New protest-of-assignment forms for nurses ready; Use them
By KATRINA HOWARD, RN
After several months of research and development by the
PEF Nurses’ Committee, the new protest-of-assignment form was introduced at the PEF
Convention in September.
The new form is easier to complete and allows PEF to
collect and analyze data more effectively to pursue its
fight for safe staffing.
A completed form is a documentation tool which notifies
management that, in your professional opinion, your
assignment is unsafe or potentially unsafe and poses a
threat to patients and/or staff safety.
Good for you
The forms help protect nurses and their licenses by
establishing shared responsibility with health care
facilities if something goes wrong during the assigned
duty.
The forms provide undeniable records of unsafe or
potentially unsafe assignments. They are evidence
the nurse brought concerns to the attention of
management.
Good for patients
Nurses have a responsibility to their patients to report
and record unsafe staffing situations. Unsafe
situations don’t have to be catastrophic
events. Protests may be based on acuity levels,
understaffing, complexity of interventions, unit
activity, competency level, skill mix, elopement
risks, absence of support staff, lack of
supplies/equipment, or other concerns.
The forms include space to give details of patient and/or
personal consequences, such as delayed or missed tests,
treatments or medications, injuries, mandatory overtime,
family abandonment, etc.
Good for nursing
When regularly used by nurses at a worksite, the forms
will allow PEF to track patterns of understaffing that
will help nurses build their case for better staffing at
labor-management meetings and contract
negotiations.
Be sure to file a protest every time you are given an
assignment you believe is unsafe.
To file a protest:
1 Immediately tell your supervisor you think the
assignment is unsafe and you are accepting it under
protest;
2 Complete this form as soon as possible, but without
interrupting your work; and
3 Give copies to designated recipients, such as your
employer and union.
In order to further the interests of PEF- represented
nurses, PEF may distribute the form to any appropriate
state and federal agencies as well as accreditation
entities.
To protect patient confidentiality, do not identify
patients in any way on this form.
Get the law on your side
Fighting for safe staffing is one of the most important
things we can do for ourselves and the profession, but
mostly for our patients.
PEF believes it is time to put the force of law behind
the movement to ensure safe staffing.
So, get ready to lobby your legislators when their 2004
session gets underway. Check the RN
page for updates on Nurses Lobby Day and other timely
information, or to get a protest-of-assignment form.
(Katrina Howard is a registered nurse and PEF’s nurse
organizer.)
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