Becker's Hospital Review

43 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY The strike is over, but tensions could persist as Saint Vincent nurses return to work with their replacements By Kelly Gooch N urses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass., voted to ratify a new contract Jan. 3, officially ending a 301-day strike. However, there could be some tension as nurses who went on strike return to work alongside nurses hired to replace them during the walkout, according to a Jan. 8 report in the Telegram & Gazette. "Returning to work and then navigating a situation where I think a good chunk of replacement nurses are continuing ... that's go- ing to be a struggle," Steve Striffler, PhD, director of the Labor Resource Center at University of Massachusetts Boston, told the newspaper. "[Nurses] are going to be returning to work with people who were trying to replace you." Additionally, replacement workers have filed a petition to of- ficially decertify the Massachusetts Nurses Association as the union representing nurses at the hospital. e petition was filed aer the union and hospital reached a tentative agreement Dec. 17, 2021, to end the strike. e union at the time said it had "little comment on the situation except to say that we are focused on moving to ratify the historic agreement we just reached." While some tension could exist, the hospital, which is owned by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, and nurses who went on strike are determined to make the return-to-work process as smooth as possible, according to the Telegram & Gazette. Nurse Dominique Muldoon, RN, who was on the bargaining committee, told the newspaper, "ere could be some tension, but I think it could be worked through." Hospital CEO Carolyn Jackson told the newspaper that Saint Vincent "need[s] to make sure those relationships heal as best as possible." Members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association ratified the tentative agreement aer nearly 10 months and more than 43 ne- gotiating sessions. e contract guarantees nurses who went on strike will be able to resume working in their previous positions while permanent replacement nurses hired during the strike retain their current roles. Nurses and Ms. Jackson said nurses who went on strike have been asked to return and were given a specific time when they will be recalled to work, according to the Telegram & Gazette. ose who come back must attend a reorientation session. According to the Telegram & Gazette, the hospital has indicated that the reorientation process will focus on healing and unity. n Nurses: The most trusted US professionals 20th year in a row By Gabrielle Masson A mericans said nurses are the most honest and ethical professionals for the 20th consecutive year, according to an annual Gallup poll published in January. Eighty-one percent of poll respondents said nurses have "high" or "very high" ethics and honesty. This is compared to 2021, when a record-high 89 percent of respondents gave nurses a "high" or "very high" honesty and ethics score. Physicians came in second, with 67 percent of respondents ranking them as having high ethics and honesty. Grade- school teachers (64 percent), pharmacists (63 percent) and military officers (61 percent) round out the top five most revered professions. n Physician happiness plunged during pandemic, survey finds By Kelly Gooch P hysician happiness dropped significantly during the pandemic, with 26 percent of surveyed physicians say- ing they were unhappy, compared with 9 percent before the public health crisis, according to the results of Medscape's physician lifestyle and happiness report. The report examined survey responses from more than 13,000 U.S.-based physicians in 29 specialties between June 2021 and September 2021. Five additional survey findings: 1. About 6 in 10 physicians said they are "very" or "somewhat" happy, down from 8 in 10 before the pandemic. 2. Some physicians pointed to the stress of coming home to unsupportive partners (some downplaying COVID-19 sever- ity) and peers not adhering to safety protocols as adding to the emotional toll of the pandemic. 3. To maintain their happiness and health, 68 percent of physi- cians spent time with family and friends, and 66 percent spent time doing activities they enjoy, such as gardening, cooking or reading. 4. The majority of physicians said they, at least sometimes, don't spend enough time on their own health and wellness, with women spending the least time (27 percent) compared to men (38 percent). 5. For more work-life balance, 55 percent of physicians report- ed they would take a pay cut, compared to 47 percent of phy- sicians who said the same in Medscape's report last year. n

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