Regarding the Oct. 24 “Thumbs down” to the California Nurses Union for threatening a one-day strike because of poor H1N1-flu preparedness: As a nurse who cares for H1N1 patients, our facility’s policy is that we wear special masks, gowns, and other protective equipment to protect us from contracting the virus and from spreading it. While I understand that a strike makes it difficult for care facilities, the intention is to point out the safety problems in workplaces.
It could be that staff approached management to voice concerns after the reported death of a nurse from the virus, and they think that nothing was done to protect them. This again points to reaction instead of being proactive in staff/patient safety.
Nurses have often spoken up about patient safety issues, but unfortunately problem-solving comes only after a critical incident takes place.
A strike is a last resort after attempts to resolve problems have failed. It’s easy to look at the 16,000 nurses who are being asked to strike and make judgments, but until you’ve walked (make that run) a mile in my life-saving, care-providing shoes, I don’t think you can truly understand what we in acute care are dealing with.
Marcia Pugh
Fresno
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