It's been to long.....

Where does time go?  How many times have we asked ourselves this question?  One minute  we are starting school, next thing you know we are graduating, going to college, getting a job,maybe getting married and having kids.  Our kids grow, they have kids and next thing you know we are grandparent and yet we still feel like that 20 something starting their first real job.  Yes time has a way of flying by.

Case in point, I looked at the last time I posted and it was just over a year ago!  Wholly cow, yes where has time gone?  I look at the past year and oh my goodness so many changes in my life.  My relationship of almost nine years came to a screeching halt, I moved not once but twice and in between I was a bit of a nomad.  I've changed jobs but not careers. I now find myself back in the big city, but still with the smalltown way of life embedded in me.

It's been a huge adjustment with stress causing changes. New environment is hard enough, but then  throw in a new job with a totally different focus of care and living accommodation's and you are setting yourself up for some major stress.  I am hoping that I have managed it well enough, but I could be a wee bit biased on that.  I think my children and those around me that know and love me might have a different perspective of how I have been.  Regardless, I have forged a new path and I continue to explore and see life differently.

What has helped me through this transition is mediation, yoga, and running.  With regards to the running,  I was running so much I was reminding myself of Forrest Gump "Run Forrest Run"  and so I ran.  I ran off stressors, I attempted to run off the tears, the guilt, the frustrations but most of all the sadness and the strong sense of loss I was experiencing, and continue to feel to this day.

I won't keep this long, but it's my introduction to saying hello again.  I'm still the Smalltownrn I'm just living in the big city for now.  I have so many adventures and misadventures to share, I hope you will stay tuned to read about some of them.

“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

The house

Well it's almost the end of summer vacation and the barbeque I was hoping to have this summer never happened and likely won't happen. Why you might ask, simply put, we are still not back into our home.  Yes June 16th has long come and gone, so has July and now we are nearing the end of August.

As each new occupancy date approaches I try to remain optimistic, but those dates just keep coming and going.  There is another house inspection scheduled for this week, but some of the things which failed the last inspection still aren't complete and I am not holding my breath that they will be.  I personally am preparing myself for not being back into our home until October.  I'd love to be in our place by Thanksgiving so that is my goal.

Progress is being made but ever so slowly.  Sometimes I think we would have been better off if the house had burnt to the ground.   Many people have said to me how you could get a new house built in 4 months rather then this now 9 months that we are going into.  However, if the house had burnt to the ground I wouldn't have some of the possessions they were able to save most importantly my family photos and family heirlooms.

I wouldn't wish this process on anyone.  Not only do you have to deal with all the emotions that goes along with the loss of your home, but then you have the pleasure(not)of dealing with insurance companies, adjusters and contractors.  In the beginning this process appeared seamless and I was highly optimistic that things would continue along this path.  Not so much.  Insurance companies as much as they would like you to believe they are there for you they are not.  They are there to make money, that's the bottom line.  If they didn't have to pay you a cent they wouldn't.  You have to be on them constantly, and you really have to be your own advocate.  Although your adjuster might try and make you believe he/she is there for you, again they are there to represent their adjusting company and ultimately the insurance company.  Same goes for your insurance broker.  As our insurance was coming up for renewal this month I went in and had a little chat with my broker, only to find out that one, he didn't know about our house fire until 3 months after the fact and the only reason he found out was because he didn't get the kick back he was expecting from the insurance company because we had made a claim!

Anyhow, back to the house.  I know I will be very pleased when it is all said and done, but the process is very taxing.  Seems like so many things in your life are put on hold as you try to deal with  putting a roof back over your head.  Hubby and I have been very fortunate that we have been able to live in the basement suite at his father's, which is right next door to our home.  This accessibility has been great as hubby has been able to keep a watchful  eye on the contractors and keep things flowing as best he could.  I can't imagine what would have happened had we not been living in such close proximity.  You know if I were a witty person I know there are a few funny stories I could tell about things that have taken places during this rebuild, however witty is one thing  I am not.

At this point I was hoping to share some photos of the house the the progress.  But that's another issue that I will have to write about.  The loss of items in the fire of course included computers and hence I had to get a new computer and learn new programs and transfer data and well there just aren't enough hours in a day for me to figure all that out...but as I said I'll save the story of my lack of techno wizardry  for another day.  So instead of house photos I'll share some random photos of the night sky.

Happy Wednesday all!

Our weekend away....

Most of you who follow me on FB know that we had a house fire back in November.  Since that time we have been living in my father-in-laws basement suite.  I am very thankful for that, as the alternative would have been living in a motel, and in my area there aren't that many places that I would want to stay in for long periods of time.

The other fortunate or at times I think unfortunate thing about staying in the suite is that it is right next door to our home that is being rebuilt.  Pros and cons to that. Hubby has been able to monitor the progress to the tee.  Everyday and sometimes numerous times at day he is over at the house chatting with the contracts about adjustments he/we want made to the house, monitoring the installation of the electrical, where the outlets go, the light fixtures.  Monitoring the plumbing where the pipes go, reconfiguring closet space, planning the new kitchen island...oh there is so much to consider it is mind boggling.  I don't know how people enjoy doing that for a living.  To many decisions to make, flooring, windows, counters, cabinets, fireplace, positioning of the electrical box, staircase, where to to move the furnace.  Since our house was built 14 years ago building codes have changed and thus changes and adjustments needed to be done to the house as well. So again, hubby has been busy working with the contractors.

I finally said to him, we need a little break.  Although, I think we live in a beautiful area I thought a little get away was in order.  It would give us an opportunity to clear our heads and to not think about the house for a least one weekend.  With fishing season soon approaching I suggested we go out to Ucluelet and check out moorage for the boat and just relax.  So I checked to see what kind of deals were to be had and managed to find a waterfront condo with a jetted tub.   The facility also had free access to kayaks and bikes which we took full advantage of.

The first morning we woke up to a glorious sunrise, here is view of the sunrise from the deck....

After watching this glorious sunrise I went for a run and upon my return hubby had made me a lovely breakfast and a latte.

Once I devoured the scrumptious breakfast and showered we decided maybe it was time to get on the bikes and ride around town.  Our intent was to ride out the light house and check out the wild seas of the Pacific Ocean....here are a few shots of what we saw....

As you can see in one of the photos there is a fishing boat heading out to sea.  What you might not notice is that the swells on the water were at least 8-9ft!   I use to say to hubby when we would be bobbing up and down on the oceans "land no land" meaning as you dipped down into the swell you would not see that land....here are a few more photos of that boat and how it's bobbing up and down....

I often think about how luck we are to have navigational equipment i.e. radar and such.  I can't imagine they days when the explorers where coming to a new land and the wild seas and the rocky shores how they navigated their ships.  I guess that is why there were so many ship wrecks.  Even to this day there are ships lost at sea and capsized due to ocean conditions.

The next day we had booked a pedicure for me and a massage for hubby.  Shear decadence I know, but it just seemed like the right thing to do.  After our little spa treatments we booked the kayaks to take a little tours or the surrounding shoreline.  I did bring the camera, but the water was a little rough and I didn't want to risk taking photos and either losing my camera or capsizing so I opted to just store it in my memory bank.  Each even we treated ourselves to a soak in the jetted tub on the deck...looking out at the water and looking up to the brilliant night sky sparkling and full with twinkling stars.

Our final day the weather turned cold again, and raining.  Boo, but that wasn't going to detour us. We had decided we wanted to go Longbeach and check out the stormy sea from that vantage point....

Looking out to sea.....

It was a great little get away.....

Sky Watch Friday

These photos were taken in late February at a lake 10 mins from my house.  It's called Horne Lake.  It is very popular in the summer,but now a lot of folks are making it their homestead.  Horne Lake is well known for it's camping, fishing and the caves where you can explore by yourself or on a tour.

If you would like to join in on the fun please check out other wonderful skies at Sky Watch Friday

An update on my brother.....

Where on earth does time go?  Here we are the 4th of April already, Easter has come and gone, spring is well on it's way and in only a couple of months school will be out!

It's been quite a winter and early spring.  Weather wise it's been very mild.  We had snow back in late November early December and nothing since then.  It rains but that is par for the course around here.  Although, I must say my little area is suppose to get the most sunshine than anywhere else on the Island and I tend to believe that.  For my friends in the mid eastern states and eastern Canada I'm sorry for all the terrible weather you have been having.  This past Easter weekend we hit a whopping 23 Celsius, people were walking around in shorts and flip flops.  Yes spring is here.

One of my last posts I wrote about my brother Mike and his need for a double lung transplant.  Any of you who follow me on Facebook will know that he did get his double lung transplant on February 13th 2013!!!  The joy that brought me rated right up their to how I felt when I gave birth to my daughters. It was such a wonderful birthday gift to his daughter whose birthday is Valentine's day!  There actually was a lot of lucky 13's connected with Mikes transplant, for example, his birthday is September 13 and this being 2013, his surgery was on the 13th and he was released from the hospital 13 days post transplant.  Yes 2013 seems to be his year!  I'll never say 13 is unlucky again!

It was serendipitous that I would be in town that day.  I had to be on the mainland for a specialist appointment.  At the time we got the call regarding my brother, my sister and I were in her car just heading into Vancouver for my appointment.  At first we were hesitant as up until this point Mike was doing very poorly and his condition was deteriorating rather quickly, so when the news of the transplanted started off by saying "I have news about Mike".....long pause......"He's getting his lungs" was the next comment.  My sister and I burst out into tears.  We were so happy we were both shaking.  We made it to my specialist appointment which was an important appointment but it's all a blur as I was so focused on my brother.

We got word that he was going to have his surgery around midnight and that evening and  if we wanted to see him pre surgery we could.  Well of course we wanted to see him, as did his children, and more of the siblings.  While I was there I was able to meet the head guy himself.  The doctor who coordinates all the transplants.  I had a great little visit with him which was very informative and helpful.  I was a bundle of nerves.  I could see the joy on my sister-in-laws face, she always believed that Mike would get his lungs and she stayed so very positive.  Never for a moment did she think he wasn't going to make.  With my nurses hat on, in the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder if my brother or his wife had any idea as to what he would be in for post surgery.  The surgery was going to take about 9 hours.  I crossed my fingers, said a silent prayer and put the positive energy vibes out there.

It was the next morning and I was on the ferry back to the Island when I got the word that Mike had made it through surgery and was doing well.  I was able to breath a sigh of relief!  It was a short thirteen days later and he was released from the hospital.

Mike and I March 7th 2013 three weeks post double lung transplant. 

Mike and is lovely wife Arletha. She never gave up hope or faith!  Thank you Arletha for your strength and love for my brother!

Mike and his wife were told that they had to stay in Vancouver for 3 months post surgery for follow up and evaluations regarding his condition.  Apparently, Mike is doing so well that there is a strong possibility that they can move back to their home in Sechelt by May!!!

Sky Watch Friday

If you would like to join in on the fun please check out Skywatch Friday  for all the details.  Happy Friday all!

A Run A Fire Part Three

So here I am Day 2 of my Marathon of Hope, and post day 2 from the fire.

I had decided even before the fire that when I ran day 2 I wasn't going to start as early.  As I said I have never run a 1/2 marathon before and doing 2 half marathons back to back seemed like a daunting task.  I had no idea how I was going to feel.  Was I going to feel sore, how was I going to be emotionally, many thoughts ran through my mind.  What I knew I had to do was clear my mind of any negative energy, put on my runners and just run.

I was still pumped from the events of the previous day and being highlighted on the evening news the night before.  I was to meet the rest of the support crew at noon at the same spot we ended off at the previous day.  It was going to be a good day, the sun was shining and the air was crisp.

I have no idea where I got the energy to do that little jiggy dance...something just came over me and it seemed like the thing to do. 

 With my pace vehicle ahead of me and my support vehicle behind(which of course had 2 huge banners on it)the first community I ran through that afternoon was Union Bay.  I was so shocked at the reception I received.  Folks were actually out on their front porches clapping and cheering me on.  Other folks in their vehicles were honking their horns in support.  I was brought to tears.

As we wanted to draw attention to the run we had decided to make a couple of pre organized stop both of which were pubs...fancy that!!  Anyhow, my one and only stop that day was in a little town called Royston.  Royston was 16km into my run

These two gentleman were so kind and encouraging and made a great donation towards the run!

I only had a short 7km to go once I left Royston.  But that would be the longest 7km of my life.  Every part of my being was beginning to hurt at this point, my running pace was fluctuating and I was getting tired.

When I saw the sign for Courtenay I was ecstatic!

It was another 4km from there where my journey would end.  I feared I didn't have the energy, I pathetically cried to myself.  It was only a few short blocks and I was standing waiting for the light to turn green and I could see the Legion sign ahead of me.  I wanted to finish this in style.  I had to dig deep within myself to find the strength to give it the runners last push.  I sprinted the last 3 blocks when I arrived the tears were pouring down my face.

Once inside I was greeted by the Legion president and led to the front of the hall where there were over 200 people!  I was overwhelmed and honoured.  I was presented with a lovely arrangements of flowers and treated so kindly.

This is a journey I will never forget.  It made me find my inner strength and to work at over coming adversity.  At the end of the day it was about my brother and his determination to be a fighter and to never give up. Please if you haven't already done so sign up to be an organ donor.  Here's the link to BC Transplant online registration.

Thank you for stopping by and for reading my blog.

A Run A Fire Part II

I ended my last post by saying there was a lot to be considered and decisions to be made.

It was now 0100 and I hadn't been to bed yet and I was to be at the Legion hall by 0900.  The Legion had graciously donated the use of the hall for me to use as a gathering place for the beginning of the run, and a place where I was being joined by members of my local Legion and my support team.  Here I was going to do my warm up and hopefully  to be joined by others.  However, other things needed to be dealt with first.

As I mentioned in my last post, when we left for dinner on Thanksgiving  we had left our two faithful dogs in our home. When father in law initially arrived at our home and opened the back door Ernie our 3 years old Husky/Greyhound came bolting out but not our dear Bert.  Father in law could here Bert whimpering and went into the house to see if he could get him out.  He somehow managed to achieve this and Bert finally made his way out of the house.  With all the activity going on I hadn't had an opportunity to truly check either of our dogs. Our neighbour come over to see if she could help and volunteered to take our dogs to her place for the night, but our companions did not want to leave us.

Once  the ambulance had left and we were in my father-in-laws house and sitting in the living room we had time to assess things.  The dogs being a priority.  Doug determined that Bert needed to be seen by the veterinarian made an emergency call and took Bert to meet her at her clinic.  Doug insisted I stay at my father in laws and try to get some sleep before the run, I attempted to do just that.  It wasn't long after that my father in law came to get me and to tell me I need to go to the vet.  Bert was not doing well.  I arrived at the vet only to be told that Bert was in dire straights that the smoke inhalation was to much for him and that he was suffering.  The decision was made to put our dear Bert out of his misery.  It was the hardest decision we ever had to make.  The vet gave Bert something for pain and then after Doug and I said our good byes, she give him is lethal injection of drugs which put him to sleep.  That is exactly what it looked liked when he lowered his head.  He just lowered it and put his head on his paws as if he were going for a nap and then he took his last breath and he was gone.

It was now 0330 in the morning and in a few short hours I was to start my marathon of hope.

The alarm was set and I was up at 0700 gathering up my belonging, and last minute items. During the preparation period  Doug had got a sponsor to make up T-shirts for the run. Unfortunately, the T-shirts had been in a box in the house at the time of the fire the night before.  Doug managed to bring out the box although soot filled and smoke infested he salvaged what he could and we made the best of it.

As you can tell by now that I decided that I would do the run regardless of the house fire and the loss of Bert.  So much energy had been put into this event that I felt I had to do it.  We arrived at the Legion hall just before 0900.  They had already received news of our fire.  Hugs and tears were bountiful and as much as that was appreciated there was no time for that and I needed to put my head into a more positive place.

The women who owned the gym that I had been training at volunteered to come to the hall that morning and do a warm up.  The turn out was not great but the enthusiasm was high.

The is the warm up.

After about a 20 minute warm up I headed outside to start the run.  This lovely lady helped organize things at the Legion for me.

Me, the two young ladies who ran the first 1/2 of the marathon with me and the trainer.

400 meters to the end of the first leg of the run....23km done!  I was so happy to see that sign...I was exhausted.

The rest stop was 3km from a ferry terminal.  While we were stopped a representative from a news station stopped and asked what was going on.  My hubby told him the story and the guy jumped into his vehicle and got out his video camera and started to interview me and my run was featured on our evening news.  It was great publicity for the run and the cause.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anvdw-Xeppw&feature=youtu.be  This is the link to the news cast, go to 10:55 secs to see the news cast.

Day 2 still to come!

A Run and A Fire Part I

Here we are almost three weeks into the New Year and I am looking forward to all this year can and will bring to me.

Many of you have followed me on Facebook and have read and or heard about my house fire at the end of November.  I am thinking about doing a post on how one overcomes such a traumatic event and the whole rebuilding that comes along with losing your house and a dear pet.  However, this post is about marathon of hope that I ran the morning after the fire.

Last January my brother Mike took ill with what he thought was a cold which turned into an pneumonia.  In February Mike and his wife Arletha had planned a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate Arletha's birthday.  Mike had been given the ok by his family doctor to go to Vegas so of they went. During the flight my brother went into respiratory distress and had to be administered oxygen on the plane. When they landed in Vegas there was an ambulance waiting for him on the tarmac and he was rushed to hospital where he spent 10 days.  During that time he went through a battery of test, Mike's insurance company had him flown home to BC where he was hospitalized for the next 6 weeks.  You can read about my brothers story on his blog http://mikeslungs.blogspot.ca/?spref=fb.  Mike eventually was diagnosed with Interstitial Pulmonary Fibrosis. Now without a double lung transplant my brothers prognosis is poor.  He spends his days in recliner and just performing the basics of care leaves him breathless and requiring a large amount of oxygen supplement.  This is a far cry from the man that he was a year ago.  My brother is a husband, father, businessman and was very active in his community.  It breaks my heart to see him in this condition struggling for every breath.

Back in November when my brother was given the news that he might not see Christmas if he didn't get a lung transplant was devastating news for all of us.  I couldn't just sit by and do nothing, but I wasn't sure really what I could do. Then it came to me, I could run.  I could do a fundraiser by running a marathon. 

It was my husbands brainchild that I run a marathon.  Having never ran a marathon in my life it seemed very daunting and I wondered if I could even do this.  Here we were at the beginning of November my brother's condition was deteriorating rapidly and there was no time to waste, so my hubby suggested I do the run at the end of November!!!  November!!!  The date chosen was only 3 weeks away, how could I do this?  The fundraising, the training, getting sponsors the list of things to do was overwhelming.  How could I do this?  My hubby took the bull by the horn and started writing letters and making calls.  Before I knew it the dates for the run were set, the destination was set and sponsorship was already being garner I was committed all I had to do now was train. I was going to run from Bowser to Courtenay BC a two day 42KM marathon of hope we called "Run for the Lungs".

As I said I have never run a marathon in my life, the longest I have ever run was 16km.  This past summer I was running almost every day but again the longest run was 10km once a week and 5km every day or every other day.  So I really had to kick my training up a notch.  I contacted my local gym and asked them if they would sponsor me, and that they did.  They allowed me to use their facility for free and provided me with some personal strength training.  I alternated my run and gym days.  I was running rain or shine, hills and the flats.  During my training I was able to get in two 20km runs and three 10km runs and the rest were 6km runs.  Oh did I mention this run was taking place over 2 days.  Yes, I was realistic, there was no way I could do a full marathon in one day, but over two days I felt would be achievable.

On November 22nd that date might mean something to some of my American friends, yes it was the American Thanksgiving and my hubby and I had been invited to some friends home for Thanksgiving dinner.  We left home by 6pm leaving our dogs Ernie and Bert in the house all comfy on their beds.  At 7:45 pm we get a panic call from my husbands father telling us that there was smoke billowing out of our house.  We were home in a matter of minutes, hubby rushed into the house with hose in hand and started to extinguish the fire.  911 had been called but living in a rural area it's a volunteer department and they got there as soon as they could,but by the time they arrived hubby had got the fire under control but it was to late the damage was done.  During the early stages when we arrived at our home all three of us ran into the house to open windows and doors to let the smoke out...wrong thing for me to do. Due to my asthma, next thing you know I'm wheezing and having a challenging time breathing.  Ambulance arrives and I spend the next 2 hours in the back of an ambulance being administered oxygen.  My father in law and husband were in and out of the ambulance also getting oxygen.  As I sat there breathing in the oxygen I thinking, how am I going to do this run in the morning?  I had made this commitment to myself and to so many others.

There was a lot to be considered and decisions to be made.......

Stress...

Is it me or does anyone else find the use of the word "stress" or "stressful situations" overused and or misused?

If we look in the Miriam Webster dictionary for the definition of  stress we find the following:

1: constraining force or influence: as a : a) force exerted when one body or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another body or body part; especially : the intensity of this mutual force commonly expressed in pounds per square inch b) : the deformation caused in a body by such a force c) : a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation d) : a state resulting from a stress; especially : one of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium e : strain, pressure


2: emphasis, weight

3: archaic : intense effort or exertion

4: intensity of utterance given to a speech sound, syllable, or word producing relative loudness

5a : relative force or prominence of sound in verse b : a syllable having relative force or prominence

Let's look at 1(c): a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.

I think we have all used a similar saying "I'm stressed out" or "I'm really stressed"  or "that stresses me out".   So why do we allow ourselves to get to this point?  Is it really stress we are feeling or is it something else?  Exhaustion for example, if we find we are burning the candle at both ends and still find there are not enough hours in the day to do what we want to do and accomplish, we often get "stressed".  However, is this really stress or is it self imposed kaos, and as a result our bodies begin to experience the physical, mental and or chemical tension which alters our equilibrium.

We all deal with these more challenging times differently.  Some of us find more positive ways of dealing with these more challenging times by excercising, performing yoga, and/or mediation. Others tend to over eat or not eat at all.  Then there are others who tend to  increase their use of chemical drugs, alcohol or over the counter medications and prescription drugs. In other words we find other means to help us manage this more "stressful" times.

As an RN I have seen a huge variety in coping mechanisms people have used in order to manage their stress.  Some folks use self meditation to help manage pain, they have told me they try and find their "happy place". Then there are others who can't, and need other interventions to manage simple tasks.

So I ask myself, where does such a variance come from?  Why do some people have coping skills and others don't.  For some using the word "stress" would never even enter their mind, but rather they would consider it a more "challenging" time, and take it as opportunity to help themselves learn new ways to manage the stressful/challenging times.

Have we as a society become so "stressed out" that we can't manage our own challenging times?  Have we become that "stressed out" that we have forgotten how to manage our lives and challenging situations? How did we forget how to care for ourselves and become responsible for our own well being?  Maybe some of us were we never taught those managing and coping skills, or maybe some of those skills are innate?  

One thing I do know or have at least experienced is that there are many things in our lives that are out of our control and happen to us or around us that we can not do anything about, but does that constitute a reason for stress or to be stressed out?  I don't know.  What I'd like to see us all do is figure out positive ways to manage those times and take responsibility for our own well being and not blame everything on "stress".

What do you think?

A Nurse is A Nurse is A Nurse....

Do you believe that?  I don't.

For most of my nursing career I have been a staunch supporter of my nursing union.  Since the late 90's the union has worked hard at improving the working conditions for RN's. They have worked tirelessly on addressing workload issues and the impact it has on patient care.  They negotiated the largest wage increase nurses have seen in decades.  I was proud to call myself a memember of the British Columbia Nurses Union(BCNU).  Today, I question the direction they have taken.

Over the past few years BCNU has been attempting to bring Licened Practical Nurses(LPN) into our union.  The union says LPN's wanted to join our union.  There has been a lot of controversy over how the LPN's were approached about joining BCNU, so much so that the Labour Board got involved and legal battles insued.
HEU believes that BCNU "raided" their union.  Raiding is the practice whereby a union tries to organize workers who are already represented by another union.  In union terms that is an absolute NO NO and does nothing for union solidarity.  As a result of  BCNU actions they have been shunned by The Canadian Labour Congress and the Canadian Federation of Nurses frowned heavily on BCNU's actions.

I started my post out saying that I used to be a staunch BCNU supporter.  What I think I should have said is that I am a strong unionist.  In union terms what BCNU did in my opinion is fundementally wrong .  I  recently read on the HEU website a review of BCNU position on LPN's.   Since 1996 BCNU took a strong stance against LPN's. The folowing is taken from the HEU website:

Back in 1996 BCNU president was quoted as saying "“There’s no room in the health care system for LPNs anymore. Existing LPNs should be re-training as RNs”

2000: BCNU lobbies Health Professions Council to stop LPNs from calling themselves nurses. “The BCNU disagrees with the HPC’s recommendation that the title ‘nurse’ be granted to licensed practical nurses and thus shared with registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses.”


2004: “We’ve been told they (LPNs) do 70% of our work. That may be true. The 30% that they don’t do, however, is the intellectual work which makes all the difference between a registered nurse and a practical nurse.” BCNU president’s remarks to BCNU convention.

2006: “In most industries, what is happening in health care today would be seen as a dumbing down of the workforce. However, somehow for health care, having overlapping scopes of practice, quote unquote, is seen to be acceptable. As one person put it, when we were out of surgeons, they didn’t call for butchers.” BCNU president’s address to a public meeting on health care reform. (watch the video)

2007: BCNU makes a deal with the Vancouver Jail to replace LPNs with RNs, as positions become vacant.

2009: BCNU successfully fights Fraser Health’s decision to utilize LPNs trained to help carry out immunizations in the community, leading to LPN layoffs.

2010: BCNU publicly blasts Fraser Health’s plan to increase direct hours of care to long-term care residents by utilizing more LPNs. (The Province, September 30, 2010/Abbotsford Times, October 1, 2010 and HEU's response as published in Surrey Now)

And now only 2 years later BCNU is singing  a different  tune and welcoming LPN's to our union.  What changed?   Why is BCNU welcoming LPN's with open arms?

You know that saying " If it looks like a skunk, smells like a skunk, and acts like a skunk, chances are it's a skunk"  Well I smell a skunk.  BCNU's  position is that LPN's wanted to join, and state  that the LPN's felt they would get better representation at the BC Nurses' Union.  On the BCNU website you will find the following statement "At BCNU another nurse will always be at your side to represent you."  Note the generic use of the word "nurse"

So what changed from 2000 when BCNU was lobbying the Health Professions Council to stop LPN's from calling themselves nurses?  BCNU was of the opinion that the designation of "Nurse" should only apply to RN's and RPN's.  I can remember specifically our union campaigning to have all RN's wear buttons identifying themselves as RN's and to always introduce themselves to the patient as  RN.  I recall thinking how silly that was, surely my patient knows I am an RN.  This unfortunately is not the case. I personally have observed LPN's identifying themselves as nurse in the generic ...rather than I'm your LPN.   I can see now how patients get confused about who is providing their care.

I am of the opion that the reason BCNU wanted LPN's in our union was to have them closer at hand.  BCNU is of the opinion that if employers are going to be using LPN's to fill the shortage of RN's then BCNU want to have more control as to how that happens.  I think it's a money grab from our union.  Increased membership = increased dollars to the union.  Increased memembership= increased bargaining strength.

BCNU has just negotiated a tentative agreement with our employer.  It's a 2 year contract where  nurses will find themselves with  a 3% increase in the Spring of 2013, workload language, and an increase in the number of nurses  by March 31st, 2016.    I'm not quite sure where our union or employer believe we are going to find another 2100 nurses by 2016 especially when a lot of the baby boomers will be retiring within the next few years.  Although BCNU states that it will be RN/RPN positions that will be increased, I am not sure what stop gaps will be in place to prevent LPN's from filling the need.  I fear there might be a little conflict of interest on BCNU's part.

Now I see that BCNU has opened nominations for LPNs to elect LPN Bargaining Committee/Council Representatives. So what does that mean to me?  Well,  next time we are voting for a president for our union it might be an LPN voted in.  Not sure how I feel about that.  I'm still not sure how LPN's feel that by joining BCNU they will be better represented.  The LPN's only had a 69% provincial YES vote, to join BCNU personally I don't think that is a very high percentage.
Please don't get me wrong there is a place for LPN's, but under no circumstances do I believe that LPN's should be replacing RN's.  I certainly think it is imperative that RN's start identifying themselves as such to their patients.

I am still not sure if BCNU is the right union for LPN's.  It will be interesting to see if  LPN's feel same way in a few years and if  they truly believe their voice is better heard.

I have never believed a nurse is a nurse is a nurse.  Isn't that why there are so many avenues for RN's to practise? I have met some amazing and well educated medical nurses but they are not trained to do what I do.  Although my nursing career has been varied I am not trained to be a neonatal nurse, or maternity nurse, or an OR nurse or to do outpost nursing just to name a few.  So no, I would say  a nurse is not a nurse.  An RN is an RN, LPN is an LPN and we should use our titles accordingly and proudly.

SkyWatch Friday

These photos were taken at the same day.  This lake is very popular in summer and gets very busy.  It was strange to see it so deserted, but nice at the same time to have this beautiful place all to ourselves.  If you would like to join in on the fun please check out Sky Watch Friday You can see a large version of the photo by just clicking on the photo.
Happy Friday all!