Strike or time to grow up!

Nurses General Nursing

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I hear so much talk about striking that it scares me to think that there are so many people who would abandon their patients so easily. Maybe in some cases where safety is an issue I could consider striking (after all other methods have failed). I feel that nurses need to stand together more politically but not by striking. There is currently too much fighting between nurses at this point (adn,BSN, MSN, CNA etc.)

When people strike I hear them talk bad about agency workers (scabs). Does this mean you would like to see no one show up??

Does this mean you would like to see your patients suffer??

If so maybe it is time for you to leave nursing....

Jared

Jt, it is called Military Nursing. You are a member of the armed forces and you do what they tell you end of argumnet. The only time you can disobey an order is if it is an Unlawful order. If they tell you to stay and work extra, you stay and work extra. you get paid a fixed amount everymonth. no matter how much or how little you work, and theyalso do have oplenty of other things to do for you such as Commanders Call...which is MANDATORY, extra duties and base functions which are HIGHLY recommended to do if you want a future in the military. As for doing extra things for patients, as a ruke your patients are a healthy group and there may not be a lot to do for them, and as for tidying up, I know from personal experience when I was stationed in Greece, that if we tried to do stuff like that the greek housejkepers would complain and say we are trying to take thier jobs from them so we were discouraged from doing things like that. There is a world of difference between Military nursing and civilian nursing. In the military in time of war yopu save the least injursed first and then you take care of the most severly injured...a total opposite of ther eal world care...different values also...so please do not judge each other untill you have worked in each others worlsd as I have. I can see jareds point of view. I also know that if you have nothing to do the military really does not care if you surf the net on the computers....

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Jt, it is called Military Nursing. You are a member of the armed forces and you do what they tell you end of argumnet. The only time you can disobey an order is if it is an Unlawful order. If they tell you to stay and work extra, you stay and work extra. you get paid a fixed amount everymonth. no matter how much or how little you work, and theyalso do have oplenty of other things to do for you such as Commanders Call...which is MANDATORY, extra duties and base functions which are HIGHLY recommended to do if you want a future in the military. As for doing extra things for patients, as a ruke your patients are a healthy group and there may not be a lot to do for them, and as for tidying up, I know from personal experience when I was stationed in Greece, that if we tried to do stuff like that the greek housejkepers would complain and say we are trying to take thier jobs from them so we were discouraged from doing things like that. There is a world of difference between Military nursing and civilian nursing. In the military in time of war yopu save the least injursed first and then you take care of the most severly injured...a total opposite of ther eal world care...different values also...so please do not judge each other untill you have worked in each others worlsd as I have. I can see jareds point of view. I also know that if you have nothing to do the military really does not care if you surf the net on the computers....

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Thanks for the clarification Dplear. I was not understanding the differences between military nursing and civilian nursing.

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Thanks for the clarification Dplear. I was not understanding the differences between military nursing and civilian nursing.

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Specializes in NICU, Informatics.

I also am active duty Air Force and a nurse. I work on a very common unit for the military, an MSU ( Multi Service Unit). We take everyone. We have the capablitlies to take anyone from newborns who ahve gone home and come back to geriatrics who are dying. The only patients we can't take are ICU aptients and anyone requiring cardiac monitoring. I am on a fixed salary. I've worked 18 hour shifts. Three days straight. My boss will stay and help, he'll work 5 12's in a row if he has too. I work nights, even though I ahte it and it totally screws my family, because I have too. If I get told tomorrow I ahve to go to the Family Practice Clinic tomorrow and give up patient care totally and do telephone triage, I will because I have too. Military Nursing can really suck.

Having said that, I remember civialina nursing. At least in the miltiary, I get leave, and sick days. My health care is apid for. If my boss is a total jacka$$ I can do something about it and see the results. But the pay still sucks. I took almost a 12 grand cut in pay, I don't pay federal taxes, but I've lost a lot of freedom. My recruiter told me I could do Peds/ NICU, but I'm doing Med Surg. On the other hand, my ACLS, PALS, NRP and every other cert I can think of will be paid for or free.

Nurse's need to be able to strike. Hospitals get a 10 day notice of a strike. They are the ones who can do something about it, we can't be stepped on any more.

Oh as for not having anything to do. Bull. you can clean up. You can find stuff to do. Even our "healthy" population needs teaching, care etc. You make stuff to do so you aren't surfing the net all day and night. Since I've been on nights, I've redone our Work Activity Sheets, report sheets, reorganized the med room, stocked the med room every night, stocked empty aptients rooms, consoled our patients and helped out in the ER. There's no such thing as having nothing to do. It's how much you want to do. I choose to earn my money.

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Specializes in NICU, Informatics.

I also am active duty Air Force and a nurse. I work on a very common unit for the military, an MSU ( Multi Service Unit). We take everyone. We have the capablitlies to take anyone from newborns who ahve gone home and come back to geriatrics who are dying. The only patients we can't take are ICU aptients and anyone requiring cardiac monitoring. I am on a fixed salary. I've worked 18 hour shifts. Three days straight. My boss will stay and help, he'll work 5 12's in a row if he has too. I work nights, even though I ahte it and it totally screws my family, because I have too. If I get told tomorrow I ahve to go to the Family Practice Clinic tomorrow and give up patient care totally and do telephone triage, I will because I have too. Military Nursing can really suck.

Having said that, I remember civialina nursing. At least in the miltiary, I get leave, and sick days. My health care is apid for. If my boss is a total jacka$$ I can do something about it and see the results. But the pay still sucks. I took almost a 12 grand cut in pay, I don't pay federal taxes, but I've lost a lot of freedom. My recruiter told me I could do Peds/ NICU, but I'm doing Med Surg. On the other hand, my ACLS, PALS, NRP and every other cert I can think of will be paid for or free.

Nurse's need to be able to strike. Hospitals get a 10 day notice of a strike. They are the ones who can do something about it, we can't be stepped on any more.

Oh as for not having anything to do. Bull. you can clean up. You can find stuff to do. Even our "healthy" population needs teaching, care etc. You make stuff to do so you aren't surfing the net all day and night. Since I've been on nights, I've redone our Work Activity Sheets, report sheets, reorganized the med room, stocked the med room every night, stocked empty aptients rooms, consoled our patients and helped out in the ER. There's no such thing as having nothing to do. It's how much you want to do. I choose to earn my money.

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Jt, it is called Military Nursing. You are a member of the armed forces and you do what they tell you end of argumnet.

ok as long as he knows he better not do that out here in the real world. (I didnt see that he said he was in the military.)

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Jt, it is called Military Nursing. You are a member of the armed forces and you do what they tell you end of argumnet.

ok as long as he knows he better not do that out here in the real world. (I didnt see that he said he was in the military.)

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Please forgive my TERRIBLE typing on these cheap small keyboards at work..I will try better next time... :eek:

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Please forgive my TERRIBLE typing on these cheap small keyboards at work..I will try better next time... :eek:

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Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.

Hmmmmm....let's see here. Reasons to Strike. Number one on my list is Mandatory Overime! It is unfair and unsafe for the PATIENT to have a nurse care for them for 16 hours straight! That is probably THE biggest reason that our union might be going on strike come November first--if it comes to that. I don't want to strike but if that is what it is going to take for administration to sit up and take notice then so be it. Oh and did I mention the fact that I'm not going to be able to take a weeks vacation this summer because there aren't enough nurses to cover it! And how about the fact that I rarely if ever get a lunch break during an 8 hour shift.

I feel terrible that I am not able to spend time and sit and talk with my patients during an 8 hour shift. Somedays I feel like a bad nurse because I wasn't able to give the care that the patients deserve but just the bare minimum of nurse-patient interaction.

I have NEVER had time to surf the internet while at work!!! And there could have been SOMETHING for you to do Jared rather than surf the net!! Let me know where you work cause I want a job there!!!

Kelly :)

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Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.

Hmmmmm....let's see here. Reasons to Strike. Number one on my list is Mandatory Overime! It is unfair and unsafe for the PATIENT to have a nurse care for them for 16 hours straight! That is probably THE biggest reason that our union might be going on strike come November first--if it comes to that. I don't want to strike but if that is what it is going to take for administration to sit up and take notice then so be it. Oh and did I mention the fact that I'm not going to be able to take a weeks vacation this summer because there aren't enough nurses to cover it! And how about the fact that I rarely if ever get a lunch break during an 8 hour shift.

I feel terrible that I am not able to spend time and sit and talk with my patients during an 8 hour shift. Somedays I feel like a bad nurse because I wasn't able to give the care that the patients deserve but just the bare minimum of nurse-patient interaction.

I have NEVER had time to surf the internet while at work!!! And there could have been SOMETHING for you to do Jared rather than surf the net!! Let me know where you work cause I want a job there!!!

Kelly :)

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