Patient care is a top priority throughout the healthcare community, and over 12,000 healthcare professionals took a stand for passion for patients and the nursing profession. On June 10, 2010, Minnesota nurses with the National Nurses Union walked off the job for a one-day strike to protest patient issues, staffing concerns and better pay.
Although Minnesota Nurses Association and 14 local hospitals have yet to agree on the union’s protests at the time this article was written, the following video shows the dedication, compassion and concern these “patient advocates,” as one nurse calls them, have for their patients.
Many of these patient advocates are asking hospitals to maintain a better nurse-to-patient ratio. For example, nurses request 1 Registered Nurse to 4 patients in medical and surgical units, and 1 RN to 2 patients in critical-care units. These healthcare professionals are also saying that higher mortality rates could be linked to poor staffing, because nurses are unable to give proper attention to patients and are being pulled in several directions at once.
Opinions about patient care issues resonated throughout the healthcare community. A June 3rd Rue Education Facebook discussion asked followers their thoughts on patient/safety issues. Followers felt long hours with inadequate breaks, high nurse-to-patient ratio, and being called in multiple directions at once were among the top concerns that could affect patient safety.
With reform beginning to reshape the healthcare community, it will be interesting to see how the acts of LPNs/LVNs, Paramedics, Respiratory Therapists and other healthcare professionals will contribute to the future of healthcare.