How the world changes. When I started my nursing education in 1980, I have no memory of learning anything that was to do with legislation. We did not know about the International Council of Nurses or that there had been a Code of Ethics for nursing from this organisation since 1953. With that sort of background the legislative environment within which we work is accepted as being in existence without explicit knowledge. Certainly that is different now as part of undergraduate nursing education. Over the years aspects of the Health and Safety in Employment Act, The Privacy Act, Code of Rights and Health Practitioners Competency Act have become part of in-service education at the workplace and foundations for policies and guidelines and in the last year or so that has also included the Code of Conduct and Professional Boundaries. Depending on the employer and their contractual requirements, these in-services that many of us take for granted may not be available to Registered Nurses employed.
"The nurse advocates for equity and social justice in resource allocation" (ICN,2012:p. 3), how often do we hear nurses and our organisations speaking out. I know though that there are some great innovations and programmes out there, but do we celebrate them enough?
Dear Alison
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the blog of the week. I agree with you. The mood at work is often one of "just getting the tasks done". If you sit with a patient and find out why they are not eating, chatting, or improving emotionally, then your peers suggest you are slacking off. Celebrating new innovations and ways of doing things such as hourly ward rounds to assess needs of patients as advocated in Robin Youngson's book "Time to Care" instead of just "reactively answering bells", actually saves time. Plus giving greater satisfaction to nurses and patients. Unfortunately tall poppy syndrome is still alive and well in Aotearoa. I hope as we grow more assertive and aware of this destructive NZ phenomenon and start to give credit where it is due, that it will be relegated to the history books as a thing of the past that stifled our individuality and successes. I was reflecting this morning about a story my father in law told me of being ridiculed as a little family in the 1920's when his father left his mother for another woman. His whole family was marginalised and scorned, at school and in the village where they lived, such was the scandal associated with a marriage breakdown. this treatment would be unheard of today. I hope social justice and equity for our colleagues continues to be addressed in the forums such as ICN and brought out in the open so that with debate, marginalised populations will not be judged but rather helped to holistic well-being; mind, body and spiritually.