Comments for Nurse Power!

Comment on Could What Happened to Amanda Trujillo Happen To You?? by Vernon Dutton

Vernon Dutton — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:50:03 +0000

Post by Matthew Browning in support of Amanda Trujillo deleted by American Journal of Nursing

http://vdutton.posterous.com/post-by-matthew-browning-in-support-of-amanda

Comment on Could What Happened to Amanda Trujillo Happen To You?? by OlderNurse

OlderNurse — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:40:38 +0000

My heart goes out to Amanda, it seems the basic rules we have worked with for years in nursing are being twisted and turned by employers these days and they no longer have any respect for most nurses. It’s all about big business, $$$. It’s sad to see greed be the foundation of everything in this world, including health care. 40% of people in the US DO NOT have healtcare coverage…that’s astounding. People are choosing to die because they will be bancrupt otherwise. It’s really tragic.

I too was fired from a dialysis unit. I was newly hired, still on the 90 days probation…but I was very experienced and had MORE experience than the current staff combined.

The dialysis unit was hospital based, an acute care unit. One of the patients dialyzing lost approx. 400ml of blood of when the machine malfunctioned. I pulled the machine and tagged it for biomed to repair, taking it out of service. The next morning, the nurse in charge removed the tag and put that broken machine back in use. Another patient was put on that machine…and they too lost their blood. I AGAIN tagged and removed that machine. The Nephrologist came in and saw the tubing on the machine with blood in it…400ml of HIS patients blood and asked what happened. I explained. He was furious…as he should be.
I told him I removed the machine twice…management was upset with me for doing so and I expected to be fired for it. He said, “no way will that happen”.

Next day, I was fired.

Comment on Could What Happened to Amanda Trujillo Happen To You?? by Gretchen (Nursing Student)

Gretchen (Nursing Student) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:01:06 +0000

Thank you so much Donna! I am a nursing student in Colorado, and although, this happened in AZ, I think it is important that this spread like wildfire. I am going to share this story with my Nursing Instructors. We have Banner Health Facilities in Northern Colorado, and this story does not paint Banner in a good light either. I think that AZ BON and Banner need to go back and understand that what Amanda Trujillo did, was in her scope of practice and is expected of us, as Nurses, to advocate for the patient. Thank you.

Comment on Could What Happened to Amanda Trujillo Happen To You?? by Silvia

Silvia — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 23:59:00 +0000

In reading Ms Trujillo’s statement of what occurred, in her own words, I feel as a nurse, she did the right thing. I also have to ask-when the pt agreed to this procedure, and the pt had to sign off on the procedure form, stating the pt is aware of the procedure, risks etc… WHO signed ooff on that as a witness to the pt “understanding” the procedure etc?
When pt’s sign procedural consent forms, I always add on-(witenss to signature only) because it is the doctor that has to go into detail with the patient of the procedure and prognosis etc. Sure Nurses can help educate the pt but ultimately it is the dr that has to explain it to the pt.

and I agree, this should have been taken up by the ethics committee of the hospital. Doctors get a slap on the wrist and nurses get fired. It is unfortunate what happened to Ms Trujillo, and as nurses, we are comitted to our patients, career and to stand up for what is right.

Comment on Could What Happened to Amanda Trujillo Happen To You?? by marla

marla — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:17:50 +0000

The hospital that Amanda was working at has a long history of abusing and then turning on their employees. Del Webb Hospital seriously needs to be scrutinized

Comment on A Nurse’s Passion by suki

suki — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:09:16 +0000

True nursing is a passion. Too bad nurses in general have allowed OTHERS to define what our career will be like. I have a heart for nursing. My patients keep me going all shift long. It is so hard to see my beloved career destroyed as it is today.

Comment on Expanding Your View of Nursing by suki

suki — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:56:53 +0000

Nursing will NEVER become a true profession. Why? We have too many codependent nurses too willing to NOT stand up for themselves or the patients. We have way too many mentally unstable nurses in management that have no clue what they are doing. But the biggest reason? We have CEO’s and administrators taking advantage of the nurses. GREED is ruining this thing called the nursing profession. Turn off the J&J commercials. It is a joke.

Comment on Could What Happened to Amanda Trujillo Happen To You?? by Patty Hedrick RN BSN BA CRRN CCM CLCP

Patty Hedrick RN BSN BA CRRN CCM CLCP — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:17:14 +0000

Amanda Trujillo’s story should be a wake up call to every nurse, that we need to not only be advocates for our patients, but advocates for our fellow nurses.
This is a time for us to all stand together and help right a wrong. Nurse’s have rights too and one of our rights is to provide support and patient education. One of our fundamental roles as a Nurse is to educate and advocate for our patients.Nurses are one of the most trusted professions, because we are there for our patient’s best interest. Now we need to be there to support Amanda Trujillo for honoring one of the principal roles of nurses.

Comment on Could What Happened to Amanda Trujillo Happen To You?? by Caryl J. Carver, RN, BSN

Caryl J. Carver, RN, BSN — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 05:41:08 +0000

Tracy– I am so sorry to hear you were terminated for doing the RIGHT thing. I, too, was terminated from my employment in 2007 after I reported the hospital were I had been working to OSHA after management there told me I could no longer wear exam gloves when I transported patients. After giving numerous examples of how an OR nurse is exposed to body fluids when transporting patients, even the Infection Prevention and Control Department at this facility sided with management. I get furious whenever I hear of nurses who are punished for doing the RIGHT thing. Somehow we have got to make the public aware of just how serious the future of healthcare is in this country.

Comment on Could What Happened to Amanda Trujillo Happen To You?? by Tracy Sutton

Tracy Sutton — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:38:09 +0000

It made me sick to read about Amanda’s situation. I am an RN-BSN in Missouri and currently working on my MSN-FNP. I went through a similar situation & was terminated 2 months ago. I had worked at the hospital for 7 years with a “perfect record” so to speak. The doctors respected me, the care I provided to the patients and trusted my judgement. I rarely called in, was never a minute late and had never been in any trouble whatsoever. I am a psych nurse & if I felt patient care was compromised, I felt it was my duty to speak out. There were a total of 4 serious issues in 7 years, please don’t get the impression that I was constantly complaining to management. This did not make me a popular person with my nurse manager & she made my job miserable for years. I continued to work there because I love working psych & there are not many available psych jobs within an hour of my home. I worked nights so that helped my situation as the manager worked days. Long story short, they wanted me to do an assignment the following week that I felt would constitute pt abandonment. I told them I would check into by calling the MOBON to clarify pt abandonment. I did so & was prepared to carry out the assignment per direction of the board. My director & manager actually told me I had no right to contact the state board. I had never been in trouble, but I was wrote up as a final warning/suspension, was demoted from senior to staff nurse, placed on a 90 day probation and my pay was cut by 6%. I was forced to attend 9 meetings with my manager & director & was yelled at, threatened, demeaned & accused of not having proper values. Yes, I did speak back to them & reminded them of all the unethical situations I had reported to them over the years that they failed to correct. There are cameras all over the psych unit & there is a nurse that falls asleep every night she works. I was seen on camera walking by her & not waking her as was every staff member that worked that night. Also, a security guard was sitting 3 feet away from her the entire shift. My termination reads, “Failure to act as a Mercy nurse is expected when observing another nurse sleeping on the job.” The nurse that was sleeping was not terminated, neither was the security guard or any other staff member. Thankfully, I haven’t been reported to the state board at this time. I think the public would be shocked if they knew half the things that actually go on in hospitals today. My administration had little regard for or care & the nurses were afraid to speak up. Most of the nurses I worked with would not even assess their patients! Management rewards the lazy & attempts to ruin the reputations of nurses that actually do care for pts. I will never work in a hospital again for fear of losing my license. I feel terrible for Amanda & support her fully. I am not sure nursing can survive if we are not allowed to perform our job as set out by our state’s BON.