Dialysis patients angry at nursing change

 

Particularly unsettling is the implication that RPNs, as a category of care provider, are inexperienced or that quality of care decreases with RPNs on the job. These implications are inaccurate, bordering on libelous. RPNs are highly-educated. They are also ‘nurses’ in every sense of the word. They are registered by the College of Nurses of Ontario, just as RNs are. There are 30,000 RPNs in Ontario, making breathtaking differences every day. They don’t deserve to be the subjects of such misinformed attacks.

One of the protestors quoted in the article refers to RPNs by saying, “A little girl coming straight out of college can’t identify the issues the way an experienced RN can.” This statement should be offensive to every nurse, regardless of designation, gender or age. There are novice and veteran workers in every profession. The RPN hired by this clinic is fully registered and qualified to practice in the role she is in.

And while the article’s subtitle, ‘Registered practical nurses to take over’, makes for gripping reading, it is also false. Only a small portion of the nursing team is made up of RPNs. Some takeover. Many healthcare institutions have already recognized that mixing RPNs with RNs is a brilliant solution, as long as it is based on patient need and not cost. The presence of RPNs, who specialize in care of moderately complex individuals, can actually free up RNs to care for more critically ill patients.

Perhaps most disappointing, however, has been the Intelligencer’s failure to present both sides of this story, allowing these hurtful attacks against RPNs to go unchecked and unchallenged.

Alas, it seems the real victim in all of this may be the Intelligencer’s tradition of objective reporting.

Dianne Martin, RPN, RN, BScN
Executive Director, Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario
905-602-4664 ext 226
dmartin@rpnao.org 

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