Nurses speaking out over costly three-way turf war

The 40,000 registered nurses in B.C. are trusted linchpins of the health care system, but a nasty court case that exposes infighting between three professional associations could undermine public perception of their profession.

In online message boards, nurses are venting, saying they’re alarmed, sad and ashamed about the dispute that erupted when the B.C. Nurses’ Union took legal action in 2013 against the College of Registered Nurses of B.C. and the Association of Registered Nurses.

At the centre of the battle is a $1.5-million transfer from the college to the association in 2005 to pay for start-up costs and functions it inherited from the college, such as risk management through professional liability protection programs (malpractice insurance). The BCNU initiated the legal challenge, contending the money was a surplus of professional liability insurance premiums and should be held in trust, not used for other purposes.

Many nurses see the conflict as a turf war initiated by a union known for aggressive tactics. A grassroots group of nurses has set up an online petition calling on the union to halt its lawsuit and stop the infighting because it’s wasting money and creating “fractures in our nursing community.” The petition has 1,000 supporters as of Wednesday.

The association says more than $500,000 in legal fees have been spent so far by defendants.

BCNU president Gayle Duteil is travelling in Asia and could not be reached for comment.

College registrar Cynthia Johansen said in an interview the litigation is deeply disappointing.

There is no trial date set for the lawsuit against the college.