The Nightingale Pledge.

Nurses COVID

Published

Specializes in ICU,Tele,Interventional Radiology,PACU,Research.

Original "Florence Nightingale Pledge"

I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly to pass my life in purity and to practise my profession faithfully.
I shall abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and shall not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug.
I shall do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling.
I shall be loyal to my work and devoted towards the welfare of those committed to my care

  1. We are not expected to work in unsafe conditions without PPE
  2. We are expected to be devoted to those in our care,not being blasted with phone calls,being filled with guilt because the floor is short staffed.
  3. We should be advocates of our profession,safe staffing ratios, equipment, and people before profits.
  4. If you cant go to work because you are sick or feel it is not safe......it is okay.
5 Votes

My pledge has expired. I've been at this since HIV was introduced. I've done my share.

7 Votes

Thanks for this. I keep teetering between feeling guilty for wanting to leave and just staying because it's for the greater good of the livelihood of more people. I keep thinking of the ethics trolley problem "save 1 or save 5 lives".

I think well...if I get sick at least I was doing something for the greater good of humanity.

Then I think; the organization I work for is putting profit over the livelihood of the workers. They will require you to come in sick during this time with certain symptoms, they will also require you to use your PTO to cover your sick days and if PTO is exceeded while you're sick you just will not get paid.

I am per diem so those policies do not apply to me - I suppose I am an outlier - and they refuse to just give me temporary health insurance for the duration of this pandemic. Instead, for peace of mind, I will have to pay $200-$300 per month for health insurance. I don't know what to do. Do I want to work for an organization like that? Am I being too idealistic? Should I quit?

2 Votes
Specializes in Travel, Home Health, Med-Surg.
13 minutes ago, otgd8 said:

Then I think; the organization I work for is putting profit over the livelihood of the workers. They will require you to come in sick during this time with certain symptoms, they will also require you to use your PTO to cover your sick days and if PTO is exceeded while you're sick you just will not get paid.

I am per diem so those policies do not apply to me - I suppose I am an outlier - and they refuse to just give me temporary health insurance for the duration of this pandemic. Instead, for peace of mind, I will have to pay $200-$300 per month for health insurance. I don't know what to do. Do I want to work for an organization like that? Am I being too idealistic? Should I quit?

The "organization" has changed to a for-profit model run by business degree's and not medical professionals. The things you state have always been around but worse since this business model has taken over healthcare. The "organization" (with maybe a few exceptions?) does not care about nurses or any other workers. They care about their salaries, bonuses, and perks. I haven't seen any hospital etc take any responsibility for their PPE shortages etc. (that IMO they should have been on top of), too busy putting money in their pockets instead of stocking up when they had the chance.

I would encourage you to do what is right for you and not the organization. They prey on the mentality of nurses knowing that some of us want to help and take advantage. They will drop you in a New York minute if it suits them, they have zero loyalty to you.

If you do indeed feel like you want to work either because you truly want to help and/or for the money (even with the risks) then go ahead; but I would not do it out of any sense of obligation to the facility. But remember, you are the only one who will be caring for you if you do get sick, they will not care or assist you in any way!

Good luck and be safe!!

3 Votes

@Daisy4RN My gut is telling me to leave. I am a tech. If I get sick I will not even be able to go to nursing school if my illness is severe. I feel horrible for wanting to leave. But I think it might be best. I honestly do not want to give two weeks notice. I just want to say I am not feeling well and just not come in. I feel so guilty about all of this. The management has just ignored me in my attempt in trying to stay though it sucks.

2 Votes
Specializes in Travel, Home Health, Med-Surg.
Just now, otgd8 said:

@Daisy4RN My gut is telling me to leave. I am a tech. If I get sick I will not even be able to go to nursing school if my illness is severe. I feel horrible for wanting to leave. But I think it might be best. I honestly do not want to give two weeks notice. I just want to say I am no feeling well and just not come in. I feel so guilty about all of this. The management has just ignored me in my attempt in trying to stay though it sucks.

Our gut instinct is usually right. The only reason I would give 2 weeks is if you may want to return there at some point to work, sometimes they will put you on a do not hire list for ever. But then again, your quitting would have been in the middle of this so who knows. Just be aware that it could happen.

Why do you feel guilty for leaving? You feel like you are letting down the organization or mankind ?

0 Votes

@Daisy4RN I feel guilty because I like the people I work with and what I do. I will be letting them down in a time they need me most even if I am just a nurse tech. I will also be letting people down that need care. But there is only so much that I can do at this point. I do not have the same resources everyone else has at this point in my life. If I were to get sick I do not have a large support system to take care of me, no health insurance, my savings are for school, it just does not make sense for me to stay. All the cons outweigh the positives. But I will be soiling the opportunity to work at a large health system after I get my education. I am literally torn.

0 Votes
Specializes in Travel, Home Health, Med-Surg.
40 minutes ago, otgd8 said:

@Daisy4RN I feel guilty because I like the people I work with and what I do. I will be letting them down in a time they need me most even if I am just a nurse tech. I will also be letting people down that need care. But there is only so much that I can do at this point. I do not have the same resources everyone else has at this point in my life. If I were to get sick I do not have a large support system to take care of me, no health insurance, my savings are for school, it just does not make sense for me to stay. All the cons outweigh the positives. But I will be soiling the opportunity to work at a large health system after I get my education. I am literally torn.

You would not be letting down anyone. If they are true friends they will understand, if they are not then who cares. Everyone does what is best for them in this, or any, situation. Look at it this way, do you think they would continue to work for you if they wanted to quit, I highly doubt it. You need to figure out what is best for you and your personal situation, period. If you want to quit and that is what you feel is best for you now and your future then do it. If you are worried about future ramifications with the facility r/t possible future employment then give a 2 weeks, if you really dont want to give 2 weeks then dont, maybe it is worth it to check that facility off your list for future employment (although you dont know if that would happen or not) in order for your overall future plans to work out for you. It sounds like a tough decision but IMO your coworkers should not factor into it.

0 Votes
Specializes in ICU/ER/trauma.

I think many of us are asking this question now:

”Do I really want to care and work for an organization that clearly doesn’t care about my own well being?”

Scary part is, I beleive we are all finding out exactly how little organizations care about their labor staff beyond what we cost to their bottom line.

4 Votes
1 hour ago, Daisy4RN said:

You would not be letting down anyone. If they are true friends they will understand, if they are not then who cares. Everyone does what is best for them in this, or any, situation. Look at it this way, do you think they would continue to work for you if they wanted to quit, I highly doubt it. You need to figure out what is best for you and your personal situation, period. If you want to quit and that is what you feel is best for you now and your future then do it. If you are worried about future ramifications with the facility r/t possible future employment then give a 2 weeks, if you really dont want to give 2 weeks then dont, maybe it is worth it to check that facility off your list for future employment (although you dont know if that would happen or not) in order for your overall future plans to work out for you. It sounds like a tough decision but IMO your coworkers should not factor into it.

I am really bummed about all of this. I feel like a traitor and a quitter. It truly is not a good feeling. I feel like I am either overreacting or underreacting. I really appreciate your detailed and thoughtful responses. Thanks so much. ❤️

1 Votes

Florence Nightingale never married and had no children. Don't beat yourself up about considering your own or your loved ones well-being.

2 Votes
Specializes in Med-Surg, ER.

All I keep thinking of during this crisis is ALICE training, in which they tell you to fight for yourself and not others in the event of an active shooter. Why is it that they give us free clearance to run for our lives in that situation, without regard to coworker or patient safety, but expect us to go to work if we're symptom free and face COVID-19, which is essentially an invisible active shooter????

6 Votes
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