Health Care Reform.11
Content
to Rescue Ourselves,” Viewpoint,
November 2010). So often when
I state my support for this re
quirement in a group of nurses,
I encounter either outright hos
tility or silence (no one is willing
to join in the debate).
It’s indeed time that we joined
together to recognize the advan
tages of and necessity for having
a bachelor’s degree to become a
nurse.
Susan Lampe, MS, RN
Minneapolis
Ms. Bartholomew believes the
baccalaureate should be the
“minimum entry point into nurs
ing practice.” One nurse she
doesn’t consider is the LPN, who
performs quality patient care in
various settings. LPNs have the
knowledge and skills necessary
to excel in their work and com
petently use nursing judgment to
make clinical decisions. In some
settings, the scope of practice for
an LPN is not much different
from that of an RN. Although
many LPNs go on to become
RNs, some are content to re
main as they are.
One reason nurses lack a
“single voice” is the all-too-
obvious divide between RNs
and LPNs. I’ve witnessed many
instances of horizontal violence
between RNs and LPNs, in
cluding name calling and belittl
ing comments by RNs in front
of patients. This is deplorable,
shameful, and unprofessional
behavior. It makes all nurses
look bad.
To say that nursing should
begin at the baccalaureate level
is an insult to all LPNs who’ve
worked hard to prove them
selves and who enjoy the satis
faction that nursing has brought
them.
Laine N. Schofield, LPN, CCHP
Stark, NH
[email protected]
GIVING BLOOD
The lifetime ban on men who
have sex with men from donat
ing blood should be lifted (“Why
Can’t Men Who Have Sex With
Men Donate Blood?” Viewpoint,
October 2010). The article notes
that, since 1983, the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has
placed a lifetime blood donation
ban on men who’ve had sex with
men—even once—since 1977.
It’s estimated that 38% of the
adult population is eligible to
donate blood, although it’s be
lieved far fewer actually do so.1
As the average American life span
continues to increase, many more
people are living with chronic
conditions, such as hemophilia
and sickle cell conditions, that
require blood transfusions, and
these numbers will only increase.
The 2009 H1N1 pandemic in
fluenza demonstrated the need
for even more people to donate
blood.
Enhanced blood screening
methods now make it easy to
screen all blood, regardless of the
source. To reduce the risk of col
lecting tainted blood, the FDA
should ban, for a definite period,
any potential donor who has en
gaged in risky behaviors.
Chimezie Agomoh, student nurse
Brockton, MA
Reference
1. Riley W, et al. The United States’ po
tential blood donor pool: estimating
the prevalence of donor-exclusion fac
tors on the pool of potential donors.
Transfusion 2007;47(7):1180-8.
‘REAL’ NURSING
“Who’s the ‘Real’ Nurse?” (View
point, August 2010) reflected my
recent experiences. A year ago, I
accepted a position as a clinical
documentation specialist in a
hospital, leaving a staff nurse po
sition on a telemetry floor where
I’d worked three 12-hour shifts
a week. I’d wanted to explore
other opportunities and a work
schedule that better accommo
dated my family.
When people ask what I do
now, I proudly tell them I’m still
a nurse (and a student, pursuing
a BSN). But when I tell them my
title and describe what I do, they
usually look puzzled and question
whether I’m a “real” nurse. I must
further explain my role and de
scribe how it’s still nursing, even
though I’m not providing direct
patient care. I’m bothered by
these reactions of confusion and
disbelief.
Our roles may vary, but
nurses need to work together—
whether on the front lines or
behind the scenes—to unite our
profession.
Holly Thompson, RN
Lumberton, NC
HEALTH CARE REFORM
I was very pleased to read about
the many opportunities for the
uninsured and the nursing profes
sion in “Health Care Reform:
What’s in It for Nursing?” (Policy
and Politics, July 2010).
Working at a county hospital
in a border city, I see many pa
tients who rely on the ED for their
medical care. They can’t access
primary or preventive care be
cause they don’t have insurance.
Patients are discharged home with
the right medications but often
don’t have access to appropriate
follow-up care and ultimately re
turn to the ED.
I was previously uninsured,
and I know how difficult it is to
not be able to visit a physician
because of the inability to pay.
With health care reform in place,
hopefully the number of healthy
people will increase.
Maria Alba, RN
El Paso, Texas ▼
AJN t February 2011
t
Vol. 111, No. 2
13
November 2010). So often when
I state my support for this re
quirement in a group of nurses,
I encounter either outright hos
tility or silence (no one is willing
to join in the debate).
It’s indeed time that we joined
together to recognize the advan
tages of and necessity for having
a bachelor’s degree to become a
nurse.
Susan Lampe, MS, RN
Minneapolis
Ms. Bartholomew believes the
baccalaureate should be the
“minimum entry point into nurs
ing practice.” One nurse she
doesn’t consider is the LPN, who
performs quality patient care in
various settings. LPNs have the
knowledge and skills necessary
to excel in their work and com
petently use nursing judgment to
make clinical decisions. In some
settings, the scope of practice for
an LPN is not much different
from that of an RN. Although
many LPNs go on to become
RNs, some are content to re
main as they are.
One reason nurses lack a
“single voice” is the all-too-
obvious divide between RNs
and LPNs. I’ve witnessed many
instances of horizontal violence
between RNs and LPNs, in
cluding name calling and belittl
ing comments by RNs in front
of patients. This is deplorable,
shameful, and unprofessional
behavior. It makes all nurses
look bad.
To say that nursing should
begin at the baccalaureate level
is an insult to all LPNs who’ve
worked hard to prove them
selves and who enjoy the satis
faction that nursing has brought
them.
Laine N. Schofield, LPN, CCHP
Stark, NH
[email protected]
GIVING BLOOD
The lifetime ban on men who
have sex with men from donat
ing blood should be lifted (“Why
Can’t Men Who Have Sex With
Men Donate Blood?” Viewpoint,
October 2010). The article notes
that, since 1983, the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has
placed a lifetime blood donation
ban on men who’ve had sex with
men—even once—since 1977.
It’s estimated that 38% of the
adult population is eligible to
donate blood, although it’s be
lieved far fewer actually do so.1
As the average American life span
continues to increase, many more
people are living with chronic
conditions, such as hemophilia
and sickle cell conditions, that
require blood transfusions, and
these numbers will only increase.
The 2009 H1N1 pandemic in
fluenza demonstrated the need
for even more people to donate
blood.
Enhanced blood screening
methods now make it easy to
screen all blood, regardless of the
source. To reduce the risk of col
lecting tainted blood, the FDA
should ban, for a definite period,
any potential donor who has en
gaged in risky behaviors.
Chimezie Agomoh, student nurse
Brockton, MA
Reference
1. Riley W, et al. The United States’ po
tential blood donor pool: estimating
the prevalence of donor-exclusion fac
tors on the pool of potential donors.
Transfusion 2007;47(7):1180-8.
‘REAL’ NURSING
“Who’s the ‘Real’ Nurse?” (View
point, August 2010) reflected my
recent experiences. A year ago, I
accepted a position as a clinical
documentation specialist in a
hospital, leaving a staff nurse po
sition on a telemetry floor where
I’d worked three 12-hour shifts
a week. I’d wanted to explore
other opportunities and a work
schedule that better accommo
dated my family.
When people ask what I do
now, I proudly tell them I’m still
a nurse (and a student, pursuing
a BSN). But when I tell them my
title and describe what I do, they
usually look puzzled and question
whether I’m a “real” nurse. I must
further explain my role and de
scribe how it’s still nursing, even
though I’m not providing direct
patient care. I’m bothered by
these reactions of confusion and
disbelief.
Our roles may vary, but
nurses need to work together—
whether on the front lines or
behind the scenes—to unite our
profession.
Holly Thompson, RN
Lumberton, NC
HEALTH CARE REFORM
I was very pleased to read about
the many opportunities for the
uninsured and the nursing profes
sion in “Health Care Reform:
What’s in It for Nursing?” (Policy
and Politics, July 2010).
Working at a county hospital
in a border city, I see many pa
tients who rely on the ED for their
medical care. They can’t access
primary or preventive care be
cause they don’t have insurance.
Patients are discharged home with
the right medications but often
don’t have access to appropriate
follow-up care and ultimately re
turn to the ED.
I was previously uninsured,
and I know how difficult it is to
not be able to visit a physician
because of the inability to pay.
With health care reform in place,
hopefully the number of healthy
people will increase.
Maria Alba, RN
El Paso, Texas ▼
AJN t February 2011
t
Vol. 111, No. 2
13
