A nurse in Sorel-Tracy took to social media on Tuesday to vent about her working conditions after she was suspended for refusing an overtime shift.
Two weeks ago, a nurse in the Eastern Townships, Emilie Ricard, posted a photo to Facebook of herself in tears after a lengthy shift, denouncing health minister Gaetan Barrette for, among other things, proclaiming that "the reform of the health care system has been a success".
Her post led others to tell their stories — some with the hashtag #JeSuisEmilie (#IAmEmilie).
Johanne Leclerc, working as an auxiliary nurse at Sorel's Hotel-Dieu Hospital, also followed Ricard's lead, saying on the night of Jan. 26, she says she was especially exhausted and felt incapable of offering adequate care for her patients — so she went home, rather than work a mandatory overtime shift.
'On Jan. 26, I refused to do a mandatory overtime shift after working a night shift, believing I was unable to continue," she wrote on Facebook. "[My bosses] didn't listen to my reasoning; they just told me I had to stay. But I left anyway."
We are neither machines nor numbers. We are human beings. Workers who want the best for our patients.
-Johanne Leclerc
On Tuesday, Leclerc says she was told she would get a one-day suspension for that.
"So today [Tuesday], I received a one-day suspension without pay, because it was my first refusal," Leclerc wrote. "I'm being threatened with further sanctions if it happens again, up to and including dismissal."
She says that while the hospital is feeling the effects of staffing problems, they're feeling the effects of bad management even more.
"I'm thinking of my colleagues who'll no doubt have to work an extra night tomorrow night...to cover for me while I'm suspended," she wrote. "So now I'm thinking, come on! Is this really a solution?"
Leclerc ends her rant in capital letters, "WE ARE NEITHER MACHINES NOR NUMBERS, WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS, WORKERS WHO WANT THE BEST FOR OUR PATIENTS."