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MNA Seeks BORN Reform
The Massachusetts Nurses Association has formed a committee of concerned
nurses, who are mobilizing a campaign to call upon the Governor’s Office
to address the nursing community’s concerns about the practices of the
Board of Registration of Nursing.
A number of decisions by the BORN have fueled this campaign, including:
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The BORN's widely-opposed decision to discipline 16 nurses at Dana Farber
Cancer Insitiute;
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In the most recent decision the BORN Complaint Committee decided not to
pursue a complaint of unethical and unprofessional conduct, and patient
neglect against a nurse executive who had fired nurse whistle-blower Barry
Adams for reporting unsafe staffing and patient neglect. Yet, the
National Labor Relations Board ruled that the firing was illegal and was
an "attempt to silence and retaliate against him" and the Department of
Public Health had faulted the administrators for failing to correct unsafe
practices.
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The BORN's expected promulgation of far-reaching and controversial regulations
for nurses will only increase its ability to inappropriately discipline
nurses and diminish its accountability to those involved in the process.
Click here to review
an article by MNA President Karen Daley, summarizing the MNA’s concerns.
According to the MNA Committee for BORN Reform, which held is first
meeting on Sept. 30, 1999, these actions, clearly demonstrate the agency’s
inability to fulfill its mission of protecting the public and fairly monitoring
the practice of licensed nurses in the Commonwealth.
The decisions by the BORN not to pursue teh major sections of Barry
Adams’ complaint has drawn widespread attention from nurses throughout
the national nursing community to the issue of equal accountability of
all licensed nurses, staff nurses, and nurse administrators in the current
health care environment.
The decision calls into question the Board’s ability to objectively,
fairly and consistently investigate, evaluate and determine the outcome
of complaints against individual nurses. It also creates the appearance
of a troubling double standard. The BORN appears to aggressively discipline
those who have little or no control over their practice environment
while failing to discipline those nurses who have the overall responsibility
for patient care and the practice environment, as in this case.
In response, the committee has launched a two-pronged letter writing
campaign: first, nurses are encouraged to sign on to (or draft their
own) appeal to the Governor to take four steps the MNA believes is necessary
to reform the BORN; second, nurses are encouraged to write to the BORN
to demand an apology from the BORN of their treatment of Adams, as well
as to re-open his complaint.
Click here to view a
copy of the letter of appeal you can send to the Governor
Click here to view a
copy of the letter for apology by BORN
Click here for address,
fax, and e:mail of BORN and Governor
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