NurseWeek
readers from across the country share their thoughts on
articles that inspired them and issues that moved them.
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November
20, 2000
Respect
wishes
I
appreciate and agree with the article on dying with dignity
("Dying
with Dignity," Editor’s Note, online, Oct. 30).
As a staff nurse in oncology and now a clinical nurse specialist
in oncology, I also cover some weekends for hospice. Dying
at home with your loved ones with you – dying as you
wish – without having others’ wishes imposed upon you,
is so much more dignified than having resuscitation at the
time when one needs to be allowed to go in peace. I have
fought doctors many times so that my patients in the hospital
could be allowed to die with dignity and without pain.
Charlotte
Ryan-Halley, MSN, RN
Visalia, Calif.
Cutthroat
field
I
agree with your article ("Apt
Pupils," Editor’s Note, online, Oct. 30). I am
a male RN just recently graduated in 1998 in Northern California
and have gone through a lot of obstacles and stereotypes
at facilities where I have worked.
It
is hard to believe in the year 2000 that some nurses still
have the same old nursing views. I also have worked in facilities
that had major cutbacks of RNs in recent years, then do
mass hirings. I think that is just a Band-Aid. One thing
a lot of nurses out there have to realize is that they had
to start somewhere too, and it takes time to be a seasoned
nurse. I hope in the future it gets better because it can
be very frustrating out there in the cutthroat nursing field.
Bill
Lee, RN
Fairfield, Calif.
Be
prepared
"Death
and Dying" by José Alaniz (Oct. 9) brought
home under-recognized truths about the care of the terminally
ill. As he points out, often those most entrusted with their
care – many times, nurses – receive inadequate
preparation for the most momentous and dreaded act of our
lives. Even when the training centers on physical alleviation
of pain, the equally important spiritual aspects tend to
be overlooked.
As
an RN who has participated in the medical aspects of health
care for the dying as well as an LMFT [licensed marriage
and family therapist] who has served as a hospice-bereavement
coordinator, I have experienced firsthand what a difference
adequate preparation can make. For those who are not familiar
with him, Richard Groves, in his seminar "The Sacred
Art of Dying: Addressing and Diagnosing Spiritual Pain,"
offers a clinically sound approach that honors the ethnic
traditions and beliefs of the dying. He will be coming to
the Oakhurst area (near Yosemite National Park) to do a
workshop in January. I highly recommend attending.
Jenny
Becker, RN, LMFT
Wishon, Calif.
Common
bond
In
response to the discussion about whether nursing is a profession,
and comparing nursing to other professions, I must respond
to some assumptions that were made about teachers in the
Oct. 23 issue ("Direct
billing missing," Readers Respond).
Where
does one get the notion that teachers do not take orders
from anyone and can independently "set up shop, bill
for services and demand payment without depending on another
profession or institution for their revenue"?
I
have been married for 22 years to someone who has been in
public education for 24 years as a teacher, principal and
superintendent. We have known a lot of teachers over the
years and we have never known of any teachers who do not
work under an administration and board that set curriculum
and standards. We have never heard of any teachers who go
into independent practice, bill for services and demand
payment from payers.
I
live in the same state as the writer who made these statements,
so I cannot assume regional differences account for this
view. Even teachers in the home-schooling programs work
under administrations and regulations.
Private
schools have administrations, boards and others who set
the direction in which teachers will orient their classes.
Using
these criteria, the professionalism of teachers is in question
as much as that of nurses. Maybe we all have more in common
than we might have thought.
Shawnee
Johnson, MA, RN
Calistoga, Calif.
Stop
the hypocrisy
Just
recently, I made a trip to visit the octogenarian in-laws
in Pennsylvania. They fall just above the income limit for
state-funded drug assistance programs. While there, I made
an eye-opening trip to the drugstore to pick up one of the
new "designer" NSAIDS they are prescribed. Simple,
once daily dosing at only $98 for 30 pills!
Upon
my return to California, I picked up a pen bearing a drug
company logo. I used the pen to write my grocery list on
a drug company-provided scratch pad. (It was scented, too.)
Before shopping, I made a trip to the gym and needed water
to take with me, so I grabbed one of my many sports bottles
bearing drug company logos.
The
next day at work I had a free lunch sponsored by a drug
company. The following day, several reps came by the office
to drop off samples while also bearing their goodies: candies
(logos on every wrapper), cookies (Mrs. Field’s), umbrellas
bearing the name of the anti-depressant du jour (You know
how "blue" you get when it’s raining?) and my
personal flip-me-right-over-the-edge gift (bribe?), bean
bags in the shape of internal organs. I also have attended
many an "educational dinner" at some of San Diego’s
finest restaurants, replete with fine wines, courtesy of – you
guessed it – drug companies.
Isn’t
it time for us to take a look at the hypocrisy here? Which
of us isn’t revved up by the exhibitors’ booths at the various
conventions we attend? I have actually had to leave some
of the marketing items for the hotel maids as I couldn’t
carry them home. Last week, before I saw this article in
your magazine ("Back-breaking
Drug Costs," Nov. 6) I informed my fellow clinicians
by way of a letter that I will no longer accept any drug
company food or the other assorted items costing billions
of dollars per Ms. Domrose’s article. Couldn’t that money
be used to defray the cost of the medications for our patients?
Do the patients know how well we are treated while some
of them are forced to eat dog food?
Wake
up, nurses! Take all the crap the drug companies have to
offer you, if you like, but quit your bitching about the
high cost of drugs. If you’re with me, bring carrots to
work for a snack. They are better for you than fancy pastries
anyway. Buy your own lunch. Yes, I know we all need a raise,
but I think we can well afford to eat in the cafeteria or
at a local restaurant. How many of the pens in your kitchen
drawer are dried up remnants of a great trip to Chicago
or Boston? Dump ‘em, I say. I am asking you to join me in
putting a halt to this insidious, shameful, hypocritical
activity. Who wants to join me in a boycott? We can make
a difference.
Mary
McCarthy, NP, RN
Fallbrook, Calif.
Reality
check
Michael
Berens demonstrates exactly what is wrong with his series
of articles when he says, "It would have been nice
to have ... stories saying that nurses save lots of lives.
We kind of felt that was understood" ("Damage
Control," online, Nov. 13).
Possibly
his background as the son of an RN has blinded him to the
fact that the vast majority of people in this country have
no understanding whatsoever about what a hospital nurse
actually does, having never experienced illness severe enough
to warrant hospitalization. Many women first come to the
hospital to deliver a baby, stay 24 hours and don’t return
for decades. Mr. Berens’ lack of comprehension of this basic
reality leads him to make some grave mistakes in portraying
a profession he claims to respect.
But
his articles are helpful in one regard: They illustrate
how desperately the nursing field needs to educate the public
on the manner and merits of nursing care.
Beth
Pirkle, nursing student
Albany, Calif.
