Now is this abandonment?

Hello,

Unfortunately...this website is not set up to give legal advice. My advice is to either contact your HR department or check the BON website for information regarding the issue.

Hello and Welcome to allnurses.com

Good to have you with us, stafll.

As stated by PsychNurseWannaBe, we cannot offer legal advice for it is beyond the scope of allnurses.com.

We can, however, discuss these issues, but no giving/asking for, legal advice.

Thanks. And, we hope you enjoy the site.

As others have stated, no one can give legal advice. But, if you are asking if you can quit by giving notification, no one can stop you.

I do not understand the question at all...what exactly are you asking our opinion on?

its really hard when you feel disrespected in front of coworkers and residents. im an agency cna and thankfully I usually have very nice people whereever I go. but I did go to one facility where I was disrespected and basically forced to listen while they stood there for an hour talking about how useless i was, (while I was answering their patients call lights and they sat at the nurse's station) I just tried to have a positive attitude because it wasn't the residents fault and the only thing I could control was my attitude, I later found out throught other agency cna that they have treated every agency person like that and it was nothing 'personal' , i just choose not to go there anymore. I do think its hard but even if its hard and embarrassing it shows more character to stick it out when you are being treated unfairly and address the situation through the protocal set up, and more importantly it is important to stay so that the residents get their quality care they deserve. (((((((((((((((bighug)))))))))))))))))

Several CNAs walked off the job at a place where I once worked and the nurse manager ran after them into the parking lot and yelled at them that they had their names and CNA cert numbers and would report them to the state for abandonment when the CNAs (new hires) came to work their first day and found out they had assignments of 20 or more residents. That incident brought about a lot of discussion within the nursing community because many people worked at more than one facility or had friends around at different facilities. The general consensus: once you have received report and accepted an assignment for the day, if you decide to quit your job, the wise thing to do is to finish your shift and then quit. Don't come to work the next day. Inform your employer that you quit. Never leave an assignment you have started until the shift is completed. That way your behind is covered when it comes to the topic of abandonment. HTH

Ya know this will be hard to talk about since abandonment is a legal issue. I have heard of employers threatening nurses with calling the BON if the nurses did not accept the shift.

I can say that from what I was taught…you must accept a shift and then if you were to walk away…that could be bad. Now to swing away from any hint of legal talk, if I were in a similar situation in which a boss was yelling at me… I would not leave. Personally, having someone yell at me would not absolve me of my duty to my patients. Additionally if my boss was yelling at me, I would attempt to talk with him/her or go over his/her head. If still unsatisfied, I would finish the shift and then consider putting a notice in or immediately quitting; depending on the circumstances.

I can't think of circumstances in which walking out in the middle of a shift wouldn't be considered "abandonment." Being angry or feeling humiliated is certainly not any justification for abandoning clients. I agree with all the other posters who have said that the appropriate course of action is to finish your shift, regardless, and then take whatever steps you feel you need to.