid,, quite the opposite. My point is that TEACHERS STICK TOGETHER...you don't see other teachers coming in and taking their places. This is the way that they have won concessions, increased benefits, and maintained the integrity of their profession.