Hundreds of nurses picket at SMDC
July 12, 2010 at 10:33 am in Duluth News Tribune
The union representing approximately 1,300 nurses at SMDC Health System and St. Luke’s Hospital called the picket to draw attention to what it believes are inadequate staffing levels. Continue Reading
There are an awful lot of people out of work in the Northland, and many more who are working two jobs to make ends meet. I don’t see well-paid nurses getting a whole lot of sympathy from those who are working 60 hours a week to make ends meet.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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If you think nurses are well paid, go to nursing school. With all the baby boomers getting older, I’m sure the job market for nursing and all of healthcare will get better and better in time. No one is stopping you from enrolling, then people like you wouldn’t have to work 60 hours/week just to make ends meet.
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Dark Knight – As an RN, I can tell you that the nurses are not fighting for more money.
We are fighting to provide better patient care for those who require our services. I don’t know if you’ve had to experience hospitalization, but I’m fairly certain you would much rather have a nurse who could take the time to get to know the reason why you’re in the hospital, what needs you may have, what medications you are prescribed (and why!), and what safety issues there may be than a nurse who is too overwhelmed from being forced to care for too many patients – a nurse who does not have the time to get to know their patients medical history, special needs, allergies, medications, or can safely carry out physician orders in a timely fashion, a nurse who is more likely to commit an error in patient care or one who injures themselves (or heaven forbid – the patient) because there is NOT ENOUGH STAFF. We are nurses for a reason – and for the majority of us – it is because we want to provide compassionate care to our patients, it is NOT for the money.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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But JB, every year the contract is up, there’s something else that the nurses are “potentially striking” about. I’m willing to bet that there are much worse working conditions and staff levels across the country. I’m also willing to bet that if the nursing staff levels are low, so are the doctors, pharmacists, nurse aids, janitors etc, which are all vital to patient care. Every 4 years (or whenever their contract is up), nurses in the area act as though they are the “end all be all” of health care. The truth is, there are many components to the team, some of which much more worse off than the nursing staff. Appreciate your jobs! Not everyone is as fortunate as you.
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bsquared –
agreed – there are many other places with much worse working conditions. And yes, each profession within a hospital’s organization is essential to it’s operation. My point was that the informational picketing that happened today was NOT a monetary issue – it’s a patient safety concern that most of the nurses share. I guess we have to “walk a mile” in each others shoes to truly understand the perspectives. And please also try to understand that we DO appreciate our jobs, especially in the current economical state – we just want to be able to do them safely.
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Compassionate care and do their jobs safely. Bull.
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