“I would submit to you that those (small hospital nurses) probably do get breaks. They probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day.”
– Maureen Walsh
For the first ten years of my professional life, I was an inpatient nurse, first on a surgery floor and later in an ICU. After working three shifts in a row, I learned that I’d need to to spend a day recuperating. I called …
The hospital I work in used to have posters hanging up, describing patients’ rights. The right to have their medical care explained to them, the right to refuse treatment, the right to be treated courteously and the right emergency care regardless of the circumstances.
These posters are no longer displayed, but the concept hasn’t gone away. The health care team I work with makes every effort to treat people fairly and …
Patients’ rights? What about the nurses’ rights?
July 10 will mark my tenth year as a nurse. When I began, I was shy and naive. Now I am already an old nurse, surprised by nothing and filled with battle stories. I’ve spent the last seven years working in a medical ICU, and I’ve seen and done so much. I counseled a bewildered husband on withdrawing care on his cancer-stricken wife. I got in a fight with a …
This Nurses Week: Ask your nurses if they are burned out
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