Calls for change ring out on the Nurses March on Washington

March of Nurses drew nurses from California to Connecticut, who gathered to mourn the nurses who lost their lives in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. Nurses March executive director Marla Barthen said she organized the event “because I felt the losses and I knew all my nurses felt the losses.” On at the present time of remembrance and galvanizing messages, nurses vowed to unite to advertise improvements of their work environments that may profit them and their patients. Nurses March Executive Director Marla Barthen (from left) and Cara Lunsford, RN, founder and CEO of HOLLIBLU and vp of community at Nurse.com, pledge to honor nurses and ensure their voices are heard. The topics that dominated nurses’ March speeches were:

• Safe patient-to-nurse ratios that promote higher care
• Protection against violence and abuse of nurses
• Higher remuneration for nurses corresponding to high requirements and responsibility
• A piece environment that supports nurses’ well-being

Advocating for protected employment rates

We spoke to nurses who got here to the event to talk on behalf of themselves and their colleagues. Strong feelings concerning the high patient-to-staff ratios experienced in the course of the pandemic were pervasive. They said they care deeply about their jobs and feel exploited by ongoing staff shortages. Stephanie Gattas, chief executive officer (CEO) and founding father of the corporate Pink Beretsevent sponsor, said: “Our nation has been brought to its knees by Covid-19. Our healthcare workers were the first to respond to this call.”

Nurses face grueling shifts and shortages of protective equipment. In light of those obstacles, Gattas said: “Having healthcare workers underpaid is an injustice. Staff shortages are an injustice.” Pink Berets provide assistance and relief to women within the armed forces, veterans, first responders and more.

Nurses discussed work environments wherein they felt pressure to place aside their personal needs for food, toilet breaks, and rest because they didn’t wish to let down their co-workers and patients when staffing levels weren’t large enough to satisfy patients’ demands.

Staffing rates impact patient outcomes

Tina Vinsant, RN, a travel nurse with Trusted Health and podcast host, spoke on the march Good nurse, bad nurse, stated, “Research has shown that patient outcomes are directly related to safe staffing rates.” Meta-analysis entitled hospital staff and patient outcomes in 2018 found that higher employment levels were related to reduced mortality and fewer medication errors, ulcers, restraints, infections, pneumonia, and other useful outcomes. AND National Nurses United study published in April found that 69% of hospital nurses surveyed said staffing had recently deteriorated, and 64.5% said their facilities used excessive extra time to staff hospital units. During the Nurse March, co-sponsored by Nurse.com, Vinsant stated that top patient-to-nurse ratios result in nurse burnout and unfulfilled dreams.

“There is no shortage of nurses. There is a lack of nurses willing to work at the patient’s bedside,” she said. “A major part of the problem is that hospitals are not willing to do everything they can to ensure there are enough nurses at the bedside.”

One of the nurses who came to the Nurses March, Lisa Kjar, BSN, RN, CEN, CPN, TNC, Rapid Response Team at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, shared her feelings of being underappreciated. At the beginning of the pandemic, “the entire world stopped and everybody was helpless,” she said, yet nurses continued to work. She and Ashley Teague, MSN, RN, clinical nurse III in the primary Covid/Medical ICU at Emory Healthcare Midtown, tearfully shared their stories of having to watch patients die while their families were unable to be present. due to infection control regulations that prevent the spread of the virus. “Within a week, we lost 16 patients in seven days,” Teague said. Kjar emphasized the toll that repeated loss takes on a nurse. “Not only did we take care of them, but we also took them to the afterlife,” she said. “The difference we make matters. We deserve to be treated with respect.”

Dealing with violence and harassment

Nurses also recall persistent physical and verbal abuse. Amanda Littleton, BSN, RN, CPN, an Atlanta-area nurse, said she was attacked by patients who punched her in the face. Teague said she was attacked by a patient who touched her breasts. “We are programmed not to prioritize safety reporting for ourselves,” Teague said. Sandra Risoldi, DNP, APRN, MSN Ed, PMHNP-BC, founder Nurses against violence, the event sponsor, said: “Prevention is key. It’s important that we prevent problems before they get worse.” Nurses do their job despite these challenges because “we have now compassion,” Littleton said, although sometimes she feels that compassion outweighs their own health and safety. A nurse’s aide at the march, Paul Tomczuk, CNA, who works in the St. Louis, said he dealt with difficult and aggressive patients and was hit. He expressed concern that more nurses are burning out and leaving their jobs amid challenges related to high patient-to-nurse ratios, stress related to the pandemic and the potential for patient violence.

Pay off your worries amid stressful work

In addition to existing challenges, nurses are learning that lawmakers are questioning their pay. AND January letter from legislators asked federal agencies to investigate staffing agency prices to see if they are anticompetitive or violate consumer protection laws. Nurses have heard reports that lawmakers intend to cap their pay, but the letter did not ask for that information.

At a time when nurses are seeing encouraging raises, lawmakers’ threats to involve them in capping their pay have sparked angry outrage. If the legislator wants to limit remuneration, Tomczuk said, he should look at the remuneration of hospital directors.

Our research shows that 25% of nurses reported pay increases due to the pandemic, as indicated in our 2022 Nurse Salary Survey Report, while 9% reported decreases. Some nurses are earning higher wages by becoming travel nurses, and many have chosen to travel during the pandemic. Tomczuk said higher salaries in recent years are welcome after years of low wages. Instead of looking at limits, he said, “Let the market bear what it may well.”

Supporting nurse diversity and well-being

Improving the health care work environment was another major concern for Nurses March participants as nurses continue to struggle with high patient loads and loss of life. As nurses gathered to mourn colleagues and patients lost during the pandemic, Cara Lunsford, RN, founder and CEO of HOLLIBLU and vice president of community at Nurse.com, said, “The path to healing is the flexibility to grieve.” As nurses continue to care for Covid-19 patients, staff wellbeing is a major concern. In a video address, Janice Maloof-Tomaso, RN, stated, “We must also protect the mental health of our colleagues and keep our nurses alive.” She called for more support from hospital administrators and annual stipends for mental health nurses.

Working in an inclusive environment is another important element of nurses’ well-being. “Representation matters. But adding a diverse workforce is just the beginning,” said Bryanna Patterson, RN, speaking and representing the Rochester Black Nurses Association at the event. She said Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) nurses deserve access to power, influence and support in their roles.

Patterson also called for adequate funding and tools to eliminate racism, which she says constitutes a “public health crisis.” To advance integration in nursing, Patterson said, “We have to be the change we want to see in health care.”

Commenting on future improvements

When asked what changes they expected, a group of Michigan nurses shared their thoughts. Frankie Mullins, RN, of Sterling Heights, who currently works in corrections, said she would like to see more training, more on-the-job time devoted to training, and adequate resources to ensure a safe work environment. Gwendolyn Weber, LPN, who works at a skilled nursing facility in Gaylord, said the pressure to fill beds despite a short staff translates into nurses feeling a lack of support from management to do their jobs as they should. “Ask management to work from time to time,” she suggested, so they can really understand what nurses are going through. She also called for more frequent training for managers to make nurses feel supported. When patient volumes increase in the middle of a shift, nurse managers should be prepared, says Vicky Hilario, RN. She said she was tired of hearing, “It is what it’s.” Instead, “supervisors need a contingency plan to hire more nurses.” Trish Richardson, MSN, BSBA, RN, NE-BC, CMSRN, President-Elect North Carolina Nurses Association (NCNA) was quick to note that the march and candid discussions about the health care system showed that nurses wanted to be clear about their needs. “We are not going backwards – we are moving forward. It’s time for us to be heard,” Richardson said. “We must lift one another up!” Risoldi said.