What nursing Managers fail to see

[Nursekat64]

As a nurse for 19 years in Memphis areas hospitals and a local children's ER, I have seen many events that go unrecognized, and unacknowledged.

As managers sit in their office looking at computers and manuals, and attend meetings, I believe they have forgotten the reason they became a nurse, so here is a refresher.

The unit nurses are the ones who ultimately do the work, take care of the patients and are the ones that the public look up to, Who the public look to in time of need and despair. WE are the ones that hold the hand of a scared child who is alone, of a crying child during painful procedures, who calm the parents down when they arrive not knowing if their child is alive. WE are the ones who offer our hands, our shoulder to cry on and our knowledge to them. WE are the ones who go in the room with the physician to tell the family that their child may not live. WE are the ones who are there in their most dreadful moments to somehow ease the pain of death and dying. WE are the ones who administer the pain medication, when bones are fractured, when stomachs ache, and when sickle cell disease is out of control. WE are the ones that get coughed on, sneezed on and vomited on. WE are the ones that gets handed a "blue" Baby with the mom screaming "she's not breathing". WE are the ones who laugh, cry and pray with the family. WE are the ones that are expected after one trauma is over to immediately go out and care for the others, with no time for ourselves. WE are the ones who work short staffed, with no lunch breaks and faulty equipment. WE are the ones who take money out of our pockets to give a family christmas presents who just lost everything in a fire, no matter how the fire happened. We are the ones that continue to work a code when our baldders are about to explode, to hold ourselves together when a child dies, or is a victim of sexual abuse, as we question God why this happened. WE are the ones humbled. We are the ones that carry out the mission, the ethics and moral attitude of the nursing profession.

Then when our day is over we go home to our families and thank God that they are alright. WE are the ones that put our families second only to the patients we care for. WE are the ones haunted by our dreams. We seek no professional help in dealing with the multiple traumas. WE are a strong team. WE are the united front. WE are the ones who make the difference in this community. With all of this We are the ones who choose to work each day. WE are the ones whose blood sweat and tears are wrapped up in the department. WE are the ones who work for little money,, because our reward will come in heaven.

This happens every day in every department in every city. Managers cannot see this because they are not there. How are mangers going to evaluate us, if they cannot see us?

So as a manger have you failed your staff, failed the community and failed your nursing ethic for not really seeing who WE are?

As you sit in your office do not forget the ones in which you work for. Yes, youo work for us, not against us, not above us, for us. For us to be able to make that difference, for us to be able to come to work each day.

Mangers will never find a perfect nurse, and WE will never find a perfect manager. There is a happy medium. WE will be late, WE will call in, and WE may not get every piece of paper signed, but WE are the united front, WE are the ones who make the unit run. WE are the ones who make the difference.

I am an LPN. I am a vital part of the united front. I make a difference.

I invite any and all LPN's in Tennessee area to join me as I head up the Tennessee Chapter of the NFLPN.

I want our voices to be heard. I wnat to change the attiudes and open the eyes of some of the mangers who fall into this category.

Our profession is strong and I plan to make it stronger.

Feel free to post here or private message me.

Kathryn LPN

edited out real name/email address for TOS compliance/security

[nadja9]

A beautiful post that brought tears to my eyes for many reasons.

I wish you every success.

[Deirdre]

choked me up too, beautifully said.

[Darlene K.]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a nice posting.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

Wow. Very powerful

[dekatn]

I want to thank you for all you do. If it's the children's hospital I think it is in Memphis, you may have taken care of my nephew a few months back when he was involved in an MVA. The care he recieved was excellent and the nurses were great!!

[Jo Dirt]

I would like to see a copy of this post sent to nurse managers everywhere.

[meownsmile, BSN, RN]

You have a wonderful clear vision of what WE do everyday.

I agree, NM's everywhere need to read it through at least once.

[SmilingBluEyes]

Most vivid post.

[vahsptlmngr]

Hi, i'm a young masters of hospital management student that reads stuff here to try to understand issues nurses face so I can be more in touch in my future management career.

That was a great post!

(are non nurses allowed on this forum?)

[ShifraPuah]

Beautiful post. Thank you for articulating our feelings so well!

[LadyBugLass]

Hey...I AM a manager. The way I got here? BY PUTTING IN MY TIME DOING ALL THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED FOR NEARLY 12 YEARS!!!:angryfire

And this case manager IS a nurse, thanks. Do I "go to meetings" because I like it? Hell no; it is incredibly dull. It is part of my job, just like all the things you mentioned are part of YOUR position. When the crap hits the fan, I am the one who goes to all the parties involved to defend the actions of floor nurses and make EVERYONE happy. I do things to support the nurses and aides that work with me; I offer advice (once again, hard won experience), solutions, and a listening ear. What I get in return is invaluable information about the patients that I wish I could see more of.

And if you think crying families and cleaning up poop is unpleasant, try dealing with insurance companies and Medicare. Many is the time that I have actually wept openly in the office, because I've had to discharge people or arrange for less than optimal care to patients because of the financial side of nursing. It is an endless source of frustration and heartbreak, esp. when dealing with the elderly:( . But if I don't do my job well, then NO MONEY will come in; we will ALL lose our jobs and our patients will get NO care, period.

It ain't all just care plans and faxing doctors, dear.

To be frank, you just sound jealous and burnt out. I am sorry if your managers are evil witches. But don't throw me in the pot with them. If you want things to work better, then YOU need to stop dividing everyone up (WE WE WE vs. THEY THEY THEY).