It looks like nothing has changed since I retired from hospital nursing 15 years ago ("Duluth nurses' strike looks more likely," Aug. 27).
I remember working short-staffed, working 16-hour shifts and working on my weekends off because nurses care about their patients and their fellow workers. We would let supervisors know and write to the Minnesota Nurses Association, but nothing changed.
I also have worked with travel nurses who, though helpful, were gone by the time they knew hospital policies and procedures. You would end up doing your own work and half of theirs.
I wonder if the powers-that-be would like to have a family member in an intensive care unit being taken care of by a nurse who generally works in the nursery. That happened to my husband.
Working long shifts and short-handed, mistakes can and do happen. For all of our sakes, I hope the nurses stand tough.
ADVERTISEMENT
MARILEE CULLITON
SUPERIOR
