James Kirkpatrick's Not-So-Random Keyboard Strokes

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Posted by: James	11/23/2007 11:20 AM
There’s a lot of professions we take for granted and being married to a nurse makes me hope that most hospital patients are appreciative if they do receive good care during their time they are admitted. Obviously you’re never in the hospital for good reasons, so it’s OK to not be in the greatest demeanor. I’d like to think that I’d be thankful, were I in the hospital at any time, but especially the holiday season, that the hospital staff takes no time off. While all us white collar workers get every holiday off, professions like the retail industry and the medical community keep their doors open. Unlike most retail shops though, hospitals never close. Sickness knows no holidays, emergencies don’t keep banker’s hours, and it’s reassuring to know that we live in an age where, if necessary, there is a place open for us if we are having a medical emergency the night of Christmas Eve. I say all this as my wife works Thanksgiving and two days after that. We’ve had stretches where she has had to work several Christmases in a row. While nurses (and nurse practitioners) do make decent (but not great) pay, it’s chicken scratch compared to their doctor counterparts. That’s not a complaint, rather it simply is stating a fact. While we might rage at our medical bills from time to time and resent that doctor’s second house he uses one week a year, I still contend they don’t get paid enough. Let’s face it - what on this planet is harder to diagnose and fix than the human body? I see these asinine, illiterate athletes making hundreds of millions of dollars and they bring nothing to the table other than a small window of athletic prowess that entertains us in our spare time. Someone in the medical community puts their skills to use for a lifetime. It’s not the doctors whose salaries we should begrudge. Most rookies in most pro sports have a base pay that far exceeds what a lot of doctors make, especially in their early years. So when an athlete like Alex Rodriguez opts out of his TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION dollar contract to renegotiate a contract that will exceed THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION, does a doctor’s salary really seem ridiculous now? How many doctors try to get out of their QUARTER OF A BILLION dollar contract to sweeten the pot even more? I guaran-damn-tee you that if you start to feel heart palpitations, you’d be much happier to have a doctor in the vicinity rather than an NFL quarterback. What I’m attempting to get at is while it’s good to thank the doctor for getting you through whatever ailment is haunting you, make sure to also say thanks to the nurses who do all the “heavy” work. In no way am I demeaning the role of the doctor but when it comes to the physical and mental portion of taking care of the patient, this is where a nurse becomes indispensible.

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Re: Giving thanks

By Syl on 11/23/2007 12:28 PM

Uh - let's see about reducing the payments for malpractice insurance and so on. Let's see about reducing the cost of healthcare and insurance and pharmaceutical medications for *all* the people then perhaps the Doctors won't need an increase in pay - not that it is not deserved. Trust me. As someone whose parent had a stroke in the month of November, most are very appreciate of their nurses and recognize (I sincerely hope) as much as my family did who the nurses are and what they do for patients and families - over the holidays particularly... They are the caretakers and communicators. They are the closest and most sincere, the most consistent and needed translator of daily reality compared to medical theory, they are the representative of the profession every day and night. Bless and thank the nurses, we did and do. They are the foundation of care. (Hmmmm - perhaps they are the technicians using their practical and observational knowledge to maximize the body's working repairs while are doctors are the -what - structural or internal operation's engineers. Nah...well sort of....oh, anyway...) The Nurses run the place -wherever it is- and are truly indispensable. Huge helpings of good on all of them. It's their working synergy that can and does move personal patient mountains. Thank you, Megan. And let's thank their families for their regular (and often simply expected) sacrifice, too. Thank you, James! [heart shape]

Re: Giving thanks	By The General on 11/23/2007 9:07 PM
Well said, Cap'n and Syl. It takes a special type of person to be a nurse or doctor. God bless 'em. I had to work all week also (neutrons and electrons know no holidays), but it's not like I save lives for a living. I wish I knew the answer to the health care dilemma of making it affordable for everybody legally in the country, but I'm sure the answer is not more governmental involvement.

Re: Giving thanks

By Donna on 11/26/2007 4:21 PM

<shrug> Hmmmm. Having Romo, Farve, P. Manning instead of a doctor for heart paliputations? Hmmmm. Shame I had to actually think about that one. All kidding aside, serving the public whether it is healthcare, emergency medical, fire emergencies or police emergencies, all of which take big hearts and broad shoulders. People who choose these fields in which to work, it is not about the money. It's about a greater good. Something bigger than self.

Re: Giving thanks Part II	By Donna on 11/26/2007 4:51 PM
We don't mind spending $100s of dollars to go see a game involving an athlete payed an obscene amount of money because fate was kind to him in terms of physical gifts, but we pay the EMT that might just save our life $10/hour. Sometimes, I just don't know where our priorities are......

Re: Giving thanks

By Syl on 11/27/2007 12:09 PM

I *we* paid the EMT they'd have a higher salary - but after they charge the patient $500.00 for the ride to the hospital (no kidding, actual cost of transporting my friend who had his orbital bone broken by some thug one *half* of one mile), those bonus dollars go to the healthcare/insurance/ambulance companies who actually under-pay his/her salary. Easy question, easy answer - our priorities are squarely on entertainment and the news of entertainers in all forms.

Re: Giving thanks	By Syl on 11/27/2007 12:10 PM
If we paid...[editor]

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