Why You Belong There

The WSNA Leadership Conference isn't just for people with titles. It’s for the nurse who is tired of feeling powerless. It’s for the advocate who knows our profession deserves better. It’s for you.

By attending, you aren't just taking a break from the floor, you’re gaining the tools to fix the floor. You’ll leave with:

• Advanced Advocacy Skills: Learn how to navigate grievances, Investigatory Meetings, and staffing committees.
• Policy Insights: Get the latest on the legislative battles happening in Olympia.
• A Support Network: Connect with a brotherhood and sisterhood of nurses who have your back.

Don’t just wish for change. Lead it.

Date: April 26-April 28 at the Wenatchee Convention Center.

The Officers have voted to provide 20 scholarships from the local unit funds for members to attend without cost.

*If you are interested in attending, please contact an Officer: Stefanie Gates, Isaiah Ray, Simon Morton, Brittney Lamb, Todd Avis or Paul Molenaar

You can also contact Laurie Robinson Nurse Representative @ 1-206-620-4136 or lrobinson@wsna.org

An investigatory meeting (often called a “fact-finding meeting) is a formal discussion where management asks questions to determine if disciplinary action is warranted against an employee. Under the collective bargaining agreement, you are a union represented nurse by WSNA. This is not just a “quick chat” it is a protected process with specific legal rights. Here is a breakdown of what it is and what you need to know.

1. The Purpose: Fact-Finding

Management uses these meetings to investigate a specific incident or pattern of behavior. Common triggers include:

• Medication errors or documentation discrepancies.
• Patient safety concerns or "near misses."
• Attendance issues or interpersonal conflicts on the unit.
• Allegations of policy violations.

The goal for the employer is to decide: Did something happen, and is it your fault?

2. Your Representation Rights

This is your most important shield. Under the Weingarten Ruling, a WSNA represented nurse has the right to have your Nurse Representative present during any interview that the nurse reasonably believes could lead to discipline.

Take a look on the back of your WSNA blue “Badge Buddy” here is your Representation Rights: “If this discussion could in anyway lead to my discipline or termination, I request an Association representative be present. Unless I have this representative, I respectfully choose not to participate in this discussion.”

Key things to remember about Weingarten Rights:

• You must ask for it: Management is generally not required to offer a representative; you must state, "If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, I request that my union representative be present." At Confluence Central, it is their practice to provide a nurse with a document that clearly offers the nurse their ability to seek representation along with a marked box indicating performance, attendance, behavior or other as the topic of the meeting.
• Once you ask: The employer must either stop the meeting until the rep arrives, end the meeting entirely, or offer you the choice of continuing without a rep (which you should almost never do).

3. The Role of Your Nurse Representative and/or Officer

A Nurse Representative or Officer is not just a silent observer. In an investigatory meeting, they can:

• Help you clarify the questions being asked.
• Take notes on everything said.
• Advise you on how to answer (e.g., "Keep it brief" or "Don't speculate").
• Ask for a "caucus" (a private break) to talk to you in the hallway if things get heated.

Common Dos and Don'ts

Minutes by Simon Morton

December: 

Practice committee: non-ICU removal protocol for foleys has been approved. Official launch and policy change date TBD. During the second week of January, staff will have the opportunity to submit certifications for review to Kelly Allen and to request existing certifications on the list be reviewed for approval for other units.

Rover phones have been in use on PCU for about 2 weeks. There are certainly kinks to work out, but management intends to eventually roll them out to all units. Virtual nursing has been placed on hold because the hospital Confluence was looking at emulating things from cancelled their virtual nurses.

Staffing committee: no ADOs to review. Michelle Buster presented an update on residency program. It has been going very well and people from out of the area have been moving to Wenatchee to start the residency program. 14 people from outside the region will be starting in February as residents per Michelle.

The staffing plan was submitted for vote and passed. There are no changes to the plan since the last vote in July.

We are still looking for new members for Practice committee! Please reach out to me if interested! Meetings are 3rd Monday of the month 10-10:50. You do get paid for going to meetings and related projects.

January:

Nurse Practice Committee: NPC will be taking over the patient care and utilization side of implementation of virtual nursing. If you want be a part or have ideas for what they should (and should not) do, come to a meeting! This will likely happen 2027 (when we will be getting smart TVs with the capability in patient rooms)

We discussed increasing participation in unit-based councils and having NPC assist them in projects. One way we decided is to make UBC more attractive is through the nurse clinical ladder/professional development. Roughly June this year - there will be increased points for UBC and likely increased financial incentive for projects. Details pending.

The non-ICU protocol foley removal protocol will go live in a month

****Time sensitive/Important****

For those who want certifications added or want existing certifications to apply to your unit, check your work email for one from Kelly Allen. Submissions for changes are due by the end of January and will not open again until July. There will no back pay if you for example, got a certification that gets added months ago. Reminder that per our new contract you can get up to 2 certifications that each get you a $1 raise. (With the exception of if you have a master’s degree, in which you are limited to $1 since you already get $2 for the masters)

Staffing committee: We had a financial update by the CFO. Confluence health continues to do well financially, and projections are favorable for the future as well.

We discussed some ADOs by an oncology nurse navigator who was concerned about overwork and having to do overtime to complete her tasks on occasion when having to cover for nurses that are out. Management was present and essentially said that this nurse does a great job and goes above and beyond every day. The problem they see is that she goes so above and beyond she does things she really doesn’t need to do by herself, which gets her behind. Their solution is to have a discussion with the nurse.

The next ADO regarded a vascular nurse needing to discharge a dialysis patient. It was clarified that patients discharging directly from dialysis are to be handled by ANS.

The final ADO we fully discussed was about a nurse who was called off the floor for a meeting with management while precepting and her high acuity loads in the ER without adequate support during the day. Management stated that while this nurse was off the floor, the unit educator assisted and that they did not have the nurses to help cover her and her intern’s group when the 1:1 patients arrived.

December: We had discussions regarding MBU that included Job shares, pre-populated weekends and floating. The Committee recognizes the need for a second meeting with the nurses who are assigned to the second-floor units.

SANE training- Any nurse who would like to take the SANE training may due so, however, there must be a pool position for the nurse to become active as a SANE trained RN.

January: We had discussion over the investigatory meeting process as we are concerned that many could be coached by the manager, instead of moving quickly to an IM that involves HR.  We will continue to work on this as we know that IMs are extremely stressful, time consuming and diminishes the relationship with the manager.

We followed up with seeking a meeting with the nurses who are assigned to units on the second floor. Kelly will be working on setting up this meeting.

Job Shares were on the agenda. All requests for them should be sent to the manager and to Kelly. At this time, there are no considerations for job shares being looked at.

Per the new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) we are looking at nightshift recruitment and retention. We made the suggestion to allow nightshift to be able to combine a meal and rest break (45 minutes).

1. Disciplinary- This grievance was withdrawn after reaching a settlement.
2. Disciplinary- This grievance remains in abeyance while it is reviewed.

Todd Avis, Care Management has been appointed to the Grievance Officer position and Isaiah Ray has been appointed to the Co-Chair position.

There is a remaining open secretary position open. Please let us know if you are interested!

If you are not a WSNA member please consider completing a membership application today! Just click on the link!

https://wsnaonlineapplicationportalwsnaprod.powerappsportals.com/

Follow us on the closed Facebook group WSNA Central Washington RNs and Instagram WSNA at Confluence Central for quick information and answers to your questions.

In solidarity,
Stefanie Gates- Chair
Isaiah Ray- Co-Chair
Open- Secretary
Simon Morton- Treasurer
Paul Molenaar- Membership 
Brittney Lamb- Grievance Officer
Todd Avis- Grievance Officer

Laurie Robinson, Nurse Representative
lrobinson@wsna.org

Ryan Rosenkranz Nurse Organizer
rrosenkranz@wsna.org