Nurses Fired Over Patient Care

* Re “Nurses Fired for Denying Patient Care,” April 22.

As a retired nurse, I am appalled by the abrupt firing (without any due process) of four emergency room nurses at Community Memorial Hospital.

If executive director Michael Bakst spent less of the hospital’s funds on frivolous lawsuits directed against the Ventura County Medical Center he would have ample money to properly pay the nurses, who are largely responsible for Community Memorial’s excellent reputation.

Nurses are highly educated professionals, not the administrator’s personal slaves.

ANNE RUBIN

Ventura

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* As a health care consumer, I was deeply troubled to read about four local nurses refusing to care for a patient over a salary issue. As a registered nurse, I was shocked, disgusted and embarrassed.

While I don’t dispute the need for staff nurses to address salary concerns if there is a disparity, I find it unbelievable and unacceptable that nurses would walk away from any patient needing care.

How can we possibly expect patients to trust us with their lives and medications and procedures if they can’t even be sure we will show up?

The problems within the nursing profession are ancient and unresolved. There is much work required to solve them. These nurses have reduced the profession to a new low.

It is naive and irresponsible for any nurse to believe that using patients as pawns will fix the long-standing and complex intra-professional issues. It is also unsafe and uncalled-for.

SUSAN ODEGAARD TURNER

Thousand Oaks