What Does a SHARE Rep Do?

SHARE leaders have a special role in our community. Together, we work to create one of the most important relationship networks in our hospital.

SHARE Reps discussing Unit-Based Teams

The main role of a SHARE Rep is to aid communication between members and the SHARE leadership. We continually share information to better understand what is happening across our workplaces, and to make our work better.

As a result, SHARE Reps do all kinds of things, depending on the needs and interests of our union and our members. Ultimately, if you become a SHARE Rep, you decide what to take on . . . each Rep has a different level of involvement. In the beginning, you should simply be prepared to meet new people, and to learn a lot of new things from others throughout the UMass Memorial community.

A SHARE Rep always has support. The SHARE organizing staff and experienced Reps are here to help. We provide training and individual coaching to help you develop new skills. Here’s a list of the kinds of projects that some SHARE Reps commonly do:

• Meet and develop relationships with every person in their work area
• Come to the monthly SHARE Rep Meetings
• Provide information to co-workers, and to the EBoard and Organizers
• Help other SHARE members to find help when they need it
• Improve work processes and solve departmental problems
• Lead and participate in Unit Based Teams
• Bake for events
• Participate in a web of support for other members in the unfortunate event of a layoff
• Serve as a “witness” at a disciplinary meeting for a member
• Distribute and collect surveys
• Sign up new members on membership cards
• Negotiate

There’s a whole lot more. The activities that SHARE Reps do are extremely important, and often a lot of fun. When new challenges arise, we figure things out together. And we know that important things get built just like anything else: one little brick at a time.

If you have questions about what SHARE reps do, please contact the SHARE Office (508-929-4020), or talk to a current SHARE rep.

New Acute Care Inpatient PCA Staffing Guidelines: Info Meetings & FAQ

SHARE members on the nursing floors have begun to implement the newly-negotiated Patient Care Associate (PCA) Guidelines.  This exciting new wave of improvements will help PCA’s better care for patients, and allow them to focus on the most meaningful aspects of their work.

The initial roll-out is being pioneered on the Memorial Campus on West 3, and on the University Campus on 6 East.

UMMC Associate Chief Nursing Officer Lisa Gillum and SHARE Co-President Bobbi-Jo Lewis will host the first of many informational discussions about the new guidelines. All staff on the Inpatient Floors are invited.

Acute Care Inpatient PCA Staffing

Informational Discussions

Friday April 21st

West 3 Breakroom

6:30a-7:30a & 2:30p-3:30p

***

Acute Care Inpatient PCA Staffing

FAQ

1.    What does this new language mean in our contract?

To work collaboratively with the RN and the unit team which will improve communication and provide quality patient care

2.    Who chooses how we do our assignments?

The PCA model at Memorial Campus is decided shift to  shift based patient needs and available staffing resources. The model will be reviewed at the start of the shift with the Unit Staff on the unit.

The University Campus will be decided by the Unit Staff that best meets the patient needs.  It will either be an assignment or geographical locations and/or tasks

Concerns about your assignment should be discussed with the Resource Nurse, Nurse Manager, Clinical Coordinator and/or Nursing Supervisor

3.    When is it going to start?

The first step is obtaining information of the assignments and tasking responsibilities on the PCAs on the unit.

The next step will be deciding the model for the unit by the unit team. Implementation should be completed by Mid-Summer (July 2017).

4.    Does this affect all PCA’s work?

The new language is currently for PCA’s on the acute care inpatient floors.

5.    Who is on this team that is making decisions about my work?

Since each inpatient floor has unique patients with special needs, the decisions should be decided through a joint effort between the  Unit Staff,  Nurse Manager, Clinical Coordinators.

The PCA’s and volunteer RN’s who will work together to roll-out the process, help problem solve and listen to concerns when a problem arises.   

6.    I want to be able to give good quality care. What if my assignment is still too much? And the patients aren’t getting the attention that they need from me?

Everyone’s goal is to provide  quality care to our patients.  If your assignment is too heavy and demanding then you should speak to the Resource Nurse and/or Nurse Manager to facilitate a discussion about the issues with the assignment.

You can also reach out to your SHARE organizer  and ask that the situation be followed up by  the committee listed in question 5. This committee’s goals is to  make sure that things are going smoothly and thoughtfully.

7.    Some will think that I can still do it all. What should I say?

You should say that "I want to give our patients the best care and I don’t feel that I am able to complete the delegated assignment/tasks. Is there another way that the work can be distributed?”

SHARE Representative and Executive Board Nominations Are Now Open

The nomination period for SHARE leaders is now open. If you would like to nominate yourself or a co-worker, you can read full details online. Current SHARE Reps who wish to continue to be Reps need to be nominated again this year. To be eligible, any nominated SHARE member must have paid dues for at least six months prior to the election, and must be nominated in writing by 5pm on Friday, April 28th.

(A version of the nomination letter has also been mailed to your home address. Please note that that version contains misprints regarding odd- and even-years, which have been corrected in this email.)

The Executive Board positions to be elected this year include:

• 306 Belmont Street (Region A)
• Memorial Locations, Nursing Floors & Emergency Department (Region B)
• Memorial  Locations, Ambulatory Clinics (Region D)
• University Locations, Technical & Diagnostic (Region C)
• University Locations, Clerical & Other (Region E)

Additionally, all SHARE Representative positions are open for nominations. The full breakdown of regions can be found in the online copy of the nominations letter.

If there are too many candidates for the number of positions, elections will be held on Wednesday, May 31. If you have any questions, please call the SHARE office (508-929-4020).

Support the United Way with Chocolate and Adorableness!

You could
WIN
a lot of
CHOCOLATE!

Join SHARE and UMass Memorial in supporting the United Way by purchasing raffle tickets. SHARE will be hosting a table where you can enter to win either (or both!) of these exciting prizes:

• A basket brimming with chocolate treats
• A basket featuring a diaorama with one adorable handmade mouse (see photos below)

Contents of these gift baskets have been donated by members of the SHARE organizing staff. Raffle tickets cost one dollar each, with all proceeds going to support the United Way. You can enter to win at one of the following locations and times:

University Campus Cafeteria Thursday, April 13th 11:30-1:30

Memorial Campus Cafeteria Friday, April 14th 11:30-1:30

If you have questions, or work on another campus and can't come to our table to enter in person, please call the SHARE office (508-929-4020).

Handmade Mouse by Tracie Cahan

This could be yours!