FROM THE EDITORS
MARTHA K. RAYMOND, RN. BSN. SS
NURSES ARE BULLIES. Not ail of
them, mind you, but the ones who bully patients are the scourge of the profession. And the biggest nurse bullies are probably in California, where a lax state Board of Registered Nursing has in some cases taken more than three years to prosecute and discipline malicious nurses. The Los Angeles Times revealed in a series of articles published starting on July 12 that under the guidance of 16-year veteran Ruth Ann Terry, Executive Officer of the board, the most miscreant and vile nurses were allowed to continue to prey on the innocent and meek. When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was alerted, he quickly stepped in, swept the board, and appointed six new members, out of seven seats. A couple of the scenarios are particularly disturbing. For example, "a nurse twisted the jaw of one patient until he screamed. He picked up another o n e ^ an elderly, frail man—by the shoulders, slammed him against a mattress, and barked, 'I said, 'Stay in bed.'"' In another instance, a nurse's pattern of inattention started in 2004 when she was suspended for giving an anticancer drug to a meningitis patient. While still working as a nurse, she allegedly failed to check a critically ill patient's heart-rate monitor. The damning evidence was that she supposedly charted vital signs at a time when the man was already dead. This time she was fired, and in 2007 the board filed a public accusation against her—though disciplinary action is still pending.
While reading the stories, a single thought plays over and over. For the seventh consecutive year, nurses were voted the most trusted profession in America in Gallup's annual survey of professions for their honesty and ethical standards. In contrast, the public often deems politicians and athletes as villains and masters of immorality. But maybe it's not so simple as merely taking a poll and relying on universal stigmas distinguishing the good guys from the bad guys.
the final round, when the panel is blindfolded. I'm pretty sure that the images of Ruth Ann Terry, Gov. Schwarzenegger, and the Terminator would lend some bias to the guesses in the game. Who looks like the biggest bully? And who looks the most ethical? In view of the story, it seems as if each statement may have been made by at least two players, but do your best, and then e-mail me your answers at
[email protected].
To put this to the test, I'li assume that one way to judge the true nature of a person is through his words. After reading a number of news articles on this nursing board crackdown, 1 found it difficult to discern whether actions speak louder than words or if it's the other way around. I'm stiti not sure, so I want to ask you to help me determine who is the villain and who is the hero by listing some statements made by two key players, Ruth Ann Terry and Gov. Schwarzenegger, involved in the California Board of Registered Nursing debacle. To add some whimsy, the third player will be the action character the Terminator, from the movie series of the same n a m e specifically Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
»I swear I will not kill anyone.
The best approach involves revisiting the classic TV game show "What's My Line?" in which the objective was for a panel to ask questions to help them guess the unusual occupation of the contestant. However, here I'll set it up a little differently. You will have to match the spoken line to the contestant. Just to be fair, the entire game will be played as though it's
>It's in your nature to destroy yourselves.
S>My mission is to protect you. »This nurse has committed a crime. >rn take care ofthe police. >It is unconscionable that the board has not acted faster. >Weed out the had actors. >It has to end here. >No. There is one more. »Terminated. »Why do you cry? SWe take what we do—protecting the public—very, very seriously. S>Money has absolutely nothing to do with efficiency. »It s not going to happen overnight. »The disciplinary process needed .streamlining. »Trust me.
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