Wednesday, September 13

Come speak with your nurse representative Stephenie Troftgruben and organizer Zach Seikel, on both day and night shifts. We will be rounding in all shifts and visiting break rooms, if you have a specific concern or question, please let us know. 

Get involved!

We are looking for a few more dedicated nurses to join our local unit officer group. If you would like to be considered for an officer, unit representative, or staffing committee position please email Zach Seikel at zseikel@wsna.org.

Short Staffing Escalation

We have received several Staffing Complaint/ADO forms in the past few months.  If you find yourself in a situation where your staffing matrix calls for a higher number of RNs than what is scheduled based on the number of patients or heightened patient acuity, it is important to Fill out a Staffing Complaint form and immediately escalate this up the chain of leadership.

WSNA, along with UWMC Northwest leadership, recently had discussions in our Staffing Committees regarding short staffing and the need for leadership escalation in these situations.

The first person who will likely be aware is the charge nurse.  Be sure to reach out to them first so that they can start working on creative ways to overcome staffing challenges including sending texts out to all available RNs.

The second person you should notify is the unit manager.  This may include email, text or phone call.  Unit managers have mentioned in Staffing Committee discussions that they want to be notified anytime RNs believe a short staffing crisis is not being remedied.

If the manager is not able to work with the charge RN to fix the problem, it is essential to then reach out to the house supervisor.  This person will have a broader view of staffing throughout the house and may be aware of available RNs on other units.

If the house supervisor is not able to assist in bridging the gap in staffing, email CNO Cindy Sayre letting her know the circumstances and the efforts you have made thus far. 

It is as important as ever to fill out Staffing Complaint Forms/ADOs whenever there is a staffing issue.  This may include not having enough RNs or support staff as well. 

Here is a link to the ADO forms:  https://www.wsna.org/union/ado

Questions? Contact WSNA Nurse Representative Stephenie Troftgruben at stroftgruben@wsna.org.