When It Comes To A Matter Of National Health, No Nurse Should Ever Fear Retribution

[Michael M. Heuninckx]

Yesterday, I was listening to an interview Matt Lauer of the Today Show conducted with Briana Aguirre, a Registered Nurse from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

Briana in the interview states, "I can no longer defend my hospital at all" and was one of the nurses who treated Nurse Nina Pham, her friend and colleague, after she tested positive for the Ebola virus. While listening to Briana's story, I felt her pain and frustration, and during the interview I had a sinking feeling in the pit in my stomach as she was describing the events. I was horrified to learn about how the Ebola case was managed and how ill equipped the nurses and medical staff was when they were faced with the daunting task of managing the care of patients diagnosed with or suspected of having the Ebola virus.

What struck me personally, as a fellow nurse, was the fact that Briana was scared to tell her story. Briana was brought to tears, for fear that she might face retribution from the hospital and lose her job. I can only imagine the amount of strength and courage it must have taken Briana to come forward with her story.

As nurses we can all think of the potential ramifications and mistakes that could possibly be repeated if her story was not heard and she remained quiet. By speaking out, Briana Aguirre is not only potentially saving the lives and further spread of the Ebola virus to her coworkers and to the patients of the hospital, but also impacting the lives of all medical professionals and their patients around the world.

As nurses we must rally behind, support and make certain that the courageous actions of Nurse Briana Aguirre is not taken in vain. As health care professionals, we must ensure that: we listen to the lessons learned, create awareness about Briana's story and share this information with fellow nurses.

This will aid nurses in this country and around the world to continue the fight against Ebola. All of these actions will lead to improvements that, as nurses, we are able to offer all of our patients. Our voices as nurses must be heard, and those voices should never be intimidated or threatened when we dare to share the truth. The voice of Briana comes from grave concern and warning. I believe that if this knowledge and warning is not taken seriously, it could have a catastrophic impact on the overall health of our nation.

I personally would like to thank Registered Nurse, Briana Aguirre, for coming forward to share her story about her personal experiences. Fear of retribution should never be the fear of any nurse when it comes to the health of our nation. As nurses we must have a voice and we must be listened to.

I encourage all nurses to do their homework, become passionate about this issue and ensure that all measures are being followed appropriately. As we all know, the educational process for nurses is never over and it is now up to us to ensure proper safety for ourselves and for the patients we take care of. Actively seek out your hospitals policies regarding Ebola, compare those policies to the standards set by the CDC. Also, research what other originzations, such as Doctors Without Borders, Nebraska Medical Center and Emory University Hospital, and find out how they handle Ebola. If you find gaps in policy in your local hospital, help fill them; make your voice heard, share you concerns with hospital administrators and ensure that those are followed through and new policies implemented. Do not let the gaps in the healthcare system lead to you becoming exposed, potentially exposing your family members and others patients to this deadly disease. Start the courageous conversation today, continue to educate yourself and ensure that your voice is listened to and immediate action is taken.

Michael M. Heuninckx RN-BSN

***For anyone who is interested in listening to Briana Aguirre's full interview with Matt Lauer, copy and paste the link below into your browser:

Full interview: Matt Lauer and Dallas nurse Briana Aguirre - Video on TODAY.com

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

I hope for the best for Brianna and that her attorney can protect her from the blow back she will face at her job. If she is fired, I hope the attorney is able to make sure she gets unemployment and a good settlement. Texas is a right to work state and someone mentioned once about Group One, some agency that keeps tabs on nurses and can blackball them. I think she would have a hard time getting another hospital job now that she has spoken out as a whistle blower.

I read an article that her hospital is now doing poorly, only 1/3 of beds filled, 300 with a max of 900, since all the bad publicity; and the Ebola patients treated there. I don't think they will be feeling too kindly to her and instead will blame her for their own incompetence and lack of planning! Considering I read they had a large West African immigrant population they should have made preparations for Ebola. That said I don't think many hospitals have done so even in the face of the Ebola patients flighted to the US and now actual cases in America. Hopefully this will be a wake up call not only for Dallas but for the rest of the countries hospital and health systems.

Thank God for the NNU for speaking out for all of us. Why haven't any other unions done the same? Not everyone believes in unions, but I think a good union can be very effective for nurses and patients!

I don't think indept contracting would work for nurses and would end with nurses competing with each other for jobs. I'm all for personal finance and business courses in a BSN program, but I don't think contracting would work for most nurses. Frankly I wouldn't want to do it, looking at how Dr's are now employed by hospitals and under binding employment contracts that forbid them from working for a competitor within a certain mile radius! I'm reminded of a cardiologist who lost her job at a top hospital after speaking about some quality issues at a conference with her colleagues, not as a whistle blower, but simply to share info to come up with better practices. She was rewarded by being fired and even though the hospital fired her, the binding contract prevented her from working for a competitor unless she moved out of the city! It was solely in the hospital's best interests, certainly not hers!

As far as starting sole proprietor or partnership businesses I don't think that is financially viable. The reality of private practice is declining income and many being forced to work for a hospital. Declining govt and insurance reimbursement coupled with increasing regulations ties the hands of Dr's, NP's and Rn's from making a business financially viable.

Unions allow workers to gather together and negotiate pay, benefits, and working conditions. They allow a transparency over pay scales and hospital finances that are unknown to the average worker in a private non union hospital. But even a union is not enough, it needs to be a proven, powerful, effective one and the National Nurses United has proven to be the best in my opinion!

[target98765]

So, NNU is not at that Texas hospital? Because they have been speaking out, I thought they represented Texas Presbyterian?

[target98765]

My thoughts as I went to bed last night was..."please, I hope all of this has awoken a sleeping giant!"

[suzil]

The NNU is just representing "nurses as a whole." A Union in Texas? You gotta be dreamin. Texas is such a right to work state. I wish we had Unions much more visible in nursing all over the country. I never used to be pro Union. Now, in view of how nurses are treated so badly, it is our only hope.

[suzil]

Yes and those for profit nursing programs that have popped up everywhere are sure making the issue even worse! The nursing programs of today are lacking. But hey, they keep popping the so called nurses out of them!

[elkpark]

Unfortunately, independent contracting is not in nurses mindset. Nurses perceive themselves as employees, not independent contractors. It is not taught in schools, or encouraged.

PTs, and OTs, are taught in school about how to start independent businesses. Business classes were added to PT and OT programs, when they increased their entry into practice from a Bachelors degree to a Doctorate and Masters program.

Nursing could do this as well, instead of having fluff, fill in classes for a BSN. There is no reason that it could not. When I was finishing my BSN, in our senior classes, one of the subjects that was discussed, was nursing working as independent contractors, and selling our serviced back to the hospital. They brought in nurses who had started their own businesses, to discuss this concept with us.

Please note that DNP curricula do include courses in these issues, and there is no end of kvetching on this site about how those courses are useless "fluff" that people don't want to have to take.

[elkpark]

Also its time to change or alter the mission of the Board of Nursing. Instead of it being there to protect the public from poor nurses. Its about time it takes on another mission of standing up FOR the nurses, and not just standing up TO the nurses. I never had any infractions in my career that the BON were involved in. However I did report an unsafe dangerous working condition that I stood up against and then my job was made unbearable. Thinking that the BON would be concerned. Only to find out NO! we dodnt get involved with matters between the nurse and the hospitals, or the employer. More reason to have more Nurse Unions. Except like Texas, this region is anti-union and a right to work state. Get rid of state nurse boards and have a National Nursing Board. Then have them actually represent the nurses of USA. 1st task would be Mandatory Staffing Protocols, let them set up a special Nursing Commission for standard practice and requirements.... Just a thought

What you suggest is never going to happen. The entire reason for licensing boards to exist is to license and regulate the practice of the occupation/profession (for any licensed occupation, not just nursing) in order to protect the public. Protecting the public is the entire point of licensure.

And a single, national Board of Nursing would just make things worse than they are, not better. Look at all the threads here about people having problems with their state BON, complaining about how hard it is to reach anyone there, and complaining about what power trips the members are on. Now, imagine there was only one board of nursing for the entire US. You think it's hard to get hold of someone at the board now? You think the members of your BON feel like power-hungry tyrants now? Ha! You ain't seen nothing yet.

There is one thing that could make a difference, and I'm surprised other states haven't pursued it. I spent most of my nursing career in NC, which I see is where you are located, also. NC is the only state in the US in which the nurses of the state elect the members of the state BON. NC nurses (those who are aware of this) are v. proud of this distinction (we had to get state law changed, many years ago, to get that implemented). I've always found the Board there to be responsive, helpful, and collegial (however, just to clarify, they are still there for the purpose of regulating the practice of nursing in the state in order to protect the public).

I did have one situation in my career in NC in which I and the other nurses in my workplace felt we were placed in an unsafe situation (unsafe for the clients, unsafe for our licenses) by our employer. We approached the BON for advice about this (not asking them to intervene directly, which would be inappropriate), they were v. supportive and helpful in providing us with concrete information about what steps we should take in order to protect our licenses.

[OCNRN63, RN]

So, NNU is not at that Texas hospital? Because they have been speaking out, I thought they represented Texas Presbyterian?

I think they were contacted by some of the nurses there. What they're doing is shining a bright light on what goes on in many hospitals today.

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

The NNU is just representing "nurses as a whole." A Union in Texas? You gotta be dreamin. Texas is such a right to work state. I wish we had Unions much more visible in nursing all over the country. I never used to be pro Union. Now, in view of how nurses are treated so badly, it is our only hope.

Many nurses in Texas are represented by NNU. Most hospitals in El Paso have been organized. The others are smaller facilities. "Right to Work" means no one has to pay dues. The union does have to represent each person in the bargaining unit.

I believe about 2/3 of the Texas nurses have chosen to pay dues.

May 2014 Newsletter for Texas NNU members:

http://nurses.3cdn.net/afe5d865e89bfc88d1_zvm6bg3yb.pdf

http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/site/entry/texas