Letter to Senator Walsh
Senator Walsh:
I'm sure your email and voicemail have blown up over the past few days with responses to your comments regarding nurses, mandatory breaks, shift limits, and playing cards. I would like to add my voice to the cacophony you are experiencing. You see, I am a nurse. And I am proud to be a member of this community. As a nurse, I have spent hours at the bedside of patient who had been improving and suddenly became confused and combative due to an infection. I have stood at the bedside of a dying patient, pushing medication through his IV and listened to his family talk about they had taken care of him at home for as long as they could, but now they were realizing that there was nothing more to do. I have woken the doctor in the middle of the night because my patients blood pressure was plummeting and I needed to get him transferred to the ICU so he could get the stronger medication he needed. I have watched my patient wake up from a surgery and realize that his heart was no longer a ticking time bomb, but he now had new pacemaker and the support he needed to live a healthy lifestyle. And I have skipped my lunch, skipped holiday celebration, and skipped family dinners, so that my patients would have best possible care. And I would do the same for you or your family member.
I chose a profession with 12-13 hour shifts. One where I don't have a guaranteed hour-long lunch break or a 9-5 schedule. Why? Because my patients deserve the best possible care. Because sometimes the antibiotic is due during lunch. Because every time we change shifts the patient's care gets interrupted, even for a moment.
Nurses deal with life and death every day. And we are human too. We need time and space to process. We need food and bathroom breaks. We need our rest. And we know we need these things so that we can continue to take care of our patients. This is why we support one another. This is why we lobby for safe nurse-patient ratios. This is why we ask for safer situations for us, because, ultimately, it is for our patients.
I'm sure your email and voicemail have blown up over the past few days with responses to your comments regarding nurses, mandatory breaks, shift limits, and playing cards. I would like to add my voice to the cacophony you are experiencing. You see, I am a nurse. And I am proud to be a member of this community. As a nurse, I have spent hours at the bedside of patient who had been improving and suddenly became confused and combative due to an infection. I have stood at the bedside of a dying patient, pushing medication through his IV and listened to his family talk about they had taken care of him at home for as long as they could, but now they were realizing that there was nothing more to do. I have woken the doctor in the middle of the night because my patients blood pressure was plummeting and I needed to get him transferred to the ICU so he could get the stronger medication he needed. I have watched my patient wake up from a surgery and realize that his heart was no longer a ticking time bomb, but he now had new pacemaker and the support he needed to live a healthy lifestyle. And I have skipped my lunch, skipped holiday celebration, and skipped family dinners, so that my patients would have best possible care. And I would do the same for you or your family member.
I chose a profession with 12-13 hour shifts. One where I don't have a guaranteed hour-long lunch break or a 9-5 schedule. Why? Because my patients deserve the best possible care. Because sometimes the antibiotic is due during lunch. Because every time we change shifts the patient's care gets interrupted, even for a moment.
Nurses deal with life and death every day. And we are human too. We need time and space to process. We need food and bathroom breaks. We need our rest. And we know we need these things so that we can continue to take care of our patients. This is why we support one another. This is why we lobby for safe nurse-patient ratios. This is why we ask for safer situations for us, because, ultimately, it is for our patients.
So what does this mean for you? Support the nurses in your constituency, and across the country. Listen to them and advocate for them. Be a strong supportive voice for the nurses you represent.
Sincerely,
Laura, RN
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