Nursing unions on the verge of revolution

Article Snippet:

The other day, I was talking with a hospital executive, whom I warned that nurse unionization was developing a level of momentum I hadn't seen before in my 20 years in the business. His response was confident: "Unions aren't a part of our culture." I didn't argue with my friend, who certainly knows his institution better than I do. But somehow, I doubt that such cultures will last long in the face of what's coming in the nursing world.

Let's face it, ladies and gentlemen, given the responsibilities they carry, the hours they work and the amount of training their work requires, nurses aren't particularly well paid. Then, factor in the fact that--let's be honest here--nurse-to-patient ratios are more than a little thin at many hospitals, doubtless due to nursing shortages, but also cost-cutting; and consider that many hospitals give nurses virtually no chance to provide input into how things are done, treating them as robots rather than intelligent, skilled clinicians who can contribute much to a patient's plan of care, and you've got a recipe for revolution.

Full Story: http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/stor...ion/2009-05-15