National Nurses United

NewsBriefs_Sept 10/5/10 7:12 PM Page 6 NEWS BRIEFS frequently, many units of more than 20 patients will have only two registered nurses on duty. Nurses are being pulled from all corners of the hospital to other corners, even if they are not trained and haven't shown competency in the specialty positions they're asked to fill. Managers are spending all their time calling up nurses asking them to work extra shifts. And when that doesn't work, managers are forcing RNs like McNeely to work dangerous amounts of overtime. Mandatory overtime is technically prohibited within the VA system and RNs are not supposed to work more than 12 hours at a time or more than 60 hours in a seven-day period. But federal law allows circumvention of these rules in the case of an emergency, such as a natural disaster or act of war. VA supervisors, however, are routinely invoking this clause, called "7422," as applying to staffing emergencies. In addition, Carter reported, RNs are being reassigned with essentially no notice to other units and even practice areas in which they have no experience. She herself was reassigned to cardiology, effective immediately, through a letter she received one afternoon in August. Other RNs who specialize in case management of psychiatric patients have been sent back to bedside unit nursing, where they haven't practiced in more than 20 years. "I liken it to Legos," said Carter. "We're all supposed to be like Legos. We fit into whatever hole is vacant." The understaffing and chaos is bad for patients and bad for staff, agree the VA nurses. "It's dangerous," said McNeely. "You're so tired. You could wreck going home. You could have a med error. You could miss critical lab values for a patient's condition. Your reaction time is not as fast." Since the picket, the hospital has posted more RN jobs and regional VA administrators have directed local administrators to meet with the union every two weeks to discuss issues and share information. But the most important lesson from the picket, said Carter, is that nurses realized they can speak up collectively. "I see the change," said Carter. "Nurses are waking up and realizing they have a voice. They don't have to be quiet." —Staff report Augusta Georgia VA Nurses Hold Picket to Protest Chronic Understaffing D GEORGIA avid mcneely, a telemetry RN at Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Ga., was just finishing up a 12hour shift last September when a manager approached with some very distressing news: His unit was short staffed, they had zero luck finding replacements, and they were ordering him to work another eight hours. McNeely, a veteran himself and always the soldier, toughed out the extra "tour," as the VA nurses call it. He said he kept moving on his feet to make sure he stayed awake. He managed to endure the total 20-hour shift without hurting any patients or making any errors, but said he almost fell asleep four times on the hourlong drive home. 6 N AT I O N A L N U R S E "I didn't raise a big stink," said McNeely. "I would have felt bad leaving my patients." But when the hospital tried to avoid paying him overtime for the extra shift he worked, McNeely had had enough. That's why he was one of more than 100 VA nurses marching the picket lines in front of his facility on Sept. 8 to protest severe, chronic short staffing and the mandatory overtime and unsafe floating that often results. "Enough is enough. We cannot take any more," said Linda Carter, formerly an admissions RN but now working in telemetry. "This is flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants staffing. Some of us barely have time to call home and let family members know not to expect us any time soon." VA RNs say that budget cuts, mismanagement, failure to advertise and fill vacancies, and unwise reorganization of divisions have caused the staffing crisis. All too W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G SEPTEMBER 2010

• Cover