Professional Practice

Nurses are an essential part of the health care system and are integral to providing safe and quality patient care.

Over the years, with increased workloads, shortage of staff, higher patient acuity, threat of workplace violence and a lack of resources the nursing profession has becoming more challenging.

We know that our members are dedicated to ensuring that the highest standards of care at all times and we are committed to supporting our members in their workplaces to help achieve this goal.

We have developed tools and processes to assist members in resolving practice concerns.

Workload Staffing Report Forms - Revised October 1, 2018

Developed by the Manitoba Nurses Union and employers as a result of the 1991 contract negotiations, WSRs are a tool used to document workload and staffing concerns that nurses believe may jeopardize patient well-being.

Over the past decade, these reports have been used by nurses across the province to advocate for improved patient safety through meticulous and continuous documentation of unsafe situations. WSRs are unique in that they give nurses the opportunity to make recommendations on how to improve the situation, while, from a legal perspective, provides documentation that the nurse has drawn management’s attention to an unsafe, or potentially unsafe, situation.  

Nurses should never be afraid to file WSRs and they should be completed every time an unsafe situation, or the potential for an unsafe situation, related to workload and/or staffing occurs.

The WSR process

1. Discuss and try to resolve the concern utilizing established lines of communication and discussion with the designated out of scope manager.
2. If unresolved, complete a WSR form.  The form may be signed by one nurse or many nurses.  Not all nurses involved have to sign the form.
3. The nurse makes a copy of the form and informs the Local/Worksite representative.
4. The nurse forwards the form to their manager.
5. The manager provides a response and forwards the form to the local/worksite president.
6. The local/worksite president provides the author with a copy of the response and sends the WSR to MNU.
7. All WSR forms are discussed (individually or collectively) at Nursing Advisory Committee meetings.