lindarn

I am retired AF Reserve. I commissioned in 1988 to be a Flight Nurse in California, went to Flight School n Texas, met my now ex husband, got married, moved to Spokane. Transferred to the 40th AES at McChord AFB in Tacoma. Had a baby, in 1990. Desert Storm happened, got activated, left an 8 month old daughter with my husband, and one of his sisters, who flew in from Buffalo, to help him take care of my daughter while I was gone. There are no words to describe what it was like to hand over your baby to your husband, and go off to war. Our First Sergeant peeled my daughter out of my hands, and handed her over to him. Got to see a little of Europe while I was there. Got to, "combat shop", all over Europe while I was there. Would not trade the experience for anything. I survived. We survived. Had baby number 2 after I got back. Just retired from the AFR after 25 years of service. My dad fought under Patton in WWII. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge under Patton. He was in the infantry. They slept under the Half Track tanks at night. My dad did not like sleeping with his boots on, and would take them off at night. His buddies warned him not to take them off, in case they came under attack at night. He was 19, knew every thing, thought that he was bullet proof, and ignored them. Well one night, they got attacked. All of the soldiers ran out from under the half track to return fire. As everyone slid out from under the tank, my dad's boots got knocked out from under the tank. He had the common sense, not to stick his head out from under the tank to find his boots, and just side his hand out from under the tank, to feel around to where his boots were. He said that he could feel the bullets hitting the ground, by his fingers, spraying dirt all over the place and all over his hands. They were so hot, they burned his fingers. He said that one bullet fell so close to his hands that he felt the heat of the bullet as it flew past his hand and hit the ground. He survived, or I would not be here to write this. He died in 2000. I wish that the government had built the WWII Memorial in Washington DC a few years earlier. I would have loved to take him there to see it. I did some traveling during Desert Storm, as I was stationed in Germany. Went to the American Cemetery in Luxembourg, and saw Patton's Grave. I took a picture of it, and sent it to my dad. When the movie,"Patton", came out, my dad had not taken my mom to the movies in YEARS!! When the movie came out, he was the first in line, at the Kings Highway Theater in Brooklyn to see it!! I got him a copy of the movie, when it came out in tape. What can I say? I enjoyed my time in the military. Was looking forward to being deployed to Iraq if they needed me. Signed up, but was constantly on profile because of my bad knees, and needing foot surgery. Would do it again in a NY minute. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN(ret) Somewhere in the PACNW

I will once again repeat myself on this issue, First, and foremost, like it or not, nursing need to UNIONIZE ENMASSE, to be able to speak with a unified voice for ourselves, and our profession. Spare me the, "I can speak for myself, and I prefer to deal with management my own way, blah, blah, blah". Ad Nauseaum. What, exactly have you as one person accomplished with all of your self meetings with administration? Is your salary and benefits, measuably better than your co-workers are? Are your working conditions any better than your co-workers are? Can you refuse another patient if you believe that your patient load is too high? Or are your afraid to utilize any of this, because you know in your heart, if you speak up like you want/need to, you will be out of a job? Spare me the martyr mary anecdotes, that amount to nothing. Nursing needs to immediately start billing for our professional services. LIke ALL OF THE OTHER HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS DO!! I will also say again, that as long as nursings' professional practice is rolled into the room rate, housekeeping, and the complimentary roll of toilet paper, we will always be seen on the negative side of the balance sheet. Our professional services are not money makers for the hospital (or so they telll us), and we have no worth. We are not allowed to bill for our services, so that we can prove our worth. Next time you are told that your patient gave you negative remarks on the Press Gainey nonsense, ask the hospital, if you are so unimportant, why are they asking the patient to rate the, "customer service provided them"? Do they ask the patients about the housekeeper? Probably not. But they ask about the quality of the nursing care provided. If you are that unimportant, that these stupid surveys are going to be used for hospital reimbursement, why are nurses on the bottom of the food chain? I would think, that a service that is going to make or break a hospital financially, would be provided with everything that they need to allow the hospital to score as high as possible. You might try to point this out at your next contract negotations. I don't believe that any of the CEOs, administrators, etc, contribute anything to positive patient outcomes, and they seem to get the bulk of financial compensation. Why is that?? JMHO and my NY $0.02. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

Nurses really do not get it. The real issue is CONTROL OVER THE NURSING PROFESSION!! They really do not care about what we bring to the table, in terms of our expertise, and improvements in patient outcomes. The PTB, are TERRIFIED of nurses finally coming together, speaking in ONE VOICE, and taking control over our profession! DEMANDING BETTER PAY, BENEFITS, WORKING CONDITIONS, instead of using the, "'may I'", negative", attitude that too many nurses use when dealing with administration. Deferring to individuals who do not have the patients best interests in mind. Only the bottom line. JMHO and my NY $0.02. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

AMEN!! Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN SOMEWHERE IN THE PACNW

Nursing will always be found in the negative side of the balance sheet, because the PTB want it to remain that way. Until nursing starts to bill for their services, our professional services will continue to be rolled in with the room rate, housekeeping, and the complimentary roll of toilet paper. We provide our services to the patients, get not credit for it, while RT continues to bill for drawing an Arterial Blood Gas, while if I draw the same Arterial Blood gas it is part of the room rate in the ICU. Why is that? Again, because the PTB want to keep our services and profile from being seen as money makers for the hospital, and keep our professional services considered worthless. This is stuff that needs to be taught in nursing shool. The economics of health care. Spare me the nonsense that all you want to learn is how to be a nurse. That attitude has kept nursing in the 19th Century. Nurses ARE MONEYMAKERS FOR THE HOSPITAL. We need to quit being the, "martry marys", that we are. We will NEVER GET OUT PIECE OF THE PIE, until we demand that our professional services be recognized. JMHO and my NY $0.02. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

This is all the more reason that nurses NEED TO UNIONIZE WITH THE NATIONAL NURSES UNITED, to gain control over their profession, and start to call the shots. I am sure that all of these horror stories came from nurses who work in non union hospitals, and have been brainwashed into believing how, "unprofessional", it is to unionize. How, "professional", is it to be treated like a piece of disposable furiture by administration? Think about it folks. And make a change for the better. United we stand, divided we fall. JMHO and my NY $0.02. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

How come when patients/family, members, are not at their best, because they are, "scared, in pain, or just not feeling well", the only people who are yelled at, punched, screamed at, etc, is the nursing staff? They manage to behave themselves when PT, OT, Pharmacist, Dietician, the Physician, comes in. Why is that? Forget about nurses being voted the Number One for trust. Trust does not equal respect. JMHO and my NY $0.02. Lindarn, RN ,BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

Why don't we hear the same complaints from PTs, OTs, Pharmacists, etc? Who all make more money than we do, and have far more respect than nurses do. Spare me the, "nurses were once again voted the most trusted careers for the tenth year in a row,", blah blah blah. We are voted the most trusted because we are doormats who don't stick up for ourselves, or our fellow nurses. The market is flooded with nurses, new grads, etc, and new schools are springing up almost daily. No one can get a job, and the small amount of respect the strength that we enjoyed in the years of true nursing shortages, has long gone away. Our low levels of education make us easy to replace with lower educated individuals, as our professional practice is being sold to the highest bidder. We will never be able to claim the same professional image as other health care professions, due to our low levels of education. Especially when PTs now have a Doctorate as entry into practice, and OTs have a Masters. PT ASSISTANTS, have an Associates degree as entry into practice. RECREATIONAL THERAPISTS have a Bachelors degree as entry into practice! What does that say about nursing, who still have people entering with as little as an Associates degree, or not even that much for LPN/LVNs. Spare me the sob stories about individuals who would never be able to make it through a four year BSN program for what ever the excuse du jour that they claim. Not everyone can and/or, should be admitted to a program, that is life. PTs and OTs will freely tell you that the main reason that they went to a higher level of education, was to claim their piece of the health care pie, increase their pay, and keep themselves in demand, with fewer people entering the career. We do not control our profession to prevent ourselves from being replaced by de- skilling. We are allowing it to happen. Teachers fight to keep their profession from being overrun by lesser educated individuals. Why are we not emulating other successful professionals who are keeping their professional from being deskilled? JMHO and my NY $0.02. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

For the millionth time- EVERY NURSE IN AMERICA NEEDS TO JOIN THE NNOC, AND THE NATIONAL NURSES UNITED!! They are the ONLY NURSE ORGANIZATION, to do ANYTHING FOR NURSES AND THE NURSING PROFESSION!! We ALL have to stand with them to protect our profession and professional prectice, and advance the profession before it is too late! \ We need a national voice, and the ANA and our State Nurses Associations are, as we say in Brooklyn, as useful as tits on a bull!! We need a national voice to protect what we STILL HAVE LEFT that is shrinking on a regular basis, and to advocate for us at the National level!! JMHO and my NY $0.02. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

I have been saying for years, that nursing needs to go to a BSN as entry into practice, and grandfather in the ADNs and Diploma nurses. LPN/LVN needs to go to an Associates Degree and entry into practice. Physical Therapy Assistants have a two year associates degree as entry into practice, and they never do anything that comes close to endangering a patient like LNPs do. The BSN need to be re vamped. Some of the fluff can be done away with, classes like, "How To Run a Business", "Legal Aspects of Nursing and Patient Care", "Employment Law", need to be included. These type of classes are included in the class work of PTs OTs, etc. Nurses are too naive in these areas, and that is why they are pushed around like they are. If you do not know the law, you can be too easily intimidated by managers, etc. Ignorance is not bliss in the work place. A higher level of education will make us less likely to be replaced by lesser educated individuals. A two year associates degree is looked as more easlily replaced by a MED tech or nurses aide, with a minimum educational level. Unionizing will give you the support to be able to go out to the public and educated them as to what is going on in the hospital. Let them know that the hospital is trying to replace college educated RNs with not much more than HS dropouts. The public doesn't complain because they do not know who is taking care of them, how many patients your are assigned to, etc. If something goes wrong, they throw the nurse under the bus and blame the nurses instead of the managers who are assigning too many patients to each nurses. Think outside the box! JMHO and my NY $0.02. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

My response was not meant in any way to denigrate teachers. I was just pointing out that because teachers have a strong union, they have prevented the de skilling of the teaching profession, unlike nurses, and because they have a strong union, they can and have, made it their business to go public anything that inpacts their jobs and their ability to teach. Which, by the way, is the reason that teachers did unionize years ago, to protect their academic freedom. What is the difference in protecting your academic freedom to teach, and protecing a nurses ability to protect his/her, ability, to care for their patients with proper staffing? And being able to whistle blow insafe practices in a hospital or nursing home withour fear of retaliation? Is a teachers' ability of academic freedom more important than a nurses ability to save a patients life due to being forced to take an unsafe assignment of too many patients? I think not. That does not mean that I do not respect teachers and their contribution to society. I do believe that my need to advocate for a patient's life is more important than a teacher having the academic freedom to teach their students a subject that is not popular with their PTB. I did not mean to minimize the impact of teachers, and I have no idea how you read that into my response. That is what I meant with my statement. Patients don't care about short staffing becaus WE lead them to believe that everything is hunkydory with the staffing, and your ability to care for too many patients. But everything is not OK. Bedside nursing is a nightmare, and the name of the game is to get out of bedside nursing as fast as you can after graduation. Why is that? I don't hear PTs,OTs, even RTs, running away from their practice as fast as they can. Bedside nursing, and how it is being practiced around the country is unsafe for anyone, and most nurses cannot be the patient advocate that they are required to be by the Nurse Practice Act because they fear for their jobs. Why do we allow it? Because we have no strong organization to watch our backs, and advocate for us. And we allow it. JMHO and my NY $0.02. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

We, as nurses, have an obligation to inform and EDUCATE the public as to what is going on, and how it is negatively effecting the care and safety, in the hospital, and also doctors' offices, and clinics. MA, answering the phone and identyfing themselves, as, "doctor so and so's nurse, ", nurses aides referring to themselves as nurses. Nurses need to take a page from teachers. Teachers are almost 100% unionized. They can speak without fear of repercussion, can and do, organize large gatherings in very public places, to inform the public about changes in the schools that are determental to the students. They miss no opportunity to voice their concerns to the parents. Why this is admirable, lets face it folks- no one ever died because they could not do long division or diagram a sentence. But how many patients are experiencing poor outcomes because of deliberate short staffing, that hospitals take no responsibilty for. Why are peoples' lives being put at risk and we sit around and do nothing but complain to each other, but not to the people who can force change- the patients who we care for and who DO care about dangerous staffing and poor outcomes. It will not change unless we organize under a strong unbrella of an organization who has OUR best interests at heart, and our patients. Think about calling the NNOC, and get a unionizing campaign started. This is for your and your patients. You cannot defend your patients is you fear losing your job and getting blackballed! JMHO and my NY $0.02. Lindarn, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

Nurses, you have made your bed, and are now suffering the results of it. Nurses need to belong to a powerful national union to protect our best interests. By refusing to organize years ago, we have surrendered our professional identity and practice to hospital administrators,who would like nothing more than to be able to run a hospital with as few nurses as possible. I have heard all of the views against unions, but reality is, with no national union/organization to represent OUR BEST INTERESTS, we will ALWAYS LOSE OUT TO THE INDIVIDUALS WHO DO HOLD THE POWER!! Nurses, you cannot speak for yourself when it comes to issues like this. You are out gunned, and out spent by the ptb, who have their best interests in mind $$$$$, not yours. I will say it again, nurses need to join the National Nurses United, and become a force to be reckoned with. Without it, nursing will cease to exist as it is now, in a generation. It is already happening. Our professional practice is being sold to the highest bidder. When did it become a funcion of PTs and OTs to do dressing changes? They do not learn sterile technique in school, and nurses do. Their professional organizations are being proactive in ensuring that they have billable skills to add $$ to the hospital. Especially since they have gone to a doctorate and masters degree as entry into practice. As long as a nurses professional practice is rolled into the room rate, housekeeping, and complimentary roll of toilet paper, nurses will always be an expense, instead of an asset to the hospital. Why should RTs charge to do ABGs? I did them in the ICU, and was not able to bill for them. But the RTs did. Again, another instance of RTs making themselves valuable to the hospitals. It is called job security, and nurses have not learned that skill. WAKE UP NURSES, OR WE WILL NOT BE AROUND FOR MUCH LONGER!! JMHO AND MY NY $0.02. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, just 4o mile east of Spokane, offers new grad interships. I am not sure if they would take a nurse, who is essentially a new grad, but has worked as an RN since graduation. There are nursing homes that hire new grads, and also, Holy Family Hospital, a Providence facility, just hired nurses, who worked in a nursing home since graduation. I would try Holy Family Hospital and see what they say. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW

Mainly because hospitals and nursing homes are scared to death of losing control over their slaves, oops- employees. The only weapon that they have is fear, and threats. Unfortunaley, too many nurses are "Martyr Marys", and put up with this without protest. And too many indivuduals enter/are attracted to, nursing as a career. They want to save the world, and they don't care what they have to put up with to do it. Employment without representation is slavery! JMHO and my NY $0.02. Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN Somewhere in the PACNW