CONNECTICUT OPINION; THE NURSING CRISIS: ANOTHER VIEW

• Published in: The New York times
• Main Authors: Fenn, John E, Dr. John E. Fenn, a resident of Woodbridge, is the chief of staff at Yale-New Haven Hospital
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, N.Y New York Times Company 30.08.1987
• Edition: Late Edition (East Coast)
• Subjects: DOCTORS; FENN, JOHN E (DR); MEDICINE AND HEALTH; NURSING AND NURSES; SHORTAGES
• ISSN: 0362-4331

On the plus side, more physicians recognize the special intelligence and talent of the modern nurse and the enormous contribution which she makes to the well-being of patients. Not only is the nurse now thoroughly equipped with more sophisticated knowledge than ever before, allowing for generally accurate diagnoses of such things as cardiac arrhythmias with a glance at a monitor, but it is still gospel, and the seasoned physician knows it, that when a nurse calls to say a patient ''just doesn't look right,'' a nursing sixth sense is in operation and disaster is about to ensue. These ''tuned in'' physicians, which I believe are by far the majority, are not part of the problem but have embraced the concept of a care-giving team of individuals with the nurse as an essential part. What concerns me is that there are still a significant number of physicians who have yet to awaken. For whatever reason, such physicians continue to abuse nurses, even bully them at times. Even in recent months, in the face of an obvious nursing shortage, I still have heard a doctor say, ''It's a dirty job but someone has to do it.'' Too often, physicians feel unable to shoulder the responsibility when a patient's recovery hits a snag. I know some physicians who immediately seek out the most convenient nurse as a scapegoat. It may be overly harsh to suggest that such individuals have basic personal inadequacies but it is unquestioned that too many physicians consider a nurse fair game at a time of stress. These are the same physicians who assign a low status in the health care team to the nursing profession. Such behavior by physicians does their patients little good.