The Nurses: A Year of Secrets, Drama, and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital (53 page)

“Code White” to the same effect.
“Workplace Bullies Can Undermine Safety.”

“nurse-friendly” hospitals
See, for example, Terry Simpson, “Transplant or Hospice,”
Yourdoctorsorders.com
, January 29, 2012. Emphasis in “doctor-
un
friendly” is mine.

“it affects my entire day.”
Interview.

“We train, hire. . . . They are pit crews.”
Atul Gawande, “Commencement Address at Harvard Medical School,” May 26, 2011. Accessed at
newyorker.com
.

“the issue boils down to . . . excellent patient care?”
Guest blog by the anonymous nurse of Those Emergency Blues (blog), on
KevinMD,
February 25, 2012. This post was in reference to a specific case against a nurse who was allegedly fired after a confrontation with a doctor; however, the quote applies to the larger issue of disrespect between the professions. I did not discuss that specific case because there were some questions as to the credibility of the sources.

of the top-ten media-generated
See Jacinta Kelly, Gerard M. Fealy, and Roger Watson, “The Image of You: Constructing Nursing Identities in YouTube.”
Journal of Advanced Nursing
68, no. 8 (August 2012). Also see, for example, “Study: YouTube Gives Mixed Messages About Nursing.”
Nurse.com
, July 17, 2012. Similarly, a “study of 280 films, produced between 1900 and 2007 from across the world, showed that 26 percent depicted nurses as sex objects,” in
Nursing Times,
October 2008.

2010 Dr. Oz show
See, for example, Staff and Wire Reports, “Dr. Oz’s Dancing ‘Nurses’ Draw Nurse Group’s Ire.”
The Oklahoman
(Oklahoma City), December 10, 2010.

nurses protested Dr. Phil
See, for example, Bob Groves, “An Image Problem, from TV to Silver Screen; Nurses Want Respect from Pop Culture,”
The Record
(Bergen County, NJ), May 6, 2007. See also, “Dr. Oz’s sexy ‘nurse’ backup dancers,” The Truth About Nursing, December 6, 2010. See also Susan Campbell, “Does Your Nurse Dance/Dress Provocatively?”
Courant.com
. December 8, 2010.

waitresses dressed as sexy nurses
See, for example, Larissa Liepins, “World’s Weirdest Restaurant Premieres Tonight on Food Network,”
The Daily Gleaner,
(New Brunswick) April 4, 2012.

a sexy nurse costume with white fishnets
See, for example, Sonya Padgett, “Hangover Heaven Doctor Treats the Buzz Kill on Strip,”
Las Vegas Review-Journal,
April 14, 2012.

In England, a bus company advertised
See, for example, Flora Drury, “Sexy Nurse Sparks Fury on the Wards,”
Worcester News,
March 16, 2010; “Sexy Nurse Ad On Bus Causes Uproar,”
NSW Nurses’ Association,
May 3, 2010; “British Nurses: We’re Not Sex Objects, Either,”
Adweek
, March 18, 2010.

“You will be motivated . . . emergency department.”
See, for example, “Hospital Advertises for ‘TV Series-Hot’ Nurses.”
Asian News International
, February 22, 2012. The Internet ad used the term “TV-series snygga” after a satisfied patient had praised the hospital with those words. Translated to English, “snygg” or “snygga” is the equivalent of “hot” or “good-looking.” See also “Swedish Hospital Seeks ‘Hot’ Nurses for Summer Employment,”
The Digital Journal
, February 22, 2012.

largest Emergency Care Unit in the Nordic region
Ibid.

scrubs that might be stained with blood, urine
Interviews.

“We’re sweaty and smelly”
Interviews.

Certified nursing assistant
Author correspondence with Erin Gloria Ryan.

“Nothing sexier . . . bowel movements on a chart.”
Comment following Margaret Hartmann, “BADVERTISING: Hospitals Are Obviously Full of Sexy Nurses!“
Jezebel.com
, March 18, 2010.

“Some nurses do fit . . .”
Interview.

“lecherous old perverts
” Interview.

“People are happy to sexualize . . . ”
Claire Lomas, “Sexualising Nurses Could Lead to Attacks on Staff, Warns Unison,”
Nursing Times
, March 23, 2010.

In 2010, a Dutch nurse union . . . sexually gratifying him
. Ben Berkowitz, “Nurses’ Union: Care Does Not Include Sex.” Reuters, March 11, 2010.

The man . . . nurses had done the same
. News Staff. “Sex Is Not Healthcare, Union Says,” November, 3, 2010.

When the student refused . . . unfit for the job
. Ben Berkowitz, Reuters.

“I’ve got to get myself a nurse in Holland
.” Ronan McGreevy, “Nurse Stereotypes as Sex Objects Persist on Internet, Study Finds,”
The Irish Times,
July 24, 2012.

union launched a campaign . . . front of her face
Victoria Thompson, “Sexy Nurses: Tongue in Cheek or Demeaning and Gratuitous?”
Nursing Times
, March 19, 2010.

patients “are free to ask. You are free to refuse.”
Ibid.

87 percent of them said yes.
Interviews.

“actually living
Grey’s Anatomy
”
Interview.

“Hospital life is . . . time to eat”
Interview.

“Some places . . . stressed-out people together.”
Interview.

Nurses have gotten intimate in on-call rooms
Interviews.

equipment lockers . . . patient rooms
Interviews.

offices
Interviews.

parking lots
Interviews.

“heady” feeling
Interview.

“Sexual exploits . . . call room at night
Interview.

“It’s like any kind of trauma”
Interview.

they hook up with
Interviews.

“I wanted to be”
Interview.

“residency was all-consuming . . .”
Interview.

A camera captured a nurse giving oral sex
Interview.

“She became a joke”
Interview.

Louisiana oncology nurse accidentally
Interview.

“Usually it only causes issues . . . ”
Interview.

nurses caught having sex . . . The Herald
(Glasgow), “Nurses in Sex Session Suspended,” January 30, 1997.

When a resident and a nurse were caught
Interview.

“As Britons, we are obsessed . . .”
Robert Gore-Langton, “Carry on Nursing our Saucy Fantasies.”
The Express,
March 4, 2008.

When a group of nurses posed. . . .“practice into question.”
“Sexy Nurse Calendar Causes Complaints to NMC,”
Nursing Times,
October 28, 2008.

posed nude for a charity . . .
Rob Harteveldt, “The NMC Should Focus on Things that Really Matter - Not Sexy Nurse Calendars,”
Nursing Times
, February 3, 2009.

knowingly rented out a ward . . .
“Big Budget” Porn Film Shot in London Hospital. BBC News, July 6, 2010.

Lord Benjamin Mancroft . . . “promiscuous.”
“Mancroft’s House of Lords Speech in Full.”
Bath Chronicle
, March 6, 2008. See also, for example, Morag Turner, “U.K. We’re No Angels,”
The Express
, March 8, 2008; Jenny McCartney, “Nurses: The Angels Who Fell from Grace?”
Sunday Telegraph
(London), March 2, 2008.

His evidence was . . .
“Mancroft’s House of Lords Speech . . .”

“sexual boundaries” guidelines . . . dating patients
. See, for example, “Guide to Patient Relationships,”
The Times
(London), January 22, 2008.

One in six U.K. nurses . . .
“Nurses Risk Breaking Rules on Relationships,”
Nursing Times
, February 25, 2008. See also, for example, Morag Turner.

A British nurse received . . . they had sex
. “Nurse Had Illicit Affair with Heart Op Patient.”
Daily Mail
(London), July 29, 2010.

between 1999 and 2009 . . . “constitutes sexual misconduct.”
“Practical Guidelines for Boards of Nursing on Sexual Misconduct Cases.” National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 2009.

Oklahoma Nursing Board . . . broke up with him
. Nolan Clay, “Nurse Loses License Over Patient Sex,”
The Oklahoman
, January 16, 2011.

Mayo Clinic . . . relationship was consensual
. Warren Wolfe, “Male Nurse’s Sex in Psych Ward Didn’t Break Rules,”
Star Tribune
, August 3, 2009.

In Australia, a sixty-one-year-old . . . “ethical relationship.”
Julia Medew, “Nurse Faces Disciplinary Action Over Relationship,”
The Age
(Melbourne), February 18, 2006.

Nurse and Midwifery Council investigated
“NMC to Investigate Nurse Accused of ‘Inappropriate Relationships,’”
Nursing Times
, March 11, 2010.

“Cancer nurse bedded . . . ”
John Kay and Alex Peake, “Cancer Nurse Bedded Three Victims’ Husbands,”
The Sun
, March 10, 2010.

divorced mother of two . . . his wife passed away
. See, for example, Andrew Levy, “Macmillan Nurse Sacked for Having ‘Affairs’ with Patients’ Widowers Reveals Her Love for Man Whose Wife Died Last Year,”
Daily Mail,
March 11, 2010.

Some states, including Maine
“Disciplinary Action and Violations of Law,”
Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, State Board of Nursing
, Chapter 4.

Arizona
R4-19-403, Unprofessional Conduct, “Laws & Rules,”
Arizona State Board of Nursing
.

Washington State
Washington Administrative Code, Title 246, Section 246-840-740.

Three weeks . . . sided with the hospital
. Ed Canning, “Employee-Client Relationships are Tricky,”
Hamilton Spectator
(Ontario, Canada), May 6, 2006.

Lori Dupont tried to end . . . harassed her at work
. See, for example, Doug Schmidt, “Daniel Turns to Blackmail,”
Windsor Star
(Ontario), November 9, 2006. Schmidt covered this story extensively.

When several nurses complained . . .
Doug Schmidt, “Daniel’s Return Unsettling,”
Windsor Star
, November 10, 2006.

nurses took it upon . . . bent over to speak to him
Ibid.

broke a nurse’s finger
Doug Schmidt, “Daniel Turns to Blackmail.”

quiet weekend day . . . then killed himself.
Doug Schmidt, “A Killing At Hôtel-Dieu: How a Workplace Romance Became a Deadly Obsession.”
Windsor Star,
November 4, 2006.

“an unforeseen event”
Doug Schmidt, “Why?: Family, Friends Ask: Could Nurse’s Death Have Been Prevented?”
Windsor Star
, November 11, 2006.

Dupont’s family and coworkers . . . Colin Johnston observed
. Ibid.

when Daniel was pursuing Dupont . . . “problems.”
Doug Schmidt, “Dupont ‘Relentlessly’ Pursued,”
Windsor Star,
November 7, 2006.

“The nurse takes appropriate”
“The ICN
Code of Ethics for Nurses
.”
International Council of Nurses
, Geneva, Switzerland, 2006.

“Almost every single”
Interview.

“If I had a dollar for every horny . . . ”
Interview.

ER nurse in Sacramento . . .
Interview with Dansby.

Medics brought in . . . able to revive
Interview with Dansby. See also Jessica Garrison and Molly Hennessy-Fiske, “Violence Afflicts ER Workers; Incidents Often Go Unreported, but Some Evidence Points to a Growing Problem,”
The Los Angeles Times
, July 31, 2011.

Dansby left the patient . . . off of her
. Interview with Dansby.

Shaken and injured . . . assailant is still free
. Ibid.

When Dansby told her department
Jessica Garrison and Molly Hennessy-Fiske; confirmed with Dansby.

Afraid of losing her job . . . “that hospital door.”
Interview with Dansby.

“ward rage”
See, for example Torri Minton, “Cry for Health: Poor Working Conditions Driving Nurses out of Hospitals,”
San Francisco Chronicle
, May 20, 2001.

On the rise
See, for example, Staff Report, “Not in a Day’s Work,”
National Nurse
, November 2010; “Preventing Violence in the Healthcare Setting.”
Sentinel Event Alert
45, The Joint Commission, June 3, 2010.

nine out of ten . . .
“Emergency Department Violence Surveillance Study.”
Emergency Nurses Association Institute for Emergency Nursing Research
, November 2011. See also Jessica Gacki-Smith et al., “Violence Against Nurses Working in U.S. Emergency Departments,”
Journal of Nursing Administration
39, no. 7/8 (July/August 2009); and Paula Zahn, “Nurses Under Attack,”
Paula Zahn Now
, CNN, July 11, 2007.

a quarter of ER nurses . . . past three years
. “Emergency Department Violence Surveillance Study”; see also Jessica Gacki-Smith et al.

every nurse they know
Interviews.

Experts have attributed the rise . . . crime or accident scenes
. Interviews; see also, for example, “Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers.” U.S. Department of Labor: Occupational Safety and Health Administration; “Workplace Violence: Assessing Occupational Hazards . . .”; Jessica Gacki-Smith et al.

third-most dangerous profession
An examination of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses reveals that nurses rank behind only police officers and correctional officers in the number of nonfatal assaults that resulted in days off from work due to illness or injury. A separate set of BLS data that more explicitly specifies professions shows that the assault incidence rates (again resulting in days off from work due to illness or injury) for RNs, LPNs, and licensed vocational nurses rank behind only health technicians and health aides.