*rolling my eyes*

[OhioCCRN]

Here we go again with the media spouting idiotic information that they have no idea about and that cannot be explained with a few "google searches"

i find I am deeply irritated with the article about the RN who contracted Ebola for reasons of a blatant invasion of her privacy, and also for the following reasons.

1. You do not get Certified in nursing when you graduate from school, you have to take a test and you get licensed.

2. You do not need a CCRN to work in critical care and the absence of one does not mean you are not qualified for your position, or the fact that the Texas RN recently received her certification does not mean she was not qualified to care for a critically ill patient.

3. The sample exam of the CCRN on the website that the reporter gazed at for a couple of seconds in no way reflects a large percentage of the questions in the final exam, thus one can not make the assumption that there is no question on infectious diseases (which by the way is nursing 101 whereas the CCRN focuses on the hemodynamically unstable patient)

4. the constant parading of the pinterest quote leads me to believe that they want to emphasize that she did not trust in the knowledge of some of her physician colleagues (i mean really? we all work with certain doctors that make us question their every order because they just do not seem to get it)

...again, the media has absolutely NO idea what we do as nurses and is so incredibly lazy in its research that it does not even come close to scratching the surface.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

executive order needed for Federal Quarantine. not to come in and poke their noses around.

And with due process, policemen cannot show up and start search ones house without a search warrant and "poke their noses around", no?

They may have shown them what they were supposedly doing, then wasn't following through.

Same issues apply here, based in the spirit of the law, they CAN'T show up and ensure proper procedure without executive order, which should've happened in the first place, but did not; hindsight and Monday morning quarterbacking doesn't change things now, but moving forward, I believe and executive order should be in place, in addition any other people that develop the virus should

be transferred to the proper facilities.

[Semolina]

Here's a story about a "voluntary agreement" with health care workers who might have been exposed to Ebola. It's not made clear whether these people are still allowed to work. If it's dangerous for them to go to church, isn't it dangerous for them to be around patients?

Dallas leaders announce ‘voluntary’ containment orders for workers exposed to Ebola; no emergency declaration | Dallas Morning News

[Nurseworks, ASN, RN]

Look, if after what can only be presumed to be numerous briefings on the topic, the POTUS is putting forth misinformation like this in statements meant to reassure us, we are pretty much screwed as a nation. If this doesn't get us, something else will, because when I read this, I almost spit out my coffee:

"Here's what we know about Ebola. It's not like the flu. It's not airborne," the President said.

No, it IS like the flu, it's spread by bodily fluids, including droplets. And I don't want to hear how the CDC feels that coughing isn't a "common symptom" seen in Ebola, so it isn't a big concern. Honestly, what's worse, POTUS being told it isn't like the flu or that the flu is airborne?

[OCNRN63, RN]

Not buying it.

​So are you calling that poster a liar? The CDC admitted they gave the nurse the wrong advice; they set the temp. at 100.4. Just this evening on the news I heard someone from CDC admit that in hindsight she should have been given different advice.

[fuschiagroan]

The thing is, the nurse was told that the PPE she was given would protect her. And if it was going to protect her, why should she not get on a plane? I mean, the PPE was good enough, according to her hospital! They can't have it both ways.

[Tagg]

Exactly.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

The public and the media are rushing to vilify the nurse. The hospital is blaming the nurse for "breaking protocol" when it is now clear that there not only WAS no protocol, but that the PPE they were using was not sufficient to protect anyone. And now my fellow NURSES are rushing to vilify the nurse claiming that "she should have known better" and "that's critical thinking 101." We can hardly blame the media and the public for their rush to vilify the nurse when our own members are doing the exact same thing.

Amber Vinson wasn't irresponsibly putting the public at risk. She contacted the CDC for advice before she got on a plane, and she got on that plane following their advice. If anyone should be vilified, it should be the CDC spokesperson who gave her that advice and then let the media heap blame upon her before stepping up and admitting to it. If I had been exposed to ebola and CDC told me I was fine to go HOME on public transportation, I would have believed them. I would have wanted to believe them because I wouldn't want to believe in the possibility that I really HAD ebola, and if I WERE going to be sick, I'd want to be sick in my own home. I wonder how many of our members heaping blame and scorn on Amber Vinson would do anything much differently. They may CLAIM they would now, while they're sitting comfortably in front of their own computers with neither the fever nor the the history of exposure, but nobody really knows what they'll do in a situation until they GET into that situation. So I'm not believing all the self-righteous claims of those who haven't been in that position.

I'm not blaming Amber or Nina, and I AM sincerely wishing them the very best. And waiting for that hospital to get it's collective head out of it's collective anal sphincter and start doing their very best to HELP the employees they put into harm's way and who are now fighting for their lives.

[AdamantiteEnigma]

The public and the media are rushing to vilify the nurse. The hospital is blaming the nurse for "breaking protocol" when it is now clear that there not only WAS no protocol, but that the PPE they were using was not sufficient to protect anyone. And now my fellow NURSES are rushing to vilify the nurse claiming that "she should have known better" and "that's critical thinking 101." We can hardly blame the media and the public for their rush to vilify the nurse when our own members are doing the exact same thing.

Amber Vinson wasn't irresponsibly putting the public at risk. She contacted the CDC for advice before she got on a plane, and she got on that plane following their advice. If anyone should be vilified, it should be the CDC spokesperson who gave her that advice and then let the media heap blame upon her before stepping up and admitting to it. If I had been exposed to ebola and CDC told me I was fine to go HOME on public transportation, I would have believed them. I would have wanted to believe them because I wouldn't want to believe in the possibility that I really HAD ebola, and if I WERE going to be sick, I'd want to be sick in my own home. I wonder how many of our members heaping blame and scorn on Amber Vinson would do anything much differently. They may CLAIM they would now, while they're sitting comfortably in front of their own computers with neither the fever nor the the history of exposure, but nobody really knows what they'll do in a situation until they GET into that situation. So I'm not believing all the self-righteous claims of those who haven't been in that position.

I'm not blaming Amber or Nina, and I AM sincerely wishing them the very best. And waiting for that hospital to get it's collective head out of it's collective anal sphincter and start doing their very best to HELP the employees they put into harm's way and who are now fighting for their lives.

Well said. Thank you!

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

​So are you calling that poster a liar? The CDC admitted they gave the nurse the wrong advice; they set the temp. at 100.4. Just this evening on the news I heard someone from CDC admit that in hindsight she should have been given different advice.

No, I am not calling the poster a liar. I'm saying that I believe the NURSE should have used better judgement when her temp began to rise. Again, I don't blame her at all for the circumstances that led to her contracting Ebola, but I think it's a cop out for her to say, "The CDC said it was okay".. as a nurse, and considering everything going on, she knew better (imo).

[MissyWrite]

"Here's what we know about Ebola. It's not like the flu. It's not airborne," the President said.

They don't think people are smart enough to understand the difference between "airborne" and "aerosolized," so they dumb it down. Add to that they want to avoid causing "panic," so they give false reassurance.

Yesterday during the hearing, the CDC's director kept saying "We know a lot about Ebola." But there's also a lot that's NOT known.

In speaking about Ebola transmission, Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota said this:

"Some scientists are urging health officials to acknowledge what they don't know. At a meeting on Ebola Tuesday, one infectious disease researcher told an audience at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore that scientists should get comfortable with uncertainty and be honest with the public about gaps in knowledge about Ebola.

"We're making this up as we go. We have to be mindful that we're making it up. One of the worst enemies we can have today is dogma."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/15/nurses-protest-ebola/17302987/

[MissyWrite]

The public and the media are rushing to vilify the nurse.

Yes, they are. I can't imagine what these people would do if they not only had to care for Ebola patients, but also isolate themselves, give up making their wedding plans, stop going to church and to the grocery store and everywhere, stop seeing friends and family...and become infected with the virus, too. I don't think too many people would put up with a job like that.

What they don't realize is that we're real people with lives, and fears, just like them. And denial could have been at play -- Amber may have thought, "I took all the precautions, so I'll probably be fine." Especially with the excitement of planning a wedding.

I just heard that another employee went on a cruise. Then the guidelines were changed from self-monitoring to active monitoring, so this person is quarantined in their cabin and the ship is on its way back to the US.

So I guess that in future cases, health care workers not only have to expect to put their lives at risk, but also to put their entire lives on hold. Cancel weddings, vacations, and just stay home, like a leper. How many people would sign up for that? Yet they think nothing of expecting us to do it, and pointing the finger of blame, too. The danger and isolation isn't enough -- if you're infected, it must be your own fault. Great rewards for a job well done!

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

No, I am not calling the poster a liar. I'm saying that I believe the NURSE should have used better judgement when her temp began to rise. Again, I don't blame her at all for the circumstances that led to her contracting Ebola, but I think it's a cop out for her to say, "The CDC said it was okay".. as a nurse, and considering everything going on, she knew better (imo).

New Nurse: I'm trying to look at this from your POV, and I can certainly recall being a new RN myself. I can recall during my early days, on orientation and after, when I would look around me and see MISTAKES EVERYWHERE! That is, with my newly-licensed eyes, I could easily find errors all around me. Not talking life-threatening errors, not talking even anything that was putting the patient at risk, but things that were (according to the letter of the policy manual) mistakes. Ok. Fast-forward past those early days when I was indignant at the idea that such mistakes were to just be corrected and not written up. That "educational counseling" was not always the suggestion to be made, but rather just a mention to the nurse who made the minor mistake. And move on.

Now, let's look at this situation. In this situation, according to you, the nurse "should have known", she "knew better". Ok, fair enough, that in your opinion she should have made a different choice than to have flown with a low-level temperature elevation. But let me ask you this: do you question every single order you receive to the point that you are arguing which specific treatment is better for the patient?

If you receive orders from an authority higher than yourself (let's go with physician) and they are NOT wrong, they do NOT break protocol, it's just that YOU YOURSELF (the new nurse) thinks the physician should do it differently.....do you believe you are the right to ignore those orders, and do what you think is better?

I think you'd agree that you could not, and SHOULD not. The physican who wrote the order for Antibiotic C has more education than you, more experience than you, and more authority than you to make that call. The decision, to put it in a colloquial expression, is "above your pay grade". Might you accept that you do NOT know everything, that maybe there IS validity to the physician's choice of treatment? I hope so, or you're not long for nursing!

I'm not talking about the physician choosing the wrong medication. It IS correct, just not as good as another one (in YOUR opinion). YOU, new nurse, are to follow the instructions, not make your own decision on the topic.

Now let's look at the CDC conversations with Nurse Vinson. She is not an expert in IC, she has had the same minimal education we all get on the topic. And it IS minimal, in case you might believe we are experts! We are not. We have basic infection control quizzes to pass, and that's it.

Nurse Vinson called upon "the experts". She KNEW they were more educated on the topic (or should have been). She KNEW they were the ultimate authorities where ID was concerned. She KNEW that when a clear decision is to be made, when there is any 'grey' area, it is the CDC who makes the final call. NOT the nurse, much further down the list of supposed 'experts'.

She took prudent measures, when she suspected there might be a problem. She took it to those with MORE education, MORE authority, and ultimately MORE responsibility in the end for any epidemic that might occur. SHE followed the proper protocol, which is to notify the CDC AND FOLLOW THEIR INSTRUCTIONS.

To repeat, hindsight is always 20/20. But if you are going to take the position that this nurse should have made better judgments and predictions than the experts in the CDC, I fear for whatever tiny 'toe over the line' misstep YOU might make in your career. I can't imagine there would be many nurses willing to stand up for you when you (according to you) had such poor judgment and therefore SHOULD be villified.....for following appropriate instructions.

Food for thought.