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1/ The more I read about nursing during the pandemic the more I understand why it all started with nuns/sisters: they had no family life or concerns, would accept orders without reasoning, were willing to be sacrificed for what they believed was god's will https://daily.jstor.org/how-courageous-should-nurses-have-to-be
2/Saw themselves as less worthy and sinners so were willing to accept all punishment, saw no need of acquiring new competencies as all was made with love and because love and charity, care was mostly free of charge. These were easy targets for exploitation in the name of religion
3/ We still have remnants of these behaviors today. In the UK nurses are still called Sisters and Matrons (time for a change, no?), around the world some nurses in leadership positions appeal to full-time dedication to the job (ignoring nurses have families)...
4/Nurses between themselves expect others to sacrifice their lives for the job, for the patients, or for whatever. Directors and healthcare institutions expect nursing care to be free as they refuse to pay overtime, or refuse to increase salaries as they increase workload
5/Politicians refuse to increase education standards for nurses and appeal to the vocation instead of education as they know very well the immediate costs associated with investing in the profession VS the medium-term gains from quality and safety educated nurses provide
6/In several parts of the world nurses make Florence Nightingale vows, which makes them psychologically and morally hostages of healthcare systems that don't provide them with safe work environments. Society refuses to pay for care (formal and informal), as it's associated
7/with female work.And society as a hole doesn't want to pay for work traditionally performed by women.And that's the biggest problem. So two final notes:nursing has a lot of baggage that is only there to oppress nurses and serve the traditional division of labor within hospitals
8/That luggage needs to be thrown away. And it starts with education within the profession. And it's urgent.
Second, the majority of the problems are not within nursing or nurses: healthcare as a profit is the major cancer for patients and providers
Second, the majority of the problems are not within nursing or nurses: healthcare as a profit is the major cancer for patients and providers
9/and the unwillingness of society to pay for labor associated with women is the second. So, as nurses we are responsible to get rid of the shackles that oppress us but we can't save the world alone. Society must change as well, we can contribute, but it's far from our reach.
10/10 I hope that knowing this difference will allow us to focus our energy where it matters and at the same time to feel less despair for what we can't control/change. Oh what a fight!
11/surprise!
And while we're at it, can we stop using that "most trusted professionals" argument, which means very little? What is worth to be trusted if you're not respected?
And while we're at it, can we stop using that "most trusted professionals" argument, which means very little? What is worth to be trusted if you're not respected?
