I didn’t know nurses played a lot of cards while they are sitting around in hospitals.
Heck, I didn’t know nurses sat around.
Recently, a state senator from WallaWalla was arguing that an amendment to a bill being considered should exclude nurses in small hospitals from required breaks. Maureen Walsh said nurses at small hospitals “probably do get breaks. They probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day.”
(BTW, that would be a great place for a Wawa–the WallaWalla Wawa!)
In my limited experience as a patient and as a visitor to hospitals, I never realized that card games were going on somewhere on each floor. Pretty amazing because the nurses who watched over me, or whom I observed, seemed to need rollerblades, caffeine, and secretaries to keep up with patient load, long hours, and paperwork.
And they play cards too?!!
Ms. Walsh did not specify the favorite card game(s) of the Florence Nightengale set (Hearts? Patience?–get the double entendre?–Egyptian Rat Screw?).
Somehow nurses and their supporters tore themselves away from operating card tables to deal Ms. Walsh a heavy hand of criticism. She defended herself by saying that she was only talking about small hospitals in her state. In a statement to CNN, she said, “The fact is 61% of our critical access hospitals are in the red and the mandated breaks and lunch hours are not an issue in these facilities across the state. These are smaller, rural hospitals with much fewer patients than our urban hospitals and the bill is not necessary for them in meeting the needs of their patients or the hospital’s budget.”
On the other hand: “Most Washington critical access hospitals are operating with a surplus and can afford to bring on one extra nurse or technician,” said Heather Weiner, a spokeswoman for the Washington State Nurses Association told CNN.
Perhaps a compromise can be reached. Many states are looking to solve their fiscal problem with gambling revenue. If Walsh’s data is correct, perhaps casinos could be established in small hospitals and the nurses’ card playing acumen could kill two birds with one stone: increase the traffic to the small hospitals and allow the nurses to continue playing cards.
Maybe odds on patient release dates and/or survival rates could be posted. Or odds on how long it takes to answer a call to Ms. Walsh’s hospital room. I would put the over/under at about 59 minutes.
The length of a six-seat poker game.
The Q-View 