Hospital forcing RNs to participate in unit-base committees

november17, ASN, RN · May 7, 2008

Well, if you get paid for it on your days off, more power to you.

bagladyrn, RN · May 7, 2008

If you are a night shifter do they have any of these committees meeting at night? If not I'd consider this to be the equivalent of requiring all those day people to come in at 2 a.m. - and they'd never stand for that!

I spent years arguing this point with an employer, stood my ground and threatened union action if not showing up for midday meetings affected my yearly evaluation (it never did) and lobbied for night shift inservices. When they finally had an education inservice held at 10 p.m. the education director posted notices all over the hospital "Through the efforts of (my name) this inservice will be presented at 2200"

Nursebarebari · May 7, 2008

:down: We have the same thing where I work and although it is not mandatory, they push everyone to participate. We have research commitee, magnet, perfomance improvement and many others. We- the night shift and some day shift nurses have to come to the meetings on our days off and we do not get pay and we do not get any training on how to do power point or research. I participated in the beginning, but after one health fare, I quit. I had to research and write on asthma and present/teach it at the health fare. Others presented theirs to other units. I feel it is not write, my days off should not be used attending magnet and health fare meetings and writing papers, so I quit. They made a big fuse about it, but who cares. :nono:

:nono:

RN1989 · May 7, 2008

This non-participatory attitude is exactly the reason that nurses have been unable to present a united front and change healthcare as well as their own circumstances.

It takes a lot of work to be an engaged team member in any kind of organized group and no one wants to do it.

When you complain about how bad things are but then refuse to participate in arenas that would allow you to have a voice, you are sabotaging yourself. Granted, these committees may not be important to you but many are mandated as part of the healthcare system. No matter what the agenda of a particular committee is, if you participate willingly, at some point you will have an opportunity to be heard when you speak about the issues that are important to you. If you act petulantly about this, management has no reason to treat you like a valuable member of the group who should have their opinions heard.

imenid37 · May 7, 2008

Are there committees made up primarily of night shifters? If so, maybe they need to meet at times that are good for the night shift. Good luck!

woknblues · May 7, 2008

y'all need to look closely at your particular state's working rights charter, or equivalent. if your employer requires to you to come in (as in your performance will be evaluated unfavorably for not attending) they need to a) meet your scheduling needs reasonably, and, b) pay you for it .... and if you are salary or management, you need to get that cleared up before you hire on.

jmtndl · May 7, 2008

This non-participatory attitude is exactly the reason that nurses have been unable to present a united front and change healthcare as well as their own circumstances.
It takes a lot of work to be an engaged team member in any kind of organized group and no one wants to do it.
When you complain about how bad things are but then refuse to participate in arenas that would allow you to have a voice, you are sabotaging yourself. Granted, these committees may not be important to you but many are mandated as part of the healthcare system. No matter what the agenda of a particular committee is, if you participate willingly, at some point you will have an opportunity to be heard when you speak about the issues that are important to you. If you act petulantly about this, management has no reason to treat you like a valuable member of the group who should have their opinions heard.

Oh please, I've been an RN for more than 35 years around the world and have NEVER seen any committee anywhere make anything better. When you are off,you need to be off. If this participation is sooooo important in making me be an engaged member of "the team" then schedule it when I am scheduled to work with my team...at night!

kristenncrn · May 7, 2008

It is mandatory that we are on at least one committee.

If we want raises, we have to head or co-head one.

And we are NOT paid for any of it.

Fair? No. Legal? Prolly not. Talk to HR about it? Lots of people have....

And at the end of the day...

It is mandatory that we are on at least one committee.

If we want raises, we have to head or co-head one.

And we are NOT paid for any of it.

:)

And in my experience, nothing at ALL has changed as a result of committees on my floor - even the staff satisfaction one that our incredible night shift crew organized independently, complete with large scale interviews, surveys and comprehensive solution-suggestions. Our "satisfied" rate was 29% before the survey. It's 26% at last check. :sigh:

Offering empathy here.

kristenncrn · May 7, 2008

And just a sidenote - I'm a huge advocate for positive change and put many hours into drafting researched based suggestions for improving morale on our unit. My empolyee reviews always include "always smiling" and "positive attitude" and "always willing to pitch in." And that's with some health issues and two kids (one with unique needs.)

I'm seen as a rabble-rouser and trouble maker because I even attempt to address the morale issue.

So it isn't always the fault of the lax employee that healthcare environments don't change.... there are plenty of "non-participatory" managers out there.

Just my :twocents:

pagandeva2000, LPN · May 7, 2008

Many times, management sneaks these committee responsibilities upon people without letting them know if it is mandatory or not, and even if it is not mandatory in writing, there is subtle harassment for not attending. The same as work, the committees have cliques and there is horizontal harassment there as well. In my humble opinion, the only people that benefit are the cliques in the committees because they get a chance to network themselves. But, the patients and mainline nursing staff-not really.

We plan things for our days off, we have families, other commitments and activities because we work to live, not live to work. If this is mandatory, then, they should have them at night, and if a nurse is on a particular committee, she should be scheduled to work for that time so she is not inconvienced.

llg, PhD, RN · May 7, 2008

Employers (and accrediting agencies, the Magnet program, etc.) need to take a fresh look at this issue. Yes, we need nursing staff to participate in the discussions and decision-making related to their jobs. However, the HOW this participation is to happen has to be made reasonable. That means appropriately planned for, scheduled, and compensated.

It's one thing to hold a set of values (e.g. nursing participation). It's another thing to design the system so that it can be appropriately implemented. Too many employers set up a bunch of expectations, but don't design their systems to support what they want the staff to do.

Also, we need to recognize that not everyone wants to participate in the same -- and not everyone is able to participate in the same way. -- And that's OK. People with different interests and skills should be expected to contribute in different ways and in different amounts. However, those who choose not to contribute above and beyond the basic minimal level of performance should not expect to receive the same the same compensation as those who contribute more. It goes both ways. If contributing in certain ways is not required, then it should be expected that those who voluntarily do more will receive more compensation.