Alberta Health Services

[Fiona59]

OK, we've all heard that they are eliminating 100 managerial positions.

We got the OT ban announcement last week, followed by the "part timers should pick up shifts before OT is permitted" (well, duh, that's in the contracts, can't help it if the staffing office failed to follow the rules), followed by the those on OT will be floated off to units within their services that are short.

How about the wonderful pens for nursing week?

How is AHS affecting your work day?

[linzz]

I wonder how courageous Stelmach and his cronies would feel if it was their jobs on the line. I just don't know how he thinks patients will be happy with drastically cut services and not enough nurses to take care of them.

[Fiona59]

Well, it did come out of the man who upon taking office gave himself a 30% salary increase.

When he came to my hospital to visit a relative, the only reason anyone recognized him was because he had a security detail. We are still trying to figure out if he thought he needed protection from healthcare workers.

[RGN1]

They're doing this on purpose to create an air of uncertainty & have nurses just being grateful for having a job before the UNA starts contract negotiations!!

As an aside I'm an IEN but where I work we don't have 2 year contracts, our contract states that our positions are permanent as long as we maintain legal status in Canada. Of course, if IEN's don't get their PR's sorted quickly then I think many will find that their temporary work permits won't be renewed by AHS, so actually we're in a way more precarious position than you think.

[5cats]

yep, and the centralized intake office doesn't seem to be very fast with their assessments......

I hope nobody here in SK gets funny ideas too,....but we still have positions open.

5cats

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

I hope nobody here in SK gets funny ideas too,....but we still have positions open.

5cats

Yeah, so did we until mid June when they all magically disappeared. The difference is that SK hasn't put all their eggs in the oil-and-gas basket, and they charge the oil companies reasonable royalties so they're not feeling the economic pinch like Alberta is. Corb Lund, an Alberta folk singer (whose band is called the Hurtin' Albertans) recently released a song called "Long Gone to Saskatchewan" that captures the mood here quite well. He sings about how he can sell his ranch here and buy one ten times the size there with no mortgage, and so on.

Well I'm long gone to Saskatchewan

Long gone to Saskatchewan

Where the gettin's good if your gettin' gone

I'm gonna put my boots and my hat back on

Adios, goodbye, farewell, so long

I'm long gone to Saskatchewan

Long gone to Saskatchewan

- Corb Lund

[Fiona59]

UNA. Don't start the LPNs on that topic. We are just not in the mood for another round of being bashed by them. There have been some pretty petty things done by the RNs to the LPNs in my facility lately. It's the first time in memory that anyone can remember incidents happening like this.

Can we all remember that the "N" in my title stands for NURSE.

So good luck in your bargaining (I guess the preliminary stuff will be starting behind the scenes soon) but keep your ad campaigns clean and only point out the issues with the government. Remember there are good LPNs and good RNs. Its the human behind the title that is good/bad. So please don't use the "for quality care you NEED an RN" one that was used last time. Because we have patients on our unit that would disagree after experiencing a few of my coworkers.

[linzz]

I like that "It's the human behind the title".

All the rhetoric in health care really gets old fast, at least in humble opionion.

[Guest233447]

From what I've been hearing, and from conversations with RN's I know as well as RN students, this could get very ugly. Apparently Liepert is quite "pro-LPN" and the word is that as much as where possible RN positions will be replaced by LPNs as they are more cost effective. I don't imagine RN's like to feel their jobs threatened when until now being an RN was a very secure position with a lot of time and money invested in education.

I don't like animosity or superiority complexes simply because of job titles. We will all be in this together. I hope this won't divide us - a house divided against itself cannot stand.

[Fiona59]

You're both right. We're seeing it more from the degree holders rather than the diploma/hospital trained. Some of the "old school" are feeling put down by the newer grads and their degrees.

We all know of units that are way to over staffed by RNs. Does acute care of the elderly (really, glorified LTC while waiting for a bed) really require more than a Charge and one RN on the floor?? Most of the LPNs I work with have no desire to work ICU, NICU or CCU.

But if it's anything like last time, you can bet CARNA and UNA will use their wonderful billboard ads.

[linzz]

I must agree that nurses of all levels should be united in the fight for jobs. It really does weaken things when we all turn on each other and it also plays right into the hands of the suits. The last thing they want is for everyone to stand together.

I put forth that we rid healthcare of all excess administrative staff and I'll bet we would have a situation where there are lots of jobs for both RN's and RPN's in skill approriate areas.

[bscn_rn_10_years]

I agree.....we need to stand together, there is enough negativity out there. If we are divided they will know and work that against us.

[RGN1]

The Chaplain in the UK hospital where I trained had a wonderful message that he told all new nursing students. He asked who we thought was the most important person in the hospital, eventually, after us all guessing wrongly & having gone through pretty much everyone we could think of, he simply said....."the most important person in the hospital is the one needed next."

His point being that you could be the worlds greatest brain surgeon but if the lights went out in the OR then the electrician would be the most important person, you could be the best nurse but if there was no cleaner then your patients would get sicker & so on. Therefore, he told us that we must respect everyone we work with from cleaner to doctor because we would all be, at one time or another, the most important person there.

It's a lesson well worth remembering. It has certainly meant that over the years I have always (& will always) treat everybody I work with with the same respect I want for myself because we ALL need each other.