2020 was supposed to be the year of the nurse. What we thought would be a year of celebration was actually a year of strife where nurses were thrust into the frontline without adequate PPE, staff or support. Never has a year taken such a toll on our most trusted health care providers.
Time Magazine named Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as People of the year. This is an insult to nurses. With due respect to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, they have done nothing for our country as of yet. Whereas, nurses have served countless hours on the frontlines, saved thousands of lives and held patients’ hands in their deepest, darkest hours when family could not be with them.
I think Time made a huge mistake. Nurses have done more for the health and well-being of our country than anyone this year. Nurses have stood out in the cold testing people for COVID. They have exposed themselves to the virus when working without proper PPE. They have advocated for the health and safety of our citizens in our time of need. Time flat out goofed. Nurses are the true heroes this year and deserve the accolades. Although EmpoweredNurses.org is not Time Magazine, I declare nurses the People of the Year. Now, go out and celebrate all you have done and who you are in this crazy world!
In a recent COVID-19 nurse survey performed by HOLLIBLU and Feedtrail of 1200 nurses affiliated with 400 hospitals from all 50 states stated that 61% said they are likely to leave their current position or specialty. 67% said they were planning to leave the facility or industry altogether and 74% currently are experiencing high levels of anxiety and emotional stress. 94% of the nurses surveyed said they were in need of peer support groups, mental health counseling or financial assistance. Nurses should be receiving combat pay for working on the frontlines.
These survey results absolutely break my heart because nurses are the hardest working people in health care. We are shouldering the burden of this pandemic and deserve to be treated better. There must be care for the caregiver.
In another survey, performed by the American Nurses Association, 51% of nurses felt overwhelmed, 48% said they were anxious, unable to relax or irritable and 40% said they were sad. 60% said they were sleeping too much or too little.
Nurses feel supported by their families and peers while saying they put the health, safety, and wellness of their patients before their own.
While these results are concerning, I cannot stress enough that we are in a marathon and not a sprint. The end is not in sight for this pandemic and in order to be able to function, nurses need to put themselves first.
Fortunately, only 3% of the nurses surveyed have actually been diagnosed with COVID which is really good
It upsets me when I hear nurses say, “I got COVID and my hospital will not pay me during my absence.” Seek the assistance of a Workers’ Compensation attorney to get the help that you need. But, more importantly, do things to protect yourself and keep your strength and stamina for the long haul.
It’s also concerning where states such as Idaho are struggling to staff hospitals because travel nurses are working elsewhere. I cannot say it enough, we need to be prepared for the long haul, for the marathon and not the sprint.
Take care of yourself and now is the time to speak up and ask for what you need from your employer because they need you now more than ever.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state law, health care workers who test positive for COVID-19 yet remain asymptomatic are allowed to work on a COVID-19 unit as the governor just announced in North Dakota.
This is both somewhat shocking and scary because it is hard enough for nurses to work with COVID-19 positive patients but yet, working with positive co-workers?
Nurses are stressed to the max by facing COVID-19 on a daily basis and having to do more with less in fighting this disease. Many are at their breaking point. Some are so frightened that they even hesitate going to the break room to grab a bite to eat because they may be infected by a co-worker.
There have been reports such as nurses seen crying, even in their cars as many fear to go home because of the possibility of infecting their own family members. Now, if a COVID-19 positive nurse is allowed to come to work, it burdens the others with an additional set of fears and concerns like sitting in the break room or having a bite to eat.
Nurses are the first to tell others to wear masks, keep socially distant and stay at home once they come into contact with a COVID-19 positive person. And here we have nurses being asked to still go to work? This makes no sense.
Does your facility allow nurses to work even if they are found to be COVID-19 positive? Let me know your experiences and thoughts below.
I consider politics to be something personal but there were 2 interesting things that happened recently that I would like to share.
While volunteering at a poll for her first time, a nurse saw a woman pass out while waiting to vote at the Lucas Oil Stadium poll in Indianapolis. Colby Snyder stepped up to use an automatic external defibrillator to revive her while waiting for the ambulance to arrive. I think it’s amazing that this nurse was in the right place at the right time to save the woman’s life.
Snyder had been an RN for about 2 years having worked at IU Health Methodist in Indianapolis taking care of trauma patients. What a miracle that she just happened to be working at that time.
On another election front, Tarra Simmons was a Registered Nurse who developed a drug problem years ago. In 2013, she was working at Burger King worrying about how she was going to pay her rent. She had just been released from a 2-year prison sentence for drug and theft convictions.
Tarra said she could not get hired as a nurse again after her release and Burger King was the only place where she could find work. Her wages were garnished to pay court fines and she was trying to restore her relationship with her children.
She said that the barriers to succeed seemed overwhelming because she was unable to get her life back after prison. So, she made it her mission to fight for changes for people who had been released from incarceration.
Tarra went on to law school to become a civil rights attorney at the Public Defender Association and eventually became the Executive Director of the Civil Survival Project in Washington state, a non-profit group that helps former inmates navigate legal and financial barriers as they rebuild their lives.
She is all about second chances and focused her candidacy for the Washington state House of Representatives on prison reform in the hope of helping those with prison records to find housing and jobs to start anew with their loved ones … and she won!
While her story is not pretty, having quit school at 13 and become pregnant at 14, there was a lot of violence, drugs and alcohol in her home. Despite that, she was first in her family to graduate from high school and, at age 21, earned a bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University followed by an 11-year career as a Registered Nurse.
Unfortunately, she then started taking drugs to cope with depression which progressed to the taking of methamphetamines and alcohol. Tarra was arrested three times for selling drugs, being involved in a bank robbery, and ultimately sent to prison for a term of more than 2 years.
I love this story because anyone has the power within themselves to change and rehabilitate.
She met a law professor from Georgetown University who had a similar experience with a felony conviction and helped her to be able to take the bar which, at that time, was forbidden to felons in Washington state. The professor argued her case before the Washington Supreme Court which decided that very day in her favor.
She will be the first ex-convict to take a seat in the Washington House of Representatives as their state rep.
I love these comeback stories. If YOU know of any similar comeback stories, I would love to hear them in the comments below.
I am often asked by nurse business owners, “Can I hire someone to do my sales?”
If your business is new, you are the face of your business. No one can share your passion and values like you. People need to know, like and trust you before they will want to work with you. Your story of how you got started in your business is unique.
As nurses, almost all of us are uncomfortable with sales. Our patients (clients) came with the room and so we did not have to do anything to market … but we did. We had to market in terms of customer (patient) satisfaction and providing great care to these patients. We had to ‘enroll” our patients in taking their medications or being compliant with their care.
Sales is just a process of enrolling. I prefer the term enrolling because sales is something you do to someone; enrolling is something you do for someone.
Typically, the businesses that nurses are in are ones that help people that provide a service to them to help themselves. Although some nurse entrepreneurs sell products or have home healthcare agencies or staffing agencies, the vast majority of nurse owned businesses are in the teaching, education, consulting, and coaching areas.
Even if you do own a home healthcare company, staffing agency or sell a product, again, you are the face of the business. Your story of why you started this business is so important and people need to hear it. When people can see themselves in your story, they want to work with you.
I have developed a unique 5 step system of enrolling people to work with me.
I think will sound familiar to you!
ASSESS – What does the client really want? Go deep into the “why” so you can figure out how you can fill that need.
PLAN – What’s stopping them from getting it and what is your plan or idea to offer them to solve the problem?
INTERVIEW AND OFFER – Ask the client, “What do you like about what I just said?” Then make your offer to solve their problem.
EXCHANGE – If they say, “Yes,” ask for their credit card.
CELEBRATE – Validate that they made a good choice and celebrate them for saying “Yes” to themselves because so many people tend to put everything else first but themselves. If you have a product of service that could help them, they get to say “Yes” to themselves and we get to celebrate because, unfortunately, we as a society don’t celebrate when we make a good choice.
While it seems easy to have someone else do the selling for you, you will not get the results you would be doing it yourself. Some things can be delegated like administrative tasks but not sales.
So, if you are telling yourself a story like, “I don’t like sales,” sales is the bread and butter of your business and it is imperative for your business to be successful and for you master the sales conversation.
As easy as it seems that you would want to hire a salesperson for your business, it really isn’t and may backfire. People need to know, like and trust you before they are going to pay for your services.
If you would like more support with the sales conversation and growing your business, let’s schedule a call at CallWithLorie.com.
2020 has been a difficult year for nurses. I was thrilled to read a great article in my hometown magazine, the San Diego Magazine titled “5 Ways Local Hospitals Support Their Frontline Workers: The Programs That Help Care for the Caregivers.”
I am so happy that hospitals are now realizing that they need to help the world’s hardest workers. They put in 12-hour shifts, suit up in protective gear, battle infectious diseases, comfort families facing loss and can’t even visit their love ones, they face death and go home physically and mentally exhausted.
But … nurses go to work everyday with a smile on their faces even when the pandemic has shut down much of the world.
Some initiatives that these hospitals provide include access to emotional support programs, implementing robust telehealth systems, allowing staff flexibility working remotely and allowing patients to access care from home.
I’m not really sure this is as much for nurses as it is for physicians and nurse practitioners, but I am glad that they are recognizing these workarounds to help staff.
Another initiative is to prevent workplace violence. Mary Prehoden, a nursing supervisor at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, was viscously attacked by a patient in 2018. Violence against nurses has continued to rise over the past several years and due to many of societal issues such as untreated or undertreated mental illness, drugs, and alcohol, I think this number has probably increased during this difficult time.
What nurses have to endure, such as punching, kicking, biting, spitting, and using medical equipment at hand against the nurse is just brutal. Obviously, this takes a physical toll but also the mental aftereffects and PTSD from this can be life changing and career ending.
Scripps has made some headway in early identification of patients at risk for violence. They have visual cues outside patient rooms and armbands to help educate the staff. There also is a rapid response team and security to intervene to de-escalate the situation.
Unfortunately, there is no magic answer to this problem. Healthcare facilities can only share best practices to keep their staffs safe.
UC San Diego noted that female nurses die by suicide 58% more often than in the general female population while that number for the male population is 41% more often. UCSD created the Healer Education Assessment and Referral (“HEAR”) which is a simple, anonymous online screening to help identify healthcare professionals in crisis.
By raising awareness and reducing the stigma associated with getting help, nurses can get help when they need it.
In another program at Sharp Healthcare is a new graduate nurse residency program to provide a flexible supportive environment to help nurses to build confidence and thrive in their new roles. After an event occurs, they are provided a trained peer supporter to debrief and help the nurse’s transition to a new role. The philosophy is “let’s erase the nurses-eat-their-young stigma.”
Brady Children’s Hospital provides a program called Compassioned Peace and Renewal (“CPR”) for the soul; a program designed for nurses working with children with life-threatening illnesses. I think this is a wonderful initiative. However, it should be for all nurses, not just pediatric nurses.
In the summer between my son’s 6th and 7th grade, one of his classmates died in a car accident. When my son returned classes, the school had chaplains, social workers, and counselors available to help the children to deal with their feelings during that difficult time.
Nurses are asked to deal with difficult situations every day yet they do not get the support they need or even the time off to grieve and work through their emotions related to such incidents. Nurses are taught to just stuff it down and move on because there is work to be done.
What initiatives do your healthcare institutions have in place to help nurses during these difficult times and situations? I’d love to hear in the comments below.
Lorie Brown, Nurse Attorney, of Brown Law Office, P.C. and EmpoweredNurses.org, interviews Doris Carroll, President of Illinois Nurses’ Association and founder of Nurses Take D.C., to discuss the recent Nurses’ Strike in Illinois including Safe Patient Limits, Mandatory Masking, PPE for Nurses, and COVID Hazard Pay. Also discussed is the mission of Nurses Take D.C. and how to help get legislation passed for Safe Nurse Staffing Ratios. Find more information at www.IllinoisNurses.com and wwwNursesTakeDC.com, wwwNursesTakeDC.com, or DCarroll@IllinoisNurses.com (317) 465-1065
The union specifically demanded that Montefiore Medical Center (1) increase the number of PPE available to nurses including respirators and gowns, (2) provide proper areas to put on and take off PPE so that disease free areas in the Center do not become contaminated, (3) make COVID testing available on demand as needed and (4) allow nurses to take steps to early statutorily-protected leave or accommodations to preserve their physical and emotional health.
Any time there are situation where an entity is seeking court intervention, just like the case that I presented last week with the strike at the University of Illinois-Chicago, the hospitals must keep patient care at the forefront.
This Court issued a ruling making patient care the top priority. Just like the situation with the University of Illinois-Chicago nurses’ strike, the court ruled that, in the interest of patient care, not all of the nurses could go on strike.
In the Montefiore matter, the court was asked to dismiss the case stating that the resolution of the matter lay with the parties’ collective bargaining agreement and can be brought to the court only under limited circumstances. The court ruled that it lacked the ability to grant the NYSNA’s injunction.
Although the court praised the parties saying they both had valid concerns but that lives may be in the balance. It added the NYSNA deserves as much yet the court still ruled that it was unable to assist in this matter.
The court required mediation be conducted before it would rule on the matter but that mediation was not successful. The court then suggested submitting the dispute to arbitration to resolve the dispute between the employer and the union regarding safety issues in the workplace.
Unfortunately, when arbitration is required in these types of agreements, the parties waive their right to a trial by a jury of their peers. This is a Constitutional right.
In fact, there was a sexual harassment claim against two top Google executives. These claims were repeated by a number of women alleging sexual harassment.
Unfortunately, all of these claims that were put through arbitration, were kept confidential.
Google did the right thing by removing forced arbitration clauses from the agreements so the truth can be told, and the employees retained their constitutional right to trial by a jury of their peers. This came about as a result of a stage walk out and protest.
When you see arbitration agreements in things that you sign, beware and be careful to know that by signing them, you are waiving your right to a jury trial.
These agreements are prevalent in nursing home and nurse practitioner contracts.
Although the outcome was not what I would have liked to have seen for the nurses and NYSNA, because I do believe that nurses should have the right to proper equipment to protect them against COVID, the court had a difficult time evaluating the case because I truly believe the court wanted to help yet had to stay within the 4 corners of the agreement which required arbitration.
I am curious what you think about giving up your right to a trial by jury with these arbitration agreements. I would love to hear your comments below.
When COVID-19 first erupted, nurses showed up to the University of Illinois Chicago Hospital to care for affected members of the community in their great time of need. The nurses risked their lives and those of their families to be at their job while the rest of us were in lock down.
A week ago, when the union contract at the Hospital ended and the parties were unable to agree on a new one, 1300 nurses were ready to walk off the job. But, citing patient safety concerns, a judge issued a temporary restraining order limiting the number of nurses who could physically strike. On Monday, September 14, 2020, in numbers that did not exceed the restraining order, the nurses did go on strike.
WOW! What an ethical dilemma! Can you imagine if you wanted to strike and were not allowed to, or nurses didn’t want to strike but were forced to go on strike? Either way, nurses would find themselves in an extremely difficult position.
At the time of this writing, the strike is in its fourth day without resolution as the nurses are negotiating for better pay, more PPE and increased staffing.
Not only is the nurse’s union on strike but also the Hospital Workers Union has walked out as well.
Even in inclement weather in Chicago during this time, nurses were walking the line to make their point that patients are in jeopardy with the inadequate staffing of the hospital. There are minimum staffing requirements for childcare and dog kennels. Certainly, there needs to be nurse-patient ratio requirement in health care.
California is the only state that nurse-patient ratios have been enacted and that is working well. However, I understand there were some unintended consequences with loss of support staff. This will need to be built into whatever agreements are reached.
The University of Illinois Chicago Health is importing nurses from COVID-19 “hot spots” to care for their patients. Again, this is a difficult situation for those imported nurses. Do they cross the strike line to care for patients and make a lot of money or stand in support of their fellow nurses and not cross the strike line?
It is unfortunate that after more than 20 negotiating sessions a settlement has not been reached. Nurses deserve to get top compensation. They deserve to come to work knowing that they can do their job without putting their patients in danger by ensuring adequate staffing.
The Reverend Jesse Jackson of the Rainbow Coalition joined in the striking nurses to march in support.
In a statement by Doris Carroll, the President of the Illinois Nurses’ Association, “Nurses who cross the picket line hurt the nurses who are fighting for better work conditions at the hospital. It’s always about staffing. Because nurses know what our patients need.
And when you tell me you do this because we couldn’t strike without you, strikebreakers, you are wrong. I have the Federal law on my side. I organize nurses to unite. Your desire to work at job actions destroy what we’ve built. A family of nurses united to stand for safer patient care, respect, and dignity.
You don’t know my nurses, our hospital, or our patients….
We are not your enemy. We are your sisters and brothers.”
There has not been a strike at the University of Illinois-Chicago for 40 years. This says a lot about this union and its effectiveness in negotiating. While I do not take a position on unions, I do feel that it is one way to advocate for change. Tolerating a situation as is, serves no one. We all need to speak up in whatever form to create the change we want to see to improve patient care including mandatory minimum staffing. There is a plethora of evidence based literature showing adequate staffing
reduces medical errors and medication errors;
decreases mortality;
improves patient satisfaction;
reduces nurse fatigue;
decreases nurse burnout;
improves nurse retention and job satisfaction.
It is unfortunate that, at this time, this matter has not been resolved.
Employment law was constructed out of a master/servant relationship. There are very few instances where you can sue for wrongful termination. Those are limited to discrimination against sex, age, race, and religion. However, under the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment in the workplace is a form of sexual discrimination which is protected.
Unfortunately, sexual harassment against nurses is not new. Physicians, predominantly male, who feel dominant and superior have sexually harassed nurses and even female physician residents. Reverse discrimination can occur when female nurses harass male nurses.
Sexual harassment can take the form of physical harassment of a sexual nature or verbal harassment with offensive remarks. In a recent case, a Florida RN, Chelsea Jackson, was allegedly the target of sexual harassment at a pediatric medical practice where she worked. CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE She filed and was successful in an EEOC claim on which the Commission is now filing a discrimination claim against the pediatric medical practice which has approximately 50 physicians across 14 locations in Tampa, Florida.
The nurse in this case, Ms. Jackson, began her career as an LPN, switched to part time while attending nursing school and then became a registered nurse. During her employment, one of the physicians would forcefully press himself against her back for several seconds when she was at a desk and could not move. He would also grab her hip and firmly squeezed it when she walked by. Although, the employer has a no harassment policy, Ms. Jackson perceived this as sexual harassment and filed a complaint.
Her employer claims that they were unable to substantiate her allegations.
However, in retaliation for her reporting sexual harassment, they wanted to transfer her to a different office away from that particular physician.
The transfer caused her a personal hardship because she would be working further from her home, she would lose time with her children and would have to make different arrangements for the care of her children.
Her employer then created a new position with no nursing duties, instructed her not to perform any work on this particular doctor’s patient’s medical records and cut her pay. By stripping her of her duties and reducing her pay, they effectively constructively terminated her from her employment.
These cases are so interesting, and I have represented nurses on both sides of the equation. They are difficult because they’re clearly a he-said/she-said situation.
You never know when someone will make a claim against you or, in the converse, you will be a victim of sexual harassment. You must tell your supervisor in order to submit a claim. Either you speak up and deal with the ramifications or suffer. It is a lose/lose situation no matter what.
I don’t really have an answer for you in these situations but, just know that if you are a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace … leave. Going to the EEOC or even undertaking a court proceeding is like an autopsy where they look at every aspect of your life.
The best defense is to, if possible, avoid these situations.
While I respect that nurse for speaking up and telling her employer what happened, unfortunately, now, the saga continues.
I wish for the best in any nurse having to be subjected to any type of discrimination.
