feb9822

Rather than running away, and depriving the area of a good nurse, maybe try going through administration to attempt change in that area. JCAHO has realized that more errors, both procedure and medicine,occurred in environments where verbal abuse and degrading occur. It is time both physicians and nursing stop allowing that kind of abuse to occur. It is not allowed in other areas, it should not be tolerated there. A partnership between all professionals will not only increase patient safety, but increase the hospital's ability to retain good nurses, respiratory therapists, etc!! Let's try to be change agents, not just looking at nursing as a JOB!! Someday it will be us lying in a hospital bed, wishing there was a nurse to care for us, but no one will be doing it, as they don't want to work weekends and holidays or create change to make the job "easier"!

That would depend on where you live. Here in Upstate New York the SUNY schools put out the very best two year RN's....best way to do it, work on the floor as a 2 year RN for at least 2 years, then go back and get your BSN. Not only do you have an advanced education but you also have a good common sense experience that cannot be gotten through a school....

As a new RN in the hospital, I was helping an (I thought) experienced LPN change an elderly gentleman who had used the bedpan and had a little leakage. Upon finishing, she carried the bedpan and I carried the linens into the dirty utility room. While she was placing the bedpan into the hopper (still containing a very sticky stool), I put the dirty laundry in the hamper. I heard the hopper start up, (it would spray hot water into the pan at the beginning of the cycle), and turned around to say something. I saw her putting her foot back on the foot pedal, and bending down to retie her shoe!!! Before I could get the words out, the hopper flew open, showering her in hot steamy water and stool. Back then, we all wore white uniforms, and there was not a spot on her that was not covered. I was laughing so hard I was crying, and I couldn't even walk over to help her. To this day, if I try to tell this story out loud, I laugh to the point I can't even talk. Obviously, this was years before Blood and Body Fluid Precautions!

Exactly. I have worked in jobs where the majority of employees were men, and you did not see the crap that goes on in a female-dominated profession. I've always said I hope there never comes a day that females are running the world, there will be a war that will destroy us all. Women are much more viscous than men ever thought of being. And yes, I am a female.....

What a great idea!! The other thing I would recommend is working as a nurse's aide/health tech while going to LPN school, not only to become familiar with the basics of patient care, but to be able to appreciate what these people do for the nursing profession. I myself started as an aide, went to school for RN, but obtained my LPN in my second year of school, worked for 5 years as an RN on med/surg, then continued on for my BSN. I feel this path has given me a realistic education not available by just going to a four year school, and has made my career much more enjoyable. If there is one thing we need, it's more men in nursing. No profession benefits from being a majority of either gender. Too many generalities are applied to the profession. Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

I see this discussion going much the way of other nursing issues. I have heard this one, as a matter of fact, for at least 15 years. If nurses would simply value themselves as much as they say they value their patients, this wouldn't even be an issue. A hospital is staffed by multiple disciplines, not only nurses. If others that are responsible for performing duties to keep the patients comfortable are not showing the same dedication to their job as you are to yours, there is a deeper problem present than who takes the garbage out of the room! These issues must be discussed with the department heads over those employees. Yes, nursing must be represented, as I have seen hospitals that have actually put taking trash out as a nursing responsiblity. I would think they would realize that our knowledge is what they are paying us for, and find someone who will take out the trash for less money. Those floors who do take out the trash appear to have more staff than they need, if they indeed have time to do mindless tasks as trash collection rather than patient assessment, patient support, or teaching an inservice. These are the things I was trained to do that no one else in the hospital can do. I am not "beneath" emptying the trash, but I refuse to be taken into the pitfall of "she's too good to do this", I'm just trained in a different expertise. Maybe if we would do less enabling as nurses and grew a spine, we'd have a stronger profession!!