You are a staff nurse in the intensive care unit (ICU) at one of your city’s two hospitals. You have worked at this hospital for 5 years and transferred to the ICU 2 years ago. You love nursing but are sometimes frustrated in your job due to a short supply of nurses, excessive overtime demands, and the stress of working with critically ill patients.
The hospital has a closed shop, so union dues are deducted from your pay even though you are not actively involved in the union. The present union contract is up for renegotiation, and the union and management have been unable to agree on numerous issues. When the management made its last offer, the new contract was rejected by the nurses. Now that the old contract has expired, nurses are free to strike if they vote to do so.
You had voted for accepting the management offer; you have two children to support, and it would be devastating to be without work for a long time. Last night, the nurses voted on whether to return to the bargaining table and try to renegotiate with management or to go out on strike. Again, you voted for no strike. You have just heard from your friend that the strike vote won. Now, you must decide if you are going to support your striking colleagues or cross the picket line and return to work tomorrow. Your friends are pressuring you to support their cause. You know that the union will provide some financial compensation during the strike but believe that it will not be adequate to support yourself and your children. You agree with union assertions that the organization has overworked and underpaid you and that it has been generally unresponsive to nursing needs. On the other hand, you believe that your first obligation is to your children.
DQ: List all of the reasons for and against striking. Decide what you will do. Use appropriate rationale from outside readings to support your final decision.
Discussion Protocol. Please observe the following 3 x 3 rule: when writing your weekly discussions: – A minimum of three paragraphs per DQ. Each paragraph should have a minimum of three sentences.
All answers or discussions comments submitted must be in APA
format according to Publication Manual American Psychological Association (APA) (7th ed.)
Discussions must have a minimum of two references, older than 2016
Plagiarism Free
I highlighted the discussion question in BOLD
Requirements: 3 paragraphs
Answer preview
In the meantime, finding a job opportunity in another healthcare facility is suitable since striking outcomes may jeopardize the working environment. This tactic will ensure I still have a source of income to support my family. A prolonged strike will harm the employees through lost wages and the management and its clients (Marquis and Huston, 2017). My patients in critical care will be negatively impacted by a prolonged strike which may deteriorate their conditions or result in deaths due to lack of care. Although the grievances of a striking nurse are reasonable, such as nursing shortages and excessive overtime, the ramifications are severe and deadly.
[373 Words]
