Collective Bargaining Benefits Nurses And Patients

Mandatory nurse-patient ratios have been a controversial topic facing nurses for decades. Nurses, patients, physicians, nursing organizations, researchers, hospitals, federal government, and state governments have opposing views in regard to mandatory nurse-patient ratios. Those that support the idea of mandatory nurse-patient ratios believe that there would be an improvement in quality of patient care, decreased nursing shortages, increased job satisfaction, decreased client hospitalization, and increased nurse recruitment (Pamela Tevington, 2012). Groups that oppose mandatory nurse-patient ratios believe that mandatory staffing laws ignore factors such as the level of care a patient requires from a nurse, treatments, length of hospitalization, improvements and differences in technology, the expense of an increased nursing staff, and nurse experience and education (Tevington, 2012).

Nurses have been successful advocates for improvement of the individuals, communities and indeed Nations. However much more work needs to be done to reduce health disparities, improvement of quality and safety in the health system. As well as improve access to care and formulate policies in organization that focus on the need of patients. In my opinion, nurses sometimes believe in a common mistake that nurses lack the power to be effective in the legislative arena. However, I just want to emphasize that nurses are the largest group of health care providers, and we can generate enough power to successfully reform the health care system based on numbers

The National Healthcare Employee Union (NHEU) asserts that the hospital 's retention and recruiting efforts concerning nurse staffing is deficient. This deficiency has led to diminished patient care and more nurses quitting because of the fatigue of being overworked due to staffing shortages.

Resources that relate to patient care have been cut, such as lacking an adequate supply of clean linens on weekends and nights for patient rooms. While resources relating to patient care have been cut, the CEO’s salary went up from $800,000 to $1,100,000 this past year. Nurses have mobilized and created a voice for themselves and are pushing to unionize with the California Nurses Association (CNA) to fight for more resources and better wages. Since the protesting and unionizing rallies, Huntington has hired expensive anti-union companies to surveillance, intimidate, question nurses and try to divide and oppress the unionizing efforts of the California Nurses Association (CNA).

With over 2 million jobs, registered nurses represent the largest health care occupation (Windle, 2008, p. 209). Although nurses are the biggest health care occupation, there continues to be a shortage in the United States. The shortage has worsened because of rising healthcare costs and a focus on cost containment, which has negatively impacted nurse work environments (Keeler and Cramer, 2007, p. 350). With demand for healthcare expecting to continue to increase and financial pressures becoming more burdensome, these shortages will likely become even more critical in coming years if not adequately addressed (Love et al., 2006, p. 558). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 1.2 million nurses will be required to fill new and vacated nursing positions by the end of 2014 (Windle, 2008, p. 209).

"Results of this study point to the need to enhance nursing teamwork on patient care units. If nursing staff are not satisfied, like workers in general, they will be more likely to leave their position/occupation and/or to have a lower level of productivity. Moreover, increased teamwork would lead to safer and higher quality of care."

There are three major organizations in nursing that have made great impacts on the way nurses guide and represent their profession. One of the organizations is the American Nurses Association (ANA) whose mission statement is “nurses advancing our profession to improve health for all” and their philosophy is committed to ensure that there are an adequate supply of “high-skilled and well-educated nurses is available” (ANA, 2014). The ANA helps to advance the nursing profession through fostering high standards, the promotion of the general welfare of nursing professionals in the workplace, projecting a positive as well as realistic view of nursing practices, and lobbying within Congress about health care issues that affect both nurses and the general public (ANA, 2014). The ANA is primarily responsible for restructuring healthcare through legislature and lobbying on both state and national levels (ANA, 2014).

As patient advocates, professional nurses realize the importance of being active in the political arena, regarding health policy to improve the overall health of society (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014). A nurse can work individually or as a part of a nursing organization, such as the American Nurses Association, to have a positive impact on health care policy (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the legislative process, analyze nurse-to-patient ratios, and provide my opinion on this workplace issue.

One the most important issues facing nursing these days is the changing healthcare insurance industry. I saw how these changes affected staff firsthand. I worked at Quincy Medical Center for three years until it closed in December of 2014. The Affordable Care Act led to cuts to Medicaid supplemental payments for the uninsured and has forced many hospitals to reduce staff or close like Quincy Medical Center. This is a concern for nurses because under current federal regulations there are no specific requirements for nurse to patient ratios. Multiple research studies demonstrate that lower nurse-patient ratios save both lives and money long term. For example, hospitals that routinely staff with 1-to-8 nurse-to-patient ratios experience five additional deaths per 1,000 patients than those staffing with 1-to-4 ratios, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Higher nurse to patient traditions lead to higher burnout

Nurses make up the largest clinical group in a hospital setting making them prone to cost containment by reducing their numbers. Appropriate staffing optimizes care and there is a need to create dynamics that provide proper staffing solutions. This way the health care sector will adapt to the evolving nature and need for populations that are constantly rising and in need of care. This is essential in preventing harm, providing appropriate care as needed, and saving lives. Legislations such as The Registered Nurse Staffing Act have been enacted to make sure that hospitals have adequate numbers of licensed registered nurses that provide effective medical care required by patients. Nurses have a responsibility in maintain, defining, and implementing standards of their professional practice (American Nurse Association, 2012). They should embrace mechanisms that provide adequate and flexible staffing to protect themselves and their patients from inappropriate delegation of tasks and

For years, the great nurse-patient staffing ratio debate has ignited opinions and flared tempers on both sides of the issue. Innumerable studies have been conducted regarding various aspects and effects of staffing ratios. The business side of healthcare continues to clash with the clinical side of operations, and to date, California remains the only state in the United States thus far that has enacted legislation mandating nurse-patient staffing ratios. The business office representatives see only dollar signs, fearing the cost of recruiting, training, and retaining more nurses. Nurses and clinicians on the front lines see much-needed relief from patient care assignments laden with too many patients, or patients whose acuity is too high to safely care for with the current lack of mandated nurse-patient ratios. This paper examines the potential effects of enacting or legislating safer nurse-patient staffing ratios.

I believe the issues that prompted a need for healthcare reform included an increase in chronic, life-long diseases, and rising costs of healthcare. The care that is delivered by registered nurses is taking on more leadership roles and advocacy of care functions. A 2010 IOM report indicates that nurses have an important contribution to make to "building a health care system that will meet the demand for safe, quality, patient-centered, accessible, and affordable care" (Wilson, Whitaker, & Whitford, 2012). With this being the focus of our health care system as nurses; we can lower the rates of hospital readmissions, as well as advocate for our patient’s chronic diseases which will hopefully provide adequate patient education limiting the severity

Outside Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, the largest nurses strike in U.S. history occurred. Over 12,000 Minnesota nurses went on strike, standing up for patient care and themselves. The nurses advocated for healthcare reform in which there should be a strict nurse-to-patient ratio. In response, the hospitals hired over 2,800 replacement nurses and temporarily reduced patient levels. This however, caused a rippling effect in which thousands of nurses around the country have planned and created strikes of their own. With the help of non-violence protesting, drastic improvements are being made within the healthcare system to this day as a result. At the majority of hospitals in the

In a profession where others' health and well-being are priority, there leaves room for neglect of those who are delegated to care for these people. As a professional nurse, there are many obstacles that arise and affect the care provided to a patient, as well as the livelihood of the nurse. The current deteriorating and unsafe staffing conditions in hospitals and other institutions prompts workplace advocacy as the universally appropriate concept for maintaining professional nursing practice. The Arkansas Nurses Association and the Louisiana State Nurses Association define workplace advocacy as a planned, organized system of services and resources designed to support the professional nurse in the workplace (White Paper on

The mission is successful negotiation of fair wages, safe working conditions and exemplary patient care. Can the nation’s labor unions help nursing healthcare professionals meet these mission goals? Battles are currently being fought to preserve and reform the Nation’s healthcare system. Along with proposed changes to the affordability and accessibility of medical care, healthcare providers will be faced with challenges of patient-to-provider ratios, rising costs, falling salaries/benefits and change in patient care roles. Will quality care be provided and will the