Reply #2: Excellent

[ismnotwasm]

One of the things I learned in nursing school, was to always question MD orders I wasn't comfortable with as well as to keep my practice current. Doc's are usually great, but not infallable as we all know. I'll never forget one of my instructor's telling us a story about a high dose of a drug, that had been questioned by 2 nurses, the floor and the charge nurse, BOTH of whom questioned the doctor, who insisted that the dose he ordered was the dose he wanted. It turned out to be lethal to the patient. Guess who was included in both a lawsuit and discliplinary action? Both nurses. Nursing is art and science. But we haven't learned to use our powerful voices effectively on issues that affect us (Some nurses do, the ones that do rock). If you look at any nursing union, when the shit hits the fan, what is almost always first on the list is patient safety--before money, before benefits. I was sitting in a seminar not too long ago, and part of it was asking why did you become a nurse. Almost every nurse mentioned caring and taking care of people, being of service to humanity. Me? I of course mentioned those things, but I also told them that I have strong political beliefs, and that I want to be a part of how nursing is evolving, I want to affect policy, to be proactive for nursing and nurses as well as patients. I stopped short of telling them that I was a left wing pinko feminist. Too much information Thanks for the post!