Profile For Miss Y RN

I have been reading not only this thread but a lot of other threads in trucking truth for a few months now. I am not a trucker. I am an RN. I have been for 19 years. My boyfriend is a trucker. I recently rode with him for three weeks and we watched the Swift video about the in cab camera together for the first time. Our mouths dropped open for more than one reason. First, we had talked a lot about dash cams. We both thought they were a great idea and would be a great help in proving fault in accidents. Second, because of the privacy issue. Now it didn't say specifically in that first video what, how, why, when, etc and left a lot of questions. For me specifically it brought up a lot of thoughts and I can easily compare them to healthcare. I work in a field that people like to photograph a lot. I am constantly having pictures taken of me while I am caring for my patients. I have been approached many times by people in public saying things like "your the nurse that cared for my baby, your in our baby book, your picture is all over Facebook, etc." So I know the feeling of being watched constantly while trying to perform extremely important sometimes life and death duties. It's unnerving to say the least. I will always take the BEST care of my patients and I will always ensure their utmost safety. I can also tell you that when that camera is in my face I don't like it, I get nervous and I don't think it lends to the best environment of care for my patient. Do I allow it? Only because I have to. Can I go to a different department? Absolutely, but I like my tiny patients so I deal with the cameras the best I can. I am used to being watched in my job as truckers are. Cameras in hallways and elevators and supervisors watching and doctors over my shoulder and parents with tons of questions and the state or other surveyors critiquing my every move. I work to give the best care every single day. Am I perfect? Not even close. There isn't a human being out there that is. No trucker is either. And with all the laws and regulations out there I think anyone can be out of compliance at any time in some tiny way depending on interpretations. And yes you are gonna stretch while you drive and you will drink water to keep from being dehydrated, you will take your eyes off the road in front of you, actually you better because you have to check those mirrors, and you will have bad moments and good ones too. I honestly don't think an in cab, driver facing camera is in the drivers best interest. Here is why. When I became a nurse one of the first things that seasoned nurses told me was get your own malpractice insurance. You may work for a big hospital but they, the doctor, and anyone else involved that has more money to fight a case will do everything in their power to place blame on someone else. Guess who often gets the blame? The nurse. It makes it so the hospital doesn't have to pay so much in settlements to put that blame on her/him. The hospital/company is not there to protect you! I can only look at these cameras the same way. Big companies don't spend millions of dollars rolling out new programs like this unless it somehow monetarily benefits them. I am guessing they will benefit in a few ways, but the first that comes to mind is a way to place blame on the driver. Charting can be interpreted in lots of different ways. Nurses can take classes on how to chart to make sure they are covering their ass. What's a driver gonna do? "Well your honor the reason I was looking somewhere else while I was slamming on the brakes was I needed to check my mirror to see what was coming up behind me and to find a clear way out...so I didn't see that car that swerved in front of me." Have you ever met a lawyer? They will turn that a million different ways. They may agree with you or they may decide it was your fault because your eyes were off the road. They can't see what you see even with cameras all over. They will see your eyes diverted from the road. The rest is as it was before...your word. Now that being said I do agree with many who say it's their truck, it's their company, they can run it the way they want. Yes. So true, but you, the driver, are the license. They need you. Without you there is no company, freight doesn't move, people get hungry, medical supplies don't get delivered. Each driver has to make their own choice with what they feel comfortable with. But you are professional drivers in demand and I think speaking up and asking questions and fully understanding what is going to happen and how the company will handle discipline and privacy etc is key. And if you can't get answers or you don't like them don't stay somewhere you aren't comfortable. Your jobs are hard. You leave your girlfriend/boyfriend, wife/husband, kids, comfy bed, TV, friends, church etc for weeks at a time. You give up a lot for the freedom of the open road and the sunrises and the sunsets and the amazing experiences and your paycheck. Don't leave your values and ideals behind just for the paycheck. Look at this from as many angles as possible, think of the ways it can affect you, and make a choice to accept it or find a company that doesn't use the cameras facing the driver.