Evagall

HAWAI'I NURSES' ASSOCIATION, OPEIU LOCAL 50 Nominations for the following offices will be accepted from the floor at the September 10, 2011 membership meeting at the date, time, and location indicated below. Nominations may also be submitted in writing by mail to Hawaii Nurses Association, OPEIU Local 50 P.O. Box 4128 Honolulu, HI 96812 received by 4:30 pm September 9, 2011. Date: Saturday, September 10, 2011 Time: 10:30 am - 1:30 pm Location: Musician's Association of Hawaii 949 Kapiolani Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96814

The hawaii nurses' association has a new executive director, patt gibbs, esq., please take a few moments to read about her background. I'm sure you'll agree that her extensive labor union experience and excellent leadership skills will benefit all hna members. We are fortunate to have her. In unity, your hna sister.

I have seen the stash of meds, but I have not witnessed them being handed to patients. I do have a plan of action, but I have to be fair in my approach. I don't want to report this to the State before going to the Director of Radiology. I have learned my lesson not to accuse people of any 'wrong-doings' before getting all the facts. I know that they can easily deny my accusations.

I can understand that the techs have one concern and that is to get the test done ASAP and on to the next patient. They have to scan/x-ray lots of patients and get it done quickly. My role in our Rad. Dept. is to help with patient care, while at the same time help the techs scan/x-ray patients safely and efficiently. I try to improve the patient flow through the department. The way I see it, we are on the same team, but I sometimes feel the rad tachs see me as the opposition.

I guess you can do your own research about Radiography Tech's attitudes toward Nurses. I presented my theory to our Radiography Instructors and they agreed with my hunch. And my hunch is that techs do like for nurses to tell them what to do, regarding patient care in the Rad. Department and I think that's what creates the tension. It's a "superior/inferior" issue, that's my opinion.

I have documented my observations and have sent emails to the appropriate supervisors. At this point, only one supervisor has taken actions in regards to the ER transporters. All of my concerns center around teaching the techs 'what they are allowed and not allowed to do'. In my two years working in Radiology, I see that the techs have worked in a place that has been unsupervised by nursing for the past five years (prior to 2002) and they have had to 'survive' by doing things just to get their job done. This means doing some 'nursing-only' tasks. There is also tension between the two professions. Radiology techs naturally do not like "Nurses". I have tried to understand this phenomenon, but can't seem to get a handle on it. I want to make their job easier and safer, but they see me as the "police" who is looking for things they do wrong. I have made some headway, but it hasn't been easy. I can go on and on about the issues in our Dept. but I will stop here for now. Thanks, for your response.

The radiology techs at my hospital flush central lines, administer heparin flushes, administer lasix, stop IV pumps and adjust gravity IV drips. The other day I witnessed a medication stash at the receptionist desk, she has PO and Rectal dulcolax in her desk draw to give to out-patients for IVP preps. We really need to be careful what nursing responsibilities we allow other healthcare providers to perform. I think it weakens our profession and jeopordizes patient safety.