Eydawn Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 First: Crotchity is a troll. Yet again. Try working as a floor nurse and having to actually stay on top of the 15 million things that you are responsible for on any given shift. Good luck... Second: Is it ethical for these nurses to strike? I guess the better question is whether striking is an ethical means by which to attempt to gain resolution to workplace issues. If striking is ethical, then yes, a nursing strike is also ethical. Workplace abuse is wrong, no matter what field it occurs in, and workers have the right to attempt to speak up for themselves. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Wendy CO EMT-B 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentoli Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 First: Crotchity is a troll. Yet again. Try working as a floor nurse and having to actually stay on top of the 15 million things that you are responsible for on any given shift. Good luck... Second: Is it ethical for these nurses to strike? I guess the better question is whether striking is an ethical means by which to attempt to gain resolution to workplace issues. If striking is ethical, then yes, a nursing strike is also ethical. Workplace abuse is wrong, no matter what field it occurs in, and workers have the right to attempt to speak up for themselves. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Wendy CO EMT-B Is it ethical for the agency nurses to cross pickett lines to provide care to the patients inside, who had no control over the working conditions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eydawn Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Yes. Agency nurses are just that- nurses who work for a contract based agency. Someone's got to provide care to the patients, and not allowing agency nurses to cross the line while you are protesting would be unethical. Let me tell you- Agency costs a metric CRAP TON. I know we pay out almost double, sometimes more for care providers and nurses at my facility when we have to use pool instead of covering gaps in-house... using agency nurses is a stopgap at best. And, most agency nurses, seeing the conditions and employer, would not step up to replace the nurses who were striking, would be my bet... Wendy CO EMT-B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentoli Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Let me tell you- Agency costs a metric CRAP TON. I know we pay out almost double, sometimes more for care providers and nurses at my facility when we have to use pool instead of covering gaps in-house... using agency nurses is a stopgap at best. And, most agency nurses, seeing the conditions and employer, would not step up to replace the nurses who were striking, would be my bet... Anecdotally, I was told nurses were flocking to Cali last year for the nursing strike. A combination of CA's OT laws, and probably just the location itself helped that. I understand what you are saying about the expense too. Amanda looked into Agency Nursing briefly, before she realized the travel commitment, they make some killer pay. That money has to come from somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eydawn Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Mm, I meant the agency nurses would not leave their agency position to be hired on by the hospital to permanently replace the striking nurses. Saw how that was kind of poorly worded there... make more sense this way? Of course, agency will flock to a strike- it means work available. Will they quit the agency and work for the company being pressured by the strike? Nopes. Wendy CO EMT-B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentoli Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Mm, I meant the agency nurses would not leave their agency position to be hired on by the hospital to permanently replace the striking nurses. Saw how that was kind of poorly worded there... make more sense this way? Of course, agency will flock to a strike- it means work available. Will they quit the agency and work for the company being pressured by the strike? Nopes. Wendy CO EMT-B Much better, and I agree with you there. You need to learn how to articulate your point better, college student. (Side note: I will be a college student again this summer! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crotchitymedic1986 Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Thank you for the compliment, troll in here is a compliment. I am not saying nurses do not earn their pay, but to say they work as hard as say a construction worker is laughable. I have worked ER and ICU, and yes I stayed on my feet and moving for 12 hours, but I rarely broke a sweat. I imagine these nurses are paid very well compared to the average person in any other industry. I would fire them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 That may be so but nursing is more mentally demanding than physically. My little brother is an apprentice builder and he certainly has a lot more benefits than I ever will as a nurse. He didn’t finish high school but you don’t need a high school certificate to become a builder, a monkey could pass there building exams, they don’t have to work shift work, his paid to study and attend work, they don’t have to work weekends and no matter how many post graduate degrees I ever obtain he will always be paid more. I pay $17,000 to do a 4 year nursing degree, I work night shift and weekends to pay my way through university, I attend university full time and my work is 2 hours away which equates to 14 hours driving per week on top of 30 hours of night shift and 16 hours at university plus study and assignments. At the end of my 4 year degree I’ll be paid an average wage and about $40,000 less than a qualified builder. So fire me, maybe I could find a better paying job with a better lifestyle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippyRN Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 I've been watching your posts for quite some time and generally ignore your attitude and posts. What gives? Are you just looking to upset people or do you honestly think what you type is good information? I would love to see you be a floor nurse for one shift and get your ass handed to you. most EMS personnel who haven't worked as Nurses or HCA /CNAs would get their backside handed to them on a plate to work as a floor nurse and that's before even considering the technical skills they don't have... Unions seem to be another thing where the USA has taken a perfectly good system and messed it up, no doubt helped by the fact that the US retains closed shop practices with regard to unions, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crotchitymedic1986 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 To answer your question: Yes I know nurses, and I have worked the ER in a busy trauma center. Is Nursing work busier than EMS work, yes. Is it backbreaking labor, no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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