debsimb

I support H.R. 676 . Healthcare is a right...no doubt about it in my mind. I am going to tell you a story just to raise awareness about some issues that are ignored.. I have a friend who has been an RN for over 20 years. She loves what she does and gives great nursing care, never places judgement on people, and always gives the same care to each of her patients REGARDLESS of their age, race, financial ability to pay...and so forth. Most nurses do this everyday, right? She is an OR nurse. Well back in 2000 she started not feeling so well and was kind-of dizzy so she went to her PCP who told her it was likely a virus. She didn't seem to be getting better so she had a head MRI which came back as negative. At the time she worked in a peds/gyn OR and the nurses carried the peds patients to the OR. Anesthesia would breathe/mask the patients down and she would start the IV on them. She noticed that she devoloped and intention tremor and was concerned but continued to get the job done. Because she was dizzy she didnt feel comfortable carrying the patients so she divulged this to her nurse manager. She explained the situation and requested to do gyn cases for a short while. Her nurse manager asked her if she was refusing to do her job. Anyway as her "punishment" she did peds cases for the next year- BUT she never risked a pt. She went to anesthesia everyday and explained that she had an inner ear problem. He coworkers? Well they treated her like a malingerer. She had another MRI (ordered by a neurologist) because she had lost 25 pounds and was so tired and dizzy all the time. This MRI was also read as negative. She continued to work and drive because, you see, they were telling her she was OK.... One day after work she went to her PCP because she just couldn't stand it anymore. He did a fundoscopic exam on her and told her that she needed to go to the ER. He explained to her that she just needed to go to the ER and give her name and they would take it from there. She went to the ER and went up to the triage nurse who scoffed at her and told her "we don't know you or have any idea why you are here". She was soooo upset at the way this nurse spoke to her..she turned away and left.....She told herself that she had TWO brain MRI's read as negative so nothing could be wrong. The next day at work one of the anesthesiologists she worked with pulled her aside and told her she had anicocoria. She called her PCP about his and he asked her if she went to the ER because she had papilledema the day before. Well, a third MRI showed a brain lesion in her right CP angle. It explained all the symptoms she had experienced ...AND it turns out that the lesion was present on both prior scans... The lesion was at her brainstem (pons) and her hospital's neurosurgeons were not comfortable operating in that area of the brain...so she had to "request" to go outside of her hospitals insurance plan. Well, this was done swiftly and quickly and she had a right posterior fossa crani to remove the lesion...It was benign. The doctors who missed the lesion told her that the lesion was cystic which made it more difficult to see on the scans. After the craniotomy she felt great. Post-op she had a few seizures but was doing well. The fatigue went away, the dizziness was gone, she could eat again. While she was recovering, though she received a letter from the hospital she worked for which stated that because she had missed more that 120 days in a calendar year..she was "terminated" but because she was in good standing with the hospital...she could apply for her job again in the future if she wanted to. She lost her job, AND her insurance. She had to COBRA her coverage until she could work again. The cost to COBRA insurance for her in 2002 was over 800dollars/month. Well she had to have it- the insurance, right?? So she paid it. She worked hard and got back to work at a new job and hospital. She was so happy. She worked for 6 years, took her dilantin and was fine. In 2008 she was working and started having double vision- and ataxia. she had another MRI which showed another different brain lesion show up causing dorsal midbrain syndrome. In July of 2008 she had a second craniotomy which took 12 hours. It was much more difficult for her to recover from. She had to relearn to walk, had to have extensive PT, OT, and cognitive therapy. The seizures were VERY difficult to control. She was in the hospital for over a month then NeuroRehab. Anyway, during her recovery...because she was unable to return to work after 6 months time her short term disability ran out and she was terminated. Her long term disabiity kicked in and she is still on it. BUT she has to COBRA her insurance which is over 1200/month and her antiepileptic drugs (with RX coverage) are over 200 month. Consider this.... If she is unable to get back to work she can ONLY COBRA insurance for 18months..after that she won't be able to get it. Who will insure her? Which insurance company? Anybody?? NO Well what about social security disability? She applied (because her LTD company made her) and she was approved. Problem solved??? NO. You see. The way that works is that in order to get medicare for a disibility you have to be disabled for TWO years AND because she has worked as a nurse for over 20 years and paid into social security she will get around 1900/month- under 24,000dollars/year. Not much, right?? BUT according to the government it is too much money to receive any help with anything. Nothing. This is the system we have now. She is not the exception...This happens to MANY people everyday. People who are educated, who work hard, but become ill. She is an independent person- single- no spouse's insurance to get on, right? Consider this... She has an older friend who is married. They don't have children and she does not work- never has. She is on her husband's insurance policy (so she has medical coverage) PLUS she will be able to collect social security off of his work history- NEVER HAVING WORKED A DAY IN HER LIFE!!! I would appreciate your thoughts on our great system and wonder if people like my friend (a fellow nurse) are thought about during this healthcare debate. Think about it...you are ONE MAJOR ILLNESS away from this..Think this can't happen to you???

Excellent point, Dave!

Stay in nursing and raise the bar!! don't feed into the behavior and eventually they will ignore you. think about the patients. The atmosphere will never change unless we change it!!

Alana, If your goal is to become a nurse- then DO IT!! You owe it to yourself to continue to strive for your goals...If you have test anxiety you need to get some help for this. There are many things that can be done to help with this. You must tell yourself that becoming a nurse is possible. You may have to work harder than some but YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Hello, this is very strange. If a hospital is running two trauma rooms they are generally a level one trauma center then they MUST staff the OR with a team. Most of the time with OR call if a person works an off shift- call is minimal. ALWAYS ask about the amount of call the length of call and questions such as this before you take an assignment and make sure this is on your contract!!!. at smaller OR's always ask if the OR covers c-sections...you are almost surely to be called in for a c-section. The amount of call you are to take should be on your contract!!!! along with the shift/shifts you will be working!! If you have this you can never be "made" to work something you did not agree to- contractual breech.

I am not sure what you mean??? If she had signed a contract which is legally binding and they "laid her off" then they terminated the contrat which is NOT legal...Just as if you break a contract the company can hold you to the contractual terms of the agreement..the same goes for them... this has never happened to me and if a contract is signed the company has to follow it...If the hospital ends the contract the company is obligated to pay up or find another assignment for her...

Hello, I have not worked for sunbelt but they are the sister company for Soliant health....These are small companies..If you work for sunbelt you can also work for Soliant. I think the benefits are the same. Soliant is a great company ( i have worked for many). The pay is a little less per hour- BUT the insurance is great and the housing is too. Sunblet works mainly out of the south, I think. The smaller companies have a more personal touch (in my experience) and I highly recommend them. Oh and I have BC/BS insurance- short and long term disability- dont get that from other companies...look beyond the hourly pay..if you are smart

Hello, Usually if you work for a company and complete an assignment you will have health insurance through the end of the month. For example, if your assignment ends on the 4th of the month..you are covered until the end of the month...BUT if your assignment ends on the 28th of the month your insurance still ends at the end of the month!! Generally (you need to check with your company) after your insurance ends you need to pick up another assignment in order to keep your benefits. Usually you will NOT need to cobra if you take 3 weeks or less off. So really your best bet is to take an assignment the ends during the first week of the month (which gives you coverage through the month) and pick up an assignment to start three weeks into the next next month--MAKE SURE THAT YOUR COMPANY HAS DAY ONE BENEFITS!!! Does this make sense?? This will give you around 5-6 weeks without having to cobra your insurance. This is different for each company and you must make sure about your specific company. DO NOT go through your recruiter----ASK TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE IN YOUR BENEFITS DEPARTMENT an d ask these questions....If a company thinks that your are doing this...they may be reluctant to give you an assignment- do NOT draw attention to the fact that you are doing this (even though there is nothing wrong with it!!!). Simply put..end and assignment during the first week of the month...and have your next assignment start on the third or 4th week of the next month...if you have day one benefits! good luck