San Francisco nurses, doctors to hold protest at UC regents meeting for patient safety

RNs and resident physicians at UCSF to protest boarding crisis in the UCSF Parnassus emergency department

Registered nurses and resident physicians at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) will protest a UC Regents meeting on July 15 to highlight their patient safety concerns about boarding in the emergency department (ED). Combined with existing unsafe staffing, the boarding has created unsafe conditions caused by providing patient care in waiting rooms and hallways.

Nurses at UCSF are represented by California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU). Resident Physicians have also joined the fight with their union, the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU).

Who: RNs, Resident Physicians, and coalition partners at UCSF
What: Protest for patient safety against emergency department boarding
When: July 15, 2026, 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Where: UC Regents meeting at the UCSF Rutter Center, 1675 Owens St., San Francisco

"Today, we join with our union siblings to call once again on UCSF management to choose our patients and our community over the profit that must come with packing our emergency departments full of high-acuity patients without the space, staff, or resources to care for them," said Nurse Deya Williamson, RN in the ED. "Nurses and resident physicians are banding together and using our collective union power to advocate for the safety of our patients."

"At the bargaining table and in front of the Board of Regents, we are making it clear that quality patient care at UCSF is a top priority for us," said Dr. SatKartar Khalsa, an emergency medicine resident physician and CIR/SEIU regional vice president. "Our demand is clear and simple: more staffing so that we - residents and nurses - can do our jobs. We will not stop fighting until our demand is met. And residents will continue pushing for a fair contract at the table that guarantees us the support we need to be the best physicians for our patients."

Providing patient care in waiting rooms and hallways undermines the quality of patient care and attentive bedside communication patients deserve. Nurses are unable to adequately assess patients' needs and deliver appropriate care while working in these makeshift conditions.

CNA/NNU represents more than 6,000 registered nurses at UCSF, as well as 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.

The Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) is the largest house staff union in the United States, a local of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) representing over 40,000 resident physicians and fellows nationwide. CIR-SEIU's members are dedicated to improving residency training and education, advancing patient care, and expanding healthcare access for our communities.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.