Nurses' Rights Flashcards
What three charters are nurses entitled to regardless of regulations and rules?*
- Respect from colleagues and patients
- Freedom from discrimination, harassment, and physical or sexual abuse
- Function in a work environment where risk of harm is minimized
What is right to conscientious objection?*
Decline to participate in certain actions on moral or religious grounds
How can duty to provide care overpower a nurse’s own values?*
If the situation is emergent, nurses are required to help the client until alternative care is available, even if it is in conflict with own values
What is the right to be free from discrimination in employment?*
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sexual and gender orientation, religion, age, physical or mental disability, nationality, or ethnic origin
What 4 harmful risks are nurses exposed to?*
- Exposure to harmful agents and infectious diseases
- Increased stress
- Disrespectful and non-supportive coworkers
- Risk of physical harm from patients
What is the right to a healthy work environment?*
Nurses have a right to a practice setting that maximizes the health and well-being of nurses, quality patient/client outcomes, organizational performance and societal outcomes
Workers have the right to refuse to work in unsafe circumstances, unless these two factors*
- Risk is inherent in the work
- Refusal would endanger the life, health, or safety of others
What factors can lead to a healthy workplace?*
Ensure appropriate staffing ratios, promote effective recruitment and retention, reward efforts/achievement, minimize moral distress
What often goes unrecognized or unacknowledged in workplaces?*
Workplace violence
Define a union*
A provincially certified group of employees with a common employer or industry
What are certification and decertification in regard to unions?*
Certification - a process that must be completed before the union can represent its members
Decertification - occurs when a union is dissolved or loses the right to negotiate on behalf of its members
What is a collective agreement? How long must it be effective for?*
It is the contract that emerges from the collective bargaining process
Must be in writing and effective for at least one year
Can a strike or lockout occur when a collective agreement is in place?*
No job action can take place
What is the three step process of a grievance procedure?*
- A written submission
- A meeting with the grievance committee
- Binding arbitration
What is a grievance?*
A violation of one or more provisions in the collective agreement