Ethos:

I made sure to cite and quote all my sources, most of them I had introduced first with their credibility before citing evidence. I made sure all my sources are credible by using the Pima library database for articles. I present how the issue is connected to myself by stating that I have worked alongside nurses and have many family members and friends who are nurses. I have contacted enough research; I include an interview thought my paper (Shannon King a RN) and provide lots of information. I appeal to a wide audience. At the end of my story I try to engage to a wide audience by stating “we have been to a hospital or had a loved one in a hospital”. Yes, I state my opposing view that brining unions to hospitals will cost the hospitals more money. My solution is ethical. My essay is in correct MLA format and appropriate vocab. I may have a few grammar errors

Logos:

I feel I have used a balance of both my own conclusion/ experience and have use of quoting. I have backed up my claim with evidence. My solution is practical and specific. I should have provided more evidence that a nursing union could work. My claims do build upon each other in support of my ideas and solutions. I do avoid fallacies.

Pathos:

I avoid exaggerated and emotionally manipulative language. I appeal directly to my classmates with my call to action be stating “We need to support and take care of our nurses, so they will be able to take care of us.” I am very caring and passionate about my issue; I state how I feel about the issue and why we must make a change.  

https://prezi.com/view/vIgfdY45zBiamN6P1jEK/

Supporting Our Nurses

Nursing is a developing field, and it takes a certain kind of individual to handle it. The work may be unglamorous and exhausting, but it is profoundly gratifying. As a nurse, you hold patients’ lives in your hands and make a real difference. It requires long hours and vast knowledge. I know firsthand how demanding a job it can be on nurses. I used to work in the medical field alongside registered nurses and have many family members who are nurses. Though, can the job be too demanding? Some nurses do not receive an opportunity to stop and take a break during their long twelve-hour shifts, whether it is to rest or to eat a meal. Existing nurse-to-patient ratios in Arizona do not permit nurses to provide the best patient care. Studies show from BJ Thompson’s journal, “Does Work-Induced Fatigue Accumulate,” working multiple twelve-hour shifts in a row causes fatigue in individuals. With how demanding it is, one would assume that hospital management would support nurses, but that is not always the case. Nurses are being treated unethically, overworked, and underappreciated by hospitals all over the country as well as in Arizona. They need help, and there is a solution.

Today, nurses are required to take on more patients than they can handle. Both nurse and patient would be provided with more considerable advantages with lowering the number of patients a nurse is to care for during their shift. Without reducing the patient ratio, patients are at a higher risk for medical errors and infections. Thompson, who studied in kinesiology and health science, reported that “an estimated 400,000 deaths and 2 to 4 million nonlethal serious medical events per year are due to healthcare provider errors.” How do we expect a nurse to be able to properly perform their job if they have too many patients to care for? Lowering this number is a huge must. Keeping nurse to patient ratio down will permit nurses to attend to their patients more effectively. Aimee Ortiz, a publisher for The New York Times, wrote an article and interviewed many nurses in Tucson, AZ. Many of the nurses, Ortiz interviewed voiced their dissatisfaction towards the nurse-to-patient ratio. In Ortiz’s article she states, “research shows that with every patient over four assigned to one nurse in a medical-surgical unit could increase mortality by 7% per patient”. There are other issues as well; some nurses who are not able to take a break to eat or to use the bathroom. We have no laws in Arizona from stopping this high nurse to patient ratio, but to keep our families safe, we must make a change.

Reliable tests have been performed to prove fatigue in overworked nurses by Thompson. He test multiple nurses working a single twelve-hour shift vs. nurse working three twelve-hour shifts within three days. Nurses working multiple twelve-hour shifts in a row showed a significant decline in reaction time and lapses of attention. It slows their movements and thinking patterns a considerate amount, making it a higher chance for mistakes. This can be very dangerous, especially for the patients that they are caring for (Thompson). When working in the medical field, a small accident can have significant consequences. A minor mistake could potentially mean a patient’s life. Many of these studies had been done within one week. One could only imagine the results scientists would find from nurses working cumulative twelve-hour shifts in a row for weeks, months, or even years. There needs to be regulations put in place that allow nurses to work no more than one twelve-hour shift in a forty-eight-hour period. This will keep nurses safe from work-induced fatigued.

Our nurses need someone to stand up for them, and a nursing union is just that. Nursing unions have acted to make better working environments for nurses and safe patient care. A nursing union is an organization that makes choices about circumstances involving their work. Nursing unions try to give nurses ethical treatment in their workplace. Nursing unions strive to provide nurses a voice at work, better pay, and improved benefits. A firm contract between the union and hospital could help ensure that patients receive the best possible care. They would be protected from being forced to work many hours day after day. They would also be given proper nurse to patient ratios. In the article, “State of the Union” from the National Nurse, states California is the first state to pass a ratio bill. The bill established a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio. It took many years, but with the help of the CNA (California Nurses Association) union, the law passed. The CNA is pursuing the minimum nurse-to-patient laws in twelve additional states and as well as to banned forced overtime (McMenamin).

An inside source I interviewed stated a group represented by the nursing union came to Saint Joseph Hospital to persuade nurses to unionize. When word first came around about voting for a union, they tried to convince employees not to unionize. While it is legal for the hospital to persuade its employees not to unionize, it is illegal for them to threaten their employees to prevent them from joining. Illegal or not, this did not stop them. Shannon King, a registered nurse at St. Joseph Hospital, states, “Management threatened all of the nurses, if there was any talk about forming a union, that they would fire those individuals.” Though the hospital never fired nurses for those exact reasons, they would find other reasons to terminate them. King states, “They fired those nurses because they supported the union and wanted a change. They found any reasons to fire those women, but the rest of us knew the real reason why they were fired.” In the end, it was a wasted scare tactic, the majority vote won, and the hospital was unionized. St. Joseph Hospital was the first hospital in Arizona to be unionized on October 9th, 2018. Shortly after, St. Mary’s Hospital also became unionized.

On September 20, 2019, Arizona had its first-ever registered nurse strike. The hospitals involved were St. Joseph’s Hospital and St. Mary’s, located in Tucson, AZ. The 24-hour strike also included hospitals from California, Florida, and Illinois. Thousands of nurses went on strike that day(Ortiz). Their goal was to push for better patient care by demanding better work conditions and better pay, states Yajaira Roman, an intensive care nurse, and a member of the union. King says, “The hospitals tried to bribe many of us (nurses) not to strike. They had paid nurses from Phoenix to come down to Tucson on buses. They paid those nurses thousands of dollars to work. When usually the hospital would staff the nurse with an 8-10 nurse to patient ratio, when the nurses went on strike, the hospital staffed the hospital with nurse staff with a 2-3 patient ratio just so there would not be a commotion while the nurses are on strike.” A spokesperson for St. Joseph’s Hospital claims, “Our hospitals are staffed appropriately, and the safety of our patients is paramount, and staffing decisions are made to support this based on acuity and individualized needs of each patient” (Ortiz).

There is a chance that a nursing union will not resolve all the problems that our nurses face. A nursing union is only as strong as the contact that they have with the hospital. Without the support and cooperation from the hospital, the union will not be able to provide regulations to protect our nurses. Without support from the hospital, it will undoubtedly lead the nurses to a strike. As a result, this will shorten our hospitals of nurses, which is already a severe problem America is already facing. Fawn Slade, a registered nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital and a union member, states, “in Arizona alone, 37,000 people with active registered nurse licenses don’t work, we are hopeful that this strong contract will bring those nurses back to bedside” (Ortiz). Some arguments made against nursing unions are that it will cost the hospital too much money. I agree it could cost the hospital money, but a nurse’s health and overall well-being are more important than a budget. Having a strong union can help keep nurses healthy, and in return, they keep patients safe.

It is essential to take care of our nurses because, at one time or another, we have been to a hospital or had a loved one in a hospital. We want nurses to be able to give our loved ones and ourselves the best care they can provide for us. It is hard for an individual, such as a nurse, to be able to provide top care if they are not being treated with care first. Bringing in and supporting a nursing union will bring much-needed attention to nurses. We need to support and take care of our nurses, so they will be able to take care of us.

Works Cited

Thompson BJ. Does work-induced fatigue accumulate across three compressed 12 hour shifts in

hospital nurses and aides? plot one. 2019;14(2):1-15.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0211715

Ortiz A. Nurses in Four States Go on Strike in Protest Over Patient Numbers. The New York

Times. https://0-search-ebscohost-com.library2.pima.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eds gov&AN=edsgcl.600247938&site=eds-live&scope=site. Published 2019. Accessed December 9, 2019.

State of the Union. National Nurse. 2012;108(8):14. https://0-search-ebscohost-

com.library2.pima.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=84511340&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed December 9, 2019.

McMenamin B. Here We Go Again. Forbes. 2001;168(12):48. https://0-search-ebscohost-          

com.library2.pima.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=5425896&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed December 9, 2019.

3.) Hasty decision, to never lend a friend a tool, with insufficient evidence.

20.) Poison the well, intention of discrediting what this person has to say, because hw was an avid Communist.

22.) Appeal to authority, there is a chance that authority/White House can be wrong

23.) Appeal to ignorance, their argument must be true since it has not been proven wrong.

26.) Death by a thousand qualifications, this can be proven insignificant with further investigation.

Claim 1.) Both nurse and patient would be provided with more considerable advantages with lowering the number of patients a nurse is to care for during their shift.

Claim 2.) Without reducing the patient ratio, patients are at a higher risk for medical errors and infections.

Evidence: It is reported that “An estimated 400,000 deaths and 2 to 4 million nonlethal serious medical events per year are due to healthcare provider errors” (Thompson)

Claim 3.)Keeping nurse to patient ratio down will permit nurses to attend to their patients more effective and affectingly. 

Evidence: “Statistics show that for every patient over four assigned to one nurse in a medical-surgical unit could increase mortality by 7% per patient” (Thompson).

Claim 4.) Lowering this number is a huge must. Keeping nurse to patient ratio down will permit nurses to attend to their patients more effectively.

Evidence:  Statistics show that every patient over four assigned to one nurse in a medical-surgical unit could increase mortality by 7% per patient (Ortiz).

Claim 5.) When working in the medical field, a small accident can have significant consequences.

Claim 6.)  A minor mistake could potentially mean a patient’s life.

Evidence: Nurses working multiple twelve-hour shifts in a row showed a significant decline in reaction time and lapses of attention. It slows their movements and thinking patterns a considerate amount, making it a higher chance for mistakes. (Thompson)

Supporting Our Nurses

Nursing is a developing field, and it takes a certain kind of individual to handle it. It is demanding and is not an easy job.  The work may be unglamorous and exhausting, but it is profoundly gratifying. As a nurse, you hold patients’ lives in your hands and make a real difference. It requires long hours and vast knowledge. Though, can the job be too demanding? Some nurses do not receive an opportunity to stop and take a break during their long twelve-hour shifts, whether it is to rest or to eat a meal. Existing nurse-to-patient ratios in Arizona do not permit nurses to provide the best patient care. Studies show that working multiple twelve-hour shifts in a row causes fatigue in individuals. With how demanding it is, one would assume that hospital management would support nurses. Nurses are being treated unethically, overworked, and underappreciated by hospitals. They need help, and there is a solution.

Today, nurses are required to take on more patients than they can handle. Both nurse and patient would be provided with more considerable advantages with lowering the number of patients a nurse is to care for during their shift. Without reducing the patient ratio, patients are at a higher risk for medical errors and infections. It is reported that “An estimated 400,000 deaths and 2 to 4 million nonlethal serious medical events per year are due to healthcare provider errors” (Work-induced fatigue). How do we expect a nurse to be able to properly perform their job if they have too many patients to care for? Lowering this number is a huge must. Keeping nurse to patient ratio down will permit nurses to attend to their patients more effective and affectingly.  Statistics show that for every patient over four assigned to one nurse in a medical-surgical unit could increase mortality by 7% per patient (Work-induced fatigue). There are other issues as well; some nurses who are not able to take a break to eat or even use a bathroom. It would become difficult to do a good job with a hungry stomach and a full bladder. We have no laws against in Arizona from stopping this high nurse to patient ratio, but to keep our families safe, we must make a change

Reliable tests have been performed to prove fatigued in overworked nurses. Blank test multiple nurses working a single twelve-hour shift vs. nurse working three twelve-hour shifts within three days. Nurses working multiple twelve-hour shifts in a row showed a significant decline in reaction time and lapses of attention. It slows their movements and thinking patterns a considerate amount, making it a higher chance for mistakes. This can be very dangerous, especially for the patients that they are caring for. When working in the medical field, a small accident can have significant consequences. A minor mistake could potentially mean a patient’s life. Many of these studies had been done within one week. One could only imagine the results scientists would find from nurses working cumulative twelve-hour shifts in a row for weeks, months, or even years. There need to be regulations, but in place that allows nurses to work no more than one twelve-hour shift in a forty-eight-hour period. This will keep nurses safe from work-induced fatigued.

Our nurses need someone to stand up for them, and a nursing union is just that. Nursing unions have acted to make better working environments for nurses and safe patient care. A nursing union is an organization that makes choices about circumstances involving their work. Nursing unions try to give nurses ethical treatment in their workplace. Nursing unions strive to provide nurses a voice at work, better pay, and improved benefits. A firm contract between the union and hospital helps ensure that patients receive the best possible care. It is essential because, at one time or another, we have been to a hospital or had a loved one in a hospital. We want nurses to be able to give our loved ones and us the best care they can provide for us. It is hard for an individual, such as a nurse, to be able to provide top care if they are not being treated with care first. Bring in and supporting a nursing union will bring much-needed attention to nurses. They would be protected from being forced to work many hours day after day. They will also be given proper nurse to patient ratios.

An inside source stated a group represented by the nursing union came to Saint Joseph Hospital to persuade nurses to unionize. When word first came around about voting for a union, they tried to convince employees not to unionize. While it is legal for the hospital to persuade its employees not to unionize, it is illegal for them to threaten their employees to prevent them from joining. Illegal or not, this did not stop them. Shannon King, a registered nurse at St. Joseph Hospital, states, “Management threaten all of the nurses, if there was any talk about forming a union, that they would fire those individuals.” Though the hospital never fired nurses for those exact reasons, they would find other reasons to terminate them. King states, “They fired those nurses because they supported the union and wanted a change. They found any reasons to fire those women, but the rest of us knew the real reason why they were fired.”   In the end, it was a wasted scare tacked, the majority vote won, and the hospital was unionized. St. Joseph Hospital was the first hospital in Arizona to be unionized.

On September 20, 2019, Arizona had its first-ever registered nurse strike. The hospitals involved were St. Joseph’s Hospital and St. Mary’s, located in Tucson, AZ. The 24-hour strike also included hospitals from California, Florida, and Illinois. Thousands of nurses went on strike that day. Their goal was to push for better patient care by demanding better work conditions and better pay, states Yajaira Roman, a nurse, and a member of the union. Many nurses went on strike. King says, “The hospitals tried to bribe many of us (nurses) not to strike. They had paid nurses from Phoenix to come down to Tucson on buses. They paid those nurses thousands of dollars to work. When usually the hospital would staff the nurse with an 8-10 nurse to patience ratio, when the nurses went on strike, the hospital staff the hospital with nurse staff with a 2-3 patience ratio. Just so, there would not be a commotion while the nurses are on strike”.

There is a chance that a nursing union will not resolve all the problems that our nurses face. A nursing union is only as strong as the contact that they have with the hospital. Without the support and cooperation from the hospital, the union will not be able to provide regulations to protect our nurses. Without support from the hospital, it will undoubtably lead the nurses into a strike. As a result, this will shorten our hospitals of nurses. Which is already a severe problem America is already facing.  Some arguments made against nursing unions are that it will cost the hospitals too much money. I agree it could cost the hospital money, but a nurse’s health and overall well-being are more important than a budget.  Having a strong union will help keep nurses healthy, and in return, they keep patients safe.

We need to support and take care of our nurses, so they will be able to take care of our loved ones properly.

Work Cited

Thompson BJ (2019) Does work-induced fatigue accumulate across three compressed 12 hour shifts in hospital nurses and aides? PLoS ONE 14(2): e0211715. https://doi.org/ 10.1371/ journal.pone.0211715

Ortiz, Aimee. “Nurses in Four States Go on Strike in Protest Over Patient Numbers.” The New York Times, 2019, p. A19. EBSCOhost, 0 search.ebscohost.com.library2.pima.edu/login aspx?direct = true&db =edsgov&AN=edsgcl.600247938&site=eds-live&scope=site.

1. Sentence/Complete Sentence

Sentence Fragment: Subject verb

Subordinate Conjunctions: after, although, as, as if, as though, because, before, except, if, since, though, unless, until, when, whereas

Relative Pronouns: that, what, whatever, which, who, whoever, whom, whose

• Run on sentence

Fused sentence

Two independent clauses with out punctuation between comma splice

• Capitalization

The first word of a direct quotation. (“We are going home,” said Dad.)

• Commas to Make Meanings Clear

Use commas to set off appositives (a word, phrase, title, or degree used directly after another word or names to explain it.)

Use a comma to set off two or more introductory prepositional phrases

Use a comma when separating two or more adjectives

Use a comma when writing a complex sentence in which the subordinate conjunctions such as: after, although, as, as soon, because (As soon as he can, Francisco has a lot of homework to do as soon as he can)

• Semicolons

Use semicolons to separate independent clauses that are brief and closely related. This works best with cause and effect information. (Kristi’s skating routine is the best; she won six gold medals. It rained all day; our picnic was cancelled.)

•  Commonly Confused Words
• WHO-used as a subject or as a subject complement (see above)

ex: John is the man who can get the job done.

• WHOM-used as an object

ex: Whom did Sarah choose as her replacement?

• THROUGH-by means of; finished; into or out of

ex: He plowed right through the other team’s defensive line.

• THREW-past tense of throw

ex: She threw away his love letters.

• THOROUGH-careful or complete

ex: John thoroughly cleaned his room; there was not even a speck of dust when he finished.

• THOUGH-however; nevertheless

ex: He’s really a sweetheart though he looks tough on the outside.

• THRU-abbreviated slang for through; not appropriate in standard writing

ex: We’re thru for the day!

• APART-to be separated

ex: The chain-link fence kept the angry dogs apart. OR My old car fell apart before we reached California.

• A PART-to be joined with

ex: The new course was a part of the new field of study at the university. OR A part of this plan involves getting started at dawn.

future, Lang = future; Lang

as well as I = as well as me

it, we = it; we

headache = head ache

back I = back, I

two tall clear glasses = two tall, clear glasses

Supporting Our Nurses

Nursing is a developing field, and it takes a certain kind of individual to handle it. The work may be unglamorous and exhausting, but it is profoundly gratifying. As a nurse, you hold patients’ lives in your hands and make a real difference. It requires long hours and boundless knowledge. Though, can it be too demanding? Some nurses do not receive an opportunity to stop and take a break during their long twelve-hour shifts, whether it is to rest or to eat a meal. Current nurse-to-patient ratios do not allow nurses to provide the best patient care. Studies show that working multiple twelve-hour shifts in a row causes fatigue in individuals. With how demanding it is, one would assume that hospital management would support nurses. Nurses are being treated unethically, overworked, and underappreciated by hospitals. They need help, and there is a solution.

Every patient over four assigned to one nurse in a medical-surgical unit could increase mortality by 7% per patient. Keeping nurse to patient ratio down will allow nurses to take better care of their patients.

Reliable tests have been performed to prove fatigue in nurses who are overworked. Blank test multiple nurses working a single twelve-hour shift vs. nurse working three twelve-hour shifts within three days. Nurses working multiple twelve-hour shifts in a row showed a significant decline in reaction time and lapses of attention. It slows their movements and thinking patterns a considerate amount, making it a higher chance for mistakes. Working in the medical field, a small accident can have significant consequences. A mistake could potentially mean a patient’s life. Many of these studies had been done within one week. One could only imagine the results scientists would find from nurses working cumulative twelve-hour shifts in a row for weeks, months, or even years. 

Our nurses need someone to stand up for them, and a nursing union is just that. Nursing unions have acted to make better working environments for nurses and safe patient care. A strong contract between the union and hospital helps ensure that patients receive the best possible care. 

Saint Joseph Hospital is the first hospital in Arizona to be unionized. When word first came around about voting for a union, they tried to persuade employees not to unionize. Hospital management threaten their nurses if there was any talk about forming a union that they would fire those individuals, which the hospital had fired nurses when they out spoke about supporting the union. 

On September 20, 2019, Arizona had its first-ever registered nurse strike. The hospitals involved were St. Joseph’s Hospital and St. Mary’s located in Tucson, AZ. The 24-hour strike also included hospitals from California, Florida, and Illinois. Thousands of nurses went on strike that day. Their goal was to push for better patient care by demanding better work conditions and better pay.  Many nurses went on strike. The hospitals tried to bribe many of the nurses not to strike. They had even paid nurses from Phoenix to come down to Tucson on buses. Having a strong union helps nurses keep patients safe. When usually the hospital would staff the nurse with an 8-10 nurse to patience ratio, when the nurses went on strike, the hospital staff the hospital with nurse staff with a 2-3 patience ratio. Just so, there would not be a commotion while the nurses are on strike.

There is a chance that a nursing union will not resolve all the problems. A nursing union is only as strong as the contact that they have with the hospital. Some hospitals are against unions because it could cost them more money. I agree it could cost the hospital money, but a nurse’s health and overall well-being is more important than a budget.  

We need to support and take care of our nurses, so they will be able to take care of our loved ones properly.

There is a chance that a nursing union will not resolve all the problems. A nursing union is only as strong as the contact that they have with the hospital. Some hospitals are against unions because it could possible cost them more money. I agree it could cost the hospital money, but a nurses health and over all being is more important then a budget.   t

For the most part students were sympathetic with my topic. I did have an individual recommend I should interview a nurse to get their input on the situation. Those that were neutral were uninformed about nursing unions. The negative augment I received was that unions are only are as strong as their contract, so it make not solve the issues.