Let's face it, there's some pretty silly research being done. I remember a few years ago, reading a journal that described a several million dollar grant to study the effect of chocolate and salty snacks on pre-menstrual women. Seriously? Yes seriously. Listen, for $100.00 I could have told them everything they needed to know. For good measure I would have offered up the 3-11 staff in the ER as the control group.

As recently as 2 weeks ago, I read a research study that verified doubling up on Tamiflu for severe flu symptoms didn't help improve the outcome or length of illness. Duh. Didn't we know that already without a study? We tell patients all the time more isn't necessarily better with prescriptions.

But here is my all time favorite study. Someone FINALLY listened to me. I have been saying for YEARS that the passageway between the set of double doors to the ER should be like a carwash; the patient on the stretcher should be placed in the center, and then sprayed with soap, water and chlorhexidine, then rinsed, dried, gowned, and only then placed in a exam room. Hospitals aren't clean anymore because the "people we serve" are bringing all sorts of germs in! If we decontaminate them, HAIs will dramatically decrease. And again...Duh!

The social networks among nurse are all abuzz about the new staffing ratio bill being introduced to congress by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). Like the cicadas, this attempt rolls around every few years when someone in power like the good senator tries to get this done.

Odds are she was recently exposed to a hospitalization situation and saw some things first hand that didn’t sit well with her. Maybe a friend couldn’t get to a CCU bed for 16 hours. Or maybe her daughter had to wait and hour for pain medication, hence the bill. Or maybe California’s strong nursing union just got to her.

Everybody is happy and supportive, and naïvely believes this would be the answer to everything. After all, it’s no secret adding RNs at the bedside improves patient outcomes. The staffing ratios presented in the bill are every nurse’s dream ratios. Go here for an easier read of the bill. You can also track the bill’s progress here. You can also see the projected chance of the bill getting passed at that site: 0%. It’s already doomed.

Now if in some other dimension this bill were to pass, I don’t think everyone would be as happy about it as they think. In my long career, I have never seen an increase of RNs without a more severe decrease in other services. Those darn hospitals have to pay all those “extra RNs” somehow. So you begin to see CNAs and techs disappear, and those left begin to cross-train as unit secretaries. PT/OT/RT services get cut too. Case management staff becomes smaller, with openings not filled. Good news for new grads though, they start getting jobs because they’re cheaper than RNs with experience.

Yeah I know. Here I go again spreading sunshine and cheer. Listen guys, I REALLY hope I’m wrong. I will lead a parade if this bill passes. Hell, I’ll donate more money to Nurses House if it even gets passed through the first committee!

In the meantime, all you optimists out there, we need you to keep believing. Somebody has to!

Retirement has been interesting. I've slept mostly. (Don't let anyone tell you that you can't catch up on sleep.) I've also been working on the yard, playing with the boat, and oh yeah, I rescued an older dog. Two old gals together.

Anyway, I know I've taught you about the history of Nurses Week, how it relates to Flo, and how interesting and wonderful we are. Enough of all that. I have a slightly different and fun way to celebrate this year. My Facebook colleagues and friends have been joining me in posting photos of ourselves in the workplace since and including graduation. (See below.) The pictures have been wonderful! I urge you and your friends to do the same. You still have until May 12^th.

I would also like to plug my favorite charity this week; Nurses House Inc. This should be your favorite charity too. I urge you to donate to them in honor of our profession, and if you can't donate, at least promise me that you will get familiar with this fine organization for Nurses. You will feel very good afterward! I have been donating annually for years, never thinking I would need them, but I did. I became a grateful recipient of their generosity after my hip fracture a year and a half ago. Ya never know...

So play on Facebook, donate to Nurses House, hang in there, and remember that you are an elite group of people. Nurses are simply the best.

A friend and colleague came for a visit recently, and as he read the newspaper, he commented on the fact that a baseball player had renewed his contract for several million dollars. My friend is good at math, and calculated that the ball player would get roughly $130,000.000 each time he got up to bat. I don't know a lot about baseball salaries (or math for that matter) but even my brain recognizes that as a bit excessive. We then began a spirited dialogue regarding this unbelievable salary...Who in the world deserves that kind of money!?!?

Yeah. Duh...

I felt really stupid, because my motto has always been that all salaries are negotiable. I never accepted the first salary I was offered when I applied for a job. Never. And if I was to discover that another nurse made more than me, I was glad, because that meant I could negotiate for more. We KNOW what we're worth, and yet we don't demand our worth. I don't understand why we aren't outraged that a ballplayer makes that kind of money, and we don't. I can save a life AND hit a baseball. That should make me worth more. And while I'm at it, I'll add police, firefighters/EMS, and teachers to the more deserving list.

Do you agree?

I also have several dreams that recur, but I only have one recurring work dream. It's an interesting one to me for several reasons, but mainly because it has nothing to do with hospitals. You would think that after so many years in hospitals, it would just certainly be in the dream. No. My recurring dream involves my cruise job.

Short version: I board the ship, meet my colleagues, and then go to my cabin. I'm never scheduled to do any work the first day (believe me, that IS a dream!) and after attending a few mandatory meetings, I have the rest of my time to myself until 1600 the next day. I go about the ship, casually enjoying and indulging in things like a passenger, when abruptly, I realize its 1555 the next day, and I'm nowhere near ready for duty. In fact, I'm not even on the ship! Mad dash to the ship, can't get in my cabin, can't find my uniform, haven't showered...anyway, it's a real drama; I'm terribly late, and in serious trouble with the boss. That's it. Then I always wake up. I'm sweating and my heart is pounding. I'm sure I could figure out what it all means, (and now that I've written about it, I'm sure I'll try to!) but what about you? Do you have a dream that involves work? I'd like to hear it. Maybe we can work them out together.

The story I'm referring to is the one about the nurse who allegedly refused to do CPR on a resident in a senior living facility in California. The resident died at the hospital after EMS transport.

There are so many issues here and just as many opinions! Of course, most fellow nurses were horrified at the alleged refusal. Then the legal-eagles and the ethicists chimed in. They were horrified too. But wait a minute, was she right or wrong? Well see now, that's the thing. She said was following her facility's POLICY. Hmmm...And at first, her facility released a statement that the nurse had acted according to their policy. Of course after a few days of national news and outcries of righteous indignation, the facility back-pedaled and stated that the nurse "Misunderstood the policy."

Baloney I say. I believe the ONLY way a nurse would refuse to give CPR is if it was drummed into her not to by the facility that employed her.

If you listen to the 911 call carefully, she never actually REFUSED to turn the phone over to another person, there didn't seem to be another person there willing to start CPR. She also remained calm and professional throughout the entire call. I'm not sure I could have, with the dispatcher putting pressure on me like that. (But then again, I would have been doing CPR and not heard her.)

One of the biggest surprises to me was that the family stood behind the nurse and the facility. That's where I was wrong. I thought sure they would sue. Call me an optimist, but I'm going to say there is no lawsuit because the daughter of the deceased is also a nurse and is showing compassion for a colleague.

But I promise you, this isn't over yet. Why? Because the California State Board of Nursing hasn't been heard from yet. And I bet that's when the CPR will hit the fan.

Now that I am no longer affiliated with an institution since retirement, I've realized that I will actually have to PAY for any classes I want to take. For example, if I want to continue my cruise job, I will need to re-certify my ACLS before the end of May. To do that, I will need to actually find someone and pay them to re-certify me. I've never paid for a class like that before. The boss has always covered it from the budget.

I have heard that there are actually online classes, so I started a search, and found several ranging in price from $129 to $179. The trouble is, I really have no idea if it's worth it or not.

What exactly will I be getting from an online ACLS class? Am I just paying for a bootleg card? Does the AHA recognize this type of re-cert? And more importantly, will my cruise line?

Obviously I still need to do some more research, and when I decide, I'll let you know how it all worked out. But in the meantime, I am open to suggestions. Anyone?

SO... what now?

I will continue my cruise nursing job as long as I can, but while fun and interesting, even that is beginning to lose its thrill. I always swore I would stop nursing when it stopped being fun, and that's the main reason I left the hospital. I've made no secret of the fact that I think our profession is suffering entirely too many indignities and I believe it keeps getting worse.

At my retirement party, I was asked to say something, and while normally I would have said something funny and entertaining, I just didn't have it in me. Instead I told the truth. Yes, I'm 62, and yes I'm in pain. The hallways were getting longer all the time. But in honesty I just couldn't keep watching the staff suffer the way they did. Everyday.

My position was as a supervisor. It's a HUGE responsibility. I loved the job, and the people. I considered most of my responsibility to be a NURSING advocate. And I'd like to think I was effective as one, at first. But it just became more and more difficult for me to say I'm sorry all the time. I'm sorry that you're 4 RNs short, or don't have the supplies you need, or that you fear for your job if you complain. I'm sorry that you feel as though  you have no support from management. I'm sorry you go home in tears, and you're not a new graduate. (You know they cry.) I'm sorry the rules are becoming more ridiculous everyday.

Additionally, I'm sorry for myself. I'm sorry the profession that choose ME all those years ago finally became too hard for me to endure, but here's another reason for my sorrow: only one of my superiors from NURSING administration (my own department) wished me well, thanked me, or even said goodbye. Only one.

Apparently though, the recent arrogant behavior of Mr. Douglas Kennedy, son of the late Robert, shows that he actually is still buying into the whole American Royalty garbage. To refresh your memory, last year, Mr. K tried to leave a hospital OB department with his newborn son without following the protocol. It didn't occur to him to check with the nurses to see what might be required to do so. Anyway, I'm sure all kinds of alarms went off when he tried to leave with the baby and the nurses did what they were supposed to do; they tried to stop him. Rather than calmly returning to the department to discuss his options, he chose to show off his Kennedyness that no one could tell HIM what to do. Unfortunately, it got physical, and two nurses were hurt. The nurses sued him and lost, so now he's counter-suing for, get this, defamation and malicious prosecution.

That's just silly, because it's all on the security video, and clearly shows Mr. K doing exactly what he was accused of doing. He should not have been acquitted in the first place, and even if money had not been awarded, an apology should have been. Nurses should not have to be worried about getting sued for following protective policies, or instincts. But it's New York, and the judge probably plays poker with a Kennedy.

I knew I would always care about nursing, but I really didn’t think that I would get as riled up about stuff now that I’m retired. Oh, did I mention that? Finally, after 44 long years working in hospitals, I retired December 31^st, 2012. And I turned 62 yesterday. Hello Social Security and AARP, goodbye The Joint Commission and satisfaction scores. I was all ready to sit back and say, sorry, not my problem, UNTIL I read this story from ABC news about a nurse getting fired for refusing the flu vaccine.

Read it carefully. There’s a little more to it. I thought my head would explode by the time I finished the article. First of all, it appalls me that an RN’s 22 year career at the same facility can hinge on something as personal as choosing not to take a flu shot. It is also ludicrous that her hospital would use that as a reason to terminate an experienced critical care nurse. Did you notice the word “veteran?” That’s who the hospital fired for not taking the shot. Veteran nurses. Veteran is merely another word for expensive. Do they really think we’re too stupid to know that? I hope these nurses sue for wrongful termination, because I believe they would win. I hope someone, some organization, or just some wonderful law firm will finance this case, because no one, especially nurses, should be treated this way!

I dealt with my own trauma as well. Not that I would dare compare the events, but I had to put a beloved pet to sleep. That can really knock you down too. Not to mention those poor terrified souls who believe the world is ending in a few days, and the ones who fear the U.S.  is about to plunge over a fiscal cliff.

I'm just plain exhausted from all the bad things going on.

But let's remind ourselves that this is the time of year for peace on earth and goodwill towards men, followed by the New Year that brings a chance for new beginnings. We cannot stay in this negative groove forever. We must grieve and mourn, and then get back on track to move forward. Slowly, yes, but forward none the less.

Nurses are usually quite good at this. And while this time it might be a little more difficult than usual, we will press on, our nursing hearts and hands continuing to go out to all who are in need. And as usual, most people will follow the example we set. So lead the way.

Happy Holidays to all my friends and colleagues.

Since the baby Jesus didn't let me win the $550 million Powerball lottery, I'm going to have to rely on you again to take care of my holiday dreams and wishes. Here's what I really want for Christmas this year;

1. Doctors who actually have respect for the nursing staff.
2. Bosses who don't tell lies about how everything will be so much better with the latest vogue staffing model. We have brains. We can see through it.
3. Enough supplies and functioning equipment to do what's required.
4. More time at the bedside, and less time in front of a computer lying about what we've done, when there really isn't time to do it all.
5. A clinical ladder committee that isn't made up of BFFs who want to keep everyone else out.
6. Benefits that grow, instead of shrink every year.
7. The return of the well deserved employee discount for medical services.
8. Enough nurses on the floor to practice safely.
9. More nurses at the corporate level and on boards giving input.
10. The return of decent merit raises and competitive pay instead of "fair market analysis" salaries. Come on. We know hospitals talk to each other and agree to lock salaries.

Thanks Santa. I hope you can manage at least one of these things for me and my colleagues. It just might help keep us in the profession. Otherwise, I wouldn't be too sure.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Being blatantly honest, I admit I occasionally had the same thought... until recently. As the world watched this Frankenstorm Sandy rip across the Caribbean toward our Eastern Seaboard this week, I heard some unbelievably stupid remarks come out of the mouths of supposedly intelligent professionals. No amount of training is going to fix stupid, so you kind of just ignore those. I can't even repeat some of them, but I can tell you that surprisingly, it was the most innocent stupid remark that affected me the most.

As a group of us watched CNN coverage of the storm as it took apart Haiti, a colleague said, quite sympathetically and seriously, "Poor Haiti. It should just sink completely and get it over with." Every single person there knew exactly what she meant, and agreed. Or should I say, we knew and agreed with what she intended it to mean. But after a few minutes passed, another colleague rose and excused herself saying she needed to call home and check on her family. She was asked where her family lived, and her tearful reply was, "The island you all want to sink." She was from Haiti.

We obviously needed that training...and maybe some more.

Just in my small world of friends and acquaintances, healthcare is already in the toilet. I have a friend with a suffering symptomatic child who can't get in to see a specialist until January 2013. This is with insurance, and a referral from her PCP. Another friend has a new grandchild who had to return to the doctor at 2 days old and had to be hospitalized for 21 days to treat an infection NOT acquired from the mom. Then the baby's mom required hospitalization a day later for a post-partum infection. Grandma is an RN. Asking around, she discovered her loved ones weren't the only ones back in the hospital. That has to be from a dirty O.R. And of course, I had my own negative experience with my family's C. Diff crisis, not to mention my failed pursuit of temporary assistance after my hip fracture.

The fact that the candidates are even discussing change to our healthcare system makes this the most important election to me. PLEASE review each candidates platform carefully, and then go be a patriot, and vote your choice in the upcoming election. Anything has to be an improvement over the way things are now!