Dear Editor,

Dr. Schloman’s Information Resources column, The Internet as a Community: Communication Avenues for Health Professionals and Health Consumers is exceptional. It is imperative that as we progress into the 21st century, we portray a positive image of our profession to the public, an image that reflects our continuous learning. We as nurses must keep abreast of current trends. If we as nurses utilize sites like the ones listed in this column, we will remain on the cutting edge of the knowledge and technologies currently available. By posting these Internet sites online we help nurses keep up with current technologies and promote a sound image of our profession to the public.

As this column notes, the Internet can also be effective in helping us to communicate within the profession for the purpose of improving our professional practice. I believe that the trend in nursing is going the wrong direction; we have taken back respiratory, dietary, clerical, maintenance and housekeeping roles. We now have "too many irons in the fire." Nurses are spread so thin that furthering our education seems fruitless when we can't even practice the advanced skills that we have learned. We must educate healthcare administrators and the public regarding nursing’s unique contribution in the healthcare arena and clarify how nursing can best make its unique contribution. We cannot continue to straddle the fence and try to do everything and please everyone. Asking nurses to do everything is not fair to our patients or our profession! The compassion and care in our profession should help us stand up and shout to regain professional control so we as nurses can focus on doing what we do best. Let’s link together on the Internet to share ideas as to how we can use our advanced nursing skills to benefit the public and move our profession forward, not backward.

This site is truly an inspiration to our profession. It helps to relay information to nurses and to the public. I am proud that we in nursing make health information available via the Internet to a variety of audiences. In doing so we are meeting the needs of our patients and our profession. Thank you for the insightful column.

Joyce Simmons RN, BSN
MSN Student
Harding University School of Nursing
Searcy, Arkansas 72143
esimmons@cswnet.com

Go to the column.

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