Fluent Essays

Top of Form Joyce Rivera Should nurses be unionized Historically, workers have had the need to unite in dealing with those who employ them and asking for better working conditions, among other things. This union led to the formation of unions. As nurses we have the same needs, improve salaries, benefits, hours, working conditions, respect for what we do, safety. But in addition to this, we want to exercise our profession as it suits us best, based on our license, certification, training and capacity for autonomous judgment, always within the ethical canons of our profession. That is why we need to unite in a union to negotiate these terms of autonomy in our profession, for the benefit of all (Sheridan, n.d.). Impact of unionization on the safety culture of the workforce The American Public Health Association is supporting the role of unions in promoting healthy working conditions, health and safety programs, health insurance and democratic participation, yet union density has decreased and this may be counterproductive to health public in the nation, what if it is clear that the impact would be positive. Without a place, unionization creates higher standards of benefits and wages, limits on working hours, protects the employee against occupational hazards and other factors. They promote well-being through democratic participation and a sense of community among workers. Health professionals and unions can benefit from joining together as they establish more sophisticated contracts to address the social determinants of health (Hagedorn, Paras, Greenwich & Hagopian, 2016). MSN Essential I understand that the essential VI is closely related to this issue, since a union, in this case of nurses, would advocate for improvement in all aspects, it should be taken into account that when the work situation of nurses is improved, this makes that the care provided is of higher quality. The essential VI refers to Health Policy and Advocacy. The nurse with a master’s degree in nursing is authorized to act within the health system developing and perfecting policies, carrying out strategies to promote and improve health and health care (AACN, 2011). References American Associates of Colleges of Nursing. (2011). The Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing. Retrieved May 19, 2021, from https://fnu.blackboard.com/ultra/courses/_24004_1/outline/edit/document/_1733183_1?courseId=_24004_1 Hagedorn, J., Paras, C., Greenwich, H., & Hagopian, A. (2016). The Role of Labor Unions in Creating Working Conditions That Promote Public Health. American Journal of Public Health, 106 (6), 989-995. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4880255/#!po=68.7500 Sheridan-Gonzalez, J. (n.d.). Why do Nurses & Other Professionals Need a Union?. Retrieved from https://www.nysna.org/why-do-nurses-other-professionals-need-union#.YW2Sxp4pAa4 Bottom of Form Inalvis Diaz 6 hours ago, at 11:21 AM   Nursing labor unions have become extremely visible in the past decade mostly due to their goals of obtaining better wages and working conditions for their members, and improved nurse-to-patient ratios. I think that nurses should be unionized because the evidence illustrates that union workers earn more. Union members have better pension and health care benefits. Union members have better sickness and accident benefits. Union members have contractual protections for safety on the job. Union members have better job security and protections from discretionary actions by the employer. Union members have a voice in their workplace. Union members have access to a grievance and arbitration procedure to challenge contract violations and unfair treatment. Union members can advocate for their patients and for quality health care in a real and enforceable manner (Union Rights and Benefits, n.d.). Studies show that organized labor may have a positive influence on workplace safety. According to research completed by the University of Alberta’s Parkland Institute, published in a document entitled Making it Home: Alberta Workplace Injuries and the Union Safety Dividend, direct worker participation makes a big difference in reducing workplace injury rates. Bob Barnetson, author of the document and associate professor at Athabasca University, says that “(Although) we are not trying to imply that unionization is the only way to improve workplace safety, the data certainly shows that unions provide a significant safety dividend that benefits all Alberta workers.” Worker participation tends to be more effective in larger and unionized workplaces and unionized employees also tend to serve as advocates for safe work across the organizational chart (Are unionized workplaces safer?, 2018). This topic I can relate with Essential VII: Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and Population Health Outcomes. Interprofessional collaboration is critical for achieving clinical prevention and health promotion goals in order to improve patient and population health outcomes. Interprofessional practice is critical for improving patient care outcomes and, therefore, a key component of health professional education and lifelong learning. References Are unionized workplaces safer? (2018, October 29). Retrieved from https://www.cos-mag.com/personal-process-safety/columns/are-unionized-workplaces-safer/Union Rights and Benefits. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.massnurses.org/labor-action/labor-education-resources/union-rights-and-benefits/p/openItem/1214 Bottom of Form Reply Aymee Morales Aranegui 21 hours ago, at 8:45 PM   NEW Top of Form Nursing Union Nursing unions constitute organizations that work to protect the interest of nurses in their places of work. Therefore, nurses should be unionized to enjoy improved salaries, negotiate benefits, safety, and receive fair treatment (Anderson, 2018). All professionals have to adhere to various work conditions during their practice depending on their licensure, education level, and certification. A nursing union helps negotiate fair terms by compelling employers and other stakeholders such as the government to adhere to standards that benefit nurses. Union Impact in Workforce Culture of Safety Being unionized can help in the creation of workplace safety in various ways. For example, unionized workers engage in politics related to health and safety issues they face at their workplaces, which are mostly healthcare centers (Milstead, 2016). Unions play a vital role in helping organized employees to understand their rights, file complaints, and handling employers’ illegal retaliation attacks. In addition, better health insurance tends to influence employers to improve safety to shield them from incurring huge expenses paying for accident victims. Therefore, the relevant authorities can be easy to inspect places with unionized workers and recommend safety measures. Quality and Safety to Improve Nursing Care The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) essential requirements aim to prepare nurses with the necessary skills for health promotion, workplace safety, and nursing care. One of them is the quality and safety that defines nurses’ role in improving safety for patients and staff. Interest groups can work with a healthcare provider and their unions to establish policies that promote the safety of the workplaces (Mason et al., 2016). There should be risks management in the healthcare environment for better health outcomes. The nurses acquire competencies to facilitate assessing, monitoring, and improving healthcare outcomes in hospitals, clinics, communities, and other venues where healthcare delivery occurs. The essential is vital for nurses interested in careers that impact quality, increase safety, and promotes risk management in the healthcare industry.  References Anderson, E. (2018). Exploring differences in job satisfaction among nurses in union and non-union work settings. Salem State University. https://digitalcommons.salemstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1157&context=honors_theses Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J.K., Chaffee, M.W. (2016). Policy and politics: In nursing and health care. (7th ed.). Elsevier. Milstead, A. J. (2016). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide. (7th. ed.). Jones & Barlett Learning.  Bottom of Form Reply Luanda Gan 21 hours ago, at 8:35 PM   NEW Top of Form   Nursing Union Joining a union is a vital decision for nurses to gain bargaining power over various benefits and rights. Nurses need to join unions that will help them handle grievances related to poor pay, unsafe working conditions, and fair treatment at the workplace. Being in unions can enable nurses to take political action or legislative advocacy related to their workplace challenges (Mason et al., 2016). In such cases, the unions and representatives can charge on issues such as safety challenges with the legislators. Due to union representation, nurses can quickly condemn workplace vices and improve work conditions. Unionized Impact Joining a union is an essential step towards improving workplace safety. Unionized employees have a chance to complain through their representatives whenever there are health safety matters to address. For example, a healthcare facility that fails to provide safety gear such as gloves, masks, and sanitizers can be forced to address the issue through union intervention (Krachler et al., 2021). In addition, the unions empower workers to identify and report issues that emerge at their workplaces threatening employee and patient safety if the administration is reluctant to address them. Nurses can, therefore, benefit from better insurance covers and enjoy working in a conducive environment. Policy and Advocacy Essential The Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) highlights its essential requirements to ensure that professionals perform their jobs well and promote patient wellbeing. One of the essentials is policy and advocacy, which help nurses to promote social justice, ensure fairness, and health equity in a healthcare setting. Health policy implementation happens when individuals, groups, and communities adopt a program regulation to protect or promote health services or nursing welfare (Milstead, 2016). Unions help nurses understand the need to have their voice heard on matters of importance, including their rights at work. Another benefit of this essential is enabling nurses to give views and wishes for consideration during decision-making. Nurses can take an interest in self, individual, and system advocacy depending on the issues that emerge at the workplace. Union membership can give nurses a chance to discuss the matters requiring advocacy before airing their views.   References Krachler, N., Auffenberg, J., & Wolf, L. (2021). The role of organizational factors in mobilizing professionals: Evidence from nurse unions in the United States and Germany. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 59(3), 643-668. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12556 Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J.K., Chaffee, M.W. (2016). Policy and politics: In nursing and health care. (7th ed.). Elsevier. Milstead, A. J. (2016). Health policy and politics: A Nurse’s Guide. (7th ed.). Jones & Barlett Learning. Bottom of Form Gioconda A. Orellana Organizational and Systems Leadership Many nurses may value unions ability to negotiate on their behalf. In case of a nursing strike, many hospitals lose significant income. Organizations reported over $46 million in damages due to the expense of training and replacing nurses during large-scale strikes (Burger, 2021). Numerous small community hospitals have been forced to close their doors, never completely recovering from the financial costs needed to cover the nurses strike. Still, unionization is critical for the nursing profession because it guarantees the appropriate nurse-patient ratio throughout the service process. Nurses should be unionized so they can attend to a more significant number of patients. Unionization contributes to the development of regulations that promote workplace safety. Unions have the right to bargain for benefits and conditions of employment, including the appeal process for decisions related to discipline and termination, and layoffs (Marson, et al., 2016). By protecting the interests of nurses, the whole community is protected. The union fosters a safe culture in the workplace through improving working conditions. This allows nurses to deliver high-quality care and communicate effectively. Nurses who have earned masters degrees are valued members and leaders in healthcare teams. The MSN Essential #6 is relevant to the topic. According to this tenet, nurses can intervene at the system level through the policy formulation process and via the use of advocacy tactics (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2011). Nurses may have an impact on health and healthcare by uniting. These nurses possess the uncommon blend of expertise, judgment, ability, and compassion. Collaboration, negotiation, delegating, and coordination are all necessary leadership skills. These nurses will be equipped with the information and skills required to evaluate organizations, identify systemic problems, and facilitate organizational-wide improvements in the practice delivery (AACN, 2011). Additionally, providers may bargain collectively for better pay commensurate with their care level to patients. Thus, nurse unionization is essential because it promotes the high-quality nursing practice and enhances the effectiveness of care delivery (Doyle, 2018). Additionally, it advocates for a safer workplace free of hazardous substances. References American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2011, March 21). The essentials of Masters education in nursing [PDF file]. https://www.aacnnursing.org/portals/42/publications/mastersessentials11.pdf Burger, C. (2021, June 18). Do unions benefit or harm healthcare & nursing industries? Registered Nursing. www.registerednursing.org/articles/do-unions-benefit-harm-healthcare-nursing/ Doyle, T. (2018). Is unionization just what the doctor ordered? Collective bargaining for doctors, nurses, and lawyers. Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, 0, 46. https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1789&context=jcba  Gaines, K. (2019, October 7). Nurses unionizing: Benefits of working in a union hospital. Nurse.org. https://nurse.org/articles/benefits-of-nursing-union-hospital/ Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J.K., & Chaffee, M.W. (2016) Policy & politics in nursing and health care (8th ed.). Saunders   Dania Nurses should unionize because by doing so, they can change the behavior of the employees in a certain way. A union can give registered nurses a right to advocate themselves based on their collective benefits such as protecting nurses rights, safe working conditions, and better benefits and wages. Unionization is beneficial for registered nurses; it also enables RNs to care for their patients without caring about their rights effectively. One of the largest unions of nurses is National Nurses United (A., 2020). One of the critical responsibilities of registered nurses is to embrace a high level of informed strategies to ensure continuous adoption of Evidence-based healthcare services. Based on MSN requirements on health advocacy and policy, collective and union bargaining effectively provides the quality of a secure workplace environment compared to a non-unionized Environment. Unionization gives the voice to nurses to demand accountability and transparency in the healthcare environment, promoting the culture of safety (Dean, 2020). The previous section has already offered a comprehensive analysis of MSN essentials. Many MSN essentials are relevant to the selected topic, but advocacy and policy. This MSN important suggests that nurses strive and promote to protect their and patients’ safety, health, rights. Furthermore, nurses advocate for the professional standards and nursing professions. Moreover, following this MSN essential, nurses can serve as mediators between doctors and patients to promote patients rights. References A., L. (2020). Integrating an Online Statistics Course with a Graduate Nursing Research Course for Enhanced Learning. Journal of Nursing Education. Dean, A. (2020). Mortality Rates from COVID-19 Are Lower in Unionized Nursing Homes. HEALTH AFFAIRS. Top of Form Darline Francois Institution: FNU Course: Health Policy Instructor: Dr Diane Medacier Date: 10/19/21 Health Policy: Nursing Unions The personal and professional needs of nurses are crucial. Being cushioned from the various challenges likely to be encountered in their line of work is imperative. World over, the unionization of different professionals has played a crucial role in protecting their members. It is, therefore, essential to identify the benefits of nurse unions, the role of such unions in guaranteeing a culture of safety, and the various MSN Essentials related to nursing unions.  The significance of unionizing nurses cannot be understated. First, such unions guarantee nurses their job security. A nurse under a union cannot be laid off without cause and proper representation, and fair hearing (Day, 2019). Second, a unionized nurse enjoys improved working conditions. Such unions advocate for eradicating mandatory overtime and enhanced nurse-to-patient ratios (Day, 2019). Finally, unions offer a platform on which different grievances and complaints from the nurses may be addressed, thus facilitating easy resolutions. In the same regard, unions play a vital role in imparting a culture of safety at the workplace. Such unions often invest in programs intended to sensitize employees regarding issues like on-job injuries and other hazards (Bivens et al., 2017). Also, a representative from the union participates in fatality and injury investigations, thus giving the nurse a voice as far as their safety is concerned. Finally, the nurse is protected from possible repercussions associated with reporting safety issues at the workplace (Bivens et al., 2017). Consequently, an environment aimed at reducing workplace hazards is created, resulting in workplace safety.  The MSN Essential VI of Health Policy and Advocacy is closely tied to the topic of unions in nursing. Nurses have an obligation to involve themselves in discussions intended to protect their work’s professional values and processes (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2011). It is essential for nurses to have a voice that they can use to advocate for improved working conditions. Workplace safety is one policy item that may be looked into to improve healthcare quality and delivery.  References American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2011). The essentials of master’s education in nursing. 2011. https://www.aacnnursing.org/portals/42/publications/mastersessentials11.pdf Bivens, J., ENgdahl, L., Gould, E., & Kroeger, T. (2017). How today’s unions help working people: Giving workers the power to improve their jobs and unrig the economy. https://www.epi.org/publication/how-todays-unions-help-working-people-giving-workers-the-power-to-improve-their-jobs-and-unrig-the-economy/ Day, E. (2019). The unionization of nurses. In Vital Signs (pp. 89-112). University of Toronto Press. Bottom of Form Reply Yanet Garrido 14 hours ago, at 8:54 PM   NEW Top of Form 1. Should nurses be unionized? In the field of nursing, the topic of whether or not to join a union has long been a point of contention. In the United States, the number of nurses joining unions has been increasing (Paton, F. 2019). Registered nurses are the principal health-care providers in the United States, particularly in critical-care hospitals. They are the most common occupation in the medical field (Clark, P. 2018). Nurses have a unique and strategically important position in the health care system, giving them enormous power to impact the quality of treatment provided. The American Nursing Association entered the collective bargaining sector in 1950 (Paton, F. 2019) with the primary purpose of resolving nurses concerns about working conditions, pay, and hours. 2. How does being unionized impact a workforce culture of safety? In a variety of ways, unions have had a significant impact on workplace welfare. Employers may be pushed to improve workplace safety by the possibility of unionization. Members safety complaints are reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency tasked with enforcing workplace safety regulations (Zoorob, M. 2018). Unions negotiate better health insurance for its members, which can improve their general health and well-being by decreasing stress and the financial burden of medical costs. Collective bargaining agreements between unions frequently include wording prohibiting mandatory overtimes as well as requests for the provision of protective equipment such as helmets, masks, goggles, boots, and overalls, among other things. 3. Include one MSN Essential in your discussion that relates to this topic. Because the nursing profession places such a high value on nurses position as patient advocates, the unions have made patient care a fundamental part of their collective bargaining. Nurses have a venue to vent their concerns about patient care issues and how that care is delivered through collective bargaining, which is provided through unions (Clark, , P. 2018).Quality and safety are among the key Essentials of the nursing profession, thus very central in the nurses’ execution of their duties. Unions have also offered a great forum for nurses to advocate for statutory changes and successfully address areas of concern such as working hours, staffing, compulsory overtimes, staffing shortages, and floating that have direct impact on patients’ care. References Clark, P.L., 2018. Nurses Unions Efforts to Give RNs a Greater Voice in Patient Care. Members-only Library. Paton, F., 2019. Nurse unions pros and cons. Should you join? Nurseslabs. https://nurseslabs.com/nurse-unions-pros-cons/ Zoorob, M., 2018. Does ‘right to work’ imperil the right to health? The effect of labour unions on workplace fatalities. Occupational Andand Environmental Medicine, 75(10), pp.736-738 Bottom of Form