HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-1643.Traviss.91-05-08 ONTARI(~ EMPLOYES DE LA COURONNE
CROWN EMPLOYEES DE L 'ONTARIO
GRIEVANCE C,OMMISSION DE
SETTLEMENT REGLEMENT
BOARD DES GRIEFS
780 OUNDA$ STREET WEST, SUITE 2'I00, TORONTO, ONTARF.~). MSG 1Z8 TELEPHONE/TEL~-PHONE: -(416~, 226- 1385
180, RUE DUNDAS OUEST, BUREAU 2100, TORONTO (ONTARIO.h MSG 1,78 FACSIMILE/T~LI_ECOPlE : (416) .326-1336
1643/90
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
Under
THE' CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTI~q~ BARGAINING ACT
Before
THE GRIEV;tNCE SETTLEMENT BOARD
BETWEEN
OPS'EU (Traviss)
Grievor
- and -
The Crown-in Right of Ontario
(Ministry of Community & Social Service)
Employer
BEFORE: W. Kaplan Vice-Chairperson
D. Wintermute Member
D. Halpert Member
FOR THE R. Wells
GRIEVOR Counsel
Gowling, Strathy & Henderson
Barristers & Solicitors
FOR THE C. Samaras
EMPLOYER Counsel
Legal Services Branch
Ministry of Community & Social Services
HEARIN~ February 1, 1991
April 5, 1991
2
Introduction
By a grievance dated July 5, 1990, Marilyn M. Traviss, a Duty Nurse
employed at the Prince Edward Facility ("the Facility") grieves
that she has been improperly classified. Ms. Traviss is currently
classified as a Nurse 2.
In pleadings exchanged by the parties a number of grounds were
advanced by the Union in support of this grievance. When the case
proceeded to arbitration the Board was advised that the Union was
relying solely on a class standards argument: namely that the
grievor was improperly classified because her duties and
responsibilities did not fall within .the Nurse 2 classification.
Thi~ Classification is reproduced belows. The central issue in
dispute is whether or not the grievor works, as required by this
classification, "under direction of a supervising nurse, physician
or other institutional officer," and if not, whether it can still
be said that the Nurse 2 class standard ap~ties. By way of relief,
the Union sought a Berry Order. For its part, the Employer argued
that the grievor is appropriately classified and that the Nurse 2
class standard accurately reflects the grievor's position
specification as well as her daily duties and responsibilities.
The Evidence
Most of the evidence was not in dispute. The grievor is a Duty
Nurse employed by the Facility since June 1982. Prince Edward
Heights is an institution for developmentally handicapped adults,
3
with a population of approximately two hundred. The grievor works
rotating shifts from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and from 7:00 p.m.-.to
7:00 a.m. The grievor's supervisor, who is also a nurse, works
Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The grievor works in an area known as Craig 1. Craig 1 contains
offices and two Wings of clients on the ground floor. The
infirmary is one of these Wings and is home to patients requiring
full-time care, that is to say developmentally handicapped
individuals who are also suffering from various physical
disabilities. Of the twenty-four beds in the infirmary, twenty-
one are designated for these individuals. The other three are for
individuals from the general population requiring nursing'care. The
other wing is known as Area D, and it has thirty beds. Most of the
residents of the Facility live in an area called the village. The
village contains a number of houses. The Facility also services
the general community, but only in unusual circumstances would'
individuals from the general community receive health care from the
infirmary.
In addition to the ~grievor, some Health Nurses 3 also provide
nursing services, and they have responsibility in the infirmary,
Area D and the village. These Health Nurses work Monday to Friday
between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. On the night shift and on week-
ends there is generally only one nurse on duty, and this nurse is
a Nurse 2. After 4:15 p.m. and u'ntil 8:30 p.m. during the week
4
the Facility is managed by a Facility Charge. This is a rotating
position occupied by members of management approximately once every
ten weeks. After 8:30 p.m. during the Week until 8:30 a.m~ and on
week-ends, there are permanent Facility Charges on duty. There are
three permanent Facility Charges and:they rotate the position.
None of these three is a nurse. With respect to the 4:15 p.m. to
8:30 p.m. shift, it is only occupied by a nurse when the grievor's
supervisor, Judy Callaghan, is occupying the position. In the six
months prior to the hearing of this matter. Ms. Callaghan occupied
the position twice. Other than these two occasions, no nurse acted
as the Facility Charge between 4:15 p.m. and 8:30 a.m.
The grievor's schedule is largely fixed, and a copy of her schedule
was introduced into evidence. Suffice it to say that because of
the different shifts, for approximately two-thirds of her time on
the job the grievor works~in the absence of any supervisor. During
the daytime part of her shifts, the grievor carries out active
nursing functions. Most patients go to bed around 9:00 p.m., and
after this point nursing functions continue, although they are less
active. If anyone anywhere in the Facility requires medical
attention after approximately 4:00 p.m. the grievor is responsible
for providing that attention, and for making medical decisions.
The Facility Charge would, for example., be responsible for
arranging the transportation of a medical emergency to the local
hospital. The grievor is responsible for making entries into the
shift to shift report, the Infirmary Serv~.ces Communication Book
and the Physician's Report. The shift to shift report records any
unusual ihcidents, the Infirmary Services Communications Book
records medical services performed in Area D or in the village,
while the Physician's Report contains any comments or questions
which the Duty Nurse would like to bring to the attention of a
patient's physician.
Ms. Callaghan gave evidence on behalf of the employer. Ms.
Callaghan testified that she read the various reports cgmpleted by
the grievor. Following this review, Ms. Callaghan would, if
necessary, contact the Duty Nurse in order to follow up. There may
also be occasion for follow-up between the Duty Nurse and Health
Service Nurses, but this is not material to the instant case in
that the Health Service Nurses do not exercise supervisory
functions over the grievor.
Ms. Callaghan testified that the Facility Charge must be kept.
informed of any actions taken by the Duty Nurse, and is
responsible, moreover, for ensuring that the clients in the
Facility are receiving appropriate care. Ms. Callaghan advised the
Board that the .Facility Charge spends most of his or her time
travelling around the Facility. His or her office is in the village
approximately two' kilometres from the infirmary, but he or she can
be paged as necessary. In general, the Facility Charge would visit
· the infirmary twice between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. and three or four
times between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., although he or she could and
6
would visit the infirmary more often if this were required.
One reason why more frequents visits might be required would be if
'staff in the infirmary were having difficulties with a patient.
Ms. Callaghan testified that this waslrare. The Facility Charge
might also, as previously noted, be needed to call an ambulance,
and might also take a more direct interest in someone's work if,
for example, there had been a request from that person's supervisor
for information about performance. This has not taken place in the
instant case. Ms. Callaghan expressed a very high regard for the
grievor's job performance.
Ms. Callaghan advised the Board that her j.~b is to ensure that the
clients of the Facility are receiving~effective nursing care and
to intervene as necessary. When Ms. Callaghan is on duty she is
aware of the procedures being carried out and serves as a resource.
Bedside and personal care of the patients .is done by staff such. as
the grievor. Ms. Callaghan testified that between 8:00 p.m. and
8:00 a.m. the Duty Nurse gives out medicine and prepares the
patients for bed. After the patients have gone to sleep the Duty
Nurse continues to care for them, turning patients, cleaning them,
dealing with toilet accidents, changing bed linen and so on. The
Duty Nurse also clean patients' personal clothing using an on-site
washer and dryer.
In cross-examination, Ms. Callaghan testified that there have been
7
examples of a nurse taking some direction from the Facility Charge.
Ms. Callaghan did not describe these examples to the Board, but
she advised that such occasions were extremely rare, "probably one
percent." Ms. Callaghan further advised the Board that the grievor
has never called her for assistance or direction. In Ms.
Callaghan's words the grievor "was an excellent nurse." In this
regard, Ms. Catlaghan noted the existence of a Policy and
Procedures Manual, but told the Board that these policies and
procedures did not eliminate the DutY Nurse's responsibility to
exercise professional judgement. Finally, Ms. Callaghan indicated
that all staff at the Facility are required to have first aid
training, but that i~ there were an emergency in the village at
night, the Duty Nurse would come to the scene and take charge.
Argument
It is useful to set out the Class Definition for the Nurse 2,
General. It is as follows:
Employees'in positions allocated to this Class perform
a variety of professional nursing duties for patients in
Ontario Hospitals and in infirmaries of provincial'
schools and institutions. Their duty hours are usually
rotated between any of three shifts.
Under direction of a supervising nurse, physician or
other institutional officer, they record and carry out
physicians' instructions on treatments and transfers,
administer medicines and hypodermic injections as
authorized, obtain patients' confidence and encourage
their interest in activities, watch for patients'
symptoms or reactions and take remedial action as
required, assist in or supervise patient feeding and ward
housekeeping, assist patients with their personal needs
and care, record patients' conditions and report unusual
incidents to superiors. They may accompany patients to
special treatments or on transfers as required and
provide information and counsel to patients' relatives
as authorized.
In addition, these employees may also make arrangements
for preparation, sterilization and issuing of surgical
and operating room supplies,, ensUre aseptic conditions
of operating rooms, assist in surgical procedures and
provide pre or post-operative nursinq care of patients.
In some positions, where these employees may be on
twenty-four hour call as required, principal duties of
employees in this class may be provision of first aid,
clinical and infirmary care under,direction of a full or
part-time physician, i
Employees in this class may assist in or supervise the
assignment of duties and check the work of subordinate
staff on the same shift. Depending on factors such as
the hours of duty, the size and amount of active nursing
required in the administrative unit, they are responsible
to a supervising nurse for all or part of the nursing and
personal care in an administrative unit as assigned.
They may, on occasion, relieve supervising nurses.
Qualifications: 0
1. Registration as a nurse in Ontario; preferably
completion of post-graduate certificate courses from a
university of recognized standing.
2. Ability to obtain cooperation of staff and patients;
ability to follow and to pass on verbal instructions on
patient care; good physical and mental health (emphasis
ours).
This class standard is dated December 1962.
Union Argument
Counsel argued that the only issue in dispute was the question of
supervision. Counsel pointed out that the grievor works rotating
shifts of twelve hours, and that for a significant part of her work
week, two-thirds in fact, the grievor is the only nurse on duty.
With the exception of those rare occasions when the grievor"s
supervisor.aCts as a Facility Charge between the hours of 4:15 p.m.
and 8:30 p.m., none of the other Facility Charges is a nurse,
although they all have first aid training.
While the grievor is situated in the infirmary, she is responsible
for all two hundred residents of the Facility. She works alone,
and if called to a medical emergency in the village she would take
charge. Counsel agreed that the grievor was not without guidance
in the sense that there was a Policy and Procedures Manual.
However, that was not critical; what was important was the
requirement that in assuming medical responsibility for the entire
Facility the grievor was not working under supervision, but was
working on her own and in that process was. exercising considerable
prQfessional judgement and discretion.
Counsel drew the Board's attention to the' Nurse 2 Class Standard
and argued that it required a nurse so classified to work u~der
direction and supervision. In counsel's submission, the standard
should be read so as to require a Nurse 2 to work "under direction
of a supervising nurse, supervisin~ physician or su~ervisinq
institutional officer .... " Simply put, counsel argued that the
word "supervising" applied not just to the function to be carried
out by the "nurse," but also to the function to be carried out by
the "physician" and by the "institutional officer," and that it
only made sense to read the sentence in this way. There was,
counsel submitted, absolutely no evidence in this case of any
supervision at all for two-thirds of the time. The Nurse 2 class
10
standard, accordingly, did not fit. To further bolster this
argument, counsel pointed out that the third paragraph of this
class standard required Nurse 2's to be '!responsible to a
supervising nurse for all or part of the nursing and personal care
in an administrative unit as assigned." There was, in counsel's
view, absolutely no evidence of any~ such responsibility for a
significant proportion of the grievor'~s working hours.
Counsel also argued that the requirement that nurses classified as
Nurse 2 actually work under direction and supervision is
highlighted by the requirements of the Nurse 3 classification.
The Class Definition for the Nurse 3, General is as follows:
Employees in positions allocated to this class provide °
professional supervision of the nursing and personal care
of a group of patients in an infirmary, ward or
administrative unit of an Ontario Hospital or other
provincial institution. Most positions in this class are
found on the day shift. In such positions~ these
employees schedule duties, arrange the rotation of shifts
and counsel and discipline staff as required.
Although employees in this class receive direction from
supervisory nursing, medical or institutional staff, they
are required to exercise some independent judgement and
initiative, particularly in emergenc~Les. They oversee
treatment procedures, review charts, prepare reports,
maintain records, ensure general maintenance and
cleanliness of ward facilities, order supplies, supervise
the provision of food services to patients and assist in
staff training programs. They may conduct clinics or
provide outpatient orthopaedic or emergency care.
Qualifications
1. Registration as a nurse in Ontario; good knowledge
of professional theory and practice as applied to
institutional nursing~ preferably completion of a post-
graduate certificate in nursing administration.
2. Minimum of two years of acceptable graduate nursing
experience, preferably related to the duties to be
performed.
3. Ability to supervise ward or infirmary services;
ability to meet the public and to provide counsel to
staff and to patients' relatives as required; initiative;
good physical and mental health.
Counsel submitted that this class standard generally described
nurses who were providing professional supervision, whereas the
standard for Nurse 2 generally described nurses who were receiving
it. The grievor, counsel submitted, was in between and this was
another reason why the Board should grant a Berry order. In
counsel's view, the Nurse 3 standard explicitly recognized that
exercising independent judgement is a compensable factor, while'the
Nurse 2 class standard did not. Since the grievor was required to
exercise such judgement s~e should, th~ argument went, be
classified with this important fact kept in mind.
Counsel argued that the core function of.the job was nursing and
at the heart of the Nurse 2 classification was the requirement that'
this nursing be done under direction and supervision. In counsel's
submission, the grievor'spent her time acting as a nurse, but doing
so completely independently. The grievor made professional
judgements as required and had responsibility for a two-hundred-
person facility and this, counsel argued, brought her out of the
Nurse 2 class standard.
Counsel referred the Board to the decision of Andrews et al 188/89
(Samuels). This is a classification case involving nurses working
at outpatient clinics of the Queen Street Mental Health Centre in
Toronto. In this case the Board found that one of the grievors
was not properly classified. In making this determination the
Board observed that the grievor "receives virtually no direction
from her head nurse .... "(at 5). The Board also found, on the
particular facts of that case, that the g~ievor "exercises a much
greater degree of independent judgement and responsibility than is
contemplated .... "(at 6). In counsel's view, by working alone for
such a significant period of time,: and as a result of the
responsibility the grievor had for after-hours medical care at the
Facility, the grievor too could be said to be exercising a much
greater degree of independent judgement and responsibility than is
contemplated.
Employer Argument
Counsel for the employer began his submissions by referring the
panel to the Board's decision in Avsec 1.589/89 (Low). In this'
case, the Board held that to obtain a Berry order "the Grievor must
satisfy this Board that there is a substantial difference between
the duties performed and those referred to in the classification
standard...It is sufficient that there be a substantial variation
either in the nature of the duties or in the scope of the duties
that the employee is required to perform" (at 6). In counsel's
submission there was no difference between the duties referred to
in the class standard and those performed by the grievor, let alone
any substantial difference. Accordingly, on this basis alone
13
counsel urged the Board to deny the grievance.
Counsel for the employer also led the Board through a very careful
examination of the Nurse 1, Nurse 2, and Nurse 3 class standards.
His detailed argument can, however, be summarized, and it was to
the effect that the three class standards, read together,
encompassed all nursing activities. In counsel's view, the Nurse
2 classification should be read to the effect that Nurse 2's worked
under direction of a supervising nurse, physician or other
institutional officer, but that this nurse, physician or
institutionai officer need not give constant supervision. Indeed,
'in counsel's view, there was no need for this individual to be
medically trained, and counsel submitted that the institutional
officer in the instant case was the Facility Charge. Counsel
submitted that the grievor did work under the direction of the
Facility Charge who visited the infirmary some six times a .night,
and who could be reached at any time should his or her services be.
required..
counsel also argued that the grievor could be said to be under
direction and supervision in the sense that the grievor's
supervisor 'was present during the day and the direction and
supervision given at that time would have a spill-over effect in
the evenings and at night. .Moreover, the supervisor's telephone
number was posted, and any time the grievor required further
direction and supervision she could telephone the supervisor in
14
order to obtain it. In addition, by reviewing the grievor's shift
to shift reports Ms. Callaghan could also be said to be supervising
her and giving her direction as she would follow up on any matter
of concern. In counsel's submission it was not necessary, in order
to meet the requirements of the class s~Zandard, for the person
giving direction and supervision to be Physically present. The
word "supervision" should, in counsel's view, be read so as to
describe the person, i.e., the grievor's supervising nurse, not the
function of supervision by a nurse, physician or other
institutional officer.
Counsel referred the Board to Nichols 778/89 (Knoph) and Gervais
392/89 (Dissanayake), Lwhich dealt with th~ interpretation of the
Nurse 2 classification. Counsel also cited the Andrews et_al
decision referred to by the Union. Counsel pointed out that the
Board found in that case that: "one would expect that a qualified
registered nurse would always be exercising a measure of'
'independent judgment and initiative in carrying out nursing
duties" and that it was not by inference necessary for this
expectation to be reflected in the Nurse 2 class standard. In
counsel's view, this is exactly what was happening in. the instant
case, and as a result, a Berry order was not warranted.
Decision
We read the words "under direction of a supervising nurse,
physician or other institutional officer .... "as "under direction
15
of a supervising nurse, supervising physician or other supervising.
institutional officer .... " In our view, supervision is essential
to the class standard, and our reading of the Nurse 1 and Nurse 3
class standards emphasizes the point. Nurse l's receive
"professional supervision"; Nurse 2's work under direction of a
supervising .... " and Nurse 3's do significant supervising
themselves, (but are still under some supervision). One salient
sentence of the Nurse 3 classification, which we will discuss
below, reads: "Although employees in this class receive direction
from supervising nursing, medical or institutional staff, they are
required to exercise some independent judgement and initiative,
particularly in emergencies."
In the instant case, the grievor receives no supervision for two-
thirds of her time on the job, and has, moreover, medical
responsibility for the entire Facility. We are also of the view
that the "institutional officer" referred to in'the Nurse 2 class'
standard cannot be the Facility Charge, because if the paragraph
is read to its conclusion it is clear that the supervising nurse,
physician or institutional officer will be supervising medical
procedures, and while an institutional officer may, for instance,
have general or indeed executive supervision of a hospital, it is
hard for us to see how an individual who was not medically trained
could in a relationship, such as that suggested by the Nurse 2
classification, "supervise" the administration of medicines and
hypoder~ic needles to give two examples from the list of nursing
t6
activities described in the class standard.
We are in general agreement with the test to be applied as set out
in the Avsec case, and in our view this test has been met. The
presence of direction and supervision is critical to the Nurse 2
classification, and the agreed facts are to the effect that the
grievor works approximately two-thirds of her time without either.
In this regard, we find that the daily review by Ms. Callaghan of
the grievor's shift to shift reports and such other reports as she
might make does not constitute supervis~ion as set out in the
standard. In our view, supervision requires the presence of the
supervisor, or in this case, a physician or appropriate
· institutional officer. Obviously a nursi'ng professional such as
the grievor does not require immediate and constant supervision.
The grievor is a highly trained individual able to work largely on
her own. In a case of this kind supervision need not be direct,
but it must, however, be readily available, and this requires the
presence of a supervisor as is the case during the daytime when the
grievor's supervisor is present. If there is no supervisor present
the grievor cannot be said to be working under supervision.
In the Andrews et al decision the Board found that the exercise of
judgement is part of nursing whether it is written in the class
standard or not. We are in complete agreement with this finding.
What is relevant in the instant case, howew~r, is that the exercise
of this judgement is mentioned in the Nurse 3 classification but
17
not in the Nurse 2. The Nurse 3 classification is a higher
classification with higher compensation. The exercise of this
judgement is considered a compensable factor. In the instant case,
the grievor exercises judgement, but~ in our view she exercises much
more judgement then can be simply inferred from any professional
classification. She is working alone for a large part of her
working hours. She is responsible for the infirmary and for any
medical emergencies in the entire Facility. This working alone and
this responsibility takes her out of the Nurse 2 classification.
Her duties and responsibilities do not, however, fit within the
Nurse 3 class standard, and that is why a Berry order is the
appropriate.remedy in this case.
As in Andrews et al; 'we find on the facts that the grievor is
exercising a much higher'degree of independent judgement and
initiative than is generally the case in the performance of nursing '
duties as set out in the Nurse 2 class standard. While the tasks~
that the grievor performs during the evening and night shifts may
not be that much different from those performed during the day,
there are two critical differences. The first is the presence of
direction and supervision during the day, and'its absence in the
evenings and at night. Had the grievor worked without direction
or supervision for only a small percentage of her time on the job
our finding in this case would likely have been different. And
the second is the responsibility the grievor has for the medical~'
needs of the Facility when she is the only medically trained person
on site. These factors, combined with our finding that th,.:
presence of direction from a supervising nurse etc. is integral t~
the class standard leads us to the ,con(:lusion that the grievanc~·.
.:,
must be upheld. Ve~ simply, the .req%~irement for direction and
su9e~ision is e~sential, and its absence combined with the
responsibility o~ the grievor ' ~ position justifies ~.
reclassification order.
In the result., the Employer is ordered ~eclassify the grievor. The
usual twenty-day rule applies with respect to retroactivity and
payment of interest. We retain Jurisdiction over the
implementation of this award.
Dated at Ottawa this 8th day of May 1991.
""//
William' Eaplan
Vice-chairperson
D. Win~ermute
Member
I dissent. Dissent Attached.
D. Halpert
Member
Ministry of Community and Social Services, Board File ~1643/90
ADDENDUM
I have read the Dissent in this matter, and feel compelled to
offer the 'following comments.
Given the Class Definitions for the nursing staff at this
facility, it is the Board's task to determine, on the evidence
before ~t, whether the grievor was improperly classified. The
nature and the degree of supervision received by the nursing
staff is, in my view, an integral part of the three
classifications. The undisputed fact is that the grievor works
without any supervision for approximately two-thirds of her time
on the job. She works alone, -independently, and exercises
considerable professional judgement during that time° while a
facility charge is available, there was absolutely no evidence tn
show that this person supervises the grievor in any way. In fact,
the Board was told that even when the nursing supervisor~ Ms.
callaghan, acts as facility charge she does not engage in any
nursing care or nursing supervisfon. The evidence was that i~ an
emergency sit%~ation, the grievor would take charge and make
independent decisions. In fact, Ms. Callaghan herself testified,
on behalf of the employ~r,'that the facility charge does not mak~
all of the decisions concerning the facility; she stated that
that person should be informed of' any decisions made .by .staff.
members. Finally, and most importantly, it ~as Ms. Callaghan~s
evidence that very rarely, perhaps 1% of the time, would a
fac~!~ty charge di~.'uct or supervise nursing functions. In her
words, a facility charge was available for "support" By way of
example, ~he Board was told that .in an emergency hSalth care
s'ituation, the facility charge might call an ambulance, or ensure
that the ambulance arrived at the proper location. The Duty Nurse
is expected to attend and take'charge of any health care
situati'ons that arise at the ~aci. lity.
Furthermore, I do not accept that the av.~ilablity o~ a nursing
supervisor by phone constitutes "under the direction of a
supervising nurse.., etc'"
in my opinion, the evidence.before this Board is clear. While Mr.
}{alpert's observations concerning the nursing profession are
interestin9, in my view they have nothing to do with the evidence
before the Board.
Dated at Kingston, this 26th day of April, 1991
D. Winterm~te, Member
GSB 1~43/90 - Arb%f ration betweem OPSEU (:?raviss) and Ministry~ of
Commu~ity and Social ServiCes,
I hays read the ~3~'aft award on the above-noted matte~ and, with
resp~.:t, I must d i='~eot. The facts in this case are not
but th~ degree of s,lpervision received and the interpretation
"under direction ~,~ a supervising nurse, physician or
institutional offi~', r" are mat~erz which lead me tu a different
In discussing the e',,idencs of thi~ case tl~: majority say that "for
approximately two-thin-ds o~ her time on the ~ob the gri.'ver works i~
the absence of any superviaor". The award ~ce~ on to say "if anyone
anywhere in the facility requires m~dical attention after
app~oxi~tely 4:~0 p~m, the griever is responsibl~ for providing that
attention, and fo~ ~king m~ical decisions." The g~ i~v~rs'
supervisor, Ms. Ca]],.gban testified that "the grisver could refer to
policy and procedure manuals and pati.nt care plans but this did not
eliminate the nur~ 's =ezponsibility to exerc].se professional
judgem, nt,
The union's argument was t~a6 the only issue' in dispute was the
gu~tlon of supervisi~,~'~. Since the griever was the only nurse on duty
two-thirds of the t.im~, she assumed m degree of respunsib]lity greater
than that envisioned in the Nurse 2 classification. Counsel for the
union went on to a~gu~~ that Nurse 2 classification required that this
nursing be done under c~inical direction and supervision.
I do not accept these arguments as valid. The Nurse 2 classification
is a fully oDerational professional registered nurse. In fact, the
summary specification g~es b~yo~d basic registration .a~ a nurse to
suggest "D~eferably completion of 9o~t graduate certificat~ c~urses
from a university of recognized ~tanding",
Nurses are independent professional health care practitioners in their
own right. Their clinical activities need nQt be ~nstantly
~upe~vised by another nurse or doctor, Ms. Ca!laghan testified that a
management presence i~ always on site in the form of facility
~upervisor or' other managemea~ personnel'. She went on to say that
they were confident in the .registered nurse's ability to do their job~
As for "assumi~g medical responsibility for the entire faci. lity'i~ a
nurse can only act within the prescribed medical plan laid out for-
each patient. She cannot assume medical responsibility beyond hsr
level o~ t~aining and compet~nc~. As ~or emergency situation~ the
evidence was that all personnel who worf{ at this facility are.
· qualified in first aid and CPR.
The oursinq Drofession is a twmnty-four hour a day responsibility.
Many nurses work late shi~t in the absence of thei~ head nurse, or ~
physician an~ only r'O~ call" acoesz to assistance for clfnical or
management qu~stions which may arise. I d~ not accept the union's
submission that the "othmr institutfonal o~fic.r" must be a doctor o~
nurse.
The class standards set out in the seriem nurse,
my op£nion~ a very clear de~inition~of the various
classification wozk~ "under pro~essional supervision", This
clear reference ~o t~ requirement fo: clinical su@ervisio~ by a
gzaduatiom o~ a nursing cour~ o~ at leas~ tw,o yea~m duration.
Nurse 3 classiEication require~ a profesa~.onal registered nurse;
preferably a completion o~ a Dost ~raduate certificate, minimum two
years graduate nuzSing expezlence and the ability to supervise ward or
~n~irmary nursing service~. Thi~ i~ clearly a workin~ ~u~se who
accepts re~ponsibit[ty ~ mup~r¥imion o~ others ~n he~ ~eographic
area. The Nurse 2 classification describes a registered nurse, able
to operate independently within her t~vet of competence ~s described
in the qualifications.
A review o~ recent oases supports l:he employers position. In
(i~89/89) "the ~riever seek~ a BERRY ORDER. To satisfy the
met before such an order will be made~ the griever mus~ satisfy this
board that t}]ere l~ a substantial difference between the ~uties
performed and those re~erred ~o in the cla~sification standard". The
employer's position is that thole is Mo difference between the dutie~
pmr~o~med and. the speci~ication set out in the $tandards, let alone
~ubstantial. ~f one interprets the nature of supervision required as
I have, one would acce~t that argument.
In NI~EO5~ Es A~, (778/89) the Nurse 2 position is interpreted to
amsume c%inical ~spon~ibitity on the o{{ shif~ "thus, it is clearly
Dart o~ a Nurse 2 G~nezal's essmntial respon~ibil[%y to bm able to and
to act in the role which has been assiqned to a charge nu~e at this
~acility. Thu~, we have not been satisfied that the grievors'
performed ~unctions which g~es beyond th~se expected o~ a Nurse 2
~al or a Registered Nurse". This case is very similar to Traviss,
in that nurses were seeking recognition for. working alone at night and
on weekends, The grievance was denied as it was clearly within the
Nurse 2 classification desuziption.
This is th~ same issue as Nichols et al and Gervais et al (392/8~).
Th~ grievers were all r~gistered nurses working under lc. ss direct
su~e~vi~ion nights or weekends, They were se~king recognition for the
mdditiull~l responsibility of this duty. ~n each case, the panel
concluded that "these charge nurse~, lack an institutional recognition,
hy way o~ premium ~ay o~ otherwise, for the~ additional
resp~nsi~ilities". Both panels went on to sugqest that th~ part~s,
in negotiations put their minds to this.question. They concluded, in
weekends is clearly within the Nurse 2 specification.
A Be~:~ type order in this case is inappropriate. The three levels of
nursing classification ~nvision the full ~ange of nursing duties from
new grad to supervising nurse, tt would be inappropriate and
artificial to r~quire th~ parties to negotiate yet another level,
especially when the duties are transitory!and., across the provlsca,
could De applicable in anywhere ~rom ten i pe~'~ent to over ~ty-stx
percent of a nurses schedules. It would seem more appropriate ~or the
parties to turn their minds to some type ~f :e~ponsibility pay given a
clear dsfinition o~ that assignment.
For these reasons, ! dissent from this majority award. I would have
Dated at CHATHAM this ~nd day of APRIL,
D. Ha 1 ge r t
Member