Gathering Places
Gathering Places
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Nurses picketed recently at St. Francis hospital.
Pathogens, poisons, germs ...
it’s just another day
for nursesOne of the issues that has been on the bargaining table of the nurses strike concerns the retirement medical benefits of nurses employed by the "big five" hospitals. As a critical care registered nurse of six years at St. Francis Medical Center, I believe I am qualified to present the nurses' perspective.
Nurses have one of the highest rates of back injuries of any occupational field, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Twelve percent of the profession leave the field each year due to back injuries; 52 percent complain of chronic back pain. The sheer volume of lifting and turning patients leads to fatigue, muscle strain and injury. Many patient-handling tasks are done on a horizontal plane and the patient is asymmetric, bulky and can't be held close to the body.
Female nurses have the highest rate of lupus, a devastating autoimmune disease of which little is known about the cause. There is speculation that the hospital environment, with its combination of multiple drugs inhaled and absorbed through the skin, may be a contributing factor. The hospital environment also is a toxic cesspool. We are surrounded by a dizzying array of powerful products designed to clean and sterilize. Toxic chemotherapy drugs, low- and high-dose radiation and exposure to antibiotic-resistant strains of blood-borne pathogens are some of the daily health risks nurses are exposed to. Then there is the continual exposure of infectious blood, sputum, urine, stool and vomit. The incidence of bacteria is sky high in the hospital.
So why is it that the water faucets automatically turn on and the toilets automatically flush when I go to the movies, but not when I'm at the hospital?
Hawaii leads the United States in tuberculosis cases. The hospitals are portals for TB and there is no initial test for it. If the patient is not symptomatic, the patient will be in the hospital system for days before the staff is notified they tested positive and a TB test can be scheduled. Ask any of the nurses you know working in the big five hospitals when they had their last TB test. Chances are it wasn't too long ago. Annual tests are mandatory, but in our emergency rooms the exposures are more frequent.
Bioterrorism is a real possibility and the hospitals will be the front lines for treating victims of such attacks. The long-term effects of these agents are unknown and if you get sick after putting in 25 years of service, well then, hey, thanks for all your hard work but you're on your own.
That's just a theoretical situation; let's keep it in the here and now. Within the past couple of years guns have been brought into both Castle and Queen's hospitals, with shots being fired in the Queen's ER. Only heroic actions prevented possible tragedies at both hospitals. Have more guns been brought into the hospitals? No one knows for sure because Queen's is the only hospital I know of that cares enough about its employees to install a metal detector.
I have a friend who is an architect. He sits at his ergonomically correct desk and works while listening to Internet radio. The air in his workspace is filtered and he drinks from a water cooler. None of his clients are combative and his personal safety and livelihood are never at stake. He makes more money than I do, and when he retires he and his family will be covered medically.
I wonder why there is a nursing shortage?
Pat Kelly is a registered nurse who lives in Honolulu.
