The current situation in the NICU at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center shows that everything is wrong with the DONNA WRIGHT competency format. The nurses petition the NICU administration to reinstitute in-person competencies with hands-on education and learning. Our employer has an obligation to provide proper annual up-to-date training to the staff with adequate skills to provide safe patient care to the critical population they care for.

As dedicated nursing professionals, our practice calls for constantly refining and enhancing our knowledge and skills. New medical protocols are released continuously to improve care delivery and patient satisfaction, and countless healthcare employees are expected to adapt to these changes. This often requires attending mandatory training or workplace meetings – many of which we are not paid for.

The "Fair Labor Standards Act" stipulates that non-exempt employees participating in tasks that are for the benefit of their employer are entitled to compensation. This includes attending meetings and training sessions that take place within or even outside our standard work schedule. However, in many cases, companies violate this standard by not providing fair compensation for such required activities.

Regulations such as Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 11040(2)(K) in California already exists to protect workers by requiring that companies pay for employee training, but implementation is still a problem. Enforcement of these laws is vital to ensure that all working individuals are compensated fairly for their time and effort. Without such measures, healthcare professionals like us are being taken advantage of, and our work is undervalued and unpaid.

The need to optimize healthcare services implies that the staff's acquisition and assimilation of new knowledge are integral to patient welfare. We demand that Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Centers NICU adhere to the law and pay for time spent in meetings and training that benefits the nurses and all other support staff. It is time to respect our professionalism, expertise, and the time we invest in enhancing our skills to provide superior healthcare services. Please sign this petition to support fair payment for all employees attending mandatory work-related meetings and training.

NO MANDATORY OVERTIME, PAGE 89 OF Collective Bargaining Agreement(CBA) 

MANAGEMENT CANNOT FORCE STAFF TO COMPLETE KP LEARN OR DONNA WRIGHT EDUCATION ON DAYS OFF AND/OR PERSONAL TIME CREATING OVER TIME ABOVE AND BEYOND A NURSES HIRED SCHEDULED POSITION IN THEIR OFFER LETTER: PER DIEM, PART-TIME, FULL-TIME. Until the employer provides adequate training during each employee's scheduled contracted hours per week, nurses do not have to offer additional hours to complete their competencies. It is the employer's obligation to give them the training and education time to complete their annual requirements. Disciplinary action can not be taken against ANY NICU nurse for failure to complete their competencies by the end of the year. (Refer to the Collective Bargaining Agreement Page: 22, 26, and 89)

DEFINITIONS AND ATTRIBUTES OF NURSING COMPETENCY 

According to one concept analysis study, nursing competency can be divided into the following three theories: behaviorism, trait theory, and holism.

Behaviorism refers to competency as an ability to perform individual core skills, which is evaluated by demonstrating those skills.  

Trait theory considers competency traits necessary for effectively performing duties (knowledge, critical thinking skills, etc.). 

Holism views competency as a cluster of elements, including knowledge, skills, attitudes, thinking ability, and values, that are required in specific contexts. 

Nursing competency is generally viewed as a complex integration of expertise, including professional judgment, skills, values, and attitude, indicating that holism is widely accepted. In nursing practice, nurses are required to apply their acquired knowledge, skills, and innate individual traits to each situation and be able to adapt that knowledge and those skills to different circumstances. 

There are two definitions of holistic, integrated nursing competency: 1) By analyzing a) graduation achievement goals as they relate to enhancing the development of nursing competency (the Conference for Nursing Education model), b) the International Competency Standards Framework for general nurses (International Council of Nurses) and c) the Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice (American Nurses Association), Nakayama et al. defined nursing competency as “the ability to take action by combining knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and experience acquired as a nurse” and explained that competency can be viewed as an integrated performance reflecting the professional nurse’s feelings, thoughts and judgment; and 2) Takase and Teraoka defined nursing competency as a nurse’s ability to effectively demonstrate a set of attributes, such as personal characteristics, professional attitude, values, knowledge and skills and to fulfill their professional responsibility through practice. A competent person must possess these attributes, be motivated and able to utilize them, and effectively use them to provide safe, effective, and professional nursing care to their patient. These definitions were developed by referencing international standards and literature reviews of nursing competency using domestic and international databases, clearly describing the nursing structure and leading to the development of evaluation methods. Therefore, they will play important roles in future research on nursing competency. On the other hand, for more nurses to evaluate and enhance their nursing competencies in their practice, it is essential to develop definitions of nursing competency and competency levels that are simple and easy to understand; to do this, it must begin with in-person yearly education and collaboration.

The LAMC NICU’s reliance on the Donna Wright modules for annual nurse competency violates the principles above. The Donna Wright modules have no in-person, hands-on, peer-evaluated competencies. The Donna Wright modules are busywork for nurses, and the program is utilized as a stand-in for the high-quality in-person teaching that KP LAMC NICU nurses should be getting and that our patients and their families deserve. This model does not provide any measurable, evidence-based annual education and training the employer provides to the staff.

Lastly, the NICU administration, by year-end, will not be able to provide proof that every nurse in the unit was paid training hours for the KP learn and Donna Wright hours they were required to complete because most nurses did it while on patient care assignments. Nurses are not to complete their annual competencies while doing patient care, the Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 11040(2)(K) states the employer must pay the employee separately from their patient care assignments.

Please sign this petition to support fair-paid training for competencies with hands-on skills, education, and learning annually for all employees attending mandatory work-related meetings and training.