Voters could unknowingly implement rigid staffing proposal

Dear Editor:

Question 1 on the November ballot will not empower nurses; it would strip nurses of their professional autonomy. If this bill passes, nurses will not have the ability to create flexible staffing assignments tailored to meet patients’ care needs as it calls for rigid adherence to the mandated ratio at all times, without exception across every hospital statewide. A safe patient assignment is a fundamental necessity that is adaptable and assessed by the experts at the bedside, not by limiting the number of patients to be cared for by an arbitrary vote.

If this ballot is approved, the government will control the professional practice of nursing, not the nurses. Nurses in Massachusetts will not have the opportunity to create change within the profession. It is not accurate to say staffing ratios will positively affect patient outcomes. In fact, there are no evidence-based studies to support government-mandated staffing ratios applied at all times in hospitals.

Nurses adapt their care of patients continuously while using professional judgment during their shift. Nursing is dynamic and nurses need to influence and develop their clinical practice. The limitations this proposed law applies would mandate how their practice is performed.

Nurses make decisions that advocate for their patient and save patient lives. The government does not know how to care for patients, but nurses do. Nurses are leading the way of health care. This ballot initiative would be a setback to the profession. I urge citizens to vote “no” on Question 1 in November, allowing nurses to retain the power over their practice.

Jacqueline Rutkowski-Murgia, Registered Nurse

Nursing Supervisor, Tufts Medical Center

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=43138

Posted by Canton Citizen on Sep 21 2018. Filed under From One Citizen to Another, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.