We Are Worth It

I wrote this blog in Feb 2022 in the midst of the pandemic while working in a COVID ward. Around that time my NSW colleagues had taken strike action due to serious concerns about the quality of care they were able to give. Unacceptable nurse:patient ratios and pay inequity the major problems

Now, November 2022 i can sympathise with the plight of NHS nurses in the UK. Underpaid, under- staffed, working mandatory 12 hour shifts, the pandemic was the straw that broke the camels back. Maintaining the sympathy, compassion, resilience and energy needed for this job with those conditions and the UK government ignoring their concerns and requests, seems they’ve no choice but to strike.

There’s a strong sense of purpose in this job, great personal satisfaction can be gained knowing you make a difference, a positive contribution to peoples lives. It’s not for the faint hearted. Emotional strength, unflappability, sympathy, compassion and firm boundaries. A “do no harm, take no shit.” attitude.

Lacking these qualities the job might hurt you or you might inadvertently hurt the very people you’re meant to be caring for.

The business of nursing brings us into the messy swampland of human suffering, illness and death.

Gutkind, Lee, Ed

Working on the wards of a large Australia tertiary hospital means …

Being able to think on your feet.

Prioritising effectively.

Planning ahead for any eventuality but focusing in the moment.

Juggling lots of balls in the air at once.

Recognising when you need help and communicating it.

Not being phased by constant interruptions.

Learning the ability to split attention in several ways and stay calm.

Supporting and teaching students.

Working in poorly designed small spaces.

Giving PINCHA meds safely

Working when tired.

Mountains of paperwork and admin.

Learning to avoid a continuous mental rehearsal and analysis of all the other things you should be doing or should have done.

Recognising and managing your mental energy pool, it has a limited amount of space.

Being kind to patients and families always.

Seeing the good in colleagues, looking out for them , always

Planning, gate keeping, spinning plates, thinking critically, assessing risk, pain, haemodynamic status , GCS scores, a world of cannulas lines and pumps

Balancing fluids in and out , emptying catheters , emptying drains, emptying vomit, spit, blood

Washing bodies , dressing wounds , giving heat packs, clean sheets , making comfortable. That’s what we do

Calculating , checking ID’s and allergies , signing over and over , giving drugs to help people die peacefully , alleviate pain and nausea , kill bacteria , assist failing hearts , kidneys , lungs , keep minds intact

Drugs that can harm or cause death if given incorrectly. The responsibility is immense

This is nursing.

Now, add in the emotional demands of nursing patients in a global pandemic , a COVID ward

Do all the above with the physical discomfort of hot , sweaty , necessary layers of PPE on head , face and body

Do all of the above , add in a little background fear (despite being as protected as you can possibly be) for your own safety , as you work at the COVID coalface

I think about those working ICU’s nationally and globally, the increased workloads , the hours working in full PPE , can’t fathom the discomfort.

A steady stream of patients come through our COVID ward with symptoms bad enough to need hospitalisation. Elderly, pregnant, with existing lung disease, midst chemotherapy, with disabilities or deteriorating mental health. They’re all vulnerable, Covid for them hugely problematic.

The patient with plummeting oxygen levels despite high flow oxygen, coughing, coughing , coughing, looks at you with frightened eyes , you smile and reassure as you call for help, duck feed paddling furiously

Transferring an acutely unwell patient to ICU it’s a relief to watch colleagues take over and stabilise the patient, seamlessly doing what is needed.

Now they’re struggling

Today NSW nurses have taken strike action , primarily because of unsafe nurse:patient ratios leading to missed care and mistakes. COVID has amplified this , the NSW government backed down on an agreed pay rise , pressers state that hospitals are “coping. ” That is not what we hear from nurses on the ground.

We rarely take strike action , it’s almost unheard of but these nurses are exhausted, at their wits end, have serious concerns about the quality of care they’re able to deliver. Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union secretary Beth Mohle said this

It has taken great courage to take this action, but it is driven by passion and commitment and an over-riding concern for patient and staff safety. Nurses and midwives are tired of being seen as a cost on a balance sheet and instead need to be seen for what they are – an essential investment required to achieve quality health outcomes and ensure patient safety. We must shift the thinking from cost to value. We are worth it.

Beth Mohle

We are worth it

Lindsey Crossan Registered Nurse/Midwife