NEW YORK NURSE: September 2007

RNs at Work

Q.: Our facility is implementing a service excellence program. Is this a good thing?

A.: NYSNA supports the highest standard of professional care for patients. However, service excellence programs don’t necessarily enable RNs to provide the highest level of care and there are reasons for concern if your employer is implementing one.

Service excellence programs are marketed to management by healthcare industry consultants. The Studer Group has been especially influential because of its claims that it can “change the culture” at facilities and solve issues surrounding employee and patient relations. Such statements are very attractive to management.

Unfortunately, service excellence programs often attempt to achieve these efficiencies or changes in culture at the expense of employee rights. For example:

New codes of conduct can become the basis for disciplinary actions, which are mandatory subjects of bargaining and must be negotiated with the union.
Teams made up of member and management representatives to deal with working conditions may violate the National Labor Relations Act.
Legislated behavior, including scripting that requires RNs to say things to patients – such as, “Is there anything else I can do for you? I have time” – can compromise the right to use professional judgment.

Labor-management and professional practice committees are already established in most NYSNA contracts. Management should bring any issues to these committees for discussion. If management is discussing new policies, codes of conduct, teams, or rewards at your facility, contact your NYSNA representatives to ensure that your rights are protected.

The NYSNA EGW Program receives many inquiries each month from members who have problems in their workplaces. If you have a question about labor relations at your facility, contact your NYSNA nursing representative. If you have a question you think should be featured in this column, send it to: RNs at Work, NYSNA, 120 Wall Street, 23rd Floor, New York, N.Y. 10005.