NurseStimpyRN

I'm from the midwest. What scares me is the number of people entering the nursing proffesion simply because it's one of the few jobs available. The person who has worked at GM for 20 yrs and gets layed off, so decides to "get into nursing because it pays well and is a steady job". I guess I'm one of those people who believe nursing is something you are, something inside of you. You can teach almost anyone the technical aspects of nursing, you cannot however, teach compassion, tolerance and a love for the proffesion. I started as an A.D.N. R.N. However, I believe the A.N.A. and we as nurses are very much to blame for our situation. If we had 1/4 the lobby on capital hill as physicians, our conditions and patients satisfaction and safety would improve. If nurses want to be treated as TRUE proffessionals, then some things must change. (Including my spelling) Minimum education for R.N. 4 Yrs. Stronger lobbying and advertising including recruitment. Every nurse knows that we are the eyes, ears and senses of the physicians. If a nurse fails to be a patient advocate, or is overextended with patients and misses a symptom, dire consequences can happen. Where was the A.N.A when the study came out concerning the number of healthcare related mistakes resulting in death and injury each year. How many were due to poor physician handwriting. How many were due to understaffing or undertraining. Why are so many nurses leaving the field and why do so few enter. These are all questions that the public needs to be made aware of. Physician's don't have to sign time sheets, don't have to wear certain outfits and are not treated like they work at Dairy Queen by Human Resources. They also have true autonomy. Even more importantly, physicians can define themselves and there role specifically. They diagnose an illness, and they treat it. Granted Advanced Nurse Practitioners have made great strides in these areas and we need more of them. However, the average R.N. and nursing in general has a much tougher time in defining themselves and what they do. This is the area where I believe the A.N.A. has failed us most. Caring, compassion and technical skills are very important but hard to define in quantitative terms. There is much much more that is required of nurses these days. "Professionals" are treated as such and are paid as such because they have skills, talent and so on that not just anyone can master. But most of all, it's what's in their mind that is most important and valued. This is where nursing suffers because that old relationship of the DR. "treating" the patient and the nurses "taking care of" the patients stiil exists. As long as nurses continue to pick up meal trays, perform hotel services, give patients baths and empty bedpans, things will never change. OH, I can here every instructor out there right now typing away. Responding that baths, and all the other things I mentioned above are an intergal part of nursing and qualifying their remarks with reams of data siting the reasons they are important. The point is missed, I don't mind doing any of the above services and if a patient is lying in feces and urine and I'm the only one there, then that patient is going to get thouroughly cleaned and taken care of by me. But you should not have to do those types of things as requirements of your profession. Is that what you go to school for 2,4,6 yrs to learn ? Why would you want to pay some one $20.00 hour to pass ice water to 36 pt's on the unit. When this is brought up, many respond "do you think your to good to empty a bedpan or change a bed"? My response would be "of course not". I have worked with physicians who would help turn, reposition and even clean up a patient in a bind. But ask yourselves this, If physicians had to pass ice water, make beds, and so on, would they be able to treat and diagnose their patients adequetly. Even more relevent, would patient's and the public in general hold them in such high esteem if they did those type of things on a routine basis ? Until nursing comes to grips with this, and figures out how to define itself, it will continue to falter. The only way change can come about is by legislation and participation. When was the last time you voted on anything. Are you a member of a medical orginization? Do you know what kind of legislation is floating around on capital hill ? I love nursing, I could not think of anything else I would rather do including practicing as a physician. That being said, I think we owe it to ourselves and our patients to keep an open and "active" mind to todays healthcare environment. Thanks