I’ve posted about nurses in the past, but here is another thoughtful discussion of nursing activities and why it is necessary to have an adequate number of nurses in the hospital.
Nurses provide a vital service in hospital care. I’ve personally represented many nurses and many CNAs over the years who get hurt by doing a very difficult job.
Nurses in Peace Health Riverbend walk miles (15 to 20 per day) because of the way the hospital is laid out. They communicate with their patients by cell phone, and if for some reason a CNA is missing or a nurse is missing, the job gets much harder. One of my nurse clients developed plantar fasciitis from the walking. This is a painful condition that limits a person’s ability to walk. The hospital initially fought us on whether the plantar fasciitis was work related, but we ultimately prevailed.
I’ve also represented a nurse who slipped in water left by doctors scrubbing in preparation of surgery. The nurse slipped and fell and suffered a back injury as a result.
Frequently we see nurses and CNAs injured in lifting type accidents, but in many cases of injury, if staffing had been a little higher and the nurse could work a little more slowly, the accident could have been avoided.
