Last month, UWMC advised WSNA that it wanted to provide nurses with the “Dual Nurse” option of working in two units. The current contract does not prohibit this however, there were a number of issues identified with how the UW wanted to approach implementing this position. WSNA met with management several times to attempt to work with the UW within the boundaries of the contract.

The issues were:

• UWMC wanted to bypass posting language and be able to select who they want to appoint to the position. The nurse would work shifts in a second unit of his or her choice, as part of the staffing matrix but without an actual position in the department.
• UWMC wanted to put requirements into place for this position that violated the contract. One such example is that a nurse had to work at UWMC for at least 18 months to apply.
• UWMC wanted a nurse to retain their FTE in their home department which would leave vacancies in the nurse’s home unit for the year while they were working shifts in the other department.
• UWMC would allow nurses to go to a second unit that was already fully staffed. This nurse would count towards the staffing matrix which would likely trigger low census (NW only) which is unfair to other nurses who have positions in the department.
• UWMC wanted nurses to waive float or float pool pay and we are not in agreement that the hospital can do that.

We shared with the UW that the hospital could do one of two approaches to implement this role. The nurses could apply to work in the float pool since they would be working in at least two units. The hospital said this would cost too much. The other option is the position has to be posted per the contract with FTE identified and assigned to both departments. The hospital said this was too much trouble to post a position and were not sure how they would post it if a department was fully staffed. Again, WSNA is concerned that the hospital is overstaffing one unit possibly resulting in low census (NW only) and leaving another with open shifts that are part of that nurse’s FTE. WSNA also had some concerns about how to adequately train a nurse to a new area that requires months of training. There was also concern about staying proficient once trained. Those issues are addressed in the contract however, it was not clear how the hospital intended to roll that out.

The UW made the decision to not move forward with the position. WSNA is disappointed for those who were interested in such an opportunity but wanted you all to know, this can be accomplished if the UWMC follows one of the paths available under the current contract for your facility. Questions? Please contact your nurse representative. Information about your nurse reps and officers can be found here at https://www.wsna.org/union/local-units.