Message to Chris Matthews: Don't Worry About Nurses

Nurses don't need unions. By and large, across the country, we do fine without them.

I have been a registered nurse for fifteen years this coming June. I can tell you, it's not a bad life. In fact, nursing has provided me with a comfortable living. Show me a nurse who's being bullied by their employer, and I'll show you a nurse who doesn't stand up for themselves. Show me a nurse who can't make life work on their salary, and I'll show you someone who's making bad choices.

There is still a nursing shortage on. Attention nurses: When you have a product that is in high demand, and low supply, you have the market. You don't need a union shopsteward to make this work for you.

I think that in the big picture, unions hurt nursing as a profession. Registered nurses are degreed professionals. Why would we promote ourselves as labor? (Same goes for you teachers out there). For instance, I have a vision of nurses working for themselves, or as groups as physicians do, billing for our own services.

I find this vision considerably brighter than that of us as cogs in the great hospital wheel, pleading with politicians to force hospital administrations to treat us more nicely. All nurses make decent wages, and have at least decent benefits. When they strike, it's for what they want, not what they need. And if you think that patient care isn't compromised when nurses strike, then what do you think is the pressure for the hospital to comply with their demands?

In my current position as a travel nurse, I'd definitely take a job filling in during a strike. It pays approximately double what I made as a full time RN at home. By marketing myself, weighing opportunities, negotiating with agencies and hospital administrators, I'm doing more for my profession than whiners in a picket line. You certainly never will see me, a proud professional, jeering at scabs crossing the picket line to care for the unfortunates who happen to have their elective knee surgery scheduled that week.

This is my passionately held opinion. Therefore, I was insulted when Chris Matthews accused Arnold Schwarzenegger of not liking nurses if he put pharmaceutical industry interests above nurses union interests. This even after Arnold made some of good points; don't confuse nurses' interests with their unions interests; unions are no less special interests than pharmaceutical companies. Still Chris couldn't resist saying, "You don't like nurses".

C'mon Chris! This is beneath you. Please refrain from tactics that insult my intelligence. If you don't have this much respect for yourself, then at least show some respect for me . . . a nurse . . . a professional.