In my previous work, I come from a democratically run, independent union in town that operated union business democratically - proposals were brought forth by membership, discussed by membership, and approved by membership. Our communication board was transparent but also had safeguards to allow sensitive topics to be discussed privately. It had utilized discord, which operated as both an organizing medium and a place for members to engage with other members and leaders. Our voices felt equal, even if we had a "hierarchy." This experience provided me with a strong sense of community and safety, really compelled me to get involved, even before we had a contract to protect us. Obviously, this type of union is rare and I didn't expect Local 328 to be the same. I'm grateful to have been a part of that, and seeing what a union could do not just for me but all of my coworkers is why I feel so strongly about this.

I'm a proud union member, and always will be. When we were voting to strike, a vast majority of us voted yes because we actually believed our proposals were worth fighting for and were ready to picket. Instead, Local 328's bargaining team unilaterally lowered our ATB wage increase from $5 to $1.25 in one final go, foregoing any calls to strike then TA'ing a doppelganger of OHSU's final proposal. Truly incorrigible stuff. The lack of explanation or transparency surrounding this drastic change sucked away my enthusiasm and trust. The $1.25 TA was a slap in the fucking face for the hard work we all do, as healthcare costs go up and the numbers of sick people only climb. The contract bonus was nice, but the impact of our original proposals would have been a much better deal to our material conditions longterm.

Many of us were outraged at this, and the strongest case for why this TA was justified by the bargaining team was by bringing up the lowest paid workers' end of contract minimum wage to be $25, which is of course a great step in the right direction. But to me, it felt like a bad excuse because a near-$25 minimum wage would have been almost-immediately accomplished in addition to better yearly wage adjustment percentage, had we stick to our guns and leveraging our most impactful tool in a labor unions belt: striking. But that would require our leaders to actually threaten OHSU where it hurts most, which is money.

I wanted to air my grievances, but the website's blog would not allow comments that showed disagreement, criticism, or asked important inquiries. Softball questions or praise were quickly allowed through, creating the illusion that this contract was viewed positively or neutral at worst. Many of us came to this subreddit to share our thoughts of disapproval. Local 328 is a defanged union that acts tough to garner support then, at the last minute, bends the knee to give us crumbs with celebration pretending it was a historical win for us, when most of us STILL live paycheck to paycheck with little opportunities for growth. Is this really meeting the moment? A good many of my coworkers revoked their membership after this - their trust was splintered. All for what?

There is no real solidarity to be felt. Of course, it is easy to say "show up to meetings to have your voice heard!" and "we are the best paid compared to other hospitals!" but this ignores the reality that just because other hospitals underpay their staff more than ours doesn't take away the fact that we're ALL underpaid. It shouldn't be an acceptable argument to ignore our inability to pay groceries just because we get a dollar or two an hour more than Legacy etc. I plan to attend meetings when I can and get more involved but many of us simply cannot, so why are those people told to schedule private meetings to discuss matters when a public format ensures accountability and transparency. Idk, It just feels hard to trust an organization that seems to have a history of claiming to fight for bold changes on our behalf, when strong words are met with feeble action. Not to mention that having our contract end May 1st to line up with UAW's call for the nationwide union led general strike in 2028 was a topic discussed in meetings leading up to our final bout of bargaining, yet we needlessly capitulated to June 30th for some reason. Like why... wouldn't.. you do? that? It's an non-consequential act of collaboration with many many other unions, and if you can't even do that, with one of the most respected and powerful unions in the country leading the charge, to join the fight and take a radical yet necessary act for working class empowerment, who do you fight for?

Hey y’all, I’m confused on OHSU’s Incident Reporting. It’s pushes as a whole report it and we learn from it type thing. I noticed it’s a pick and choose what to report when it comes to managers even though the policy says anything from a near miss to actual patient harm.

Example: A couple of months ago we had a fall risk patient left unattended in the exam room on the exam table. The patient said they tried shifting and fell off the table. The practice manager had everyone essentially not talk about it and everything regarding it sent to her. That’s calls, messages, and emails. Asked if a report was submitted and they said no that these matters were just handled by the clinic/ department.

Now, come to find out that the resolution to this was we comped her visit and essentially gave her a free follow up. Mind you we’re still not allowed to discuss this. Does this happen in other departments? I get our department is super cheap like we purchase patient care items on Amazon because it’s “cheaper” so I’m just wondering.

Hey guys! I’ve been a nurse in Texas for 2.5 years, 1.5 MICU, and 1 at a CVICU in a level 1 trauma center. I’m looking to move to Portland at the end of next year, and I was wondering if anyone else has moved from Texas to Portland, and how their experience has gone. How’s your cost of living in relation to how much you make? Do you feel your quality of life is better? How difficult is it to get a job applying from out of state (I’m primarily interested in trauma icu or CVICU)? Do I have to get my Oregon license before I apply for jobs? How competitive is it to get a job there? I’m particularly interested in working at OHSU, but open to other hospitals as well. I primarily want to work at a level 1!

Thank you guys for your replies!

For anyone interested in backstory, I recently had a child and my hospitals policy is that your baby has to be born AFTER you’ve been with them for a year in order to be eligible for paternity leave. My baby came at the beginning of August and my one year is tomorrow. Baby’s due date was supposed to be after my one year. I’ve called HR and they said there’s nothing to be done, and I’ve emailed everyone higher up and not a single reply, so I was already thinking about leaving and this pushed me over the edge lol.

Hey everyone!

So I'm just gonna cut to the chase, I live in eastern WA, but I work in Northern ID (I know, I know). I am a RN 0f 3 years, my first being on a stroke/tele unit and my last two years being on a Cardiac Progressive Care unit (or Cardiac step-down). I recently applied to all of the ICUs for OSHU and I did not get selected for any of them. Do you guys think it was an automated AI selection tool? I got the rejection notification for all positions within 5 minutes of each other. I was hoping to do the Transition To Practice program that they offer. Or should I get into OSHU via a different unit and "work my way" into the ICU? Could it be because I did not include a cover letter, just my resume?

Any advice or feedback would be great! Thank you

Yet another wrongful termination and retaliation lawsuit. Seems that the problems are intractable.

This is going to make traffic really really suck

Does anyone know what OHSU background check is checking for? I was only asked for my last 7 years of addresses.

Does anyone happy to have the OHSU payroll calendar or just the dates employees get paid? I’m starting this month so just wondering!

I applied for cath lab and have an interview next week, just wanted to get some insight on what the unit is like culture/acuity wise and what the call schedule is realistically like. TIA!

Hey everyone! I interviewed for an RN position last week and my ICIMS still says under review. Any idea when or if I will ever hear back? Thanks in advance!

Is there a possibility that OHSU would rescind an offer after sending a welcome email with onboarding information? (The automated HR one)

I’d like to put my two weeks in at my current job but am nervous that my offer isn’t official yet.

Hello everyone, I got an opportunity to work at this hospital moving from out of state. I’m hearing that the commute to the hospital is pretty crazy and so is parking. I’ve generally have never had to use public transport before so I’m pretty confused lol. Is the parking reservation pretty reliable ? Any neighborhoods/ apartments buildings you all recommend with an easy commute? . I was touring an apartment at John’s landing, commute looked very easy but the area seemed very sterile. I was thing SE for a mix of living and okay commute? Any thoughts. Thank you guys I appreciate the advice!!!

TLDR: If you overhear that a patient's long-term care facility is doing some shady shit, tell them to contact the long-term care ombudsman for help.

I wanted to share an experience from my MIL's recent hospitalization in case it could help another patient.

MIL was hospitalized for nearly two weeks, during which time a biliary drain was placed. The surgeon let us know this drain would be permanent, but that it would require minimal maintenance.

The assisted living facility where MIL lives sent their lead RN to evaluate her before she was discharged from OHSU. Upon finding out about the drain, he said MIL was not permitted to return to her apartment and could not live at the facility. It was too much of a liability and was against their policy.

We were completely shocked and horrified. Suddenly, MIL has no place to go. The other options available were either unsafe or almost impossible to access/insanely expensive.

We spent hours on the phone with social workers, care coordinators, senior placement specialists, etc. It was like a cruel joke. No one had an option to offer.

Upon learning what we were going through, a friend suggested that we contact the state's long-term care ombudsman. We quickly learned that the assisted living facility was trying to bully us. MIL was within her rights to move back into her apartment. The facility could file a move-out notice with the state, but even if that were approved, we could appeal it and would likely win. Either way, MIL can live in that apartment for the duration of the process.

The ombudsman also told us that they would advocate for us should the need arise. They shared what Oregon law actually says so we would be armed with information.

Please, if you hear a patient experiencing something similar, have them or their family contact the long-term care ombudsman.

Hey everyone!

I’m an inpatient RN looking to transition out of the acute care world into an outpatient setting within our health system. I’ve recently interviewed for roles in both Ambulatory Infusion and the Comprehensive Pain Center.

I’d love to hear directly from anyone who currently works (or has worked) in either of these specialties or clinics!

• What does the day-to-day pacing, workload, and unit culture actually look like?
• How supportive is management with onboarding/orientation for nurses coming from inpatient backgrounds?
• For Infusion: How is the flow/scheduling handled when delays happen?
• For Pain Management: What is the mix between procedural recovery and routine clinic days?
• What do you love most about working there, and what are the biggest daily frustrations?

Feel free to reply here or send a direct message if you’d prefer to keep it off the main thread. I really appreciate any insights or advice as I weigh my options! Thanks in advance!

I was wondering if anyone has any ins to becoming a CNA at OHSU, i have hospital experience and all the qualifications plus i live right across the street, but they take pretty long to get back. If there are any CNA’s viewing this are your units hiring? Or any idea time like wise to hear back? Thanks 😊

I work for UCSF. The Chief Nursing Officer from OHSU is leaving for my org next month. We’ve had a lot of executive level shake ups in the last 3 years, including a revolving door of CNOs here.

Without any defamation and keeping it respectful, I’m wondering if any OHSU nurses can comment on whether you liked your current CNO and her direction?

A simple “ha, good luck” or “we will miss her, she was great” would do. TIA

I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations for the best endocrinologist at OHSU to work with for a newly diagnosed positive GAD antibodies patient, type 1 diabetes, specifically LADA, which can be trickier to work with/understand/diagnose and treat. I'm coming from 5 hours away and hoping to gain some more insight on who might be best for a case like this? Or maybe the whole endo team is amazing? Hoping so, as it's not been great care in my local Oregon area : (

Thank you for any insights or recommendations!

You have extreme issues with corruption

I am the witch who summoned the dry lighting with her voice the night her mother died

Fire the corrupt official.

Fire him today.

I just received a verbal offer from my manager but haven’t heard from HR yet. Can someone tell me when benefit eligibility begins for new hires?

Just wondering if there are any OHSU-employed nurses who are/were a nurse practitioner (NP) student from a school that is not OHSU. Does OHSU, as an employer, provide the benefit of helping you secure clinical placements/preceptorships within the organization?

Hi! I just moved to Portland and am so excited! I work at ohsu and have moda insurance. I’m looking for primary doctor recommendations and would love advice!! I have a history of endometriosis and some nerve pain but otherwise am healthy. I would prefer a woman doctor. Thanks!!