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SWARANJIT S WARANJIT DHILLON couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The nurse of 15 years had just been called by her manager and told she was not qualified to fill the patient care coordinator position she applied for at the new short stay medical unit opening at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
SURREY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL NURSES Full-time Steward Gail Conlin, Patient Care Coordinator Swaranjit Dhillon and Full-time Steward Doreen Fleming. Conlin helped Dhillon successfully grieve an employer’s decision that the nurse of 15 years was not qualified for the position she now holds. PHOTO BY CHRIS CAMERON
Dhillon began working at Surrey Memorial in 1998, and since then had worked in the hospital’s medical, surgical, rehab and IV units. She was working as an IV nurse last year when management informed her that the hospital’s two IV unit positions were being cut. Dhillon was given six week’s notice of her displacement, and during this time she applied for seven positions at the hospital. This
included ambulatory day care, surgical day care and medical day care positions. But her first choice was the new PCC vacancy. Dhillon was so confident she would get her first-choice position that she did not ask for the option of working as a casual if she didn’t get any of the positions she applied for. As a result, she got none of the positions she applied for and now found herself laid off.