Thirteen years of bedside care has taught me a lot. Yes, my clinical skills have been honed, my resume is stellar and I can approach clinical situations with confidence. I am a good nurse. My skills are a testament to my experience, as is my realization that modern day nursing is a farce. In this post I would like to pose that the nursing profession has become a perverse exploitation of manpower in the current age.
In the landscape of modern day healthcare the profession of nursing has been marginalized. Merriam-Webster defines marginalization as " to relegate to an unimportant or powerless position within a society or group". This definition should ring true to any nurse who is currently working at the bedside of a healthcare organization. Powerlessness should be in the descriptive of any bedside nurse job description. Powerless over unsafe staffing, administrative dictates, abusive patients and family members, dysfunctional hierarchies and the right to a work environment supportive of basic human needs and free from harassment.
The hospital business model has changed with many institutions operating as for-profit. Healthcare dollars are becoming increasingly tighter while those in the c-suite; CEO, CFO, etc. still want their great big piece of the pie. Consulting organizations are the best friend of the profit driven CEO with little or no insight as to what transpires at the bedside. Regulatory commissions justify their existence with endless mandates that become workplace priority (although some of these interventions do protect the patient I suspect this outcome is secondary to the money that is saved by the organization for compliance). Hospitals have become big business. Unfortunately for us, nursing's outdated model only serves to make us work harder to achieve benefits we never realize.
There is no place in the new business model of healthcare for compassionate care. An org cannot be reimbursed for compassion. Still we as nurses are manipulated by our desire to fulfill this outdated model of compassionate care giver. We are the scapegoats of organizations commitment to making someone accountable. Don't make waves, your job is dependent on it. We have all heard this message loud and clear.
I say no more!! The modern day role of a nurse is a joke. The landscape changes and we are required to carry on - business as usual. I cant stuff 14 hours of work into a 12 hour workday and I wont. I will take my breaks. I won't take abuse from patients and/or family members. Our rights as employees in the US mandate we are entitled to an abuse-free workplace. Amen. If administrators want to run their hospitals like a hotel let them employ consierge service around the clock. I didn't go into the hospitality business, I am a nurse. For every hair-brained scheme for manipulating the public the buck seems to stop with nursing. I refuse to pilot your business initiatives and be held accountable.
I am tired of being vulnerable to nursing administration that would rather align itself with hospital administration than represent nursing. You may be well compensated for your turncoat behavior but know you are a disgrace to your profession. It's time we reclaim these important roles and have a voice!!
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics 2010-2011 there are 2.6 million nursing jobs - 60% of those in hospitals. We outnumber hospital admin and nursing exec's by a very large margin. Why don't we have voice? Let's get it together and stage a nursing revolt. Nothing will change until we learn we can stand up for ourselves, our profession and as a result our patients. Grab hold of a copy of the Code of Ethics for Nurses. You will see this is our right and more importantly our duty.
I'm ****** and I'm not going to take this anymore. The first step to change is a unified voice. I'm not advocating unions - I don't know enough about them. All I know is change has to happen if we are to survive. Are you with me?
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
That link talks about nursing shortage issues... every other thread on this forum are packed with nurses screaming to get jobs- which is it? If it's about ratios, well- that's all well and good, but then the salaries are going to be SLOW moving up, since salaries will be going to that nurse to meet the ratios.
Nursing needs to decide what they want- ratios, or better salaries; highly doubtful both will happen in the same decade. Funding for everything stinks.... right now, I'd hope to see more people working, even if at a 'frozen' salary, just to help the employment situation. JMO
Unfortunately, the government has no care about ratios nor do they really care about whatever believed shortage that used to exist. When the ecomony tanked many stay at home Mom's went back to work when their S.O's got laid off. Many who planned to retire, which was a huge chnuk of the forcasted vacancies to be created, never happened....nor will happen in the near future because we lost our a$$e$ when the market dumped wiht our 401K's. Many lost their full retirement's as most facilities anymore don't offer any retirement other than 401k'S. The losses incured changed the reality that any projected shortage just doesn't exist.
I am sure no one is shocked to hear that the federal government is completlely oblivious to the acutal plight of the American people let alone the "small" sector of the nursing shortage. Which in reality no longer exists. Hospitals scrambled to maintain profit margin (and don't tell me they don't have a profit margin with CEO's making very high six figures and up) by"downsizing" their workforce which consisted largely of a 50+ expensive population. They KNEW they were not going to replace anyone and are continuing to delete positions by attrition. The "growth" in healthcare that we keep hearing about are usually non-licensed supportive personel so that the licensed personel can do more with less. They post jobs , they "add" jobs:zzzzz......but who said they are hiring.:icon_roll
The importation of nurses has become a growing problem over the past few years with only a couple of targeted countries like the Phillipines for example. This bill in congress addresses that specific targeted "recognized" countires will be admitted as deemed by the Secretary of State. As being recent administration, I will tell you there are LARGE agencies that import these nurses, pay their fees, and provide their housing cheap. They pay these nurse pennies on the dollar which saves the facilities a TON of money on salary and benefits. These nurses are just glad to be out of their living conditions and able to send money home. I have been flamed for this in the past and I mean NO disrespect but this is fact..........the agency lobbies to the hospitals the hospital lobby to the law makers and PooF! :smackingf another 20,000 VISA's approved for "forgien nurses"..................only if you are from the "approved" country.........:grn:. I sat in the meetings when money is discussed.....administrators want to do more with less costing the least.......not a good philosophy.
There have even been threads about taking less money just to get a job and compete with cheaper options.
Ok, Xtxrn, why not state why you have this position on this matter? Could it be because you are disabled and can't work, that this is not important to you?
I stand corrected, this has not been made law YET. But let me ask you a few questions.
1. Who spends more money on lobbyists in Washington, so that they can persuade politicians to see their point of view? Nurses or hospital corporations?
2. Who is it that would benefit if thousands of foreign RNs come to this country and enter our already sucky job market? Would it benefit us RN's that are already here? NO! It would benefit the CEO's and shareholders.
Follow the money, ladies and gentlemen. On this issue, if we snooze, WE lose.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
ok, xtxrn, why not state why you have this position on this matter? could it be because you are disabled and can't work, that this is not important to you?
i stand corrected, this has not been made law yet. but let me ask you a few questions.
1. who spends more money on lobbyists in washington, so that they can persuade politicians to see their point of view? nurses or hospital corporations?
2. who is it that would benefit if thousands of foreign rns come to this country and enter our already sucky job market? would it benefit us rn's that are already here? no! it would benefit the ceo's and shareholders.
follow the money, ladies and gentlemen. on this issue, if we snooze, we lose.
jane
i am now disabled from an auto-immune myopathy, i am not working and i care, so i'm curious what being disabled has to do with anyone's opinion........i think she cares very much, but she's right......there are those in the profession that are nurses themselves still spouting off about some misdirected, deluded belief that there is a nursing shortage. those elbow rubbing phd's in the academic setting who haven't a clue what the reality is and keep perpetuating the fantasy in nursing school and churning out those grads.....we are at times our worse enemies.
for example:
the american association of colleges of nursing recently released a statement on july 15, 2011. which a summary states as follows.....
the united states is projected to have a nursing shortage that is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows. compounding the problem is the fact that nursing colleges and universities across the country are struggling to expand enrollment levels to meet the rising demand for nursing care.
the american association of colleges of nursing (aacn) is concerned about the shortage of registered nurses (rns) and is working with schools, policy makers, kindred organizations, and the media to bring attention to this health care crisis. aacn is working to enact legislation, identify strategies, and form collaborations to address the nursing shortage. to keep stakeholders abreast of current statistics related to the shortage, this fact sheet has been developed along with a companion web resource.
the article goes on to state
contributing factors impacting the nursing shortage:
nursing school enrollment is not growing fast enough to meet the projected demand for rns.
though aacn reported a 5.7% enrollment increase in entry-level baccalaureate programs in nursing in 2010, this increase is not sufficient to meet the projected demand for nursing services. with the passage of the patient protection and affordable care act in 2010, more than 32 million americans will soon gain access to healthcare services, including those provided by rns and advanced practice registered nurses (aprns).
further down the page it also states
the average age of the registered nurse is climbing.
according to the 2008 national sample survey of registered nurses released in september 2010 by the federal division of nursing, the average age of the rn population in 2008 was 46 years of age, up from 45.2 in 2000.
with the average age of rns projected to 44.5 years by 2012, nurses in their 50s are expected to become the largest segment of the nursing workforce, accounting for almost one quarter of the rn population. www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763756840 which we won't, by the way, be retiring
changing demographics signal a need for more nurses to care for our aging population.
according to the july 2001 report, nursing workforce: emerging nurse shortages due to multiple factors (gao-01-944), a serious shortage of nurses is expected in the future as demographic pressures influence both supply and demand. the future demand for nurses is expected to increase dramatically as the baby boomers reach their 60s and beyond.
strategies to address the nursing shortage
in september 2010, aacn announced the expansion of nursingcas, the nation’s centralized application service for rn programs, to include graduate nursing programs. one of the primary reasons for launching nursingcas was to ensure that all vacant seats in schools of nursing are filled to better meet the need for rns, aprns, and nurse faculty. in 2009, almost 55,000 vacant seats were identified in baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs. nursingcas provides a way to fill these seats and maximize the educational capacity of schools of nursing. see www.aacn.nche.edu/media/newsreleases/2010/expannursingcas.html
(great more over educated intellectuals to tell us about the shortage in the unemployment line )
and here's one from sigma theta tau...the honors society of nursing to which i am a proud member states
research demonstrates what nurses and health care organizations already know: the nursing shortage is very real.
according to a study by stti board member peter buerhaus, rn, phd, and colleagues published in the journal of the american medical association (june 14, 2000):
the average age of working registered nurses increased by 4.5 years to 41.9 between 1983 and 1998.
within 10 years, 40 percent of working rns will be 50 years or older.
so, i agree with xtxrn....we do need to decide what we want and need....and then we need to get the powers that be to hear. or we will be in trouble......
According to the Occupational Handbook, in 2008 there were 753,600 LPN positions held in the USA. I am sure with the way they are graduating them there are more. Please don't leave us out!
Yes, this is a real frustration for me. I'm a union member and vocal about nurse advocacy, and before going into nursing worked in civil rights advocacy/public policy. So this is a fight I know how to do very well. But no one seems to care about LPNs. Most of the LPNs I work with are very outspoken about nursing issues. I think that we could bring a lot to the table and don't understand why nursing organizations don't want to include us. Until that happens I guess we will continue to be invisible. It's a shame.
Also, wth with this?
Ok, Xtxrn, why not state why you have this position on this matter? Could it be because you are disabled and can't work, that this is not important to you?
Xtxrn has had plenty to say on the subject, you may not agree, but I don't see what being disabled has to do with anything.
)
Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN
20,908 Posts
Unfortunately, the government has no care about ratios nor do they really care about whatever believed shortage that used to exist. When the ecomony tanked many stay at home Mom's went back to work when their S.O's got laid off. Many who planned to retire, which was a huge chnuk of the forcasted vacancies to be created, never happened....nor will happen in the near future because we lost our a$$e$ when the market dumped wiht our 401K's. Many lost their full retirement's as most facilities anymore don't offer any retirement other than 401k'S. The losses incured changed the reality that any projected shortage just doesn't exist.
I am sure no one is shocked to hear that the federal government is completlely oblivious to the acutal plight of the American people let alone the "small" sector of the nursing shortage.
Which in reality no longer exists. Hospitals scrambled to maintain profit margin (and don't tell me they don't have a profit margin with CEO's making very high six figures and up) by"downsizing" their workforce which consisted largely of a 50+ expensive population. They KNEW they were not going to replace anyone and are continuing to delete positions by attrition. The "growth" in healthcare that we keep hearing about are usually non-licensed supportive personel so that the licensed personel can do more with less. They post jobs 
, they "add" jobs:zzzzz......but who said they are hiring.:icon_roll
The importation of nurses has become a growing problem over the past few years with only a couple of targeted countries like the Phillipines for example. This bill in congress addresses that specific targeted "recognized" countires will be admitted as deemed by the Secretary of State. As being recent administration, I will tell you there are LARGE agencies that import these nurses, pay their fees, and provide their housing cheap. They pay these nurse pennies on the dollar which saves the facilities a TON of money on salary and benefits. These nurses are just glad to be out of their living conditions and able to send money home. I have been flamed for this in the past and I mean NO disrespect but this is fact..........the agency lobbies to the hospitals the hospital lobby to the law makers and PooF! :smackingf another 20,000 VISA's approved for "forgien nurses"..................only if you are from the "approved" country.........:grn:. I sat in the meetings when money is discussed.....administrators want to do more with less costing the least.......not a good philosophy.
There have even been threads about taking less money just to get a job and compete with cheaper options.
https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/new-grad-willing-573209-page3.html#post5212149
It's problem, a real one, that is growing........I do worry for the furture.....