A post in another class reminded me of a student I taught in a health science technology program in South Texas - let's call her Astria. Having had some experience with nursing care as a cerebral palsy patient, she had decided that caring for others was what she wanted to do with her life. Of course, the nursing schools in the area (a wide area) roundly rejected her on the basis that she would not have been able to preform the clinical skills necessary to be a nurse. Bear in mind, this was not yet even 20 year ago, in the early 1990s.

Is there no room in our professional culture for someone who does not practice clinically, at the bedside? Our mandate, to promote health, is not limited to activities requiring fine motor skills. It never has, really, at least not since I began work as an RN (1991). We've been all about organizing and managing patient care, in my experience, a responsibility for which Astria was quite well suited. Of course, we still get our hands dirty, but even with the magnet emphasis on BSNs providing primary care there are plenty of nursing jobs that do not require any clinical patient contact whatsoever.

Yet somehow, to work in one of those non-clinical positions, nurses are typically required to demonstrate clinical experience. We're expected to have "paid our dues" in the trenches. I recall graduating and being strongly urged to head for med-surg to "get my skills." I refused. Why go learn something I don't want to learn? Instead, I headed straight for the NICU, and later went to home health, where even "lacking skills" I did a fine job. As we seek to evolve into the administrative, consulting, and educational roles that health care desperately needs from us, what is it in our culture that prevents us from stepping up and realizing those roles? Certainly, nobody is suggesting that nurses give up clinical roles, just that those of us with the vision to take our unique set of intellectual skills away from the bedside be allowed to do so - and still lay claim to the title of nurse.

This is why I wonder what your plans are as soon-to-be BS and MS prepared nurses. Many positions for which your new degrees are required will remove you from the clinical setting. Is that OK? Will you still consider yourself nurses? What do you think? Does nursing = direct, skilled patient care?

Spring Break!

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition: We made it!

Spring break is a landmark for a teacher, much as it is for student, but a bit different. Even if you teach full time in the summer, there are no meetings to speak of at most universities (unless you have a dreaded administrative position* or on a 12 month contract) and it's generally just more pleasant. To a faculty member in this position, spring break means that summer is just ahead, and if we can hold out just a little longer then we have three glorious months of relative freedom. 

So what do we do during spring break and the summer time? Ironically, we actually get some real work done. For instance, I am toiling on a manuscript over my spring break. And you know what? While it may seem crazy to work while you're on break, it's pretty fun working on this stuff without having to worry about meetings and such. It gives you time to enjoy life as well. I have a huge garden planned this summer. It's going to be awesome. 

That's the other thing I'll be doing over the next week (no, not just drinking, the beer is metaphorical): Enjoying a well-earned academic cease fire, bringing the wounded off of the battlefield, and resting up for another push. I advise you to do the same. Take some time and take care of yourselves, even if it's just a couple of hours per day, leftover minutes from catching up with all the things you've neglected, or whatever time you can beg, borrow, or steal. Enjoy! 

Btw, I know I owe you another blog post, and I have one coming. I was hoping for some response to my earlier post. Is anyone getting these still? Nobody has complained, but I'm getting the idea that folks are somehow even busier this semester than they usually are.