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O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6 W W W . C A L N U R S E S . O R G R E G I S T E R E D N U R S E 23 tem driven by budget instead of patient well-being. He sees manage- ment trying to cut staffing, trying to move patients out of the ICU too soon, and patients choosing food over medications, only to end up in the hospital all over again. Fitzpatrick also remembers having to confront the problem of floating early in his career. "We've had to float to psychiatry, but we had not had training in psychiatry," remembered Fitzpatrick. "Or you might find an ICU nurse had to go in OB or pediatrics who had never worked with children since they were in nursing school. It happened to everybody. It wasn't something that might happen; it was some- thing that happened all the time." As part of those 1988 negotiations, nurses at St. Mary's fought for and became one of the first CNA/NNOC hospitals to earn the right for nurses to stay within their area of expertise. Another major battle key to CNA/NNOC's ability to challenge cor- porate healthcare was the successful charge by staff nurses to gain control of the organization in 1993 by electing a majority to the board of directors. "How crazy was it that a nurse organization like CNA that was 95 percent staff nurses actually functioned under the con- trol of nurse managers?" he asked. "It was a big turning point. Some people even say it was a revolution. It changed nursing in the state of California and made a lot of things possible that wouldn't be possible, like the nurse-to-patient ratio bill, more nurses being part of CNA, and part of collective bargaining." Subsequently, leaving the ANA in 1995 was one of CNA/NNOC's biggest accomplishments, says Fitzpatrick. Freed from the ANA, the organization dedicated more funds to unionize registered nurses, and membership has grown from about 18,000 to nearly 70,000 nurs- es nationwide. In 1995, Fitzpatrick also defeated the former president of the ANA for a seat on the Economic and General Welfare Congress, the body that then represented nurses in collective bargaining. "That's one of my personal highlights because [my opponent] rep- resented the beliefs of nurse managers and not staff nurses," said Fitzpatrick. "Our priorities focused around RNs staying at the bed- side, taking care of patients. We knew we were the people who had the education, training, expertise, and really the dedication to stay there and actually take care of patients." Besides sitting on the board of directors, Fitzpatrick now also heads a CNA/NNOC statewide bargaining council for nurses with Catholic Healthcare West, the healthcare corporation that owns St. Mary's and many other California hospitals. "Soon with Catholic Healthcare West we'll all be under one master agreement and that gives us a lot more power as a union," he said. "Then, instead of nego- tiating a union contract for one hospital, which might be for 100 nurses, it can be for 4,000 nurses and ultimately 8,000." It is all a lot of work, but Fitzpatrick's reward is knowing that he's helping people, and getting to work with nurses who share his dedi- cation and beliefs. "It's not easy taking care of patients, and at the same time having to advocate for them," he said. "The thing that makes it all worthwhile is, in spite of all the things wrong with the system, there are still a lot of great nurses and other sorts of healthcare providers who work in hos- pitals that really do their best so that patients are well cared for." ■ Bonnie Ho is a news intern at Registered Nurse. Profile Name: Allen Fitzpatrick Facility: St. Mary's Medical Center, San Francisco Unit: Medical Intensive Care Unit Nursing for: 27 years On CNA board since: 1997 Sign: Sagittarius Pet nursing peeve: Nurse managers who understaff their units and don't want to pay penalty pay for missed breaks. Favorite work snack: Yogurt Latest work accomplishment: When CNA/NNOC took the lead on defeating all of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's initiatives in the November 2005 special election. Color of favorite scrubs: Dark blue Favorite hobby: Gardening with my wife Latest book read: A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies by James Bam- ford Secret talent unrelated to nursing: Gardening and home repairs ht Fight