The Registered Nurses Union is highlighting how a nursing shortage, unsafe staffing practices, and unfair working conditions are impacting its members and patients.
The “More than an RN, less than enough” campaign includes videos, online, and billboard ads.
RNU President Yvette Coffey says it shows that RNs and NPs are more than their profession — “they are people – with personal lives, commitments, and family responsibilities.”
This campaign is about fairness, says Coffey.
The Nurses Union is calling on the provincial government and employers to take action as members are working 24-hour shifts, left wondering if they could have done more for their patients, and facing alarming rates of violence.
Coffey says short and long-term solutions are needed to address inadequate staffing and the recruitment and retention of RNs and NPs. At the crux of the campaign is a message that points to a better way to operate NL’s healthcare system.
She says they need a real planning session to take a serious look at how many registered nurses they need, how many nurse practitioners they need, and where they’re needed. Right now she says, nobody is looking at that.
Coffey explains that here in the province, they continue to provide services, but at a cost weighing on the backs of RNs and NPs
The ads will begin to roll out today.
Meanwhile, nurse practitioner and President of the NL Nurse Practitioner Association, Margot Antle, says the last 18-months have been the most challenging of her career.
She hates to admit it, but there have been times when she has considered quitting because of the workload.
For now, Antle can’t picture herself doing anything else; she says there are good days and bad days.