Comments on: I’m a nurse, don’t let me burn out

By: Chana Dee

Chana Dee — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 00:19:57 +0000

hi im a nurse in canada, who wants to move to israel permanatly soon and your article scares me. i'm not gonna not make aliya cuz of this, ill just hope and pray things change before i get there. we're also socialised healthcare, so i dont make as much as american nurses do, but im sure its still double israeli nurses….so i already agree with half of what ur saying, just didnt realise the situation was so different in israel… thanx for writing!!

By: Chana Dee

Chana Dee — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 00:19:57 +0000

By: Aaron Friedman

Aaron Friedman — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:11:43 +0000

I think Ariella Deyong Friedman should read this… . Proud of her.

By: Susie Mayerfeld

Susie Mayerfeld — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:15:55 +0000

Thank you Nathan, much appreciated.

By: Susie Mayerfeld

Susie Mayerfeld — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:15:16 +0000

Thank you so much Gabrielle. I know I make a difference to my patients, what I am struggling with is the horrible bureaucracy and the opposition to change. And even when changes are made they take forever.

By: Susie Mayerfeld

Susie Mayerfeld — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:11:03 +0000

Thanks Michael. The problem is that I know I am making a difference and helping people who really need it. It's hard to move away from that. But you are right, I need to make sure I don't end up neglecting myself. Would be a bummer to get sick when there are not enough nurses to care for you.

By: Susie Mayerfeld

Susie Mayerfeld — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:08:08 +0000

Thank you so much Laura. Murphy's Law I guess because today was actually relatively calm and sane at work. Either that or G-d heard my anguish.

By: Gittel Nierman

Gittel Nierman — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:19:25 +0000

what a shame I'm glad there are dedicated people like you who stick to their profession to help others maybe one day the gov't will listen and realize they cannot get along without you

By: Gabrielle Klein

Gabrielle Klein — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 12:46:50 +0000

susie your post is so accurate. if the nurses were paid better , treated better and compensated for the amazing yet very demanding work they do, the care would be better , the morbidity less and all around beneficial to the country. we have a long way to go to change the mentality in Israel towards health care workers but as a doctor (also earning one quarter of what I earned in canada- working twice as hard) I have to believe that you and I will be able to change that one interaction at a time! please don't burn out , you are an asset and special to your profession, your patients and the whole health care community.

By: Laura Ben-David

Laura Ben-David — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 09:05:45 +0000

The nurses in your world dedicate their lives to you. Think of Susie and this article and pay them with your thanks and appreciation. It's the least we can do.
Thank you for this article Susie!

By: Laura Ben-David

Laura Ben-David — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 09:05:45 +0000

The nurses in your world dedicate their lives to you. Think of Susie and this article and pay them with your thanks and appreciation. It's the least we can do.
Thank you for this article Susie!

By: Michael W. Perry

Michael W. Perry — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 03:58:31 +0000

Having worked in a high-stress nursing environment caring for children with leukemia, chemo and all, I understand how you feel. Short term, you might personally want to move into an area of medicine less stressful. Long term, nurses salaries must go up. The fact that Israel has only 55 nurses to every 100 in the typical OECD country makes that clear. People aren't any less sick in Israel. You're having to work almost twice as hard.

–Michael W. Perry, author of Hospital Gowns and Other Embarrassments.

By: Susie Mayerfeld

Susie Mayerfeld — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:07:59 +0000

Thank you for listening. I wonder how it is that the world has gotten to be the way it is where salaries are so unevenly distributed.

By: Susie Mayerfeld

Susie Mayerfeld — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:04:47 +0000

Thanks Sarah. I have a lot of amazing patients and I know they appreciate me. That's what has kept me going.

By: Danielle Kiriati

Danielle Kiriati — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 22:49:24 +0000

It really is a sad situation. I am a nurse in Australia and unfortunately our fight is a global one for better conditions. I think the biggest change that we managed to bring in in Victoria was nurse patient ratios. But we continuously fight to keep them and forfeit pay rises as a result.it is in our nature I believe to put our patients before ourselves and that will always be taken advantage of. Thankyou for sharing your plight and I'm with you!!