A staff nurse is scheduled to work 3 to 11 pm in the cardiac step-down unit. The staff nurse realizes they are the only RN that will be on duty. The staff nurse calls the supervisor to say that help will be needed
The supervisor replies that there are no available nurses to assign to this unit. What should the nurse do? a. Leave and go home rather than assume this responsibility.
b. Protect themself by filing a written objec-tion to the assignment.
c. Call a temporary agency and arrange for coverage by a registered nurse.
d. Call the state health department to inves-tigate the staffing issue.
B
Nurses who disagree with an assignment should submit their objection in writing when the as-signment could violate the patient protection language of the state nurse practice act. An assign-ment-despite-objection report is submitted to the nursing administrator and the bargaining agent simultaneously, thus officially registering the complaint. This procedure is used both in the tradi-tional and in the nontraditional collective bargaining units. Professional responsibility would be staying with the assignment and not abandoning the work (i.e., patients). The staff nurse does not have the authority or power to contact a temporary agency for obtaining staffing. The state department of health does not review or investigate staffing issues.
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