Hate for others.
Hate for yourself.
Hate due to misinformation.
Hate that leads to violence.
Hate that results in isolation.
Hate that creates poverty.
Hate that leads to fear.
Hate that causes inequality.
Hate that prevents people from getting what they need - including appropriate healthcare.
Hate causes illness, pain, injury, mental health problems, trauma, and death.
Hate is a public health issue.
- Sarah @ New Thing Nurse
I know this sounds strange, but I think I understand now why there is all this confusion about who gets to manage what goes on inside the apparently troublesome organ currently known as the uterus.
I believe I have found the root of the problem. The problem is there is no “i” in uterus.
The letter “i’ seems to help with the clarity of ownership related to anatomy. Think about it - there is an “i” in “penis” and “testicles”, and there seems to be no doubt about who gets to manage what happens to those.
During my career as an ED nurse, I have many times tried to tell patients with penises what to do with them with very little success. I have tried to help people with penises stop putting things up them that should not be there, remind them of the often infectious repercussions of placing their penises in holes without protection, and request them to stop touching their penises in front of myself and other ED staff at inopportune times (AKA all the time). Each time I make recommendations or assertions about a penis attached to another person, I have been reminded in strong, colorful language that the owner of the penis can and will do what they want with it. I can always ask, but ultimately, the person that penis is attached to is in charge of what happens to said body part (at least, in some cases, until the cops arrive).
And don’t get me started about trying to get someone with “testicles” to do anything with them. As soon as I ever mention an idea or procedure having to do with the testicles, a hand goes over them like a vice. It is often a moot point before it is can even be verbalized.
Furthermore, there is an “i” in both “fallopian tubes” and “ovaries”. And while there has been comments from people without either with thoughts on how to manage biological processes that occur in and around fallopian tubes and ovaries, there does not seem to be as much fuss about these organs as with the “uterus”. I really think it has to do with the letter “i”.
The biggest debates right now seem to be around two things with names that contain “us” – the uterus and the fetus. It seems that certain parties feel entitled to telling humans with a uterus how to manage it and once a fetus is involved, to take ownership of said fetus even if – 1) it is not quite yet a fetus, 2) it is not housed in their bodies, and 3) they do not seem to quite understand how the process of pregnancy works. Their entitlement claims to have been founded in the name of numerous causes – religion, ethics, the law. I feel that the presence of “us” in the name “uterus” makes them feel as if they are a part of that organ, even when they are not. “Us” seems to imply a collective ownership of a uterus to others. And I really think people might be confused because of the “us”.
I cannot otherwise understand why someone else would feel the right to tell me, the person with the body that contains an organ, how to manage it. Organ trafficking is definitely illegal, at least the last time that I checked. Organ donation and procurement is HIGHLY regulated in the United States. Consent dealing with anything having to do with organs in the hospital is a complex system of legal paperwork with signatures and witnesses. And as the uterus is an organ, there must be some big misunderstanding about the ownership situation around it.
(And I want to take a moment to be very clear on a certain point – this is not just an issue for me because I identify as a “woman”. The issue of who gets to dictate what happens to the organ called the uterus will affect all kinds of humans who identify all kinds of ways. I know that this will be confusing for some people, but this is something that I want to emphasize. I am speaking out as a human with a uterus - not just as a woman.)
I really love languages, but English is a hard one. The letter “i” is often used, strangely to me, to make singular words plural. This is one challenge with my thought of taking away the “us” and adding a letter “i” to the word “uterus”. “Uteri” does not work for this reason, talk about confusing. And other variations are just plain bad. “Utire” is terrible as it will make every nurse (and most humans with a uterus) think of infection or a gross outfit. “Iteri” sounds like a snobby word for a place to get lunch (EW). These won’t work, but I have another idea.
I have come up with this solution: I think that we should now rename the “uterus” with the new moniker - “uterme”.
A “uterme” definitely makes ME feel that it is an organ in me and when I say “My uterme”, I feel it is doubly stated that the organ is inside of me and MINE. When I say “uterme”, the listener is reminded that me and myself are going to be navigating the events of what goes on inside my organ and most importantly, there is no implied group ownership of my uterme.
It even gets down to an almost primal level of communication that Tarzan enthusiasts might enjoy – “Me human. Me uterme.”
It definitely seems like everyone can understand that – even the most primitive humans.
And as a human with a uterme, I am going to go two steps further in declaring my ownership of this organ that resides inside me:
I am first going to say here, in plain words, that I and only I will ever make decisions about my body. No other person, law, or religion will ever dictate what I decide to do with it. And that should apply to ALL humans. Your body is YOUR body.
I am personally renaming my own uterus/uterme – my “utermine”. Other humans should feel free to use this nomenclature if they so wish. #uterminesunite
For more information on how to support humans with a uterus, uterme, or utermine:
Source: https://www.acog.org/About-ACOG/News-Room/Statements/2019/ACOG-Statement-on-Abortion-Bans?IsMobileSet=false
These opinions are my own and do not reflect those of my employer or other affiliates
About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.
Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,
New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!
They will either say, “That is so wonderful! You get to help people!” or thank me for my work and tell me a story about a kind nurse that made a difference in their life or that of their loved ones. I can see them picturing me in white scrubs, holding patients’ hands, and offering comfort to those that need it most.
I mean, yes, I get to help people. And yes, I often offer comfort for those that are experiencing unimaginable tragedy. But I also am required to take annual Workplace Violence training where I learn to protect myself and escape in the case that I am choked, grabbed, or beaten by someone during my shift. Almost every day that I work, I experience some sort of verbal abuse, intimidation, harassment, or physical threat.
You know, just another day at the office.
If you’re a nurse or other healthcare worker, this isn’t news. But I bet you aren’t surprised if you experience these things during your regular work day. Sadly, many healthcare workers have grown to accept the abuse that we face almost every hour that we are in the clinical environment.
In a 2014 study, nearly 80% of nurses surveyed reported being attacked while on the job in the last year. That is nearly 8-0 PERCENT. When I asked my non-healthcare worker husband when he was last attacked at work, he paused, looked at me funny and said, “I can’t recall.” This is not a standard concern for those outside of our industry.
In the eight years that I have been an emergency department nurse, I have been spat on, had my hair pulled, grabbed at, swung on, inappropriately touched, present during an attempted machete-assault, part of more team efforts to restrain violent patients than I can count, had my life threatened, and had the pleasure of once telling my husband that if I go missing to look for a certain person because they will know where my body will be. And all of that does not include the countless verbal abuse, intimidation, and threats that I’ve experienced almost every shift that I have ever worked. #thisismytruth
I have never really been hurt on the job. Luckily, none of the threats have been acted on. I have seen more nurses and healthcare staff than I would care to think about seriously injured on the job or who have had to leave the medical field all together due to the effects of being a victim of violence in the workplace.
The public does sometimes hear about the violence. However, these usually are the most extreme cases, and only the ones that make it to the mass media. You may remember the viral video showing a patient beating on a group of nurses with a pipe pulled off his bed. Or possibly you saw the photo of the ED nurse who was stabbed repeatedly by a patient that she was caring for in the emergency department. Then there is the absolutely tragic story of Carlie Beaudin, a nurse practitioner at the Medical College of Wisconsin, who was violently murdered in the parking garage by the hospital where she worked in January of this year.
Only one word comes to mind when I hear about these kind of events – STOP. This has to stop.
That’s great. Now it’s time to be the most respected.
There are many groups who have already started these efforts. It is time to organize and unify to get workplace protections in place. I have heard stories about hospitals who do not encourage their staff to report incidents of violence or abuse, about nurses being told not call the police when assaulted, and about cultures of “patient satisfaction first” coming before staff safety. Just writing these words makes my eye start to twitch with rage.
Below are a list of organizations who have started the work. They are groups that advocate for workplace safety for healthcare workers, provide trainings, support legislation to increase penalties for assailants, gather data to analyze and publish, and provide all sorts of resources from legal to mental health support. Check them out and see which might be helpful for you to get started in your journey to stop the violence against healthcare workers.
I also want to make a plug for a new campaign that I am working with – the Raise Your Hand (RYH) Campaign. This campaign was started by nurses and is being led by emergency department nurses to raise awareness, collect data, and provide insight into solutions regarding violence against healthcare workers that occurs in hospitals. We have a brand new website – CHECK IT OUT – where we are gathering stories from nurses and other healthcare workers who have experienced violence in the workplace so that our Research Committee can start to extract data to help us find evidence-based practices to help us combat this epidemic of violence.
We have to work together to create a new nursing reality, really a new healthcare reality, where we can ask each other, “When was the last time that you were attacked at work?” and all respond, “I can’t recall” with a funny look on our face.
Raise Your Hand Campaign - https://www.raiseyourhandcampaign.com/
Silent No More Foundation - https://silentnomorefoundation.com/
Stop Healthcare Violence - https://stophealthcareviolence.org/
American Nurses Association “End Nurse Abuse” Campaign -
https://www.americannursetoday.com/take-pledge-end-nurse-abuse/
Emergency Nurses Association Workplace Violence Resources -
About the Author - Sarah K. Wells, MSN, RN, CEN, CNL is an educator, speaker, blogger and owner of New Thing Nurse, a professional and academic coaching company for the nursing world. New Thing Nurse is organized to provide support and guidance to aspiring nurses, newly graduated nurses, and veteran RNs looking to make a change in their life.
Whether it’s a new school, new job or new idea,
New Thing Nurse wants to help with your new thing!