On this blog I usually show segment from the show that make political points. I have generally agreed on the points that the Show is making. This time its a bit different. I went to the Daily Show website and Jon did a segment showing the Republicans blocking a veterans job bill despite polls showing that 85 percent of the country support benefits for the nation's fighting men and women, a bill to do precisely that was recently struck down by deficit-hawk Republicans in the House of Representatives since it was not paid for. Not paid for you know like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars that THEY fought in for the past decade. Here is the segment:
Jon addressed the serious issue of those with
skills learned in combat rather than in the classroom, which results in qualified applicants falling short of job requirements or requiring redundant training to acquire the necessary certification. He brought on field medics Meg Mitcham and Daniel Hutchison to illustrate how their record of saving battlefield casualties would leave them short of the posted skills needed to be a school nurse. Here is the segment:
What provoked me was the comments on the
bottom of the Daily Show Website. folks who were nurses/Rn's were VERY critical of how Stewart compared the 2 veterans skills to nurses.
The nurses are being defensive since the American employment system needs to be overhauled. The certification system depends on for-profit schools taking advantage of students lack of training. The fact that the vets and civilian training do not "translate" is just criminal. This is especially true with the sheer amount of veterans coming back from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It really appears that cut-and-paste that characterizes the employment and training system is designed that way.
Why you ask? In my humble opinion our employment and training system is designed by political considerations. There are fiefdoms that are designed to perpetuate themselves. Here is a comment from a nurse that takes umbrage that Jon Stewart would dare compare the skills of veterans to nurses:
As a nurse, I have taught in a medic school and in nursing programs in Ohio and they are two very different levels of practice. Working as a medic in a combat situation does not qualify someone to be a school nurse. Medics function more on a protocol basis and do not have the same depth of knowledge as a registered nurse
Another person countered with info concerning the qualifications to be a school nurse and breaks down who a
It is not only the military system that is flawed but the civilian. There are a few incorrect items in the show about veterans. first off is the school nursing position. some states such as California only require a CPR card to be a school nurse. Many states again like California, many of the Rn's only have a two year degree from a community college not a BS degree and many of the other states are also going this way. The military veterans and current service men and women should have tremendous thanks for their service, however the veterans interviewed were never working in the same capacity as a EMT-paramedic; this has to do with the different environments of war and civilian life. The veterans on the program were working at an EMT-intermediate level(which unfortunately most states don't recognize.) This has to do with who and what they are treating; mostly in war they are treating young trauma victims, if they came back and worked the streets they would be working with a whole different set of people; a bigger mix, but generally older people with cardiac diseases or other complicated problems. fortunately there are some enlisted people like special forces or air force Pj's, that do work at the paramedic level both in the service and out because they deal with older people and not just trauma. Something in civilian life that has strayed away from its military roots is the Physicians assistant.There also is a blur in the civilian world between critical care paramedic and Rn, even though they do the same job(some nurses like to argue they have more training but when you stack the hours of training up against each other they are very similar, some colleges like UMBC even offer 4-year paramedic degrees.)
I did read someone who took a critical view of the nursing profession. I did like his explanation of why there are always nursing shortages. I mean, I am no expert in the field of medicine but I have always wondered why there are periodic nursing shortages in this country. This comment was insightful to me
Jon with all the nurses responding on this issue, it kind of leads to another somewhat controversial issue with nurses and the cost of health care. The nursing profession has increased its reach and depth somewhat to the detriment of patient care. What this has done is made an imaginary shortage of nurses in the places where they are most needed, in nursing homes, on the hospital floors and the places where nursing originally got its name. Instead of being in those places where they are needed you see them running programs or in offices where a social worker or someone with business training could be a lot more useful. So what does this do? this creates an imaginary shortage of nurses because they are going for easier jobs in the office and taking that job away from someone with specialized social worker or business management training. because Rn's with a two year bachelor degree can make more then someone with a four year degree in other fields and the imaginary shortage this drives up health care costs. A lot of nurses are complaining about obamacare because they are not getting over paid anymore, the same with some doctors. It is sad that some people will only do a good job helping other people because of the money.
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There you have it,a rare insight on a topic that I have interest since I do work in
Career Development with the Department of Public Welfare. Vets need to be helped and be able to get relevant training. We do not need to deny our Veterans opportunity nor do we need to keep an employment and training system that creates and maintains cubicles of protection at the expense of patient care and expenses.
4 comments:
You repeat a comment on nursing qualifications that is totally inaccurate: In California, school nursing only requires a CPR certification. Please. The State Of California Commission On Teacher Credentialing, School Nurse's Credential requires a Bachelor's Degree or higher and a Registered Nurse License issued by the State of California. Vets need training and job placement, but the school nurse comparison was the wrong example to use. John Stewart owes the profession an apology.
It must be embarrassing to be so ignorant on the topic you are blogging about. There are several places ( I've worked at 2 ) that do not offer overtime to nurses even when they are stuck there sometimes 2 hours past their shift to make up for your imaginary shortage. You obviously have no idea what the roles of the RN, EMT, and Paramedic are. Those veterans showed courage and honor while serving our country but THEY ARE ONLY QUALIFIED TO BE EMT'S! A job Which by the way has a very limited scope of practice. They are the bottom rung. Paramedics are much more highly specialized and are the top in emergency medicine in the field, the EMT's answer to them. I am an RN, does that qualify me to be a doctor? Even if I have a lot of experience in medical setting? Absolutely not. Those vets need to apply for jobs as EMT's. It's very insulting to compare RN's and Paramedics to EMT's as if ANY EMT could do the job of the other. And if they tried it would be illegal. You don't know what your talking about and should do some research before going on about things you know nothing about. Read up on licensure, scope of practice, legality (those laws are there to protect YOU!), and job descriptions.
Thanks for your comments. I am always interested in learning new things. I do not claim to be some authority on this topic. I was inquiring on an issue that affects many folks. My only complaint is that you ate not willing to put who you are. You know who I am.
Thanks for reading. Not all my posts are stupid. Some may be but I like my First Amendment ��
If you want to comment further please email me at mkrullrt55@gmail.com
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