Nurse Safe Staffing - New RN Story

2/26/08 - MNA Nurses Day on the Hill - "Code Red for Care"

Suzanne Gordon, famed author of nursing books, asked me to speak impromptu about nurse safe staffing issues in Minnesota. I spoke about a distressing experience I had only two weeks earlier at my job with the 1,400+ people in attendance. I've been an RN for less than 1 year and my shared experience may have been detrimental to my future as a bedside nurse.

Suzanne, role-playing as a legislator, spoke with me about my experience.

Minnesota safe staffing legislation: SF 2742/HF 3042

My letter to hospital administrators (names omitted): http://idonthateamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/nursesafestaffing-call...

My political blog: http://www.IDontHateAmerica.com

Minnesota Nurses Association: http://mnnurses.org/

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Suzanne
• Gordon
• MNA
• ANA
• nursing
• nurses
• nurse
• RN
• safe
• staffing
• activism
• politics

[rickbar123]

I have been a bedside RN for 15 years. I never worked with a full staff. CEOs make money off of short staffing. Wall Street and CEOs don't give a shit about the staff or the patients. The State Boards of Nursing are in the pockets of the CEOs. What the CEOs want, the little lap dogs on the State Boards will give them. The State Boards do not protect the public or RNs, they protect the CEOs and Wall Street profits.

[jaysmic24]

that tall dude whos a nurse is totally right on! all u need is 1 patient to go bad on you and your other 5 patients WILL be ignored/neglected! i work a lot of shifts in a busy central TX hospital where if a patient makes a turn for the worse...I just say to myself "i hope my other patients are still alive" its terrible and 1 nurse to 6 pt ratio on a telemetry unit is totally unsafe!!!! and nurse managers dont give a crap bc they dont work at the pt bedside.!

[Galgaron]

NuttyPope is not kidding. We are down to one RN to 30 acute med/surg beds at my UK hospital.

[NuttyPope]

You should come and work in the U.K and you'll see what its like.

When I graduated I was working on a acute repertory ward and there where only two RN's and two care givers for 32 patients