Kami had just ended her third 12 hour shift of the week. As a 40 year old woman, the demand was harsh on her body. By the 9th hour of the shift, she was usually dragging and praying for strength to finish the tasks at hand. “I cannot continue on like this,” she moaned, “something needs to change.”
The next day at work Kami began talking to Tracy, one of her good friends and co-workers. She discussed with Tracy her thoughts and complaints about the work hours for nurses- especially the lengthy shifts. Tracy piped in, “You should write to the Utah Nurses Association (1. Authoritative Organization), they exist to be an advocate for nurses in Utah, and I’m sure if you wrote a letter and got enough people to sign it, they would listen to your complaint. Who knows, maybe they would even discuss it at the annual Utah Nurses Association Conference (3. Influential Event)?”
“Yeah, maybe. I’m just not sure if I can get enough people to get on board with me to make a difference.”
“Well, you can start with writing an article in the Utah Nurse magazine- I know that’s how I stay connected with other nurses to know what’s going on with changes in our field and comments from other nurses (4. Authoritative Publication). I think if people saw your bravery to stand up on this issue, they would want to join your cause.”
Kami pondered on what Tracy had said. “You know, that’s actually not a bad idea. Even though it seems almost impossible to change much in our behalf, it can’t hurt to try.”
Kami worked on her idea for the next couple of weeks, collaborating with other nurses about how to be heard. She read through the endless Utah “Nurse Practice Acts”, and many of the other statutes and rules that applied (2. Regulation Standard). She wanted to have all of it sent in and seen before the next Utah Nurses Association Conference, so they would take it seriously enough to have it submitted to the Utah Board of Nursing, which is held monthly, and where the real changes take place (5. Challenging Authority/ Changing Standards). With all the support she was getting from nurses across the state, she knew their voices would have to be heard; even if it didn’t mean instant changes, the seed would be planted.
Good post, Kapri. I think it is interesting that Utah has a nurses association. I wonder if other states have them too (probably) and if there is a national one? But a local state one can probably help individual nurses better because it's on a slightly smaller level. I like how you used dialogue in the story to explain the information.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about this before, but it's great to know that Nurses have a way to communicate and influence their working conditions through these things.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about this before, but it's great to know that Nurses have a way to communicate and influence their working conditions through these things.
ReplyDelete