So, what's it gonna take for nursing to change and become what it's supposed to be?

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Specializes in Case Manager.

What's it gonna take for nursing to become what it should be, which is providing nursing care from a nursing and medicinal, and holistic model to achieve the best patient outcome instead of a retail-esque "the customer is always right" and if "we don't score 99 on this arbitrary survey, then you'll be penalized or terminated despite giving excellent medical, holistic and nursing care."

What has to happen so that nursing has defined boundaries and limitations? When will we be able to say "I don't have to take the trash out, that's housekeeping's job," "I don't have to start the nebulizer treatment, that's the RRT's job,"I don't have to do [something outside of my job description], that's [person is is designated to do that]'s job," etc...?

Will the accountability without authority model ever be changed?

When will management, other nurses and administration advocate their employees and protect them at all costs, so that other disciplines don't **** all over nursing? I mean why would you cut the Achilles tendon on the people you have to work with and maintain professional relationships with? What would doing that do for you?

When will nurses be placed in the same cohorts as doctors, lawyers, and businessmen minus APN's?

I mean eventually something has to happen right? How can a profession even manage to survive with conditions like these? I feel as though the nursing profession is gonna be redefined by outside forces and we can do nothing about it or there will be a massive reform that'll take many years to even begin to materialize in the healthcare setting. I mean people can talk about what should be done, but until any action is taken, it's pointless.

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Get rid of the love for money & greed that these hospitals and insurance companies crave off and it should become the way it suppose to be. But we know that will never happen. So sad but true.

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I agree, but at the same time... the "not my job" or "not my patient" attitude is what got us here in the first place.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

Patients ARE patients. Ya know, sick people..

Patients ARE NOT customers.

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haha you guys should head on over to my thread, 16000 views and about 320 comments arguing this very thing....

of course I think patients are customers...soooooo

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Other problem is lack of unity among nurses. Manegers make new rules every day, they add new documentation every months. You may be very busy with your patients your day may be extremely craze. For this reason you forgot to document something very insignificant. Chances your charting will be audited by maneger is very low. However, if other nurse notice you missed something in your charting, you maneger most likely will know it. Why to take this stuff to managers if you know managers are not on our side, and none of us is perfect and may do the same error in charting tomorrow?

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Specializes in cardiac, ICU, education.
So, what's it gonna take for nursing to change and become what it's supposed to be?

You might want to try and answer "What is the meaning of life?" Might be easier to define.

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sounds like this will happen when you get a position in management. have you ever considered it...

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
of course I think patients are customers...soooooo

When you graduate school and become an RN, you may reexamine this.

All the best,

Diane

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Specializes in Critical Care & Medical-Surgical floor.

"So what's it gonna take for nursing to change ...?" A better question might be what can each of us do to change nursing for the better? Each of us has the power to change our own behaviour. I believe in teamwork. I don't mind emptying the trashcans and often do on my shift. I am blessed to work with other disciplines who act in the same way. Respiratory therapists who help us pull patients up in bed, radiology techs who help me turn patients, lab techs who will go get my patient a blanket if I am tied up and unable to help at that moment. It is all about the patient. Without patients, we are out of a job. They have a right to express their opinions about the care we deliver. After all, sooner or later we are all patients. I try to treat each of my patients the way I would wish to be treated if our roles were reversed. Yes, seems like someone is always looking at our documentation and critiquing it. If someone is trying to find something wrong, they usually will be successful and most of us fall short at one time or the other because we will make mistakes, being human after all. Noone ever said nursing was easy. It is one of the most difficult, challenging professions as well as the most rewarding. The stakes are high. Is it worth all of the hassles? I think so. We need to be tactful, honest, fair communicators. We need to support each other. We are most powerful when we are in short supply which unfortunately probably is coming around again in a few years. Things are tough right now because of the economy. I wish I could say all of our jobs are secure but obviously that is not true. There are no guarantees. Maybe you can be the leader you are looking for...there actually is a book on the market with a title close to this idea. Instead of looking for others to address our concerns, we need to take action ourselves.

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Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

Professional change comes slowly, as there are many vested interests both within and outside the profession, that are resisting the changes outlined by the op. But the profession does change.

If you want to see how much it has changed, read any nursing textbook from the 1940-1960's and compare it to recent textbooks. Talk to RN's that have been retired for 10 years or so and ask them how the profession has changed during their working career.

Not all the changes that have occurred have been for the good, but for the most part the changes have improved the profession.

As an aside, IMHO patients are indeed customers, after all they are paying for our services. Unless of course you are practicing completely "pro bono".

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What's it going to take: IMHO a nationwide strike by all nurses. Only when something really radical, costly and inconvenient happens will people truly pay attention.

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