Unionization and the Nursing Profession

Unionization and the Nursing Profession

Unionization is a highly charged topic. No matter what your beliefs or thoughts are on the subject, one thing is clear—nurse managers have a significant responsibility to promote the goals of their organizations while appreciating the labor concerns that may prompt employees to join unions. Beyond that, it is helpful to reflect on the core values of nursing and consider the extent to which they align with unionization.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource

 

 

To Prepare

• Review the information in the Learning Resources. Conduct additional research on unionization in health care.
• Consider the professional basis of nursing and the presence of unions in health care. Does unionization conflict with a professional nursing orientation?
• Reflect on the experiences you have had working in unionized settings, or consider what would be required of you in such a
  

  setting if you do not have that experience.

• Consider how you would address transitioning from being a member of a collective bargaining unit to being a manager who cannot be a member of a collective bargaining unit. How you might prepare to make this sort of transition?

By Day 3

Post your position on whether unionization aligns with or conflicts with a professional nursing orientation and what this may mean for the role as a nurse manager. Share your experiences working in a unionized setting or describe what might be required of you when transitioning from one circumstance to another.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses

Professionalism versus unionization of nurses is often posited as a dichotomy of mutually exclusive choices. Many US nurses are alienated from militancy and activism because they are viewed as unprofessional. This stance weakens nurses’ ability to organize coalitions, to increase their power bases, and to advocate for both nurses and clients. This article examines how nurses worked together in a labor union to realize professional gains. Ethnography, including participant observation and ethnographic interviews, was the method used to study unionized registered nurses (RNs) in a 60-bed, private, not-for-profit psychiatric hospital in rural southern New England. The union nurses’ position as workers in a gendered profession was analyzed. Nurses’ union involvement, solidarity, and working conditions were considered in the context of a patriarchal and authoritarian hospital setting. Collaborative decision making and an innovative conflict resolution strategy allowed nurses to voice professional concerns. Unionization allowed RNs to collectively mobilize as a legitimate ideological force in the hospital culture and to enhance their professional status. Their ability to resolve conflicts and to implement change within this context were evaluated.