This is a hard one to be sure......   I think I would have to agree with you on the staffing issue.....  For me it would be to lower the patient/nurse ratio and keep it enforced......   At this point they try to keep the nurses assignment even on the acuity level, however as we all know the acuity sometimes does not accurately reflect the amount of patient care needed.  Also a problem with making assignments according to the acuity is hard because then you are criss-crossing all over the floor to get to your patients...... most of the time this ends up being more work for the nurses then just taking care of the patients in a row regaurdless of acuity level..... 

I would change the way that nurses have been devalued.   I watched a program once where they interviewed a consultant to hospitals on "cutting the fat" in healthcare;  and just what do you suppose he suggested the first cut needed to be?  That's right--staff nurses!!!  They feel that we are overpaid, and at our rate of pay, we should be able to handle a higher patient:nurse ratio.   And I also had a doctor tell me the other day that "they are setting up healthcare to be run by nurses now anyway."  (You can imagine the conversation that ensued). 

By the way, I also agree with the lack of communication from upper management.

I agree. I think that since nurses are the largest and most respected subculture in health care we have the power to change the system. I think that if nurses all over our country came together we could change the system.  Like making sure that everyone in the US had affordable health insurance. So I think that nursing in general should band together and advocate change. But I'm not sure how it will happen. Any ideas out there?

More time with patients. I guess that could be done if we had more staff and fewer patients.

Silly question but is there a nurses union?

Dear fellow nurses,

I have read your comments about patient-nurse ration & lack of communication with upper management.

Right now I am not practicing nursing because I am home taking care of my children & believe it or not I save money staying home.

I do many hands on activities myself at home.

My complaint is about 2 things: Nurses are the most hardworking people I know & we should get paid more than 65,000 a year.

Sure theres a nursing shortage, nurses come home with little pay after taxes. The salary just doesn't meet the cost of living today!

Just look at the gas prices!  Nurses should be making 85,000 yearly.

Also,  physicians mistreat us & verbally abuse nurses. Don't they realize that nurses sacrifice their lives everyday! Nurses  come home to their families & are exhausted from standing all day with only a 20 minute lunch break & barely anytime to go to the bathroom.

God bless all nurses,

Christine

The single most important thing to change in nursing.........the application process, there should be criteria and tests taken to assure someone applying for nursing school should be a nurse

The thing that I would change about nursing is that "Nurse's need to stick together". If we stuck togther and supported each other we would demand higher pay, demand better staffing and etc.. the things we could accomplish if we stuck together would be amazing. Unfortunetly, most nurses seem to be scared to speak up, scared to have an opinion, scared to say enough is enough. Since nursing is primarily women I do not think most women know how to stick up for themselves. I also have noticed that a lot of nurses are the bread winners, or single mothers and are afraid of losing their jobs. I am not talking about management here, I am talking about the bedside nurse. Management is really not your friend so do not be decieved. I have worked on both sides and management is about the bottom line. They have a fuction, but it is no longer about providing care, it is about saving money and or passing Joint Commission. Have you ever noticed that when Joint Commision comes you always have the staff you need. Also, managment just keeps piling on the responsibilites and doesn't care who suffers. If they did they would understand.

I have been a nurse for 17 years and have considered leaving the profession many times. We just need to band together and stop all the abuse. I have thought about it many times and I can tell you RIGHT NOW, that men WOULD NOT put up with what we have put up with. I think we need to organize a protest in Washington. We need to rally and it will take us all. The reason there is a nursing shortage is not just because of the baby boomers getting older and nurses retiring, it is because women can make more money doing so many other things, get more respect and have great working enviroments. Plus most nurses leave the profession within 7-10 years and why do you think that is. Well it isn't because it is such a great career that is for sure...Come on lets get honest.

I am so sick of hearing about teachers and health care reform, but nothing about the disaster that is about to take place in the near future when there are not enough nurses to do the job, YOU THINK IT IS BAD NOW, well just wait. We need to get it together now.

Anyone out there willing to get a protest together to call attention to this problemin Washington? Our nurses in the political arena just aren't doing it. Again, probably very few of them have ever been bedside nurses. Not to mention the fact that they think the answer is more nursing schools and more recrutiment. Come on that is not the only answer. We need to do something so the great nurses we have now will want to stay in the profesion and not leave..

WandaD says ...

the lack of communication from upper management. Most of the  places that I know keep everything such a secret but, you are supposed to know what they want and when they want it. And shame on you if you don't.

Amen! They give you just enough rope to hang yourself!!

I have only been a nurse for a few years, but I totally agree with all posts I read; nursing shortage I believe is a direct result of how nurses are treated by management and each other.  There are probably lots of nurses out there,  but after getting a taste of how it is to work as a nurse, they probably decidd it wasn't worth it,. I also agree that we need laws  for nurse/patient ratio like Calif. ; strict laws.  If they only have laws that say they can staff for acuity, the management will get around it somehow, because we all know as one other post said, the bottom line is what is important to management and of couse their own pocket books.  So..how do we get organized?  I know the nurses that I work with probably would not join because of fear of loosing their jobs.

Another thing I believe is that there would be change, if only the public was aware of what really goes on.  You would think that they would get the word either from being in a hospital themselves or having a loved one there but somehow it seems that once the patient is no longer in house, they forget how it was.  In the organization I work, I have heard of people trying to call the local "investagating reporters" at local TV stations to try and get some information out to the public, but the news stations will not touch it.  They can't get into the door of the facility unless they have permission and we all know that the only publicity that the facility will allow is positive.  So.. how can it be done?  I tell my friends about my experiences, but in reality if anything was able to get back to my employer that I said anthing negative about them, I could be fired because of it; it's in the hiring agreement.

I agree with all the posts and just need to add a few things here.  I have been a nurse for 10 years now and have worked a variety of units at different skill levels.  I have learned to stand up to the physicians and have gained respect from most of them.  The one thing that bothers me is that nursing has very little autonomy.  In school, they talked about how nurses are gaining in autonomy.  Well lets see here my current employer has taken away smoking on their facility.  Yeah we all know that smoking is not good but, I feel as an American citizen I have that right.  Now I never get a break.  Even when I try to take a lunch break the phone is never off and they come get me to do things.  I have just recently stood up about the lack of experienced staff and am currently waiting to get into trouble for being negative.  It is funny how things you say or do can be construed as negative if it was just a question.  Now the facility is mandating set uniforms for nurses.  Come on now.  What does my uniform have to do with taking care of patient's.  Another problem is that, an echo tech or other ancillary staff make more money than me.  Especially if they have to come in on call.  As nurse we have liability's that we have to uphold,  we can loose everything in a matter of one bad move.  And yet we are not reimbursed for that responsibility.  Now lets look at the education aspect.  We can be a nurse with very little education. You can't be a lawyer with an associate degree so why or how is it that a nurse who saves lives daily can be thought of as a profession.   Yes nurses need to stand up for their rights but until there is a conformaty of beliefs and opinions I don't forsee anything changing.  It is very frustrating to me that we as nurse are viewed as replaceable.  I can't blame most for not standing up because it gets you no where except perhaps fired or forced into anger management because your comments were viewed as angry or negative.  As a profession we need to pursue or rights and encourage others to stand there ground.  Unions would that help I am not sure, but don't be caught talking about one.  My facility  I work at right now is a magnet facilty.  Most people have this assumption that magnet nurses are paid better and have better options that is not accurate.  We have no say in what happens.  We are told that administration says it has to be done.  So until there is unity among nurses I don't forsee a change anytime soon.  Pay us as a profession and perhaps there will be more educators and more chances for people to get into nursing school.  Look at staff nurses as professionals.  A lawyer, engineer, or any other professions would not tolerate what we have too and yet for years we have tolerated it and are losing our autonomy because of it.

I HAVE NOTICED THAT THE NURSES IN THIS BLOG ARE STILL NOT STICKING TOGETHER. ONE COMMENT IS THAT STICKING TOGETHER WILL NOT WORK, THAT THE REG'S NEED CHANGING. WELL HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN GET THE REG'S CHANGED? WE HAVE TO STICK TOGETHER AND BE LOUD.

I HAVE HEARD A LOT OF COMPLAINTS, HOWEVER NO SOLUTIONS. COME ON WE NEED TO COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS, AND I DO NOT THINK WE HAVE TO HAVE A UNION TO SPEAK UP IN WASHINGTON. WRITE YOUR SENATOR. HAVE YOUR PEERS WRITE. SPREAD THE WORD. SPEAK UP, SPEAK UP.  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO THIS AT WORK AND YOU CAN PROBABLY REMAIN ANNONYMOUS, BUT JUST DO NOT GIVE UP AND GIVE IN. I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE FEAR OF LOSING A JOB, BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHERE MANAGEMENT WANTS US TO STAY, AFRAID. WRITE YOU NEWSPAPERS. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CRITIZE ANY SPECIFIC HOSPITAL JUST THE PROBLEMS WITHIN THE NURSING PROFESSION AND HOW THE REASON THERE IS A SHORTAGE IS NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF BABYBOOMERS, OR RETIRING NURSES, BUT BECAUSE OF ALL THE REASONS WE HAVE MENTIONED.

ANYOTHER SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREAT.

 JUDLEERN is absolute ly right on... I have been a nurse for over 20 years.   Women do not stick up for themselves.   We have always been told to follow, not lead and the Dr. is the "most important"    Sorry.  WE ALL play an important part.   

 Check out www.nursingadvocacy.org           also    www.aacn.nche.edu

I am working on my final project for an English Comp class..it just so happens I picked the nursing shortage.  

I would definitely change the way that Nurses treat one another, and how the "old guard" treats the new grads that start on their first assignments after nursing school.  It's no wonder we have a nursing shortage with the attitude that nursing has.  The "Eat Your Young" mentality and the lack of empathy and help given  the others is really sad.  Even though I have been a nurse for almost 30 years, I will never forget that first year after nursing school,  it was the most horrible, sad, despondent, and scary year of my life.  It wasn't the patient load that I feared, it was my colleagues I had to face each and everyday!

Lundellhull

The easy answer is staffing but I just feel our society needs to get passed that idea 'cause the population is continually growing so I do not see this as a real fixable issue.  Why not our research and the process of finding the cures.  If the drugs were affordable or even known then maybe the acuity would be less and the stays shorter?  Communication is a human error and again realistically not fixable because it's a tool not a controlled substance.   Each of us are rotten at it every day one way or another and yet we can still be superb at it all in the same day.  Find the cures or causes or tx's in a better, more efficient way that get's to the public quicker.  So for changing nursing, I vote for changing how we take care of each other.