The Communicator Letters policy We welcome letters to the editor about union issues and events relevant to PEF's diverse membership. All letters are subject to editing for space, fairness and good taste. Please keep them brief (up to one page, double-spaced or a maximum of 250 words), and please include your name and phone number for verification. Send letters to: The Communicator Public Employees Federation P.O. Box 12414 Albany, N.Y. 12212-2414 email Denyce Duncan Lacy, Executive Editor The Communicator - Director of Public Relations dduncanlacy@pef.org Sherry Halbrook, Editor of The Communicator- shalbrook@pef.org The Communicator Home Page Nurses must be caring and skilled To the Editor: I am writing in response to the June 2001 article entitled “Nursing’s image suffers: Too much emphasis on caring, too little on skills” by Lenore Boris, RN. I found this article to be an oversimplified attempt at dealing with a problem that is inherent in the profession — particularly a profession primarily of women. And, yes — as such, the essence of nursing is in the caring spirit. It is not nursing’s image that suffers in response to “too much emphasis on caring.” Instead, it is the patient and his or her family that suffers from thoughts such as “there is too much emphasis on caring, too little on skills.” I speak not only from my professional nursing experience, but also from having been hospitalized for nearly a month because of a subarachnoid hemorrhage. During this time, the blatant lack of caring in the nursing staff assigned to me caused me to suffer even more. l agree that nursing’s image needs a makeover. However, the only way to create a sustainable image for nursing is to recruit, retain, support and respect only nurses who are skilled and proficient clinicians as well as caring individuals. This is the image that must be presented and maintained as the standard for the profession. Despite the nursing shortage — both current and predicted — nurses who do not equally honor both aspects of nursing practice should be dismissed from the field. And nursing students who do not have the aptitude for all of these things should be asked to leave school. We must not ever diminish the importance of our role in caring and nurturing. Instead, we must include these roles in our professional image. Without these aspects, there is no basis for nursing even being a profession. DEBBIE BRANTLEY Sleepy Hollow Professional respect key issue To the Editor: I work at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo. I have been here more than 27 years. I am concerned about the future of Roswell and the future of nursing and heath care. I believe nurses need support and education but, most of all, we need respect. We are still viewed as doctors’ handmaids by too many people. However, we need to earn this respect. We need to clarify our identity as professionals. We don't know who we are, who we should be or, indeed, who we want to be. We need to band together and network, so we can answer these questions. DAVID DEWITT Buffalo Bullied by boss? Find help on net To the Editor: Are you being bullied or harassed at work by an abusive boss or manager? Does this abuse consist of being subjected to yelling, unfair treatment, inappropriate discipline, threats, and other factors causing you to exist in a hostile workplace? Are you getting ill from this and have to take days off? If so, there are resources and forums on the Internet set up to help you get the insight and knowledge needed to deal with this ordeal. You can log onto www.successunlimited.co.uk you will find a site with valuable information that will help you understand and cope with this unpleasant experience. You can also join two forums where you will be able to read other abuse victims accounts of their experiences and join in the discussion and present your own details. You can join by submitting your request to subscribe by writing to bullyonline-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and nineveh-group@prodigy.net. Just tell them you want to join. You need not suffer in silence anymore. BOB MILLER Staten Island