Evaluation of News Magazine Stories

I honestly can't remember the last time I looked at a magazine that was more than just celebrity gossip and "who wore it best?" columns. Despite my unfamiliarity, the magazines were easy to navigate and quick and interesting reads.

"Amber Vinson's Flight: An Ebola Nurse and the C.D.C" -Amy Davidson

I found my first magazine article after browsing The New Yorker. 

A Summary/The Disagreement:

• The article opens with the story of Amber Vinson, a nurse that had been exposed to an Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan. She was showing the initial symptoms of Ebola and called the Center for Disease Control (C.D.C) for advice; should she get on her plane later that day? The C.D.C gave her approval so Vinson boarded her plane with more than a 100 other passengers, just to be diagnosed with Ebola the next day. When asked about why the C.D.C would allow her to board the plane, the head of the C.D.C, Tom Frieden, avoided a direct answer and blamed Vinson for her behavior. The rest of the article sites similar examples of the C.D.C and other American health institutions blaming nurses for their mistakes. Duncan had been admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian with a strong belief that he had Ebola, yet none of the right protocols were taken. He wasn't isolated properly and the nurses taking care of him were;t given the right equipment to protect themselves, leaving them to improvise. The nurses ended up having to release a statement(Statement from the Nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian) to defend themselves from the backlash.

• The disagreement here is really between the American health institutions, particularly the C.D.C, and the nurses they are blaming. The C.D.C tried to make the claim that these nurses and Vinson acted on their will and were careless; Vinson and the nurses explain that these were essentially their orders. 

The Sympathetic character:

• I might be biased, but I personally believe that the C.D.C and Texas Health Presbyterian are in the wrong here. I sympathize with Amber Vinson and the nurses behind the statement because the evidence does seem to point to them being told to do what they did. I think I feel for them because from what I understand of the nursing role, whatever your superiors says, goes. You can fight for what you believe but in the end, you have to follow orders. These nurses may have known that what they were doing wasn't the best way to go about things, but they had to do what they were told to do. The nurses at Texas Health had to improvise ways to keep themselves safe, like taping their gloves. It's clear that they were trying to use their best judgement.

The Least Sympathetic Character:

• Like I said, the C.D.C is the bad guy here. I especially do not sympathize with the head of the organization, Tom Frieden. The C.D.C made a dire mistake that could cost peoples lives. Then on top of that, he doesn't own up to the mistake and puts the blame on the nurses. This is very cowardly behavior that could potentially lead to the nurses losing their jobs, so he's the worst.

Souza, Pete. "Barack Obama Hugs Nina Pham October 24 2014." 10/24/2014 via WikiMedia Commons. Public Domain License.

On the bright side, here's a picture of Obama hugging Nina Pham, one of the nurses who contracted Ebola at Texas Christian presbyterian but survived. Obama is a nice guy.

"Why Nurses Need More Authority" -John W. Rowe

This one I got from The Atlantic.

A Summary/The Debate:

• The debate in this article is pretty clear: there is and will continue to be a shortage of physicians due to the increase in health insurance acts, so nurses will need to step up. It only makes sense to allow advanced practice registered nurses, or APRNs, to take on more responsibility and independence. These nurses are trained to give the best primary care, diagnose, write prescriptions and much more. Yet 34 of the 50 states restrict this independence for the ARPNs, sometimes going to the length of closing hospitals because of physician shortages. The debate is right in the title of the article. Nurses need more authority to make up for the lack of physicians, but they're being denied this because organizations, such as The American Medical association, are concerned that this would change the dynamic between doctors and nurses, as well as their income. 

The Sympathetic character:

• Ok, I'm definitely biased but I'm with the nurses again on this one. These nurses are completely qualified, more so than the average RN (hence the "advanced practice" part of their title) but they can't use the skills they were trained for? And just because it may change things for doctors? It doesn't make sense to me. If there's a shortage of doctors that needs to be filled, these nurses should be able to practice.

The Least Sympathetic Character:

• Maybe I have a problem with authority, but I think the medical associations are in the wrong again. Not once in the article is there a legitimate reason given for why they oppose this change (other than what I mentioned above- which isn't a good reason to me). They're stopping educated people from helping those in need. There's no good side to what they're trying to do.

That was some heavy stuff. I'm surprised that magazines had so much information, but I can tell that a lot of what I found was written with a bias. I'll probably stick to my gossip magazines for now.