20/20 segment tonight on hospital staffing

Nurses Safety

Published

Please visit our web site for more information on this very important issue. We are at http://www.web-nurse.com We have opened up a new topic on our updated forums about this issue. This can be found at http://www.web-nurse.com/forum

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Anne Van Dyke, RN

Web-Nurse

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Anne,

Thank you for e-mailing me, asking for information about ABC's 20/20 Program airing tonight.

PLEASE----everyone participate!

Thanks,

Rita Barton, Founder, CNG

Concerned Nurses Group at www.hospitalhub.com

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Specializes in L & D; Postpartum.

How many of you watched that 20/20 segment on the nursing "shortage?" I did, and actually, it was not new news to me, nor a surprise. Our hospital threw up the "smoke screen" title thing a couple of years ago.

The nurses are now Patient Care Managers, the LVN's got the sack or the opportunity to become CCP's or Clinical Care Partners, formerly aides. The unit secretary is now the ASP, or Administrative Support Partner.

Some of the new CCP's WERE housekeepers or kitchen help before the change. This is just too scary for words to me--and I refuse to sign my name on the dotted line when they are drawing blood, and numerous other procedures. One of the ASP's on our unit removes staples from 2nd day PO C/Section moms, sends them out the door with no RN to assess the wound appearance.

I've instructed my family members, in my absence, to request a health care "professional's" license prior to letting anybody do anything to them.

How do we flood ABC with our comments to further support their very well done report?

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Just go to Web-Nurse.com to email 20/20 your comments. There is a form that sends email directly to them. If you go to the main page at http://www.web-nurse.com there is a link under "Nursing in the News". You can't miss it!

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Hey WebNurse,

Your a little late in getting started but welcome to the band wagon. Several nurses over the past year got together and formed the Concerned Nurses Group. We are hosted by HospitalHub.com. We have been writting letters to legislators, giving info to 20/20 for their story, writting and publishing articles. Nurses need to be heard. Keep encourageing them to do so. If you want to see our articles, visit www.hospitalhub.com/community/cng/index.html

Sincerely,

ForMoe

[This message has been edited by ForMoe (edited November 29, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by ForMoe (edited November 29, 1999).]

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I'm a little late getting on the bandwagon, too, but like they say, "better late than never". I have been meaning to contact elected representatives and governing agencies for quite a while, but never seemed to find the time. I guess it's time to MAKE time...

I have printed off all of the posts under "Please tell us if you are contacting..." (all 41 pages!) and will send letters to all of the sites listed in these postings, including state and federal officials, the ANA, MNA, and 20/20. Is there anything else I can do?

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Web-Nurse will be expanding on this topic. We have added a scheduled chat at 4pm and 9pm central time to discuss these staffing issues. We are relatively new, and not as large as wwnurse or hospitalhub, but we have a goal to help to implement postive change for nurses. I feel that if we join together, we can accomplish this. Please visit our site at http://www.web-nurse.com and please let us know what you would like to see us add. We have a form to directly email 20/20 on our main page and you can find the chat information there as well.

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Hi All!

Please Go to http://www.ana.org/index.htm (ANA site) and they have a good story there about the 20/20 show. (Better explanation than I could give you :-)

Also, please go to ABC.com and post on the message boards about this program.....I'd LOVE to see them do frequent updates on this!

I don't think that they conveyed the urgency of this problem or how long it has been going on.

Regards,

Rita Barton,RN

Founder, CNG

Concerned Nurses Group at www.hospitalhub.com

After visiting the hub, if you'd like to be considered for membership in the CNG, please let me know. Thanks!

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To all nurses,

We were happy to see that the media is finally realizing what we as nurses have known all along. That the amount of trained nursing staff on any given floor has a direct relationship with patient healing and safety. Less nursing staff may mean a higher risk of infection, medication errors, missed symptoms and/or an increase in the hospital stay for the patient. We at the CNG, have been fighting for a public recognition of this problem for some time now. We have been calling and writing our legislators, providing information to 20/20 and writing articles. While our voices on the net are only now being heard, it is not time to stop just because 20/20 did a story. It is time to nudge this spark into a roaring fire.

The 20/20 story was well done in our opinion. It did however, not go far enough. Towards the end, no solutions were given with the exception that the answer might be to certify or license the Techs, Nursing Assistance, ect... As you well know, this is not enough. An RN spends a minimum of two years training and an LPN a minimum of one. Some states have Certified Nursing Assistance and they do not know the first thing about infection control or anatomy/physiology. Why then are they doing dressing changes and placing Foleys?

We are asking all Nurses to let their voices be heard. Call 20/20. Post on their Internet BB. Send this to every nurse you have on your E-mail list. Post this message everywhere you can including any Internet sites you know of. Tell them we must keep the spark alive while adding fuel to the fire. The story was half told. It up to us to let the public know the truth.

Remember this. Hospitals are not afraid of the government. Money in the right place buys anything. Same with unions. Hospitals do not fear them either. What they will fear, is an informed public that is demanding to know, who is taking care of their loved ones. A well trained, experienced, educated and Licensed RN. Or a Tech with six weeks training. The fight is up to us. Just remember, the next patient you care for on your understaffed, undertrained floor, may be someone you love.

Please, let your voice be heard. The Internet BB are anonymous. Letters, phone calls to 20/20 and you legislators may be anonymous too. Just let your voices be heard.

ForMoe

Founding Member CNG

The Concerned Nurses Group www.hospitalhub.com/community/cng/index.html

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