Chalazion

Professional or Commodity?

I am a registered nurse, a professional, and sick of being treated as a commodity. Not long ago registered nurses were considered a luxury the health care system could ill-afford. Today, a shortage of registered nurses, especially experienced, specialty-specific nurses, threatens health care as we know it.

The provincial government's emphasis on funding college seats - as a quick-fix for the nursing shortage - was predictable, but shortsighted. The nature of nursing today requires that nurses complete their degree and/or a specialty program.

Nurses are not physicians' handmaidens, but their eyes, ears, hands and peer review. Patients are older and/or sicker than they were a decade ago. Changing health technology forces nurses into career-long learning. Complex therapies present complex challenges, requiring a team approach. Nurses either coordinate that team or serve as patient advocate to it.

If I am a professional, I have a specialized body of knowledge guiding my care. This specialized body of knowledge changes at a frantic pace, making much of what I know outdated within a year or two. I have to know how to access and assess the scientific evidence on which I base my care decisions.

If I am a commodity, then others decide what care I give, when and how. I am subject to their interpretation of my patients' needs and of the information on which care is based.

If I am a professional, I am responsible and accountable for the care I give. I appreciate the complexity of caring for today's patients. I assess my own knowledge, skills and limitations in respect of my patients' needs at the time. My professional judgment enables me to provide, delegate, coordinate and evaluate care.

If I am a commodity, I do the job set before me according to others' assessments and standards. Others evaluate my care.

I am a professional. I will continue caring, providing my share of service to the public as long as I am able. All I ask is that my colleagues in medicine, health care management and the health ministry stop treating nurses as commodities to be bought, traded, or warehoused on a whim.

Maribeth Mainer, RN

Burnaby, BC

Ode to Refresher Students

We are the students of the Graduate Nurse Refresher Program at Malaspina College in Nanaimo. Our members consist of both genders and vary in age from late twenties to late fifties. Some of us have been out of practice for years and some have never practised nursing. Coming from a variety of cultures, backgrounds and circumstances, we're striving to become competent, confident practicing nurses. We ask for understanding, patience and kindness from those already practising as we reenter the nursing profession. The following poem by one of our classmates, Helen Webster, expresses our feelings as we approach our mid-term exams.

Susan Good, RN

Comox, BC

Met Anna, Linda and classmates galore

Oh, so excited, apprehensive and more

Got the modules, books and more information

Back to the lab for Anna's summation

Drove home from Nanaimo, could hardly wait

To my family I come with tales to relate

Husband, daughter, my mom and my dad

Rebecca and Andrew, who is still a wee lad

Modules and books beckon to me

Oh please, take a look, come see

Heart starts to pound and hands start to shake

Oh my, Oh my, what's it going to take

I shouldn't have looked or taken a peek

My mouth is so dry, my eyes start to leak

I'm older, not ancient, but what am I doing

Trying to prove I can do this schooling?

Failure, oh Failure, he sits on my shoulder

Anxiety, stress, all emotions do smolder

Anorexia, nausea, palpitations and more

But oh, that Failure is now at the door

Learn to learn, Anna is saying

I don't have the skill for foundation laying!

Try as I try, I'm lost and alone

Despair is with me, someone, please phone!

I got a chalazion and even a rash

Want to stomp a book and make it mash

Frustration and anxiety are always with me

Emotions and feelings, you don't want to see!

Journals for feelings, thoughts and more

Patterns of learning, goals, what a snore!

How can I do it? What does it mean?

They don't want a nurse, they want a machine

Nursing assessments, diagnosis and care

Has me anxious, nasty and full of despair

Blood pressure's up, Doc says take a pill

Doesn't understand, the course is making me ill!

Failure, oh Failure, please leave me alone

What's that? A classmate is on the phone

We vent and we spout, I start feeling better

Really should put these things in a letter

Feeling much better, to lecture I go

Linda comes in, no Anna in tow

Hydrogen ions, bicarbonate, and CO2

Acid/base balance, out my ears they all flew

BUT

Time is passing, I'm starting to learn

My sense of humor has just returned

I laugh a little and giggle a lot

Anxiety and Failure are being fought

Some days it goes good, some real bad

Sleepless nights, tired days, oh, so sad

But I will prevail and I will win

To waste all this time would be a great sin.

Letters to the editor should pertain to the professional interests of nurses or to articles published in Nursing BC, and should be consistent with the goals of the profession. All letters must be signed and should be no more than 300 words in length. The editor reserves the right to edit or condense letters.

Copyright Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia Feb 2001
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