After the virus, I hope for the great balancing - Appreciating nurses
Posted over 5 years ago by Meredith Roberts
In the Stowe Reporter, Senecal shares:
....What we’re seeing in hospitals right now isn’t normal, but what was normal before the pandemic was already untenable and unacceptable for nursing staff. Across the country, our nursing shortage is dire and getting worse. Nurses are being asked to work longer and longer shifts caring for an increasing number of patients.
Those factors, as well as compensation that is too low for a job that takes a huge psychological and physical toll, contribute to nursing schools that are turning out fewer and fewer new graduates. Nurses face verbal abuse, threats and violence more often than correctional officers — and aren’t equipped to defend themselves. OSHA figures show that 75 percent of the 25,000 workplace assaults that take place annually are committed in hospital and social service settings. That’s the normal they faced before COVID-19.
Not only has this tragedy shown society’s ability to change quickly when we need to, but it’s shown us so much of what we need to change. The question is, after so many have made sacrifices and put themselves at risk to keep us fed, safe, learning, and cared for, will the rest of us be willing to make sacrifices for them?