Cards

I’m not one for getting vocal about politics but this week the world has seen what conjecture, assumption and misinformation can do to bring out both the worst and best in the nursing profession.

Last week an American senator decided to voice her opinion on rural hospital nursing and subsequently paint us all with a less than complimentary brush by letting the U.S. senate know nurses do alot of card playing on shift when we really should be taking care of our patients. She also decided 8 hour shifts would better serve our patients than 12 hour shifts without ever having to work one or the other…

I have worked in a small community hospital for more than 20 years. Small hospitals may not attract the high volume, multi-system trauma/ intensive care patients on an hourly/daily basis like our big city counterparts but we do have our moments……and we also do more with less. Less support staff, less workforce, less bed availability and less space. We rely on each other to fill gaps in our schedule, make our hospital into our second home and provide good care to the patients in the community most of us live in.

The numbers in our little hospital keep climbing, the workload keeps increasing with the technology we endure and nowhere have I seen a deck of cards…even on the Complex Care ward where card playing would be considered recreational therapy!

The Senator’s remarks have caught the attention of nurses worldwide, the memes are flying and the comments humorous ( no pun intended here) with an undertone of good old fashioned black nurse humour.

Please take a moment to really think about what you accomplish in a day. 4 or more patients each that rely on us for everything while they are under our roof. The missed breaks, the frustration of being short-staffed, the endless charting, the cold coffee habit, the 12 hours that turn into 14 sometimes make us question why…..

Card games don’t even come close to being played when you’re in the business of caring for others Senator! Most of us would gladly have you join us anytime for a look at how things really are in the hospital setting.

Keep up the great work everyone!