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
I am merely a second semester nursing student. My last 2 weeks of clinicals at our local hospital have been miserable...all thanks to a clinical lead there. WOW does she have issues. As a student, it is really discouraging to be shunned by someone who has RN after their name and has forgotten they were once a student. I have had no problems with the floor nurses...they are great. Just the "lead"...
I agree that nurse do the majority of the work..I wonder how many nurses could be hired for the salary of just 1 paper pushing manager..or CEO? The common complaint is being short staffed..stretched too thin to provide quality patient care..but as a traveling nurse I have worked all over the US and can say that LPN's are not seen as Real Nurses..yes thats "RN".
I am glad you are speaking out with other LPNs via NFLPN.May our voices be heard loud and strong!!
I am an RN who got tired of managers doing it wrong, so I became one that wanted to do it right. I have always practiced what I preach. I can still wipe a dirty bottom or hold a dying person's hand. My staff saw me make rounds, look at charts and talk to them as well as put in some very long hours. I never asked someone to do something that I would not do myself. Very nice posting, but please remember not all managers were hatched into that job. They normally have a lot of experience prior to taking a position of management. Maybe managers need to hear your voice. Speak softly and they will strain to hear the message.
I am an RN who got tired of managers doing it wrong, so I became one that wanted to do it right. I have always practiced what I preach. I can still wipe a dirty bottom or hold a dying person's hand. My staff saw me make rounds, look at charts and talk to them as well as put in some very long hours. I never asked someone to do something that I would not do myself. Very nice posting, but please remember not all managers were hatched into that job. They normally have a lot of experience prior to taking a position of management. Maybe managers need to hear your voice. Speak softly and they will strain to hear the message.
Well said!I think the "type" of manager that is being addressed here......is "NOT" the type who would ever be caught picking up a chart unless it was for a litigation review.....and definitely not caught in the room with a family struggling as their loved one passes.As most have said here.....there are truly 2 types of nurse managers.You are correct that most managers have to have alot of experience prior to taking that position...however.....what about the manager who "had " experience.....but who has since "lost " their skills bc they havent utilized them in many many years. They havent assessed a patient in years, evaluated and abg in years, started an IV in years, set up for a complex procedure in years, assisted in a code in years, etc etc etc ..............how "proficient"...in their job are they?Again....I think the difference is staying up to date with your skills, keeping an interaction with staff,assisting in busy admit times etc etc, and being present every now and again in codes or crises.For those that do these things...I do not believe your staff thinks in terms of "us " and "them".As a manager you are the represenative of the staff...the nurses....both lpns and Rn's.Kudos for all the managers out there who stay skilled and "in touch" with your staff...hats off to you! :bowingpur
this post should be documented in history, I'm a nursing lvn student and was seriously thinking about quiting, but these words with such a beautiful meaning made me think twice, without the bedside nurse where would the caring hearts start, thank you for this peice of wisdom
I am a nurse manager and I DO NOT fall into that category. I work side-by-side my staff EVERYDAY. There is NOT a time that my staff has called me in the hospital or at home that I did NOT help them. I am the first person the Nursing Supervisor calls when staffing is less than minimal, and I am always happy to help. I AM PART OF THE FRONT LINE STAFF THAT TOTALLY ENJOYS DIRECT PATIENT CARE. I am in the hospital EVERYDAY at 5:30 a.m. so I can talk to my night staff and very rarely leave before 6:00 pm. I feel sad for those staff members whose Manger is not visible to them. You are correct when you say-how can we evaluate you annually when we never see how you perform. Good luck in your endeavor.
You are truly unique. I wish that more managrs were more like you. It makes a huge difference in how the unit runs and how well the patients are cared for, when the staff knows that management really cares.
I hope that your staff recognize how lucky they are in having you there.
anonymous72, MSN
14 Posts
I say kudos to you NurseKat64!
I am merely a second semester nursing student. My last 2 weeks of clinicals at our local hospital have been miserable...all thanks to a clinical lead there. WOW does she have issues. As a student, it is really discouraging to be shunned by someone who has RN after their name and has forgotten they were once a student. I have had no problems with the floor nurses...they are great. Just the "lead"...