Registered Nurse, who runs a harmless Instagram page, talks a lot about the working environment at the Dirtmas Hitchcock Medical Center when she feels she needs to hide her identity for fear of retaliation from management.
A nurse who started a page called dhmc_memes about a year ago recently spoke Valley news Staff writer Nora Doyle Bar, provided the name is not mentioned.
Sometimes in a clever and often humorous way, the account combines comic images and words to post the power of Dartmouth Health, DHMC’s flagship jumbo health system, on Instagram, but it’s probably not fun.
This page has more than 2,700 followers, and hundreds of people have joined since the article on July 23rd. Valley news. The nurse enjoys the internal notes and assigns the DHMC the task of serving cafeteria dishes that “may cause food poisoning.” Dartmouth Health CEO Joan Conroy, who appears to be traveling on DHMC’s vast Lebanese campus on a Segway-style scooter, is also ramping up.
I don’t blame the part-time satylist behind the meme page because I want to stay anonymous.
Dartmouth Health has a policy that prohibits 13,000 employees from talking publicly about the workplace without permission from the organization’s Communications and Marketing Office.
The policy also states that some of the media staff will “attend all interviews.” For telephone interviews, DH Media Relations Pro will listen.
Conroy and Co. are surprised that they don’t need a regular employee to sign a loyalty oath.
DH’s commander is obsessed with protecting the new “brand” launched in April. This put a lot of money into marketing to attract new patients in southern New Hampshire, where DH has spent a lot of money on bricks and mortar. Upper Valley hospitals and clinics, on the other hand, often lack staff to provide timely care to existing patients.
Fortunately, there are examples near similar-sized medical centers where workers do not have to step into the company line to collect salaries.
The University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington is one such place.
Last summer, when concerns arose among UVM nurses that staff shortages were affecting the quality of care, they used social media to see what was happening in the hospital outside the world. I informed. They didn’t hesitate to use their name and had their pictures posted on the nurse’s website.
“Our patients deserve efficient care without compromising safety and quality, as one has to do two jobs,” writes RN Stephanie Lusk.
Why are UVM Medical Center nurses reluctant to speak in public?
Probably because in 2002, registered nurses from the state’s largest hospital resolved to form a union. The Vermont Nurses and Medical Professionals Federation, which is part of the AFL-CIO, currently represents approximately 2,000 UVM nurses and 600 technicians.
Nurses pay 1% of their annual salary dues dues, which seems to be worth the money. Earlier this month, the union and medical center agreed on a new contract that would give nurses a 20% salary increase over a two-year period.
“It’s about fairness,” said union president Fat Snell, a registered nurse in the hospital’s intensive care unit. “If you don’t have a union, you’re doing it yourself.”
Snell said nurses, and for that matter, someone else, shouldn’t determine their rewards based on “whether their boss likes you.”
(By the way, Snell didn’t have to ask the UVM Medical Center Public Relations Office for permission before talking to me. “If they try it, I’ll laugh at their face,” Snell said. )
DHMC nurses are not affiliated with the union, but they are not lacking in effort. The drive started in 2008 and 2010, but both failed. In 2019, a group of DHMC nurses contacted the Northeastern Nurses Association (NENA for short) about the start of another union activity. But that “did not lead to an organizing campaign,” Nela Hadzic, who directs the organization of NENA, told me last week.
From what I’ve heard, DHMC and the 2,500 nurses in its clinic earn decent wages, which helps explain why unionization didn’t work. I’m told that experienced nurses in some departments can earn $ 100,000 a year.
However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses across the country have found that money and work satisfaction are not always inextricably linked. Today, many people prioritize workplace safety and health.
“Because more than 100,000 Americans are hospitalized and many are infected, nurses and other healthcare professionals remain at the forefront of instability against the coronavirus and help the union many times. I asked for it. ” New York Times Written in 2021.
Last year or so, nurses from three hospitals voted for the union through the Massachusetts Nurses Association, an organization that worked with DHMC nurses during the 2008 and 2010 drives.
“Many nurses are aware that the government cannot expect to protect themselves when their daily lives are at stake,” said the third in the United States with 23,000 members. David Schildmeier, a spokesman for the union of large nurses and medical professionals, said.
Like many hospitals, DHMC struggles to hire and retain nurses. According to its website, DHMC has about 250 openings.
On Thursday, I emailed DHMC spokeswoman Audra Burns if supporting the union’s efforts would help recruit. There was no reply.
The nurse behind the Instagram page conducted several informal polls to assess interest in unionization. The answer shows a split of about 50/50.
“I’m just making art,” said the nurse. Valley news. “Someone else can defend the matter.”
It is not yet known if a champion will appear. Meanwhile, DHMC nurses remain incapable of speaking freely and openly about their workplace.
As your boss likes.
Jim Kenion can be reached at jkenyon@vnews.com.
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