Holiday Greetings from your WSNA Officers

All of us have faced an unprecedented year which brought continued challenges due to the pandemic. We have been busy representing you in investigatory meetings, grievances, nurse Conference Committee, PPE committee, and other ad hoc meetings that have convened for various issues.

Negotiations are fast approaching! Thanks to all of you for completing the negotiation surveys. These survey results help us lead your priorities as we head to the table. Ordinarily, we would have a negotiation kick-off. Count on that in the future, but right now, especially with the Omicron variant, we are being prudent about get-togethers.

For Nurses Week we purchased tech kits for everyone and heard a lot of great feedback about how much you enjoyed your gifts.

We have had numerous nurses step up to be Unit Reps. WSNA has been and continues to offer virtual Unit Rep Training classes. If you are interested in finding out more about this, contact Hanna Welander at hwelander@wsna.org.

Our priorities are always in the best interests of our members. We appreciate your active participation, especially as we enter negotiations. Remember that all of us are WSNA!

Happy Holidays to you and your families!

Laura Bayes, Co-Chair
Geri Falacy, Co-Secretary
Tracy Pullar, Co-Communications
Grace Schackel, Grievance Officer
Robin Cully, Grievance Officer
Rhonda Tull, Grievance Officer
Darlyce Jerde, Occupational Health and Safety

Reading and Accessing your WSNA Contract:

If you ever have questions about your hours, wages or working conditions, it is helpful to review your WSNA contract. This is located on the WSNA website under PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center. You can find articles by keywords. It is a great way to find information and really easy. Soon we will have stickers so that you can use a QR code to get right to it. For now, here is the preview!

Protect yourself! Completing Staffing Concern Forms/Assignment Despite Objection:

If you find yourself in a situation that you believe creates unsafe conditions for patients or for you, complete the Staffing Complaint / ADO (Assignment Despite Objection) form as soon as possible. By completing the form, you are helping to make the problem known to manage­ment, which creates an oppor­tu­nity for the problem to be addressed. Addition­ally, you are documenting the facts, which may be helpful to you later if there is a negative outcome.

You may have to make a decision about accepting an assign­ment involving abnor­mally dangerous condi­tions that pose an imminent risk to your safety and health and could poten­tially cause serious injury or death. If you are a WSNA member and you accept an abnor­mally dangerous assign­ment, fill out a Staffing Complaint/Assignment Despite Objection form (ADO) to document that you are accepting an assign­ment despite objection. In certain circumstances, it is appropriate to also file an incident report. Please review hospital policies when this is necessary.

If you have already accepted the assign­ment, continue until you have handed off the assign­ment and been relieved of respon­si­bility for the patient(s). If you decide to refuse the assign­ment, you should remain at the workplace and offer to perform other work that does not pose an imminent risk to your safety and health (e.g., an assign­ment for which you are provided proper safety equip­ment and training). Elevate your objection to the assignment using the established facility chain of command procedure.

A decision to refuse an assign­ment could result in disci­pli­nary action taken against you by the employer. Under your contract, the hospital must have just cause to issue disci­pline. If you are repre­sented by WSNA for collec­tive bargaining, WSNA will defend you if you are subjected to disci­pline. Make sure you contact one of your WSNA Grievance Officers right away.

What about refusing an assignment?

Registered nurses need to know their rights and responsibilities when considering a patient assignment. If you feel that you lack expertise on a unit and patient population, you don’t just have the right to refuse an assignment there, you have an obligation to do so. Your managers should never ask you to work with patients you aren’t qualified to have in your care. There are many factors to consider before accepting a new patient assignment.

This set of questions can help guide you through decisions about nurse staffing assignments.

• What is the assignment? Clarify what is expected. Do not assume. Be certain in the details.
• What are the characteristics of the patients being assigned? Don’t just respond to the number of patients; make a critical assessment of the needs of each patient, complexity, stability, and acuity and the resources available to meet those needs.
• Do you have the expertise to care for the patients? Are you familiar with caring for the types of patients assigned? If this is a “float assignment,” are you crossed-trained to care for these patients? Is there a “buddy system” in place with staff who are familiar with the unit? If there is no cross-training or “buddy system,” has the patient assignment been modified accordingly?
• Do you have the experience and knowledge to manage the patients for whom you are being assigned care? If the answer to the question is “no,” you have an obligation to articulate your limitations. Limitations in experience and knowledge may not require refusal of the assignment, but rather an agreement regarding supervision or a modification of the assignment to ensure patient safety. If no accommodation for limitations is considered, the nurse has an obligation to refuse an assignment for which there is lack of education or experience.
• What is the geography of the assignment? Are you being asked to care for patients who are in close proximity for efficient management, or are the patients at opposite ends of the hall or in different units? If there are geographic difficulties, what resources are available to manage the situation? If the patients are in more than one unit and you must go to another unit to provide care, who will monitor patients outside of your immediate location?
• Is this a temporary assignment? When other staff are located to assist, will you be relieved? If the assignment is temporary, it may be possible to accept a difficult assignment, knowing that there will soon be reinforcements. Is there a pattern of short staffing, or is this truly an emergency?

To access the Staffing Concern Form:

Go to Crossroads
>Non-clinical
>>Staffing Office—Scroll down to WSNA section
>>>Staffing Concern Form

To access the WSNA Staffing Complaint/ADO from website: https://www.wsna.org/union/ado

Please note, you must enter your manager’s email address or it will not be routed properly.

For questions, contact your WSNA Nurse Representative, Hanna Welander, hwelander@wsna.org (206) 575-7979, Ext. 3035