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October 27, 1999
Valuing nurses' work campaign set to being with worksite campaigns and radio ads
At the BCNU Council Strategic planning session in March it was decided that one of the most important steps we need to take this Fall and next spring to prepare for bargaining a wage increase in 2001, is to undertake a campaign on valuing nurses work.
It was felt that we not only need to convince the public of the value of nurses' spirits as we all prepare for the next round of bargaining.
The campaign will have two main threads:
- Province-wide worksite campaigns focusing on reducing the dozens of non-nursing duties that RNs feel overloaded with. BCNU members have already begun funded planning sessions to begin these campaigns early in November. Radio ads, beginning first in the Lower Mainland November 1 will also raise the question in the public's mind as to why the government and management are paying highly qualified and skilled RNs to carry meal trays or do excessive photocopying when nurses are already completely overworked and in short supply. Reducing nurses' workload and allowing them more time at the bedside, through creating more service aide positions is one small way to begin to address the critical question of how to retain and recruit more nurses in the long term. Many BCNU members throughout the province felt great relief during job action when the non-nursing duties were banned. Nurses in Newfoundland have also been campaigning hard to reduce their non-nursing duties since they were legislated back to work. Nanaimo nurses ran a successful campaign to get rid of tray carrying duties this summer, and BCNU activists in the Simon Fraser Region also ran "pilot" campaigns to fine-tune planning for the other worksites that were prepared to undertake these campaigns to reduce their excessive workload.
- The creation of an evening of music and theatre which draws from the professional and personal lives of BCNU members is to be developed over the next few months and made available to the various regions of the province for BCNU members and the public. It will raise public awareness about what nurses do and the problems we face delivering care. A cast of professional musicians and actors, which it is hoped will also include two working BCNU members with professional-caliber performance ability, will perform the piece this spring. Over the next few months a writer and researcher will meet with nurses from around the province in order to collect the many stories of the challenges that nurses face every day. Beginning research sessions have started at the BCNU convention this week. A "draft" script will be presented in workshop in the new year to BCNU representatives for discussion before the final production heads out to visit various communities. Similar productions like the "Heart of Healthcare" by the HEU generated over $100,000 worth of media coverage which offset the costs of the production and inspired many of the members with the lighthearted portrayals of their lives. This production will generate a different type of media coverage about nurses lives which will impact the public in a way that TV advertising is unable to. It will touch people hearts and it may also give many overworked nurses a moment or two to share a laugh after a busy week as they see the ironies and joys of their lives performed for them.
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It is a difficult challenge to convince the public, managers and indeed nurses who are overwhelmed with work, that the most important way to improve the situation facing us is to value the work that nurses do and to value each and every nurse we already have. Ill-conceived plans to simply replace RNs during the shortage are not the answer for nurses or quality patient care. Young men and women will not pursue or stay in the career of nursing unless they hear nurses tell them that it is a career where they have good working conditions, excellent pay and that they feel respected for being the caring professionals that they are.
It is hoped that the Valuing Nurses' Work Campaign initiatives will bring the public and nurses one step closer to that reality.
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