May 29, 1998

We have just celebrated our profession and Florence Nightingale’s birthday, so it seems like a good time to ask, How healthy is nursing? I think we’ve got a few weaknesses that could hold us back in the next few years. And there are five things we need to collectively do.

1. Start talking to the public. Nurses are great at talking to patients and families on a one-to-one basis, and a lot of us teach classes to all kinds of clients. But we haven’t learned to work with the media to get essential messages out to the public. Operating room nurses could go on local cable channels to discuss what it’s like to go in for surgery or what people are most afraid of when they’re anticipating a procedure. Critical care nurses could go on radio talk shows talking about issues such as how to get more time with a family member in the ICU. ER nurses could do an interview in the local paper about how to prevent pool-party drownings. Med/surg nurses could talk about what to do when you disagree with the discharge planner or how to get real pain relief after surgery. The best way to get the public to understand nursing is to reach beyond the hospital walls and start teaching.

2. Improve our real-world image. Over the years, nurses have complained about our image in the media, about sexy nurses with caps in sitcoms and ads. But we’ve ignored the image we create every day, the way we look when we’re having contact with real patients. Nurses need to get out of their pajamas. There are few places where scrubs really make a lot of sense; uniforms of all sorts are very washable. Nursing has more individual contact with patients than any other health profession, every day. But the image we’re creating isn’t particularly professional. While my 12-year-old daughter and I were waiting for an appointment with her pediatrician, my daughter turned to me and asked, "How come nurses don’t look as professional as flight attendants?" I didn’t have a ready answer.

3. Get a clear, unified professional message. There is no one voice for nursing at the statehouse, in the media, or anywhere else. Frequently there are nurse lobbyists in Sacramento testifying on both sides of an issue. There are more than 100 nursing organizations in this state, and none represents more than 11 percent of California’s nurses. Yes, nurses have diverse interests. But if we don’t find common ground, no one will listen to any of us.

4. Make the bachelor’s degree mandatory by the time we’re all retired or dead. I know, everyone’s sick of this contentious topic, but four-year degrees are increasingly the bottom line in fields that include teaching, public relations, sales, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and computer repair. What is it about registered nursing that doesn’t demand a four-year degree? It’s the hardest, most intellectually and emotionally challenging work I’ve ever done. If we can’t resolve this, we’ll permanently be seen as the occupation that follows rather than leads.

5. Re-create a culture of caring. The public doesn’t know who to blame it on. But in today’s hospitals, it’s sometimes hard to feel truly cared for. Blame it on shortened length of stay. Blame it on short staffing. Blame it on managed care. But we’ve got to find a way to show patients we care even when we’re very busy. We’ve got to keep talking to them. We’ve got to introduce ourselves as we lead them into an examining room or meet them at the beginning of a shift. No matter what’s going on in health care, nurses are the keepers of caring. Would you want it any other way?

What do you think?

Barbara Bronson Gray, MN, RN
Editor in Chief

Looking for CE? Visit our online store.

PREVIOUS Editor's Notes

How much education do RNs need?

Character Counts: Your actions are a window on your soul

Assisted suicide in Oregon. What is next? Ads for 1-800-JUST-DIE?

Patient care decisions belong at the bedside

Questions about quality have no easy answers

PREVIOUS Articles

Is it time to spice up your career?

How you can reenter the job market

How many beds make a hospital?

Web Ed: Looking for patient education Web sites.

Mental health coverage in a time of managed care