Nurses' Week Coming Up

It's Nurse's week - that time of the year when all the nurses will bring in baking and potluck to work - which is eaten by everyone else BUT nurses, because there is not enough time and too many patients.....

photo credit

Ironic.

Our Nurses Matter: Tim Hortons

I don't know if you have been over to AlbinoBlackbear's blog  - "Asystole is the Most Stable Rhythm" - where she discusses the situation where patients had to be kept in the donut shop because the Emergency Department was overflowing.......

But I found this on the internet, and thought it amusing :




I also noticed on this Facebook site - Our Nurses Matter - that there were a lot of positive comments from patients that were in Emergency at Royal Columbian Hospital when the Timmy's Fiasco occurred.

It's nice to know that some people are supportive of the hard working nurses.....

Passion for Nursing

I found Digital Catharsis via Emergency Blues.....
He is a Nurse working in the United Emirates.  His site is worth checking out.

He posted this Youtube Video, which I loved:




It got me thinking about what nurses do.....and what a difference we can make in the lives of others.  I suppose in the past I have taken for granted what people in the "world out there" experience, and although it is all "routine" to us - to those we come in contact with - it is more than routine....it can be  life-changing -  the height of joy and the depths of despair - depending on where you work and who you are taking care of.

The older I get, the more I appreciate my calling.

When I was younger, I have to admit that I did take it all for granted.

Being a Nurse.

There is nothing more reassuring to a patient than a Nurse that is passionate about his/her profession.

Illegal Immigrants

There is an RN, Leah, from AZ that posted this following statement on Facebook. She has been an RN for 3 yrs. She works in a hospital where she takes care of "illegal immigrants". I have "XX"d out her name to save her from embarrassment. This is her rant on FB and the ensuing commentaries on her wall, which by the way, was exposed for the world to see:

Leah XXXXXXX: I give u good drugs, excellent medical care, pay your medical bills and put your 10 kids through school, all with a smile on my face... And you have the nerve to say you are paying me so I have to do what you want??? I don't think so (oh, and go get a green card!)


May 6 at 2:29pm ..Larry XXXXX: Wow! Having a good day I see.


May 6 at 2:52pm.Raeann XXXXXX: But oh so true!!!Get em Leah, your just saying what some don't have the guts to say!!!


May 6 at 3:23pm.Amy XXXXXX: Mmmmhmmm....so true some people really know how to work the system. It's that sense of entitlement, we just need to bring them back to reality sometimes!


May 6 at 7:57pm.Su Won Lee XX, the pleasure of working in a border state.


May 6 at 9:01pm.Melissa XXXXX: OK, I couldn't agree more!!! The thought of this makes me so angry sometimes, I could SCREAM!


May 6 at 9:06pm.Erich XXXXXX: Why are y'all so angry? We can "spread the wealth" across the border too!


May 7 at 8:51am.Deb XXXXX: So, Erich, did you get your education in America? I don't mind people coming into this country legally but I have to provide medical care to undocumented aliens all the time. They are not responsible for any of those costs but I would be. Why? Because I have worked hard all my life, made something of myself and am held ... See More accountable for my financial debt. The attitude of spreading the wealth across the border can be considered by some as an act of compassion but we have Americans who are struggling in our own country who could use our compassion. You have to experience the "anchor baby" phenomenon to really appreciate why many have had enough. History shows many immigrants came to our country for the freedom we provide. They came legally, learned English and become citizens. They worked hard to make lives for themselves and did not come "expecting to be taken care of". HUGE Difference.


May 9 at 11:47am.Jocelyn XXXXXXXX.....you need to stop posting one-liners :) People can't tell when you're serious or not.


May 10 at 7:32am.Su Won Lee XX: When people start saying things like "Spread the Wealth," why do they take my money to spread it around instead of using their money, especially when they have more money than I do?

OK. So:

Number One. I don't think, as an RN, that it is smart to be posting a statement such as this on Facebook that can be viewed by ANYONE, especially your employer...or some rights group. Especially with your name, whereabouts, hospital, address - you name it - attached. As my lawyer nephew put it: Don't put anything on your FB that you don't want seen on the front page of a National Newspaper. If I can see it and I am not your "friend" - Guess who else can see it??

Number two: Research shows that medical costs for illegals are blown out of proportion and used as fuel for fire by certain groups that have agendas. Costs of Illegals using the system is 1.25% of the ENTIRE $88 Billion that is spent federally on health care in the USA. The biggest burden? Older Legal Americans. Try shooting your mouth off at THAT group, Little Miss LeahRN.

Number three: I happen to believe that statement above reeks of selfishness. I have more than you and I won't share. You can bet your bottom dollar that those same people, if roles were reversed...would be running across the border to make money for their family to survive. Say, for argument's sake - if in Canada, we paid our RNs $150 per hour and the US hospitals paid RNs $1.50 per hour.....I would think that Little Miss Leah RN would be running as fast as her little white boots could take her up to Canada to make her some money, don't you? Whether it be legal or illegal, she would still be looking to make the bigger bucks - and that is exactly what is happening here.

Number four: Little Miss Leah RN should be thankful for the 10 little ones she put through school. Think of the alternatives to NO EDUCATION. Believe me, I saw enough of the results of that when I worked in the prison system. Also, be thankful they are not born of terr*rists. It could be worse. AND....one day you will NEED them when they will be contributing their hard earned dollar into the American coffers to pay for your retirement. If my math is correct, you will need more of those "10 little kids".

Number five: If you are going to judge anyone Little Miss Leah RN: JUDGE THOSE PEOPLE THAT GIVE ILLEGALS their jobs. If it weren't for the Greedy Employer that pays pennies to these people, you probably wouldn't have the problem. Your guns are clearly aiming at the wrong head. And by the way, Little Miss LeahRN - who is manicuring YOUR lawn and Nannying YOUR babies???? Are you willing to fork out even minimum wage to an actual resident who is probably too lazy to do a good job??? Would you like to pay a heck of a lot more for your produce in the store because now the farmers have to pay decent wages to Americans - that is - IF they can even find an American that wants to do that kind of hard labor????  Didn't think so.

Number six: As for that "excellent medical care" you give ------I have SEEN that care by people like you and it ain't EXCELLENT. I quit working on the spot at one of those "EXCELLENT" Well Known Medical Facilities when I saw how one of those "Illegals" was treated - by the OB and by the staff RNs. Disgusting. I wouldn't want a RAT treated the way I saw her treated.

Number seven: Aren't you jumping to conclusions?? Federal law prohibits hospital staff from asking a patient's immigration status. So, unless you have broken a federal law - aren't you jumping to conclusions here based on skin color and accent or language? Which brings me to the recent AZ law of allowing cops to ask anyone to produce their "legal papers". I would be willing to bet that they won't ask ME (white illegal alien) but they sure as hell will ask my Hispanic/Aboriginal American born Husband for his because he is a slightly darker shade all over.
If you ask me, EVERYONE should then be required to produce their passports. Ya don't have one? Tough. Get one.

Ok. PHEW. I am fine now. I could go on for another few points but I think I have had it up to here with this sort of crap. I just had to get that out. This RN above is a friend of a cousin of a cousin of a cousin by marriage  - but I figured I didn't want to alienate my own family by making a comment on her page as ME - since we have already hashed through the whole subject in the past more than once. So better I just post it here and vent rather than becoming a pariah among my extended family. We have a family reunion coming up and I don't want any fights.




7 comments:

Rachedy said...
Great rant! Where I live, it's the unemployed, meth smoking rednecks who abuse the system. We have seasonal migrant workers. Note: the word WORKERS. 'Nuff said.
May 22, 2010 8:11 AM

A NURSE said...
The people above seem to forget most of these people are WORKERS...and working for peanuts a lot of times...taken advantage of. If she were to have made the statement based on attitude alone, that would be fine, HOWEVER....to bring the unrelated "race" thing into it....THAT is what gets my knickers in a twist.... =^@

Thanks for your support Rachedy! :)
May 22, 2010 10:17 AM

The Future Missy Prissy RN said...
Well I for one am so confused in my feelings for illegal immigrants. I don't know how to feel at this point. I understand they want a better life, which is fine who doesnt? But when you start lying and deceiving for it that is when it draws the line. There is a situation going on here in GA, about a young lady who was brought here from Mexico illegally by her parents (not sure if this has made national news or not). She was ll when she came, graduated from elemetary, middle, and highschool, now she is about to graduate (with one semester left) with a degree in Political Science to become an attorney. She is illegal! She has no papers, and yet she has gotten full FINANCIAL Aid! HUH HOW DOES THAT WORK? You obviously had to lie to make your way through in America, land of opportunity. I just don't get it!

May 22, 2010 3:56 PM
A NURSE said...
Well, something you might not realize - there are very many foreign students that get full scholarships (a type of financial aid) at american colleges and universities...and the money doesn't come from their homeland....not just for excellence in sports but also for high performance in the classroom. I say, if there is any American that can do as well....go at 'er - but scholarships are about being the best no matter where you come from. If the case you are talking about is so public, I can't see how it wouldn't be investigated by officials....so I am assuming there is some legal loophole that exists?I don't condone lying but I can't comment on the situation because I don't know any of the details.
In the long run, that gal will more than pay back her education if she continues to live in the USA. Better than if she were a "drain on the system" via the education system than by ending up in a prison. That is way more costly to the american taxpayer.

I also know for a fact that Canada has many "illegals" from the USA that came up here during the Vietnam war (and I do run into others that end up staying here )and were allowed to stay and have taken advantage of our system. It probably evens out in the long run, but I can see how people might start to resent it when they hear of examples...but really, do you hear of hundreds of these cases where they get put through university? Probably not. I would say if she and her family have been here since she was age 11, that is a lot of years of contributions to the system. If they are not contributing - then once again - that is the FAULT OF THE PERSON WHO EMPLOYS THEM....because they would have NO WAY of surviving very long in the USA unless they ARE employed. So really, I would fault the employer...the one that took advantage of the mother/father as a low paid worker and then I would say they owe that girl and mother a hell of a lot more than an education.

In Canada we have a situation similar with South Asian and Chinese populations that come here. We hope that due process of the law will catch up to them...

All I know is that the people I look after in the hospital setting or on the phone....I take care of to the best of my ability without judging them based on where they come from. That isn't my place.

Now - if they are rude to me or treat me like a drudge, that is an entirely separate matter - no matter who they are, and that was the point I was trying to make.
May 22, 2010 5:45 PM

newnurseinthehood said...
Applause. This is spot on and the AZ immigration laws are complete bullshit. Immigration status is not so much the problem as system abuse- that falls across all races and immigration statuses.
I will say, as my cousin is an L&D nurse in a border state here in the U.S., there is a special state program to pay for prenatal care and births to babies born to illegal immigrants down here called Title 5- most nurses would know if their patient was Title 5 just like you might know if your patient was medicaid. So it might not be all assumptions. If they aren't L&D, than yeah- it's probably just assumed they're illegal because they're brown.
The way I see it though- I don't care if you pay or not- just don't act like an entitled douchebag- period.
May 24, 2010 8:01 AM

A NURSE said...
NNITH:
The RN in my rant above wasn't L&D.

and that is it exactly: "don't act like an entitled douchebag" - no matter who you are.... :)

May 24, 2010 9:37 AM
Crazed Mom said...
Bravo. This is a country made up of immigrants. My spouse is a naturalized citizen and thinks everyone should get a "sponsor" like his family had in 1956. Gee, hon your family isn't starving. Your cousin was not recently killed in the drug war. 3 out of 6 of your children have not died for lack of good medical care. Hon you've been unemployed for 16 months and I don't see you applying at McDonald's for minimum wage.

It is not a black and white issue. It never will be. I am amazed at how lacking in generosity so many Americans are.

My mother was Canadian and I was raised color blind and to help out those with less than I. Bleeding heart liberal? Hell yeah. Proud of it.
May 29, 2010 6:03 PM

Florence and French Toast

Got this notice in my work email:

Anyone else think this is too weird?

I have pictured Flo doing a lot of things, but not bringing me French Toast. What with the lack of hygeine back then, I would find the brekkie slightly suspect.

And what is with the bright pink lipstick?
*sigh*

It was nice of the management to treat everyone, although the French Toast they usually serve is quite dry.

I think I will pass.
Thanks, anyway.

Nurses' Week

Oh. Is it Nurses' Week? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I was too busy doing what Nurses do to notice.......