LETTERS
to the Editor
INTERVIEW WITH JULIE SOCHALSKI
As nursing students in an accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program, we found the advice to new nurses given by Julie Sochalski, PhD, RN, FAAN, former director of the Division of Nursing at the Health Resources and Services Administration, to be very helpful (“Interview with a Nursing Policy Leader: A Hopeful Look at a Changing Profession,” Policy and Politics, January). Throughout our journey toward becoming RNs, we’ve heard that we should “do a year” on a medical–surgical floor before attempting to follow our true nursing passions. Yet Dr. Sochalski points out that nurses will do their best when working in an area that truly interests and engages them, and she encourages new nurses like us to find an RN who is working in that area to AJN welcomes letters to the editor regarding recently published articles, although critiques of original research may be submitted at any time. Submissions must be typed, contain fewer than 300 words, and must include the correspondent’s name, city and state, phone number, and e-mail address. Please include no more than three references for any statistics or studies cited. Letters will be edited for length, clarity, and accuracy. Submission of a letter will constitute the author’s permission to publish it, although it doesn’t guarantee publication. Letters become the property of AJN and may be published in all media. Send letters to AJNLetters@ wolterskluwer.com, or AJN Letters, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 333 Seventh Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10001, or (212) 886-1206 (fax). [email protected]
provide us with leadership and advice. Perhaps this advice could ultimately lead to more nurses being retained in the workplace? Suzanne Bamberger Julia Barruzza Milton, MA
As a certified nursing assistant, LPN, and RN, I’ve always served the elderly population. Many of the patients I cared for were unable to find a practitioner willing to provide primary care services paid for by Medicaid. Locally, only two general practitioners are willing to see these patients, including those at the long-term care facility where I’ve been an RN unit manager for the past two years. Both have said that their commitment to the elderly is not for financial gain (there isn’t any, they point out), but because it’s the compassionate thing to do. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a beginning, as Dr. Sochalski notes. The negative effect on some people during this process may seem unfair or frustrating. But what is the alternative? Living without basic health care is not just treatment for the citizens of one of the world’s richest countries. If we move toward enhanced home care, preventive care, and community-based services, people may be able to stay in their own homes with more dignity than they do now under our current health care delivery system. Sharon J. Schuttauf, RN Raynham, MA
INTERRUPTIONS AND ERRORS
The postsurgery unit at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas, tried a similar approach to the one described in “The Sterile Cockpit: An Effective Approach to Reducing Medication Errors?” (Cultivating Quality,
February), and it was also not very effective. In my opinion, nurses must, by necessity of their job description, be the most interruptible people on the unit. They are responsible for intake and, essentially, for receiving input from everybody else on the floor. The nurse can’t say, “Oh, I’m sorry. I can’t help you now because I’m passing meds.” Most importantly, if the nurse appears unavailable to provide personal attention to a patient’s family, this can cause the family’s perception that their loved one is receiving poor care. The undeniable truth is that customer perception is the real driver of patient care. William Goble, RN Odessa, TX
STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT NURSING
I was so glad fellow reader Jamie Kuhlman, BS, RN, wrote a heartfelt response to Maureen Shawn Kennedy’s December 2013 editorial, “Straight Talk About Nursing,” in the February issue’s Letters column. Many nurses give their all. From early in my career, I’ve seen that patients who have visitors are treated and responded to differently than those who have no one visiting. I don’t think this is out of malice. Nurses simply can’t provide the type of care they’d like to all of the time. In some facilities where I’ve been employed, every patient was assigned a representative employee of the hospital (not necessarily a licensed nurse). It was helpful to think that someone was involved with each patient’s care. Everyone was expected to be a part of this effort, including the facility administrator. Done in a joyful, generous, nonpunitive manner, this practice can make a difference. Cindy L. Vardy, BSN, RN North Wales, PA ▼ AJN ▼ May 2014
▼
Vol. 114, No. 5
13
to the Editor
INTERVIEW WITH JULIE SOCHALSKI
As nursing students in an accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program, we found the advice to new nurses given by Julie Sochalski, PhD, RN, FAAN, former director of the Division of Nursing at the Health Resources and Services Administration, to be very helpful (“Interview with a Nursing Policy Leader: A Hopeful Look at a Changing Profession,” Policy and Politics, January). Throughout our journey toward becoming RNs, we’ve heard that we should “do a year” on a medical–surgical floor before attempting to follow our true nursing passions. Yet Dr. Sochalski points out that nurses will do their best when working in an area that truly interests and engages them, and she encourages new nurses like us to find an RN who is working in that area to AJN welcomes letters to the editor regarding recently published articles, although critiques of original research may be submitted at any time. Submissions must be typed, contain fewer than 300 words, and must include the correspondent’s name, city and state, phone number, and e-mail address. Please include no more than three references for any statistics or studies cited. Letters will be edited for length, clarity, and accuracy. Submission of a letter will constitute the author’s permission to publish it, although it doesn’t guarantee publication. Letters become the property of AJN and may be published in all media. Send letters to AJNLetters@ wolterskluwer.com, or AJN Letters, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 333 Seventh Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10001, or (212) 886-1206 (fax). [email protected]
provide us with leadership and advice. Perhaps this advice could ultimately lead to more nurses being retained in the workplace? Suzanne Bamberger Julia Barruzza Milton, MA
As a certified nursing assistant, LPN, and RN, I’ve always served the elderly population. Many of the patients I cared for were unable to find a practitioner willing to provide primary care services paid for by Medicaid. Locally, only two general practitioners are willing to see these patients, including those at the long-term care facility where I’ve been an RN unit manager for the past two years. Both have said that their commitment to the elderly is not for financial gain (there isn’t any, they point out), but because it’s the compassionate thing to do. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a beginning, as Dr. Sochalski notes. The negative effect on some people during this process may seem unfair or frustrating. But what is the alternative? Living without basic health care is not just treatment for the citizens of one of the world’s richest countries. If we move toward enhanced home care, preventive care, and community-based services, people may be able to stay in their own homes with more dignity than they do now under our current health care delivery system. Sharon J. Schuttauf, RN Raynham, MA
INTERRUPTIONS AND ERRORS
The postsurgery unit at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas, tried a similar approach to the one described in “The Sterile Cockpit: An Effective Approach to Reducing Medication Errors?” (Cultivating Quality,
February), and it was also not very effective. In my opinion, nurses must, by necessity of their job description, be the most interruptible people on the unit. They are responsible for intake and, essentially, for receiving input from everybody else on the floor. The nurse can’t say, “Oh, I’m sorry. I can’t help you now because I’m passing meds.” Most importantly, if the nurse appears unavailable to provide personal attention to a patient’s family, this can cause the family’s perception that their loved one is receiving poor care. The undeniable truth is that customer perception is the real driver of patient care. William Goble, RN Odessa, TX
STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT NURSING
I was so glad fellow reader Jamie Kuhlman, BS, RN, wrote a heartfelt response to Maureen Shawn Kennedy’s December 2013 editorial, “Straight Talk About Nursing,” in the February issue’s Letters column. Many nurses give their all. From early in my career, I’ve seen that patients who have visitors are treated and responded to differently than those who have no one visiting. I don’t think this is out of malice. Nurses simply can’t provide the type of care they’d like to all of the time. In some facilities where I’ve been employed, every patient was assigned a representative employee of the hospital (not necessarily a licensed nurse). It was helpful to think that someone was involved with each patient’s care. Everyone was expected to be a part of this effort, including the facility administrator. Done in a joyful, generous, nonpunitive manner, this practice can make a difference. Cindy L. Vardy, BSN, RN North Wales, PA ▼ AJN ▼ May 2014
▼
Vol. 114, No. 5
13
