Dennis — Nurses are the ‘backbone’ of medical care

I make dinner for a nurse just about every night. I was married to a nurse for over 20 years. Nurses and other medical professionals are members of my family and circle of friends. I am intimately familiar with the hard work, dedication, struggles and compassion that is involved in nursing every day.

On the air Tuesday we had a discussion about college degrees versus diploma programs. In that conversation, we had a call from a woman in her mid-40s who was going back to college to be a nurse.

In making the point that clinical experience and hands-on training were more important than earning a BSN and being forced to take some classes that don't apply at all to nursing, someone listening misconstrued my comments.

In NO WAY was I implying that nurses only do "grunt work" or don't need valuable information on a myriad of subject areas to do the job.

The comment was taken out of context and spread around the internet, which is always dangerous. For many, many years I have applauded and cherished the work of the thousands of nurses who bust their butts every day to ensure our family members are cared for in the most professional manner.

The thousands of nurses that listen every day over the years know both Judi and I worship nurses and the work they do. We can have a discussion whether it was wise to do away with diploma programs as opposed to requiring all nurses to have a BSN.

Many diploma nurses have been in the field for 25 or 30 years yet are stifled in pursuit of advancement due to the lack of a degree. Even though their experience in the field more than qualifies them for management or supervisory positions. That was the context of the comment made in the discussion.

Most listener complaints about something I said are not worth addressing, but for me, this one is. I love and respect nurses and the tremendously difficult and thoughtful job they do every day and I would never want anyone to think I felt any other way!

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Dennis & Judi are on the air weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tweet them @DennisandJudi or @NJ1015.