Assisted suicide: A different take
I'm a nurse and I'd like to submit my perspective on "Physician-assisted Suicide: A Nurse's Perspective" (March, 2014).* It's my belief that every state should have a death with dignity act. We as nurses believe in autonomy for ourselves, so why should we try to take this right away from a person who's still capable of making his or her own decisions? I wouldn't personally place the medication in a patient's hand, but I'd be comfortable with the medication being within the patient's reach if that was his or her choice. I fully agree with Oregon's (and any other state's) Death with Dignity Act.
Facing new challenges
"Overcoming the Barriers to Achieve a BSN," (March, 2014)* was encouraging and also reinforcing. In the last 3 years, I've had several life changing events, one of which was a drastic job change. I'm a nurse with 30 years of experience, but in my new job I was subordinate to people of lesser experience and credentialing. This was a bit disheartening. As a 50-something nurse, I didn't know what was next.
So I decided to take the plunge and go for a bachelor's degree; I'm back to working full time and taking one class a semester toward a BS or BSN. Thank you for this empowering article.
How to get added satisfaction
I was pleased to come across "How is Patient Education Linked to Patient Satisfaction?" (June, 2013).* As a nursing director of a busy postsurgical unit, I've been researching ways to improve patient satisfaction scores. Much of what I've read in the literature focuses on the use of hourly rounding and bedside reporting as strategies to improve patient satisfaction.1-3 Patients evaluate quality of care based on how well their caregivers pay attention to detail.
I haven't emphasized enough the importance of patient education as a patient satisfaction tool to my staff. After reading your article, I'm going to change the focus on my unit to include patient education using some of the tools and techniques mentioned in the article-not only to improve patient satisfaction, but because it's the right thing to do.
-Patricia Engler, BSN, RN
Greenville, Ky.
-Deborah K. Fox, RN, OCN
Fairbanks, Alaska
-Shelly LaCour, BSN, RN
Houston, Tex.
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