Making Ends Meet

Amidst the rising tension between local governments and healthcare workers' unions , the general consensus is that, at the end of the day, both parties aim for patient safety. But, what about nurses' safety? In my area, it has been more than a year and a half since our nurses have been without a collective agreement. What does this mean? It means that our salaries and working conditions have not been updated to match today's climate. I won't delve into the details but in summary, it boils down to the government minimally increasing our salaries (not even matching inflation) and insisting on "voluntary" mobility (to have the power to displace nurses on any unit, at any hospital within a certain distance from their home hospital). On the other hand, as nurses, we want a FAIR increase in our salaries (one that actually reflects the work we do, especially in this era of nursing shortage) and stability in our respective departments of expertise.

You may be asking me why am I bringing this whole thing up. "Since when are you into politics Cristine?" Since it's affecting my life: my mental, my physical, my leisure time, my time with friends and family, my opportunities for growth, my passion for nursing.

Throughout my childhood, the topic of finance didn’t seem to be a preoccupation for me. Aside from the occasional “Put it back! That’s too expensive!” I would hear from my parents in grocery stores, it never occurred to me that money could be an issue. Although I did not grow up in poverty, I am lucky enough to say that I was able to pursue my studies all the way to a Bachelor’s degree without worrying about my financial situation. Thankfully, my parents had set up an education savings plan that would enable me to focus solely on studying. I was blessed enough to be able to keep 100% of my focus on my notes and books rather than to work part-time at entry-level jobs during high school.

As I delved into adulthood, the first two years of my nursing career consisted of saving money to achieve future goals. Back then, getting a full-time nursing position was more difficult than it is today. My part-time pay was only enough to cover basic expenses. I remember at that time, I had made myself available to work on various units at the hospital just to get a similar pay as the full-timers. At times, I would take overtime. In order to do that however, I had to keep my schedule "open". This meant that whenever work called, I would have to pick it up immediately and agree to replace the sick call. Otherwise, the extra shift would go to someone else.

However, when mom got sick and could no longer work, I had to find a solution to compensate for the loss of income. Hence, I finally found a full-time position in oncology and worked relentlessly to meet my own needs (I had moved out at the time) and my family's needs. It was the first time I had also found a second nursing job on the side to supplement my earnings. My sleep schedule was fuuuuuucked. My life situation was complicated. I lived paycheck to paycheck trying to recoup the money I would have earned during my caregiver leave, and the money I had spent to buy my first second-hand car (it was getting more tiresome to take public transport to help mom go to her follow-up appointments). I was the financial support of more individuals than I should have been (my family being the exception). At that time during my early twenties, I learned frugality and finally understood the financial struggle my parents hid so well in my childhood. Life ... is expensive. Eventually, I was able to regain a sense of control over my finances and have a decent amount of savings that would not require overtime work to survive.

Throughout those years, it felt I was living to work, working to live. In the beginning, I was filled with energy and motivation. My system filled with adrenaline enabled me to get through each day. Then, comes that pivotal moment where your body switches gears; mine went from drive to neutral. I was living on autopilot. I lost the joy in my job. I secluded myself. I became more quiet at work. I burnt out. The engine in my car failed and my tires were blown. I felt as though I could no longer move forward (a story for another time, maybe). And yes, you can say I'm partially at fault for working the extra hours. But what if your survival depended on that extra income? What would you then say?

The reason why I bring up all of this is because of an encounter I had working with an agency nurse. An agency nurse is one that is hired to work in various settings depending on their needs. Agency nurses are not forced to work, but get to chose their schedules and locations they agree to be sent to. Although the work hours available are not guaranteed, with the increasing shortages everywhere, it appears that making a living wouldn't be an issue. After discussing with this agency nurse, I have realized that as nurses, we deserve much better. T

his nurse was a Haitian single mother of three who had no choice but to work for an agency and at a clinic. She would do night shifts at a palliative care home and then head straight to the clinic for her day shift (if I were to do that, I would be a zombie). Although she worked for the public, her income from the private sector is what is helping her put her children through school. She told me about how she would have to calculate her expenses to see if she could afford her kids' tuition fees. Hearing that broke my heart. It is making me wonder how many of us nurses (and other workers alike) show up to work to care for the sick, then go home and are unable to properly fully care for themselves or their families due to high living expenses and unfair wages.

How many more nurses will have to burn out, leave the profession, or work themselves to death before our government realizes that change needs to occur? How many patients need to die as a result of staff overwork and exhaustion?

Are we ever going to find a fair solution to fix our broken health care system? Or are we simply going to put band-aids at each cut until the supplies ran out?

You tell me ...

I am attaching a link to an article/report made by Oxfam Canada on the current wealth gap.

Some food for thought ...