The importance of nursing unions

I have heard it over and over again, and, in fact, at at time I believed it, "what does the union ever do for us?" A statement and a question that indicates both one's belief that union dues are money spent that one will never see a return on but also, that one has never taken the time to actually learn about what the role of the union is and how it works for the rights of the worker. As a person who has worked in both union and non-union roles I can safely say that I will remain pro-union because the collective bargaining for our worker rights as registered nurses has brought us to where we are today, which is still not the best position it could be. This has nothing to do with greed or wanted more than is deserved but with fairness.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Developing a Personal Nursing Philosophy

Formulating and Presenting My Personal Philosophy of Nursing When contemplating a philosophical viewpoint within a particular discipline it is essential to understand its relationship to current issues in the field (DeKeyser & Medoff-Cooper, 2009; Schlotfeldt, 2006). Articulation of a personal nursing philosophy involves contemplation of one’s beliefs, principles and values which direct practice (p. 65, Uys & Smit, 1994 as cited in DeKeyser & Medoff-Cooper, 2009). My personal nursing philosophy began with attempting to answer the questions, “what does nursing mean to me” and “what is guiding my practice”? My philosophy is based on personal reflections, values and beliefs and is connected to the current body of nursing literature; it incorporates my understanding of the traditional nursing metaparadigm that includes person, environment, nursing and health (Monti & Tingen, 2006) and the concept of social justice proposed by Schim, Benkert, Bell, Walker and D
Read more

Recovery Alliance Theory

      Throughout the history of mental health the dominant model used to guide patient care has been the medical model (Shanley & Jubb-Shanley, 2007). In recent years there have been alternative models proposed for providing nursing care in mental health. One model outlined by Shanley & Jubb-Shanley (2007) is the Recovery Alliance Theory. Application of this theory requires a paradigm shift away from the traditional medical model towards a strengths based humanistic approach. The theory resonates with my personal views of what constitutes good mental health nursing because it places emphasis on (1) humanistic philosophy, (2) recovery, (3) partnership relation, (4) strength focus, (5) empowerment and (6) common humanity. These constructs underlie the theory. From these emerge three main concepts that translate the theory into mental health nursing practice, (1) coping, (2) working alliance and (3) self responsibility.      I agree with Shanley & Jubb-Shanley (2007) that, “th
Read more

Getting Past "Just Say No": Reflections on Adolescents and Substance Use

 As the death toll in North America from the opiate overdose crisis continues to rise nurses must re-think the approaches that are being used in the healthcare services that are supposed to be designed to best help youth. There are now decades of evidence that support the ineffectiveness of the 1980s ‘Just Say No’ drug strategies targeted to prevent youth from using drugs. In reflection on my nursing career, mostly in programs and services designed to provide care for people who use substances, I feel heartbroken about the slowness of change in inpatient settings.  As I near the five-year anniversary of my joining what was heralded as an innovative mental health and substance use program for youth, I also critically question the erosion of that innovation to conform to a rigid system with rigid values about youth who use substances and how to best provide care for them. Three years ago, I walked into the care team station, early for my night shift. I began my night shift ro
Read more