Editor’s note: May 6-12 is recognized as National Nurses Week by the American Nurses Association.
Nurses deserve protection from verbal, physical threats
I knew at age 8 that I wanted to go into health care. My first job in a hospital was as an operating room technician, and seeing what nurses were able to do in the trauma unit was the “light bulb” moment for me. I’ve now been a nurse for the last 20 years, working as everything from a fledgling nurse on a hospital intensive care unit to the chief nursing executive for Prisma Health in the Upstate.
Patients trust us in their darkest hours to be a beacon of light, hope and inspiration. But nurses are coming under more and more stress, sometimes choosing to leave the field altogether, because of increased levels of workplace violence nationwide.
Assaults on health care workers, whether verbal or physical, contribute to workforce burnout and turnover. They can interfere with patient care. Violence against health care workers is so serious that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers it a public health concern.
Hospitals are places where we experience life, loss, joy and pain. Some patients and loved ones can become overwhelmed and physically lash out; drugs or mental illness can make that tipping point come even quicker and be more devastating for everyone involved.
Hospitals are working to harden facilities, enhance security and increase reporting of incidents, but we need the public’s help. We need to create greater awareness of the impact abusive behavior can have – not only on our nurses but for patients and even the cost of care.
The South Carolina Hospital Association is leading efforts to address the problem by advocating for support to enhance hospital safety and security and providing resources that hospitals can use to deter aggressive behaviors by patients and visitors. It’s also partnering with state law enforcement to increase timely prosecution of complaints.
Our nurses are someone’s mother or father, best friend, and neighbor. They may be the person who saves your life, or comforts you when another life is lost. Every day they go to work, nurses make a commitment to “zero harm.” Particularly during National Nurses Week, let’s make that same commitment to them.
Michael Cavacos
Chief Nursing Executive, Prisma Health in the Upstate
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Nurses share common goal: great patient care
It’s National Nurses Week, a special time to celebrate the importance of nurses in the South Carolina healthcare system. Millions of patients across our state depend on the compassionate care and exceptional capabilities of registered nurses (RNs) for their health and well-being.
As anesthesia experts, South Carolina’s more than 1,400 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are proud to work alongside our nurse colleagues to keep patients comfortable and safe during surgery, labor and delivery, trauma stabilization, and other types of procedures that require anesthesia. Throughout the day, our role may intersect with the roles of operating room nurses, circulating nurses, scrub nurses, post anesthesia care unit nurses, recovery room nurses, intensive care unit nurses, emergency room nurses.
All share the common goal of providing watchful care to our patients during the most vulnerable times of their lives. Is it any wonder that, once again, the results of an annual Gallup Poll showed that Americans gave nurses the highest ethics rating for the 24th consecutive year?
For all of us who comprise the community of nurses, patient care is more than a livelihood, it’s an honor and privilege. Happy National Nurses Week!
Cheryl L. Schosky
President, S.C. Association of Nurse Anesthetists
