Letter: Board of Nursing fails to hold genuine dialogue

Thursday, March 12, 1998 | 10:38 a.m.

I saw microphones on the tables, and when I got the speaker's attention to ask that she use the microphone, I was told they weren't working, but that the meeting was being recorded. Big deal. It doesn't help anyone who goes to a public hearing of a public body to hear testimony to know that it is being recorded, because to get a transcript you must purchase it page by page -- an unnecessary expense if a public hearing focuses on the public.

The issues on today's agenda are critically important to registered nurses. One in particular, the delegation of nursing care to unlicensed personnel, concerns us greatly because it impacts directly on patient safety. The uncertainty of the qualifications of unlicensed persons will impact on our licenses because we will be held responsible for their behavior. The knowledge base and critical thinking skills that nurses develop by virtue of our preparation and experience cannot be transferred with a magic wand to a person whose main attraction to our profit-driven health-care system is simply that their absence of skill and knowledge makes them an economic bargain. We are caregivers. We will not sacrifice our licenses over this issue that puts patients in jeopardy.

In the future, when any public body has a public hearing it has a responsibility to ensure that the setting respects those attending enough to allow them to be physically present in the meeting room and to hear the dialogue.

Patricia van Betten, R.N.