The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients

“Taking care of sick people is not like running a factory. It’s dealing with vulnerable human beings and they have to come first.”

Thursday May 12^th is the culmination of National Nurses Week 2016 and nurses will gather in Washington, DC for a grassroots event to raise awareness around safe staffing. Events are also being planned in state capitals. One issue that unites nurses, spokespeople say, is the need for safe staffing in order to provide quality care to patients. Nursing organizations say they are excited to see nurses around the country resolve to advocate for the profession and for patient safety. #SafeStaffingSavesLives is their hashtag.

Here, Claudia Cragg speaks with Nurse Theresa Brown, the author of a new book about her experiences in the profession, The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients.

“I think greed has infected our healthcare system and has had very negative consequences and we’ve really lost sight of why we’re doing this, I don’t think nurses and doctors necessarily. But once more and more hospital systems are run by MBAs and people who think that running a hospital is like running a factory or running any kind of business, you’re really in trouble because taking care of sick people is not like running a factory, it’s dealing with vulnerable human beings and they have to come first.”