Nurses' working conditions, pay contribute to shortage
Opinion
Charleston Post, SC
As a registered nurse for 32 years, I had to respond to your recent articles and commentaries on the nursing crisis.
I recently retired from nursing because of health problems and a
back injury, which my hospital will not accommodate unless I return to
work without restrictions.
We are, indeed, in a crisis, and it's not just about recruiting
people into the profession and the need for more nursing education.
There are many nurses refusing to work in hospitals because of the
working conditions.
Most auxiliary staffs have been cut back or taken away, requiring
nurses, as well as nursing assistants, to do more lifting and turning
of patients, with little help for coping with an increasingly obese
population.
Not only is the profession under continuous physical stress, but
it's also under emotional stress beyond comprehension. When an
administration determines there is extra staff scheduled, they are
called and asked to take a vacation day.
However, when there is a shortage of staff for a shift, nurses are
required to assume added patients without any help. This increases
errors as well as strain.
When this happens, nurses can only give minimal care to patients.
God knows, we wouldn't want to cut back beds due to staffing shortages.
Seldom do you see orderlies, who could assume much of the strenuous
labor of nursing. And let's not forget nursing assistants, seldom
rewarded or recognized for their difficult jobs.
Nursing assistants are required to take care of as many as 16
patients during their shifts. Their duties usually require taking vital
signs, emptying trash, turning patients, answering call lights, taking
patients to the restrooms, bathing patients, changing linens, escorting
patients to and from procedures, charting and whatever else the nursing
staff requests. Nurses, on the other hand, are required to organize
care and procedures, to initiate IVs, to assess patients, provide
medications, change dressings, update charts, address physicians'
orders and assist physicians with procedures, and to make phone calls
to doctors, to families and other departments, among numerous other
responsibilities.
Nurses work overtime. They work changing shifts and on weekends, and
they are on call. What about family life — being with your children
during Christmas and holidays as they grow up?
Let's not forget the divorce rate among medical professionals. The
public thinks we make great money. The majority of nurses cap out at
$70,000 a year, and after 15 years, there is often the minimal raise of
3 percent a year. Compare this to engineers with the same education.
Engineers are usually making $70,000 in five years.
Let's not forget retention. Those of us who have been in the
profession for more than 10 years usually have injuries. Often, they
include back injuries and chronic pain.
Adequate auxiliary staff, such as orderlies, nursing assistants and
nursing technicians, would prevent most of the injuries to nurses.
Across the nation, there are hospitals that are initiating "no lift"
policies for nurses with injuries and those over a certain age.
Let's not forget our aging nurses — those of us over 50 years old.
As with the general population, we have health problems and injuries we
have acquired over the years because of the strenuous work. Most
hospitals put us out to pasture if we cannot perform our duties, such
as lifting. Let's not forget those 12-hour shifts, which often are 14
hours-plus. Those of us over 50 can no longer tolerate 12 hours
non-stop.
The public should be outraged about the health care system. Perhaps
hospitals should be required to disclose to the public their
nurse/patient ratios, the nursing assistant/patient ratios, the
infection rates and medical errors. Paying clients have a right to be
informed and the opportunity to choose the hospital they want to care
for them and their loved ones.
Of course, we need more instructors and more educational facilities.
On the other hand, nothing will change until we retain the nurses
already working in our hospitals. This involves bringing back
eight-hour shifts and establishing "no lift" policies.
Decreasing the nurse/patient ratio, (as well as nursing
assistants/patients ratio) and giving nurses auxiliary staff would go a
long way toward improving nurse retention. Holiday and shift work could
be made more palatable. Retiring or side-lining nurses with illnesses
and injuries is certainly not helping to ease the crisis.
Unfortunately, most hospitals find no value in a nurse who is unable to lift 100 pounds.
This must change, and nurses must be fairly compensated for their
skills, experience, responsibilities, education and dedication.
Until we address the present reasons the profession cannot retain
nurses, we will continue to have a crisis. No amount of added
classrooms and instructors will resolve the issue.
DEBORAH L. HODGE
Oak Hill Drive
Manning
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