We're "Information Overloaded!"		"I can't possibly read everything that I'm supposed to...." 84% of our participants said that they have more reports, articles, and just-plain “information” than they can ever digest, and that some simply doesn’t get read
"We did have some Y2K issues...."		34% of our respondents say that they have had some Y2K problems -- although not the type you think! (Like the world didn't end, the MRI didn't explode....) I vote Yes! I'm Anne from Michigan. We planned ahead for Y2K and everything went well until I went to use my "Recieved" stamp on Monday. The kind with the changeable dates. It was not Y2K compliant! It ended in 1999! A new one is on order! "Hello, we survived! I'm Ron Laytrell, RN, in Portland, Maine, and I got the title for my new car in the mail: a "1900 horseless carriage." Cool! I'm going to withhold my name but I work in nephrology and we had a problem with our pumps. They were made in Sweden and we spent a lot of time calling the US distributor, and burning up the lines to Scandanavia. Then, after about a thousand dollars in tolls and lots and lots of fears that we would hurt a patient, someone thought to get out the manual. Turns out you're supposed to reset these every year, not just at the turn of the century! "Hello, gang, and Happy New Year! I'm Laura Williams, a CNO from LA. This may seem like small potatoes, but we spent about zillion dollars getting the hospital ready for Y2K. In our nursing office, we have our own "computer guy" who used an old 486 computer to rig a timer for our coffee maker. Coffee has to be ready at 7:00am when we come in for Report. We got everything in the hospital Y2k compliant except our coffee timer. I told him to just wait until it's time for annual evaluations! Hi, I'm Debra Ristro in Jacksonville. Our hospital is okay, but our CFO says we got a past-due electrical bill -- claiming we'd made no payments since 1900! I guess the Facilities people fueled-up the generators, just in case the electric company cut off our service for non-payment! "I'm Ethel Frank, BSN, from Phoenix. Well, we have had Y2K problems, but before Y2K! In September, when they decided to test our system, they shud down our entire database, including labs that we supposed to get to the nursing units, and we even lost all our emails! "Hello, I'm Fred Garbolli, RN, CRNA, Chicago.We had Y2K problems, too, but only because we couldn't find competent people to do the work for us. Our CEO allocated adequate funds and started over two years ago. But, we've had three different companies, three different 'fix' programs, and we're still not sure that things all got done correctly." "This is Gayle Cordelle, RN, from (community name withheld). I'm an assistant v.p. or nursing, and I have to tell you that I'm afraid this whole place will blow up! Our CEO and the board of directors decided that the whole "Y2K Thing" is nonsense and they refused to spend any money at all on fixes. They said that "nobody can figure it all out, anyway," and that, if there are problems, they'll be able to spot them after they've happened and fix them then. And, we let these people breed! Use my name. There has to be a better place to work, anyway! EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll use you name, but not your city or state. Gayle, we really hope that it all works out for your hospital. It sounds as if you, at least, have a sensible head on your shoulders.
Staffing shortages at holidays...		47% of our respondents say that they have some fears that holiday staffing will be especially tight this year due to the Nursing Shortage and general staffing cutbacks. "I'm Martha Stendle, BSN, from Seattle. It's gotten so bad that our unit director has a tough time filling shifts now and she is already pullling her hair out trying to schedule everyone's requests for Christmas and New Years. She asked us just this morning if we know any Per Diem people that we could try to persuade to help out." "Hello, I'm Larry Ransoni, an ED nurse in Tacoma. Yes! We are worried about staffing - especially over the holidays. Our unit director has a note up on our bulletin board saying that our CNO will give us two days off next year in return for every one extra day that we're willing to work between December 20th and January 3rd. It's a great deal, but it shows how difficult it is to get people to work, especially during the holidays. I really hope the nursing schools start cranking out more RN's. I've worked two doubles already this week, and so has one of the ER docs!"
Is it okay for women to show anger as men do? "Nope!"		A whopping 86% of our respondents say that they believe that there is a double-standard when it comes to showing anger. Comments include that men can show anger but, when women do the same thing, it could hurt their careers. COMMENTS INCLUDE: "I'm Lorrie Nuse, RN, from Charlotte, NC. You bet! I'm not an angry-type person, but there are times when pressures or some idiocy drives you over the edge. If guys blow up, you hear people say, 'well, he sure told them!' But, if a woman says the same thing the same way for the same (justified) reason, people will say, 'wow, what a Queen Bitch she is today!' Double standard? 'Fraid so!" Both sexes should be allowed to express themselves equally. However I don't believe neither should be rude or ill-tempered around patients and/or their families. We are professionals and should be above that. I work in behavior modification and pyschology and find it remarkable that after working so hard to teach adolescents better ways to control their anger that such a question should come up on a web site for medical professionals. Let's get it together - if you are that upset excuse yourself and take a few private moments to recompose yourself! -- Sue Schmidt RN Lakeland Regional Hospital Springfield MO EDITOR'S NOTE: We agree, Sue. Anger is "real" and can often be appropriate. But, what is not appropriate is dramatically displaying it in public on a unit!
Majority of nursespolled feel that Advanced Practice Nursing is fine		67% of our nurse participants say that they feel our profession should be allowed to continue expanding its "scope of practice" options. Here are some comments: "I'm Carla Cummins, BSN, RN, and I'm a new grad. But, I entered nursing not just so I'd have a steady job, but so I could advance professionally. After getting my feet wet on a critical care unit, I plan go to back for my MSN and to eventually become a CRNA. Doctors do have a lot of training to do certain specialties, but it is absurd to assume that nurses can't obtain the very same training." "Hello, I'm a CRNA and would prefer that you not use my name because I have to work with physicians, which is often hard enough as it is. But, I'd just like to say that, to get through Nurse Anesthesiologist training, RNs have to have as high an IQ as any physician. Qualified is qualified. Period. Personally, I'd like to see licensure expanded to include minor invasive procedures, including suturing. Before becoming a CRNA, I worked for years in the ED. Probably half of the patients coming in could be adequately treated by an advanced practice nurse with the proper training...."
Nurses feel OK about Medicare studying Dr. Dean Ornish's Diet		71% of our callers feel that it's okay for Medicare to pay for research into the effectiveness of Dr. Ornish's higly-controversial low-fat diet. Here are some comments: "I'm Sherrie Higbee, RN, MSN, from Baton Rouge. I think that Medicare is pretty transparent on this -- they just want to save money. I'd rather see them restore some of their cuts so we can provide something that we know works: Nursing Care! "Hi, I'm Ron Walthram, RN, from Springfield, Ohio. Medicare is certainly just doing this to save money but, so what? If it can help old folks avoid highly-invasive things like open heart surgery, so much the better!"
Slim majority feels their hospitals are financailly-sound		Sadly, only 63% of our callers feel that their hospitals or clinics are financially-sound. Because of the sensitive nature of this question, we withheld names, but here are some comments: "I'm a staff nurse, so I'm not privy to what's really going on. But, judging from the way they're cutting corners -- and that we haven't gotten our raise this year -- I'd say we're in trouble." Our hospital is definitely in trouble -- they've told us so. I work for Vencor. I hope that their bankruptcy will straighten things out. This is a very nice place to work!"
Is your hospital or office experiencing the 'nursing shortage' yet?		39% of you say that, yes, the 'nursing shortage' has hit your hospital or office, and that it's getting difficult to fill positions. Betty Larramie, BSN, of College Station, TX, says, "we've always had trouble finding per diem and part time people. But, lately, it's tough filling fulltime posiiton, especially on evenings and nights." And, Loretta Simpson, RN, of Akron says, "I have a friend, Bonnie, in Human Resources. She says that nurses who interview for our positions tell her that they rather work for half the pay in a doctor's office than pull nights and weekends in a hospital. I think that the younger generation today just doesn't want to work bad enough to be inconvenienced."
Bosses want your ideas, but...		We asked if your hospital values your input. 56% of our nursing poll participants said that, yes, their hospitals encourage feedback and ideas from everybody, from staff nurses on up. A nurse from Bolder City, though, says that her particular hospital isn't always very good at taking that advice very seriously. "They say they want our ideas, and I believe that they're sincere," she tells Nursing Jobs Magazine, "but things get lost in the shuffle and we rarely see any of our ideas implemented -- even the really good ones."
If you suddenly lost your job, could you find another one just as good?		Only 34% of the nurses voting said that they think they could land another job just as good as the one they have now, if suddenly unemployed. Lori Sampsella, RN,of Springfield, IL, says that, even if you could find a "comparable" position, you'd have to start all over as far as being vested in your retirement fund, accruing vacation days, and so forth. Then, there's Cynthia, who is a former CNO who's position was eliminated when her hospital merged with the competition. She has taken a V.P. of Nursing position and says, "it's better than my last job, but I had to move six states south in order to get it. At least it was south!" And, we hear from a nurse who's name is being withheld who says, "I was down-sized out of my Home Health middle-management position and, due to physical constraints and poor job market, I am unable to secure employment."
Nurses tell politicians to reinstate healthcare funding!		We asked if you think the government should reinstate its recent healthcare funding cuts. Fully 96% (!) of our nurse voters said yes, the government should immediately reinstate the money it cut from medical reimbursement. Angela, a Phoenix RN, said, "the guys in government think they're so cool telling the constituents how much money they've 'saved' by taking urgently-needed money from the sick and elderly. It makes me sick, though! It's time we stop voting for people who cut healthcare spending. We need them like a hole in the head!"
Nurses say they intend to sign a Living Will		Nurses, everyday you see the importance of Living Wills in your work. So, we asked: do you have one? 48% of our nursing participants say that they have taken the time to write Living Wills. (We probably should have also asked: "Do you intend to?" because most of you said that you should and that you "really will do it when you find the time"!)
Not quite half of nurses feel staffing is adequate		It's a familiar refrain: "we don't have enough RN's for the patient load we're running." We desided to ask how many of you nurses feel that the staffing balance is okay. Only 42% of our nursing participants say that they feel that their units consistently have what they consider to be adequate nurse-to-patient ratios. Several have told us that it's due to financial cutbacks...whereas others have said that their hospitals are having a really difficult time finding RNs to fill vacancies.
Very few nurses fear health risk from gloves, equipment		With lawsuits raging against dozens of natural latex rubber glove manufacturers, only 4% of our nursing participants feel personally threatened by them -- or other hospital equipment. Two Florida nurses are sueing because of horrific allergies they developed, allegedly because of using gloves that carried no warning labels. The two say they are virtually "prisoners" in their homes now because they have become dangerously sensitized to the natural rubber latex in products ranging from carpet pads to automobile dashboards to computer keyboards. One nurse told us that, while gloves, sharps, etc., are always dangers, "it just goes with the territory." Another said she is much more concerned about health risks from bacteria and viruses.
After Y2K -- Healthcare may decline, say nurses		A mere 28% of our nurse respondants feel that we'll be able to provide as good healthcare in the next cuntury as we do today. Some feel that, while technology will be better, "bottom line management" and cost-cutting will offset medical gains. Angela, a med/surg nurse in Alexandria, Virginia, says "another problem is that fewer and fewer people give a damn these days. I hate to say it, but many doctors seem dumber, in spite of all the medical gains. Administrators are preoccupied with pleasing their boards of directors. And, regretably, many nurses are just sort of giving up, and are less conscientious. Now, this isn't an indictment of our industry by a longshot! The mediocre people are still in a minority, but I'm afraid that their numbers are growing. Generally, I don't think we're as dedicated as an industry today as we were in the past."
Most nurses feel it'll be harder to get good Joint Commission results		Bowing to government pressure that JCAHO "unnanounced" surveys are too soft, the oversight organization has agreed to stop giving 24-hours' notice after the first of the year. Fully 71% of our respondants say that they believe that ending JCAHO's "advance notice" for "unannounced surveys" will hurt their hospitals chances of getting a good report. Several said that unsigned paperwork suddenly gets signed, crash carts get re-equipped, and unsanitary areas suddenly get sanitized when Joint Commission gives its advance notice. As one nurse in Pittsburg said, "it's not that we have a bad hospital, because we don't. It's well-run by really conscientious management. It's just human nature, though, to tidy things up when you know company is coming -- particularly when that company gives you a rating that will be released to the general public."
"We don't particularly take care of our own health," nurses say		Only 19% of our nurse participants said that "take care of themselves" well. Carol from Sioux Falls told Nursing Jobs Magazine, "I keep meaning to walk every day, but I work nights, and am just too tired when I get home. I do use the stairs rather than the elevator at work, though! Does that count?" Lorraine from Waco said, "everybody knows that we nurses and doctors are the worst when it comes to taking care of ourelves -- and I'm sad to say that I am no exception!"
"Keep patient identifiers such as nametags," nurses say		As Congress prepares for its Patients' Rights legislation, a task force has recommended eliminating most "patient identifiers" to to protect anonymity. Should identifiers such as patient id bracelets, names on room doors, and names over patient beds be removed? Only 13% of the nurses who participated in our poll thought this would be a good idea. A Chicago nurse, Sue, told us: "doctors already complain that their names aren't on room doors. They'd go ballistic if the patients' names were removed!" Others thought that med and treatment errors would increase if the patient names were taken away, even ifpatient ID numbers were kept on. "Those numbers are just too long -- they're more for medical records than for any practical purpose on the nursing unit," said Ron, a med/surg nurse from Charleston, SC.
Incidence of infectious disease on upswing at your hospital.		A whopping 91% of the nurses who participated in our most recent poll said that their hospitals are seeing an increase in the numbers of infectious or antibiotic-resistant bacterial diseases such as AIDS, MRSA, VRE. Several said that they are either adding more reverse-airpressure rooms, or that the ones they have are in far greater use today than in the past.
Most of you say living to 100 is fine -- if health is good!		AARP has conducted a survey showing that most people would rather not live to be 100. Since nurses, are around death all the time...we decided to ask Do you if you want to live to 100? 88% of the nurses contacting us said that they'd gladly live to 100, if they could be guaranteed to have good health and keen minds. Several have said that they feel that an an active brain is more important than agility or mobility...but everyone is unanimous that they only want to live to bee 100 if they are free of serious pain.
Nursing today: harder than in the past.		Fully 83% said it's harder to be a nurse today than in the Past! Additional paperwork is seen as one of the major problems.... Several nurses cite as issues: vastly increased documentation, paperwork, legal requirements, regulatory pressures, and financial pressures, particularly having to do more with less.
Nurses feel the need for additional education		57% of our respondants said that they feel that they should continue their educations, even though they are currently nursing. Diane, a nurse, said: "Continuing education goes beyond being important. It is absolutely essential in these times of rapid innovations in healthcare delivery." Another nurse told us: "I knew a lot yesterday. As things change and as new technologies develop, though, I'll know less and less about my profession tomorrow -- unless I continue my education." Another said: "Personally, I feel that attending seminars to learn new skills should be enough. But, the reality is, nobody will hire me for management unless I get a masters degree. So, to get the initials I need, I'll go to night school."
Upwardly mobile? Pack your suitcases!		It used to be that, once you started working in a certain hospital, that was the hospital you spent your career in, and eventually retired from. Now, however, 32% of our nurse respondants said that they believe they'll have to change jobs in order to advance in their careers. Many said they already had. Others said that, not only would they change hospitals, but also geographic regions.
Gotta love that nursing career! Worked on the holiday?		27% of our respondants said that they had to work -- or went into work -- on the 4th of July Weekend. Most were nurses who staff units. However, many were supervisory, management, and administration nurses who said that they stopped by, even though not required to. Some said it was to show support for those who had no choice but to be there. Others said it was a quiet time to catch up on paperwork.
Headaches: many of you have them severe enough to affect you at work!		New research shows that headaches may be caused by abnormalities in the hypothalamus, particularly reoccurring ones. Until now, it had been thought that headaches were caused by things that caused brain activity. But, an English team has shown that brain structure (extra grey matter in the hypothalamus -- the "body clock" area) may cause them. Do headaches affect your work? (Some said that it isn't their brain at all...it's their bosses who cause them to have headaches!) 17% of you said you have headaches severe enough to affect your work at the hospital.
Majority of you favor Doctor-assisted suicides		Dr. Kervokian is convicted of murder in Michigan. But, over in Oregon, the state will pay for doctor-assisted suicides! Do you feel that it should be legal for physicians to assist people who want to die because of bleak medical conditions? 68% of you said that you favor ending legal sanctions on doctor-assisted suicide in cases where terrible medical conditions prompt patients to desire death.
We think cloning will be medically beneficial		42% of you said that, yes, you believe that human cloning will have definite medical benefits. However, several of you voiced fears about potential future abuses. (A follow-up survey details your specific fears.... See next item.)
Cloning of humans frightens most of you!		A whopping 73% of you said that the idea of cloning frightens you and raises personal fears about what kind of world we'll have in the future. Several of you said that you fear the classic sci-fi scenario wherein the politcally powerful will "create" a human sub-species of compliant workers, drones, who labor endlessly and who are genetically powerless to complain or improve their lot.
Computerized documentation at your hospital?		32% of our respondants say that, yes, they do have computerized documentation for their nursing units. Those who do are saying that, after some initial fears, they like it! Several said that there needs to be a better way to get all the departments (such as lab, pharmacy, admissions) to coordinate their data entries as well as make them in a timely manner. Few said their systems are totally smooth-running, but see the benefits once the "bugs" are worked out.
Would you become a nurse today?		76% of our respondants say that, yes, they would still become a nurse if they could begin their career lives all over again. Some said that the "hands-on" nursing of former days has been replaced by so much helpful technology that the "feel" of nursing is different -- but they'd do it again, anyway.
Fewer nurses, more aides, LPN's?		34% of our respondants said that their hospital has reduced the RN staff somewhat and brought in more aides, CNA's, and LPN's.
Do you fear downsizing?		39% of your nursing colleagues said that they live with the worry that a layoff will hit them because of money-saving or "down-sizing" at their medical center.

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