Legislation and mandatory overtime

[ErinLeighRN, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

Hello! I have been assigned a paper in which I need to identify a non clinical issue affecting nurses and select a pending state or government bill that would have and effect on this. I have chosen mandatory overtime as my issue and was wondering if any of you know of any pending legislation in your states that would fit this criteria. So far my searches have been a failure. Thanks!

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

I'm not sure if anything is pending, but my state has a law stating that nurses cannot be penalize for refusing mandatory OT, if working said OT would pose a danger to pts. In my book, it could be that abandoning my children from not coming home at agreed upon time -- and the potential for CPS involvement -- creates so much preoccupation/anxiety that I could not possibly safely care for patients... so regardless of the reason, the nurse just has to say s/he is not safe to care for the pts.

[llg, PhD, RN]

My suggestion for picking a topic would be to tackle it the other way around. Identify pending legislation about which there is sufficient information to complete your school assignment. Out of those possibilities, pick the topic that interests you most.

It's a common mistake that students make: they pick a topic for a school project that interests them and then hope that the material they need to complete the topic exists. By the time they find out that the material they seek does not exist, they have already invested a lot of time and effort ... and the due date is approaching. By looking at the literature (and other needed materials) first, you can save time, energy, and frustration by not wasting much time "chasing wild geese." As a student, it's probably in your best interest to identify a "do-able" topic quickly and not waste a lot of time on wild geese.

There will be plenty of time after graduation to chase wild geese -- and explore topics of interest for which there may or may not be a lot of pre-existing material. I like doing that and recommend it highly. But for students, I recommend choosing topics for which the material you need is readily available.

But maybe you will get lucky and find appropriate legislation proposals to discuss. I hope you do.

[ErinLeighRN, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

Thanks so much. I tried doing it that way but there are so many to sift through and so far none are really catching my interest. Yay grad school... I'll find something I'm sure. Thanks again!

[klone, MSN, RN]

Oregon just passed a very onerous staffing law preventing mandatory OT, and requiring a minimum of 10 hours "rest time" between shifts, and not allowing nurses to be "break buddies" because it violates ratio regulations.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

Information on nursing advocacy and policy, state and federal legislative news and bill tracking is available from your state nurses association.