Vanderbilt Medical Center to have nurses cleaning up

[DidiRN]

"Cleaning the room after the case, including pulling your trash and mopping the floor, are all infection-prevention strategies. And it's all nursing, and it's all surgical tech. You may not believe that, but even Florence Nightingale knew that was true," said a hospital administrator to staff in a video obtained by the Channel 4 I-Team."

http://www.wsmv.com/story/23364976/vanderbilt-medical-center-to-have-nurses-cleaning-up

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

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[OCNRN63, RN]

After reading several threads, I'm beginning to think some people here OD'd on grouchy pills. Whew!

[Z71RN]

unfortunately csarmedic hit the nail on the head with his post. nursing has by in large dropped the ball time and time again to take hold on how things are done to our proffesion. we continue to align ourselves with weak nsg organizations that really do not represent the front line bedside nurse. if we as a whole or even half of us could get organized to present a solid front we would have legislators shaking in their boots. im still very young in my nrsg career compared to many of yall on this site, so i pray that there will be a "jimmy hoffa" of nursing that will come to the front of our issues and give us a voice, a real voice that will be heard and respected.

[Do-over, ASN, RN]

so i pray that there will be a "jimmy hoffa" of nursing that will come to the front of our issues and give us a voice, a real voice that will be heard and respected.

Personally, I would have gone with a Cesar Chavez or "Norma Rae" reference here, especially considering that folks are STILL looking for Hoffa's body...

Along the same line (tongue removed from cheek), I've heard a co-worker mention organizing. Things might get interesting.

[Z71RN]

come on do-over...we all know hoffa is chilling out with elvis and james dean in the jungle room at graceland. besides a pal of mine said he saw micheal jackson moon walking on the roof not to long ago!

[CSARmedic]

unfortunately csarmedic hit the nail on the head with his post.

Thank you but it doesn't make me feel any better about the situation. VERY frustrating.

... so i pray that there will be a "jimmy hoffa" of nursing that will come to the front of our issues and give us a voice, a real voice that will be heard and respected.

I think you'll be praying for quite some time. The (generally) non-confrontational nature of women precludes any sort of sort of "revolution" by nurses. Males, typically, don't shy away from direct confrontation and history shows us that revolutions, no matter what they may be - civil war, labor unions, etc, REQUIRE forceful and aggressive confrontation to overcome imposed barriers. Ergo the flaccid and incompetent labor unions representing most nursing organizations. With the exception of a few in California (which have picketed in the past), nursing unions (and nurses) will continue to allow the "profession" of nursing to recede into oblivion.

I realize that I'm going to be flamed by my female comments (above) but these are the HARD truths of reality. Men behave certain ways in some situations as women do. Yes, I do remember the suffrage movements earlier this century as well as the voting movements but I'm not confident that the problems within nursing will stimulate a similar movement. Let's not forget that men make up ONLY 7.5 percent (depending on your source of info) of nurses so it's up to women to make changes and I haven't heard any revolutionary rumblings from nursing leaders within the healthcare industry, academia, and media.

Lets also not forget that these shameful and obstinate policy "reforms" such as the requirement imposed by Vanderbilt were approved and imposed by nursing "leaders" (CNO's, nurse managers, etc). So, again, these problems originate from WITHIN nursing.

Nurses are our own worst enemy.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

im still very young in my nrsg career compared to many of yall on this site so i pray that there will be a "jimmy hoffa" of nursing that will come to the front of our issues and give us a voice, a real voice that will be heard and respected.[/quote']

Jimmy Hoffa brought the mafia into the Teamsters. He's the reason so many people equate unions with corruption. I'd rather have a Norma Rae.

[Do-over, ASN, RN]

come on do-over...we all know hoffa is chilling out with elvis and james dean in the jungle room at graceland. besides a pal of mine said he saw micheal jackson moon walking on the roof not to long ago!

Ha, more like he is "sleeping with the fishes"...

[LaRN]

I would hate to know that the nurse who starts my I.V. or changes my surgical dressings just took out the garbage or mopped the floor.

ALSO, I have to wash my hands too many times as it is. adding another dozen times to that routine would probably peel the top layer of skin off.

[lindarn]

I will again say, that nurses need to to take a page from teachers. Teachers go straight to the parents when administration comes up with hare brained schemes, like these.

They hold public rallies in very public places, parents, TV reporters, the newspapers, CNN, etc. They get publicity and public opinion, on their side, and let Mother Nature take its course.

THAT is how and why teachers get what they want and no one is talking about replacing them with hs dropouts, etc.

That is who nurses need to emulate. Nurses need to go to their CUSTOMERS, and plead their case, with the known consequences up front.

Let the doo doo drop where it may! Let the big whigs do their explaining to the public when outcomes are not stellar. And why are none of THEM losing their jobs, or taking pay cuts, to balance the budget? NOTHING THAT THEY DO, IMPACTS PATIENT CARE OR POSITIVE PATIENT OUTCOMES.

Since that is a known fact, why are these options not being used, if the hospital needs to cut its budget? This is a no brainer.

STICK IT RIGHT IN THE FACE OF THE CUSTOMER! DO THEY WANT MORE HIGHER UPS IN EXTRAVANT OFFICES, OR DO PATIENTS WANT MORE NURSES, SO THEY DO NOT HAVE TO SIT ON THE BED PAN FOR AN HOUR?

And folks, this is sort of a side line issue- when the hospitals, nursing homes, start to put forth things like, "TORT REFORM", WHINING ABOUT SIX FIGURE PAYOUTS IN MALPRACTICE SUITS, THEY ARE ONLY LOOKING OUT FOR THEMSELVES. Cut staff at the bedside, with the expected poor outcomes, then clean up when patients/families, have few legal remedies to compensate them. Spare me the sob stories, about the greedy lawyers, blah, blah, blah, ad nauseum.

I work with attorneys on malpractice cases, and I could write a book on delibarate hospital negligence, nursing negligence, etc. Most of it could have been avoided with proper staffing, looking out for the PATIENTS' BEST INTEREST, ETC. Hospitals want it both ways. They want bare bones staffing, and when bad things happen, nurses get thrown under the bus, and take the fall for issues they have no control over. And, as I stated above, patients and families have fewer and fewer legal remedies to compensate them.

Back to the main issue of this thread- the choice should be a logical one. That is what you have to do.

JMHO and my NY $0.02

Lindarn, RN, BSN,CCRN (ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

[Tnbelle56]

The teachers have gotten smart and have a union that has made their voices heard. Otherwise, they would be just like us, downtrodden, mistreated and not being taken seriously. Matter of fact, they are trying to expand their union to include nurses. I think it's a good idea to unionize. Even here in the south where it has been difficult to organize more and more nurses say they would join a union. Times are changing.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

I would join a union if there were any to join around here. Of course I'd lose my job because in this state employers rule the world. Heck in most of this country they do. It's time we got some rights back!