In the Footsteps of Rosa Parks
February 20, 2012 in Amanda TrujilloEdit this entry
“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.” Rosa Parks.
Nurse K, the proprietor of Crass-Pollination: An ER Blog just wrote a post about the Amanda Trujillo case. She and I have very different opinions about Amanda’s case, but I encourage you to read her post because she reflects the opinion of many nurses about Amanda’s situation.
Nurse K gives an accurate blow by blow description on how corporate nurse leaders wage war against their nursing staff. She explains how nurse managers orchestrate the demise of nursing careers. Make management angry and you get the axe, and there isn’t a nurse alive that hasn’t witnessed or experienced the wrath of hospital management.
Nurses scatter and go underground when someone gets in trouble, and conventional wisdom states that a nurse should be contrite and take their punishment when they are abused by those who hold power. Many people are wondering why Amanda didn’t follow the same path. Some, like Nurse K, are suggesting that Amanda is committing career suicide. Other’s have told Amanda to “shut up.” The American Nurses Association and the Arizona Nurses Association won’t support an individual nurse who is “under investigation.” Egregious comments and actions are coming from the Arizona Board of Nursing. Kim McAllister from Emergiblog writes about the board’s actions here.Rosa Parks made history when she refused to move to the back of the bus and she was persecuted for her actions. She wasn’t trying to start a movement when she refused to move. She said that she was tired and just trying to get home. Amanda Trujillo wasn’t trying to start a movement either. All she did was write to fellow nurse Echo Heron about being fired from Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center, and her situation with the Arizona BON. Echo passed the letter on to Vernon Dutton and from there her letter went viral. Now Amanda is being persecuted for her actions. A lot of people have asked me why the Amanda Trujillo case resinates with nurses. It’s because nurses are tired of being treated like second class citizens. Nurses have few rights and little protection in the workplace. We are abused and bullied by nurse executives who cherish corporate profits. Frankly, we’re tired of being told to go to the back of the healthcare bus. And God help the nurse who says no, they aren’t moving. He or she is ridiculed, fired, dragged before the state board of nursing and threatened with the loss of their nursing license. Now, with the support of others, Amanda is fighting back. She’s isn’t doing this for herself, she fighting for our patients and the nursing profession. Great changes begin with one person.
Rosa Parks said that you must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right. Amanda is doing the right thing and she will win, and by doing so, we will all win in the end.
Thank you Terri Polick, RN @motherjonesrn for your support and moving post regarding Amanda Trujllo :)
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http://www.nurseup.com
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Sincerely,
Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618
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