whats it like to be a strike nurse
A labor dispute at a hospital is much dissimilar than a labor dispute at a corporation. While the grievances of striking nurses might be similar (poor working conditions, low pay, etc), the ramifications are much more severe, fifty-fifty deadly.
Patients even so demand intendance — so hospitals must discover a way to keep the hospital running. Some hospitals exercise this by bringing on travel nurses to fill these positions. Here's what you lot need to know about working at a hitting hospital.
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The Moral Dilemma
One travel nurse — nosotros'll call her Anne — shared her experience about roofing a shortage during a labor strike in Minnesota. She had already been licensed in Minnesota and was recruited to brainstorm piece of work within a few days. Since the hospital was drastic for help, the credentialing process happened quicker than usual.
At first, she struggled with feeling like a traitor. Her fellow nurses were on strike, demanding safer piece of work environments, ameliorate nurse-to-patient ratios, and increased pay. As nurses, we are all familiar with these issues. That's what made the choice to take over their shifts so difficult. It felt like she wasn't supporting those nurses the way she should.
To get past these feelings, she thought most the patients. She didn't desire those patients to become innocent casualties of the labor dispute. In the end, she realized for her, patients would come up first. By ensuring quality patient care was met, she felt she was acting professionally and morally responsible.
Besides, the time and money the hospital must spend in increased staffing costs and administrative headaches is a powerful incentive to speedily seek an agreement with the staff nurses.
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How Does A Nursing Strike Work?
Over the last decade, there take been nearly 40 major labor strikes involving nurses. These disputes oft involved a collective bargaining agreement or labor contract which was upwardly for renewal.
Negotiations on these multi-year contracts can intermission down when the two sides aren't able to come upwardly with an adequate compromise. At that bespeak, the union holds a vote on whether or not to strike. Sometimes, the hospital initiates a lockout to gain a more favorable bargaining position.
Unions and hospitals are legally required to give at least 10 days observe of a strike or lockout. This gives both parties a deadline to negotiate an agreement or brand arrangements for patient transfer and continuing care with the utilise of temporary staff.
During the strike, staff nurses do not receive pay. Unions propose their members not to apply holiday or sick time either. Some unions may maintain strike funds in order to back up their members during the strike, simply these distributions are normally quite small.
Commencement Days Of A Strike
For nurses like Anne who choose to provide care during these tension-filled times, the feel can be rather difficult, and at times, overwhelming.
When Anne arrived in Minnesota, the staffing visitor arranged for buses to option up groups of travel nurses and drop them off at their hotel. The bustling environs resembled a work camp and had essentially been turned into a travel nurse processing unit.
For the next two days, the travel nurses were administered drug tests and physical exams, candy I-9 forms, completed continuing education classes, and were prepped for their get-go day of work.
On that start day, the travel nurses arrived at their designated hospitals via bus. As Anne rode to work on her bus, all she saw outside were picketers in red shirts. As the travel nurses passed by, the strikers shook their heads and fists at them.
At first, it was overwhelming to ride past the strikers each morning, but after a while, information technology became easier. The patients would occasionally ask questions, simply the travel nurses had been given scripted responses to use by the hospital administration.
This helped the nurses maintain a diplomatic stance and avoid added stress to the patients.
How To Survive A Strike every bit a Travel Nurse
During a strike, safety is a pinnacle priority. Tempers can flare and the frustration from both sides tin can lead to a dangerous environment if you're working for a hit hospital. Here are a few tips for maintaining your safety:
- Always travel in pairs. Y'all're a much bigger target than if you are alone.
- Don't wear your ID or scrubs out in public, if possible.
- Keep a professional distance from hospital staff who are not striking. They may not be allowed to strike and could pass on data about you to striking nurses.
- Stick to the script. Information technology's easy to get sucked into conversations almost the strike with outsiders, but is ameliorate for you in the long run if you stay out of the word.
- Don't divulge where y'all're staying. Striking nurses may terminate up picketing at your hotel after hours.
Strike Work Is Hard
Working as a travel nurse to provide coverage during a nursing strike is actually pretty tough. Most hospital staff nurses are used to working three shifts a calendar week with iv days off. During a strike, the hospital is desperate for assistance. Travel nurses ofttimes have to work 6 12-hr shifts per calendar week. Some agencies brand yous sign a contract requiring you to work 72 hours a week. This means you may but become ane 24-hour interval off!
Needless to say, nursing burnout is a definite worry.
It can feel like you're just living and breathing work during your assignment. You lot don't have much time to practice anything but eat, slumber, and work. But the increased pay may exist significant enough to allow you take several months off at the end of the assignment.
The Uncertainty of A Strike Assignment
At that place is no clear length of assignment since strikes are open-concluded. Some travel nurses end up having their contracts canceled by the end of orientation because the two sides have come to a last-minute agreement.
Or, assignments could terminal much longer.
Anne flew to Minnesota thinking she would but be there for i week, merely ended upward beingness there for iv months. It financially fabricated sense to stay, so her boyfriend flew out to visit her every other weekend. Even at the end of a strike, some nurses finish up quitting and do not return. So the hospital may offer an extended contract to the travel nurses at the same charge per unit as strike coverage.
It's important to stay in close contact with your travel company recruiter while working the strike, so yous're not incurring whatever expenses that won't be reimbursed. It should be noted that most strike travel contracts take some sort of guaranteed compensation.
Would You Work A Strike Assignment?
Though controversial, working a strike travel assignment has its benefits. Considering of the high demand, you lot may make more in ii days than you would in an entire week. The base pay will be slightly above the normal wage, but the overtime may be double or even triple the normal charge per unit.
On the other hand, y'all may be faced with an environment that is curt staffed and fifty-fifty hostile.
While strike work isn't for everyone, it may be something to consider if you accept a big expense coming up. Some nurses have managed to brand enough for a down payment on a business firm, a wedding, or even a kid's college instruction with just one assignment.
Don't Want To Piece of work A Strike, But Withal Want To Travel?
As an in-demand nurse, y'all are in control of your career. Hundreds of travel nursing opportunities are available now with a schedule you lot cull and the benefits you want.
Learn near travel nurse assignments available today.
Source: https://www.travelnursing.org/crossing-the-picket-line-as-a-travel-nurse/
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