Nurses

On:
In: Activism, Bargaining, Home, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses

By Rick Fuentes

MNA Communications Specialist

 

Metro MNA members are taking their stories to the public. MNA has been advertising on I Heart Media radio stations and digital platforms about the issues nurses face every day at the bedside. On-air staff at I Heart Media have been very supportive of Metro nurses, especially K102’s Amy James, KDWB’s Dave Ryan, and KFAN’s Justin Guaard.

 

 

 

Of course, no one can tell the nurses’ stories better than the nurses. The first ad was voiced by Abbott Recovery Room nurse, Becky Nelson. 
… Read more about: Heard the New Radio Ad?  »

On:
In: Action, Day On the Hill, Nurses, Patient Safety, Politics, Standards of Care, Workplace violence prevention

By Diane McLaughlin, RN

Commission of Active Retired Nurses & Government Affairs Commissioner

 

It is so inspiring to see about 100 MNA nurses from all over Minnesota come together and speak up for patients with our legislators at the Capitol during the annual Day on the Hill this year.

The Feb. 11-12 event was as rewarding and inspiring as ever.

After an evening of socializing and training, we met with our own representatives and senators to use our voices as citizen lobbyists to talk about the issues impacting our patients and our profession.

I met with Rep.
… Read more about: One Word for MNA’s Nurses Day on the Hill: Phenomenal  »

On:
In: Home, Member Blog, Nurses

By Alex Machlica, RN

United Hospital steward

 

For the past couple years, United Hospital’s management has been inconsistent in the use of sick leave for nurses’ paternity or maternity leaves. In some cases, management has allowed nurses to use sick leave for part of or all of their leaves; and in other cases, management has required nurses to use vacation leave in order to get paid from the first day.

 

Management has also denied new fathers any use of sick leave on the grounds that the contract only allows the use of sick leave for one’s own illness.
… Read more about: Paternity parity victory  »

On:
In: Home, Nurse education, Nurse licensure, Nurses, Nursing Practice

By Jackie Russell, RN, JD

MNA Nursing, Practice, and Regulatory Affairs Specialist

 

If it’s not documented, it’s not done. But what if it is documented and it’s not done?

 

Healthcare facilities throughout Minnesota are short staffed. Patient acuities are high, and lean management demands nurses spend less time with patients, which is distressing to nurses. Nurses have a duty to provide nursing care within their scope of practice and to practice safely. Priorities shift quickly on a short-staffed unit. To provide optimal nursing care on a short-staffed unit– from beginning to end of shift–leaves little time for timely documentation.
… Read more about: If it’s not documented, it’s not done. But what if it is documented and it’s not done?  »

On:
In: Bargaining, Home, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses

By Emily Sippola, RN

MNA Member, United Hospital Tri-Chair

Months after the 2016 Allina strike, MNA nurses at United Hospital were surprised to find that the employer had unilaterally decide to change the calculation for our sick leave incentive bonus, which rewards nurses for not using sick time.

In May 2017, Allina decided to not count the hours United Hospital nurses were on strike toward “Regularly Scheduled Hours” and provided our sick time incentive bonus based on a lower number of hours nurses worked.

Nurses quickly filed a grievance based on the fact that the contract provides for upgrading Regularly Scheduled Hours based on additional hours worked but does not provide for downgrading based on hours on strike.
… Read more about: United Hospital nurses celebrate grievance victory over sick leave incentive  »

On:
In: Home, Nurses, Women, Workplace violence prevention

By Becky Nelson, RN, CCRN, CPAN

Chair, Health and Safety Committee

 

Back injuries. Needlesticks. Workplace violence. Chronic fatigue related to shift work. Building security. Bullying. PPE failures. Ergonomic problems. Environmental allergies. There isn’t a part of your professional life that the Health and Safety Committee at MNA wouldn’t address at some point.

 

The Health and Safety committee is currently working on tabulating and analyzing injury reports from represented facilities across the state and more, and are looking to fill out our membership roster with passionate, dedicated nurses from the Metro area and Greater Minnesota.
… Read more about: Health and Safety are Vital to Our Strength  »

Allina big debt

On:
In: Home, Insurance, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses

By Rick Fuentes

MNA Communications Specialist

 

Ok, check-ups aren’t fun.  Not because of what they might find but because what they might ask.  Who wants to admit they thought mac and cheese was a food group?  Still, they keep us healthy, even financially.

 

MNA members receive free counsel with Dorval and Chorne Financial Advisors.  This is not a small benefit or something to take for granted.  Most financial planners charge about $200 an hour for their advice, or, if they invest on your behalf, they take 1 percent of your proceeds as compensation. 
… Read more about: Get a Check-Up! A Financial One!  »

On:
In: Board of Nursing, Member Blog, Nurses

Barbara Forshier, RN, BSN, JD

MNA Member

 

Editor’s Note:  The Author is an Attorney for Nurses

 

Nurses frequently ask me whether or not they should have their own professional liability insurance. The answer is yes, you should carry your own insurance. You insure your home, your car, your health, why would you not insure your ability to practice your profession, your livelihood? Some nurses “have heard” that if you carry malpractice insurance you are more likely to be sued in a medical malpractice case. This is not true.

Now, you may ask, what about my employer, don’t they cover me?
… Read more about: To Have or Not to Have Malpractice/Liability Insurance  »

On:
In: Activism, Home, Nurse Staffing, Nurses, Standards of Care

By Megan Gavin

MNA Education Specialist

 

Here in Minnesota we are rightly focused on the elections that will decide the direction of our state for decades to come. We are working hard to elect pro-union leaders who will protect the right to collectively bargain contracts. In Minnesota and across the country, healthcare has become the number one issue for voters.  Costs continue to skyrocket; high deductible insurance plans drain more and more of individual families’ hard-earned money; and politicians continue to threaten protections for pre-existing conditions. The state of healthcare is not sustainable, and we need to demand change that puts the patients at the center.
… Read more about: Call ALL your friends in Massachusetts and tell them to Vote Yes on Question 1!  »

On:
In: Activism, Home, Legislative Policy, Nurse Compact, Nurses, Politics, Unions, Volunteer

By Julie Anderson, RN

Governmental Affairs Commissioner

 

There is a lot at stake in the upcoming midterm elections. Like many other nurses, I was excited to find out that a fellow nurse and an inspiring leader, Erin Murphy, was running for governor. I thrusted myself into the campaign and volunteered with the Nurses for Erin campaign. I did phonebanks, door knocks, attended meetings, had face to face interactions, attended the DFL convention as a delegate, and, of course, I voted for Erin for Minnesota governor in the primaries. After the primary went the other way without Erin Murphy representing the DFL on the ballot, I suddenly found myself asking “what now?” I realized, though, that my work was far from over.
… Read more about: Newly Political Nurse Now Permanently Active  »