UC Davis surgical team nurses say new policy requiring mandatory OT endangers patients
Surgical team nurses at UC Davis Health protested Thursday outside the medical center in Sacramento, saying management’s move to require them to work overtime poses a danger to patient health.
“We’re just trying to make people aware that this defies patient safety,” said Sara Koeller, a registered nurse at UC Davis Medical Center. “I work 12-hour nights, and they can say, ‘OK, we need you to stay an additional four hours after your 12-hour night shift.’ ”
Charles Casey, a spokesperson for UC Davis Health, said the medical center uses mandatory overtime with other nurse teams and in other departments.
“It is used only when necessary, as required for safe patient care to make sure we meet California’s strict nurse-patient ratios,” Casey said. “Even during the novel coronavirus pandemic, we are staffing all shifts appropriately. We are committed to safe, consistent and adequate staffing levels to ensure safe care for all patients.”
Koeller – who chairs a committee on professional practice for her union, the California Nurses Association – said that group looks at the overall practice of nurses and the safety that’s provided to the patients in the hospital.
Patients should not have to rely on a nurse whose mind isn’t alert and fresh, she said. The policy also will put a strain on the families of health care workers who, like other parents nationwide have been dealing with the impact of school and nursery closures.
“Having to mandate me to work above and beyond my FTE (full-time equivalent) puts a strain on my family … requiring my 14-year-old and 10-year-old to be at home more without me,” Koeller said. “Especially after I work a 12-hour shift, they’re waiting for me to come home, and I have to stay an additional four hours. That leaves them at home for 16 hours.”
