Nurses
This is primarily for Kimmy, although others might have opinions too.
Tonight, just by accident, I happened to be eating dinner while the News Hour was on. I haven't seen it for a while, simply because eating is about the only time I'm anywhere near the TV. Anyway I hit the show just after the half-way mark, so the lead stories were over.
The first story I watched was about some lady who had written a book about American Nurses. The initial thrust of the intro was that due to the aging of the boomers, the increase in health coverage from the ACA, and some other factors the need for nurses was going to rapidly outstrip the available bodies. That seems likely. I have no data, but common sense says those factors mean higher demand. I guess the supply system isn't creating enough new ones.
So...there are two guests...a nurse from somewhere and this author. They start off with the author, and ask her (more or less) why she wrote the book. It was at this point that we discovered she was basically an idiot.
Her initial statement was that a few years ago she was diagnosed with something serious. I don't think she ever said exactly what, but my impression was that it quite likely was breast cancer. In any case, it doesn't really matter. She then said that she "discovered" all the things that nurses do and she suddenly became aware of how important they are to the health care system. Okay, to a point I understand that, but then she clarified things. She apparently was under the impression that nurses take temperatures, check blood pressures, and then more or less just hang around the doctor's office. She seemed to have no grasp whatsoever that there might be nurses in the OR, in the ER, or even in ICU. She apparently had never been in a hospital before, so that whole world, including the nurses therein, was a bolt out of the blue. My initial reaction was that her observations were more about her stupidity than the true diversity of nursing work.
Then through her "research" she "discovered" that nurses did other stuff too. She was amazed to discover that they worked in oncology, even "operating those big radiation machines." I guess she thought of the profession as being cute ladies in uniforms waiting to hold your hand. In short, she's a complete idiot. The nurse guest wasn't a whole lot better, but I chalked that up to the fact that she was really really nervous...and it showed. That's fine. She was out of her element, and I suspect she's just fine as a "real nurse."
So, while the original premise might be accurate, the piece certainly did nothing to really enlighten the public about much of anything, well, anything beyond that really stupid people can write books and their agents can probably get them face time on national television. I'm thinking I should write a book about farming jellyfish, and then with a great agent I can become famous. On the plus side, I know nothing about farming jellyfish, so I'd fit right in with this woman.
ARGH! The level of stupidity always amazes me. As Einstein observed...There are only two things in life that are infinite...the universe and mankind's stupidity...and I'm positive about the universe.
Have a great week. Happy August.
Tonight, just by accident, I happened to be eating dinner while the News Hour was on. I haven't seen it for a while, simply because eating is about the only time I'm anywhere near the TV. Anyway I hit the show just after the half-way mark, so the lead stories were over.
The first story I watched was about some lady who had written a book about American Nurses. The initial thrust of the intro was that due to the aging of the boomers, the increase in health coverage from the ACA, and some other factors the need for nurses was going to rapidly outstrip the available bodies. That seems likely. I have no data, but common sense says those factors mean higher demand. I guess the supply system isn't creating enough new ones.
So...there are two guests...a nurse from somewhere and this author. They start off with the author, and ask her (more or less) why she wrote the book. It was at this point that we discovered she was basically an idiot.
Her initial statement was that a few years ago she was diagnosed with something serious. I don't think she ever said exactly what, but my impression was that it quite likely was breast cancer. In any case, it doesn't really matter. She then said that she "discovered" all the things that nurses do and she suddenly became aware of how important they are to the health care system. Okay, to a point I understand that, but then she clarified things. She apparently was under the impression that nurses take temperatures, check blood pressures, and then more or less just hang around the doctor's office. She seemed to have no grasp whatsoever that there might be nurses in the OR, in the ER, or even in ICU. She apparently had never been in a hospital before, so that whole world, including the nurses therein, was a bolt out of the blue. My initial reaction was that her observations were more about her stupidity than the true diversity of nursing work.
Then through her "research" she "discovered" that nurses did other stuff too. She was amazed to discover that they worked in oncology, even "operating those big radiation machines." I guess she thought of the profession as being cute ladies in uniforms waiting to hold your hand. In short, she's a complete idiot. The nurse guest wasn't a whole lot better, but I chalked that up to the fact that she was really really nervous...and it showed. That's fine. She was out of her element, and I suspect she's just fine as a "real nurse."
So, while the original premise might be accurate, the piece certainly did nothing to really enlighten the public about much of anything, well, anything beyond that really stupid people can write books and their agents can probably get them face time on national television. I'm thinking I should write a book about farming jellyfish, and then with a great agent I can become famous. On the plus side, I know nothing about farming jellyfish, so I'd fit right in with this woman.
ARGH! The level of stupidity always amazes me. As Einstein observed...There are only two things in life that are infinite...the universe and mankind's stupidity...and I'm positive about the universe.
Have a great week. Happy August.