Best way to deal with unsafe staffing, what form?

[Blindsided]

What form do you fill out if you are given an unsafe assignment? This would be for nurse to patient ratio. I have heard about the safe harbor form, but does every state have this, or do you just fill out an incident report. Also, do you fill it out at the beginning of shift assignment or what? This is for when you still have to take on the assignment in order to help your patients, but you feel it is unsafe. I hope this is clear, I'm nursing a pneumonia. Thanks for any responses all.

[Testa Rosa, RN]

On our floor we are protected by our union and can fill out a "Assignment Despite Objectives" form which helps us protect our licensure.

[LilMissAlwaysCurious]

We submit an incident report that goes to our Risk Management team so they could look into the situation. And if that doesn't work.. we go talk to our Union Representative (CNA).

[0402]

We have the same as pp- "Assignment Despite Objection."

[MedSurgeMe]

I live in a state without unions. I have never heard of this. Do state hospitals have anything like this? I suppose I could fill out an incident report for risk management but it's such a common situation that I have never thought to do it.

[Blindsided]

This place is non-union. Do you get the assignment despite objections form from the supervisor, or is every unit supposed to have them? Also, would you say that the very best course to take would be to accept the assignment, along with the filled out form? Do you fill out the form the very first thing? Thanks to all responders :)

[Isabelle49]

It would be risk management form, but in quite a few case, I suspect they get shredded before they make it to risk management. What I really hated about risk management and those forms is, they never contact the originator of the form - makes me wonder!

[loriangel14, RN]

We fill out "unsafe workload" forms and hand them to our union rep.After this happens a few times the union reads the management the riot act and last time we were upstaffed.

[Blindsided]

Anybody from a non-union hospital suffer any repercussions from having filled out the form, as long as you take the assignment? Thanks for all the responses.