Nurses Take DC & Show Me Your Stethoscope, EPS 201
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On this special bonus episode of RNFMRadio in honor of Nurses Week, we welcome Janie Harvey Garner, RN, the founder and Executive Director of Show Me Your Stethoscope, as well as the Show Me Your Stethoscope Foundation.
Janie is also a former US Navy Hospital Corpsman with an Associates in Applied Science in Nursing from St. Louis Community College. Her background is in ICU, ER, SANE, cardiac catheterization, and electrophysiology. Currently, she works as an EP RN at John Cochran VA Medical Center in St Louis, Missouri. She has been married to her husband Paul for 13 years, and is the mom of two boys plus a bonus son.
Show Me Your Stethoscope (SMYS) was founded almost completely by accident. A couple of ill-informed comments were proffered by hosts of The View; they mocked a monologue delivered by a beauty contestant who spoke of her love of nursing. They asked, in their ignorance: “Why is she wearing a doctor’s stethoscope?”
Outrage. Boycotts. Stethoscopes. Community. ‘Scopes ain’t just for doctors, folks.
Most nurses not living under a rock know that this incident raised the hackles of health care workers globally, and ignited a social media firestorm. Janie started a Facebook group, daring non-doctors to wield their stethoscopes publicly and proudly. (Even some physicians joined in on the fun.) As the group gathered members, pictures, and steam, members began to speak of a vision of united health care workers making large-scale changes—safer staffing, safer work environments, improved professional advocacy, public education and support for peers, co-workers and colleagues.
On May 12th (Florence Nightingale’s birthday), there will be a rally of nurses on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, featuring many well-known nurse speakers and thought leaders. There will also be contemporaneous rallies in other parts of the country for those who can’t make it to D.C.
SMYS is based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that now seeks to engage professionals in health care to achieve change. They work toward those goals through public events, fundraising, community discussion and generous giving. We are currently organizing rallies and missions, and have achieved fundraising goals for members and causes that we support. SMYS has also formed an internal structure of volunteer leaders and contributors, taking a grassroots approach to systemic issues at the local and regional level.
SMYS is also involved in awesome philanthropy, so please visit the organization’s advocacy page for information about their efforts, their mission trips, and other initiatives.
Find these good folks online:
We’d like to thank today’s sponsor Fastaff Travel Nursing for this amazing giveaway opportunity. If you’d like to nominate a fellow nurse by telling Fastaff the story of why they’re so amazing, go for it! If you and your nominee are chosen, you’ll each win a $500 Southwest Airlines gift card! Please click here and join the contest by elevating your colleague with a sincere nomination, and set you both up for winning an awesome prize! And feel free to share this link for others to take part: http://www.fastaff.com/nurses-week.
You are amazing!
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