The Ontario government is letting our public healthcare system collapse to make you frustrated. To make you think a private for-profit healthcare system would be better. To make you want to give up on an equitable healthcare system for all...Don't let them fool you!

Do you ever get in your car after a crazy shift, crank the tunes and rage sing all the way home?

When discussing goals of care with your family it's important to talk about more than life/death. How many limbs you can live without, paralysis, if you needed daily nursing care, never eating again. For some, there are things worse than death. It's important to talk about them.

So...The Ontario government just announced a 'Plan to Stay Open' that focuses on more beds (aka more furniture) & shifting people around in those beds (aka moving people to different furniture). But where is the plan to ensure that there are enough nurses to staff those beds?

Venturing back to Twitter after quite a hiatus. There was no reason for my absence other than the inability to find any creativity. Since working in covid I haven't read a book or journaled. I completely lost my focus. Can anyone relate?! I'm hoping to turn things around.

Pay attention Ontarians - Doug Ford is using taxpayers' money to fight nurses in court while planning to privatize surgeries. Things are going according to his plan; starve public healthcare, make it look dysfunctional, and then bring in privatized healthcare. We must stop him!

"I wouldn't call it upselling. I would call it patient options," said Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones when asked about the risk of patients being persuaded to spend money at for-profit clinics.

At the end of my set of shifts my patients family asked to speak with me: "we understand you are about to have 5 days off and we are sad for us but glad for you. Thank you for helping us through the worst days of our lives" This is what I will reflect on as I refuel.

Please understand that, arguing for privatizing healthcare for the sake of "choice" and "options", downplays the reality that this is for those with privilege. Profit and equity don't go hand in hand.

Once cared for 2 patients in a double room. After discharge, one turned around and donated a large sum of money & the other went back to the homeless shelter. Both wearing the same blue gown and received the same level of care. This is what Doug Ford is trying to undermine.

During rounds I told the team that my delirious patient had just punched me in the chest. Our fellow chose to make a joke about my hair instead of expressing concern over violence against nurses. I'm fine thanks by the way Doctor.

Our new hire watched in awe as we admitted a trauma patient, ran blood transfusions & all things necessary to keep the patient alive. She did her best at helping when asked and learned the process. And the next day to overcome her feelings of helplessness she donated blood.

As I was cleaning tissue and blood from our young trauma patients hair so they would be presentable for parents who will be told there is a catastrophic brain injury all I could think was how normal and also completely not normal this situation is. And that's trauma nursing.

Decades ago we thought the Rodney King footage would change everything. Then the murder of George Floyd shook us to our core. We were promised change. Yet, here we are, grieving the inhumanity experienced by Tyre Nichols. I stand with Tyre's family and all who seek justice.

I don't think it's a "Big Ask" for even just the cost of living wage. It's not a "Big Ask" to be valued as equals to our male dominated service professions. It's not a "Big Ask" to have even the cost of monthly therapy covered after what we as front line staff have gone through.

Told my patients family that the hemoglobin was corrected after receiving blood (that they had consented to giving) and their response: "Was it unvaccinated blood? Because otherwise it was just dangerous and dirty" Can't believe this is still happening.

I would choose a new junior resident that asks great questions, is eager to learn and admits when they don't know over an experienced know it all that talks down to nurses and refuses to listen to their own team. Nobody asked, but that's my choice!