Here is part of the introduction I wrote in the first edition of my book, "Nursing: A Wicked Profession" I will be making this book available here for purchase in the classroom for just $15. Currently you can still find the book on Amazon. Once I finish transcribing the book to our community however, it will no longer be available on there. "This book is my contribution toward immediate action. The opinions in this book are mine, professionally and personally, supported by facts where I felt it was needed and warranted. Canada's Nurse Theme week for 2007 was "Think you know nursing? Take a closer look". The theme for 2009 was "Nursing: You can't live without it". Personally I saw very little in the media across Canada reflective of their understanding of these statements. Nor did I hear much, if anything, from people around me. Either people are not getting the message, they are just not listening, or nurses are not speaking up loudly enough, if at all. Nursing: A Wicked Profession gives you, the reader, a closer and more personal look at what these statements truly mean. Nursing is a powerful yet highly misunderstood, and trod upon, health care profession. My intent with this book is to give the reader an honest and realistic look at the human side of the profession, not the mystical "angel of mercy" views many still harbor. You will see past the mechanics of nursing, the giving of medications, dressing of wounds, immunizing of children and the holding of a dying patients' hand. You will gain a clearer understanding of who nurses really are, what they do, and how they feel. I want to show you how nurses view themselves and how the general public, the media and governments, local or federal, view the profession. You'll get a glimpse at the wickedness some in the profession have succumbed to, taking advantage of a position of trust to do harm to others. The book also takes an in-depth look at the wickedly difficult task of caring for and increasingly aging, educated and angry population. Lastly I open a door to a world that very few know about; a look at how wickedly powerful the nursing profession has been and continues to be. From inventors, to influencing of government policy, there are things about nurses and nursing even I did not know before writing this book."

You hear it in the news time and time again, Emergency room closures due to staffing shortages, patients being cared for in hallways because there are no rooms available, and forced overtime. It's not new news, its old news, and it continues without any apparent resolution The public complains, patients die waiting for care, and some stories are carried by the news media. And then all is forgotten until another incident occurs. Then there are reports of violence towards nurses and you and I both know that stressed and worried patients and their families can easily become angry. This too makes the news ... and then its forgotten Let us get some real facts out to the public, and governments. They need hard numbers, hard facts, and the only way that can happen is by you sharing this information, Where do you work and how many patients are you assigned during your shift? How many medications are given late (or perhaps even missed) as a result of your patient load? Did you get to eat on your shit? How about a bathroom break? These facts are rarely shared and they need to be. People need to hear the real story

Since starting this community I have found approximately 1000 other communities related to nursing here in the Skool platform. Many are paid memberships, a few are not. There is some activity in some of the communities, and very little in other communities. So I am curious; how many current professional nurses are quitting or on the verge of leaving the profession? Are you quiet because your workload keeps you so busy you have not time to spend on any social media platform, or have you simply lost interest in caring anymore? Or have you lost hope that anyone (governments or people in general) really cares about the nurses plight or the state of your country's own health care system? It is frightening to imagine you have all lost hope and yet I feel it, and I am pretty sure I feel it as well Where do we go from here? 😥

I haven't done any hands on nursing for over 2 years now, but when I did finally leave it was after 2 years as an RN. In the mid 1980's when I graduated I was so happy, ecstatic even, in my chosen career choice and I was certain I felt appreciated by my patients. By the time I hit 15 years in my view started to change. You see health care systems started to be viewed by government as business systems, so patients became "clients" and "health care consumers". Avoiding law suits became top of mind to the higher ups, leading to things like ... if someone showed up at the emergency room external exit crying for help we were not allowed to step outside and help them in; we had to call 911 and simply stand there and watch them bleed to death until paramedics arrived (the bleeding to death is a little dramatic but you get my point here). At one new job site I was asked to remove my outdoor shoes (it was late Spring and the ground was dry) at the front entrance. Excuse me but walking in stocking feet in a hospital/community health setting is not particularly safe, nor sanitary in my view. It was circumstances such as these that began to drive a wedge between myself and the profession I had wanted since I was a child. Years went by and I could no longer work in a profession that seemed to have lost its very reason for existing in the first place; caring for other human beings. "Caring" seemed to take a far back seat to profits $$. I suffered emotionally and certainly financially when I finally made the decision to step out and away Today I am hearing that many new grads leave nursing after just year in practicing. Their reasons? Overwork, forced over time, bullying, violence, to name but a few reasons. The nursing profession is at the heart of, if not THE HEART OF, every health care system around the globe. Common practice now is hallway medicine, people dying in emergency rooms while waiting for care, and far too many other horror stories. Nurses must speak out, LOUDER, in order to protect the human rights of others

Wow, the authors of this blog post hit the nail on the head with this post. I would bet most nurses worldwide are dealing with exactly these circumstances. These ARE the problems, clear and concise. Now all we need to do is work on the answers. It's a quick read and I do encourage you to take the time to read it https://www.powerupnursing.com/post/at-the-breaking-point-the-three-fault-lines-reshaping-nursing-in-2026