In this issue:

• Wages and paychecks
• Protect yourself. Accepting or Refusing Patient Assignment
• NSO Professional Liability Insurance
• New incentive language and Contract posted
• Officer openings

Wages and paychecks

It is disturbing to hear about your paycheck issues while Kronos is down. Please continue to follow the employers’ instructions regarding paycheck issues.

Certainly, it is the employer’s responsibility to pay you the wages you have earned. As individuals, you can file a Workplace Rights Complaint with the Department of Labor and Industries. WSNA cannot file for you. WSNA cannot predict how effective your complaints will be; but if a large number of complaints come from one facility, it will definitely be noticed.

According to the WA State Labor & Industries https://lni.wa.gov/

• Employers must pay employees for all work performed. Employers must pay employees an agreed-upon wage on a regular, scheduled payday.
• Employees who do not receive all wages due for work performed may file a Workplace Rights Complaint.

To File a Workplace Rights Complaint: https://secure.lni.wa.gov/wagecomplaint/#/

Additionally, WSNA is filing an Association Grievance against Virginia Mason . A group grievance will cover all nurses affected by Articles 8 Compensation; Article 9 Other Compensation; and Article 10.4 Pay for Work on Holidays. The grievance process may not be a quick process, but it lets the employer know we are working to hold them accountable to paying you what you have earned.

Protect yourself! Accepting or Refusing Patient Assignment

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?

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, make sure that you speak up and use your chain of command and also 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.

Find the staffing complaint form at wsna.org/ado. You can also scan this QR code.

Accepting a Nurse Staffing Assignment: Considerations/Resources (WSNA, 01.2022)

This document provides a variety of resources for use when deciding whether to accept a nurse staffing assignment. While every patient assignment it different, it is important for registered nurses to know their rights, responsibilities, and patient abandonment standards when considering an assignment.

Ten Tips to Support All Person Safety (WSNA, 01.2022)

This resource offers tips for safety and quality care delivery during challenging times, when systems, staffing, and regulatory guidelines change frequently. A variety of high reliability principles, communication tips, and safety practice recommendations are included that registered nurses can immediately use in their daily work.

NSO Professional Liability Insurance

All practicing regis­tered nurses should carry their own profes­sional liability insur­ance and WSNA has selected NSO as the program best suited for its members. This plan is designed to meet the unique needs of today’s Nursing profes­sionals. One afford­able annual fee offers a wide range of plan features, including 24-hour protec­tion for you whether you are on or off the job, license protec­tion, assault coverage, deposi­tion repre­sen­ta­tion, personal injury protec­tion and more at no extra cost. For more infor­ma­tion or to apply for coverage, contact NSO at 800 – 247-1500 for individual coverage or 888 – 288-3534 for group practice coverage or visit NSO’s website at www​.nso​.com.

Incentive Language and Contract is posted

There is new incentive language ( Spot pay, part-time and Per Diem extra shift commitment and Mandatory on call incentive) along with a reminder that your signed 2021-2023 WSNA Virginia Mason Contract is posted.

Officer Openings

Lastly, we wanted to take the time to thank Mama Sue (Suzanne Baek) WSNA Treasurer for all your time, efforts, service and expertise during your many years at Virginia Mason and as one of the WSNA officers. Your contributions have brought about great changes and improvements to the WSNA team, as well as the nurses they served. We wish you well on your new adventure of retirement.

There are still officer vacancies open to be filled! At this time, we are asking all nurses who would like to make a difference and be involved in executive decision-making, now and during upcoming contract negotiations, to nominate themselves for the WSNA Officer Team.

To find out more information on these leadership positions, and to self-nominate please reach out to one of your nurse rep at mmoore@wsna.org. If you know of any nurses you feel would be perfect for either role, don’t hesitate to approach that individual and encourage them to apply.

In Solidarity,
your Virginia Mason officers
Jane Hill-Little­john, Susan Dunn, and Arlene Alba

Questions? Contact WSNA Nurse Repre­sen­ta­tive Michelle Moore at mmoore@wsna.org.