[Town & Country]

AngelGirl: you don't have to ask to have a break. Tell them you are taking your break in ten or fifteen minutes.
Then do it.

[Town & Country]

If you were walking down the street and got mugged, your money stolen, beaten up...and then you could prove who it was that actually mugged you.Would you "just let it go".I bet not.

No, but I wouldn't just let it go but I wouldn't have to "prove who it was" that mugged me, because it wouldn't just be me. There are laws against mugging another person and stealing their money, meaning the police would be involved.
Unfortunately, your situation is different: there are no laws (or nothing similar) regarding it because it ALL comes down to "he said/she said" type things and what the definitions of "safe staffing", "competent/incompetent" are, etc.
Yes I know there are laws regarding the workplace. But they are very vague, usually, when dealing with this kind of thing. And if TN is an "at-will" state you are already screwed because they can fire you for any reason.

.And as far as what the nurse manager thinks or doesnt think........its kinda like this. She ...is ....a....fabricator..a liar.

It doesn't matter if she is a liar. You don't have to be honest to be in management....in fact, I imagine being a liar probably helps. LOL.

So...that hospitals atty....is going to have to explain to the judge/jury ......"well....yes....she was lying when she said that...but now she is telling the truth.......yeah...we know she lied about what day this alledgedly occurred on.....but please believe me now....shes telling the truth".

Do you HONESTLY think there is going to be all this reaction because you can bust someone in a lie??!?

my family and I lost my retirement, benefits etc...all bc......I was "mugged"....so...even though I have "moved on"...people and facilities have to learn for every action there is a reaction...and we all must answer for our actions.

Yes but they don't answer to you, fortunately or unfortunately. They are going to dojust exactly what they WANT to do.....and the fact is, there isn't a **** thing you can do about it. If you have another job then go with that. Make that a great job.

Dont let someone force ya into a job with no orientation. It doesnt make you "superman" bc you can function one day without a sentinel event in a job with no orientation...it just makes you reckless with your liscence and a liability issue....you worked too hard 4 that!

Excuse me, I'm not "reckless with my license and a liability issue" thank you...I'm very much a patient and nurse advocate.

I probably ought to go back and read all of your posts about this matter but I haven't because they are so long......and truthfully, I don't think it would matter because this really sounds like a personal thing between the NM, you, and her friend. I'm sorry but that's the impression I get and what you are doing seems very self-destructive.
Maybe I am wrong as I said, I haven't read the entire thing but what I did read sounded like you just couldn't deal with the new person on the floor.........sorry but it's just my opinion......I really and truly think this is a personal thing. Sorry if that offends you but honestly, reading your post I do get that impression.

Edited to Add: My best advice to you would be to lobby for new laws regarding these issues. Be involved on the legislative level because imo this is just going to harm you and your career. You won't be able to help anyone once your career is gone. Protect that and work on making changes. The CA nursing union did....I'm thrilled that Ahnold didn't get re-elected!!!!

[SLH963]

Originally Posted by Cute_CNA

I don't have any help to offer, but I'm sorry that happened. I have heard of signatures being forged in nursing, though it didn't really relate to pt. care.

I don't think it's right that your supervisor also supervises her best friend. That's just asking for trouble.

Thank you for being willing to stand up for your patients.

I respect you so much for what you did. It is very difficult to stand alone and do the right thing when you are in jeopardy of repercussion.
We used to have that same " work at will situation". People lost their jobs for alot less! We did something about it. We have a contract that spells out how we can work in a facility and know that management must treat us fairly. We aren't alone. A contract gives nurses a concrete way to support one another in situations as you are in,and a chance to work with management to provide good,safe patient care,and enjoy a pleasant workplace. I know that doesn't help with your immediate problem but it is certainly something to consider for your next job. I have been an RN for 34years and wouldn't consider working with out the protection and support of a healthcare workers union. If you have specific questions for me as to how a contract would have avoided your firng,please email me back.
Sandy Rn 1199 SEIU

[Town & Country]

I have been an RN for 34years and wouldn't consider working with out the protection and support of a healthcare workers union.

You hit the nail on the head....I've never worked where there is a union, I hope to one day.
This is the REAL hope for nurses IMO.

[TNNURSE]

Sun streak.....didnt mean to come on too strong to ya there.Everyone has certain things they feel incredibly strong about......and pt safety is my "issue". And as far as there not being any laws against what happened to me......actually....believe it or not there are laws. "At will" employment states have very very few exceptions to the "at will" statute.However, retaliatory discharge is one of those exceptions.The laws basically state that if you were fired to prohibit you from speaking publically...or bringing a patient safety issue forward to even your risk management dept .....then it is illegal.And these laws allow retaliatory discharge employees a "protected class" status.We are offered legal protection from any reataliatory acts by the employer.Will it be the same as assault?no...but...it opens serious punitive damage awards.And unfortunately...in healthcare ofeten times ...thats the "only" thing they understand.It is the "only "thing that makes them stop harassing employees who are acting on the publics safety behalf.And...I have all the proof I need to prove a very strong retaliatory discharge case.Do I wish my hospital had just done the correct ethical thing ?yes....yes I do.....but unfortunately they didnt. Does that make me sad? yes...it does.And as far as this NM...its bizarre....I actually have always liked her.So..I didnt have any kind of vendeatta...or anything like that. This NM is not a "mean" horrible person.....but simply a person...who out of some sort of misplaced/misguided love for a friend attempted to block me from bringing not only "my concerns"...but the numerous concerns of experienced tenured nurses concerns over the confused and inappropriate actions of her best friend".So....honestly.....my heart kinda goes out to both of them.But....ya know....tonight that could be you that ended up in that ICU bed.......and if that were you....you...and your family would expect the nurses to continue to speak up to ensure her knowledge deficits were resolved.Knowledge deficits in a icu have to be resolved...and resolved quickly.BC...this isnt equipment we are dealing with...it is.....your mother, your father, your best friend,...your spouse...your neice...your nephew..your child.Every person lying there is just as "important" to someone as these people would be to you.This is just something I feel very strongly about. The state nurse pratice acts and the public protection acts...actually make it illegal for us to do/say nothing.In some states it is criminal and nurses can be prosecuted in a "clause " of negligent homicide if we say nothing. And you guys are right....I never really thought about the magnitude of not being represented by labor unions until this,.....and another point is you are correct by saying that upper mgmt...at times....doesnt do the right thing ethically ...until they see that it is going to hit them in the wallet.When...I say...this whole ordeal...has made me " sad at heart".....thats what I mean. This has never been a personal issue between me and this NM....we actaully got along decently. She even sent me an email a few hours before I complained about her best friend "thanking me for all my dedication to the nsg staff" for something I did. So there was no animosity....it wasnt personal....never was.....it was strictly an ethical decision for me.And for my ethical decision....I lost my job....my kids lost their insurance...I lost my retirement.That isnt "ethically" right...and in my state it isnt "legally right" either. At times....all that is ethically wrong isnt necessarily legally wrong....and all that is "ethically right...isnt necessarily legally right".....but this time....I was ethically and legally correct in my actions...and they were very much unethically and illegally wrong in theirs.".I am legally protected under several pt protection and retaliatory discharge whistleblower statutes...

[RNS for Unity]

12/15/05 Excellent commentary. Pitty the fools, younger and older nurses alike, who have failed to see the motives of some of the hospital bureaucracy. Their mission statement of serving humanity and ministering to the sick. It's all about money, even the non-profit religious facilities. People will sell their souls for money. The AHA doesn't give a damn about their largest pool of employees, we nurses or as you put it slaves. We need to unionize, I currently work in a union facility and it does make a difference, there is job security.
Take care all.

[TNNURSE]

Rns for unity.....it is eye opening. I thought...whenthis happened to me.....that it was like an isolated incident.I have been so niave.I didnt realize that thousands of nurses...countrywide...have been the victim of similar actions.I have heard stories that have broken my heart,...and "opened my eyes".Stories of tenured nurses who have been booted out bc they have topped out in salary...and are replaced with new grads.I love new grads in a workplace....but not when the ratios are 9 new grads to 1 experienced nurse.Then...when your administration...is so "budget minded" that they staff like this...and dont look at the high acquity patient population and the IMMENSE need to maintain a safer experienced-new grad ratio....i Think its just unsafe too.When nurses who witness unsafe practitioners , be it physicians or nurses , and they do NOT notify their risk mgmt dept ...whose fault is it when a sentinel event occurs? Is it just the incompetent pratictioner?Is it the manager who had been told time and time again by nsg staff that this pratictioner was unsafe..is he/she at fault also? When healthcare turns a deaf ear to complaints over issues that can jeopardize the life of a patient ...then that healthcare facility has assummed all legal responsibilty for whatever actions or inactions both that practitioner and that NM leave in their wake.The end result is.....friendships can be friendships...in and outside of the workplace.....but when ya step thru those doors and clock in.....your allegiance has changed.You might not like having to speak up and do the right thing...but you have a duty too.Think.....how can you look that family in the eye.....when that physician has to tell them that their daughter, son, child, husband, wife,mother...is dead....and you know ...you know...what is one of the root causes for that death. Can you live with your decision to remain silent? In a ICU setting...in any hospital setting....your loytalties should lie..first with the patient.All this just makes me sad.

[Town & Country]

I am legally protected under several pt protection and retaliatory discharge whistleblower statutes...

It may be there on paper but when push comes to shove, it isn't going to hold water....didn't you say that they had already fabricated "reasons" to dismiss you?
That's the way "at-will" states work it.....

[jodyangel]

Yep. You're so right. Because nurses just leave and get new jobs without making the Wrong Right..these practices flourish.

Originally Posted by TNNURSE

Sunstreak...I have already "moved on with my life".....but...let me put it to you like this.
1.If you were walking down the street and got mugged, your money stolen, beaten up...and then you could prove who it was that actually mugged you.Would you "just let it go".I bet not.So...even though...I already have another great job...it doesnt change the fact that I was still "mugged".And as far as what the nurse manager thinks or doesnt think........its kinda like this. She ...is ....a....fabricator..a liar.She has left that hospital ina tight legal position....bc.....I audiotaped. So...that hospitals atty....is going to have to explain to the judge/jury ......"well....yes....she was lying when she said that...but now she is telling the truth.......yeah...we know she lied about what day this alledgedly occurred on.....but please believe me now....shes telling the truth". Sunstreak....my family and I lost my retirement, benefits etc...all bc......I was "mugged"....so...even though I have "moved on"...people and facilities have to learn for every action there is a reaction...and we all must answer for our actions.While some hc facilities may have made nurses go straight to work without orientation..it is not safe.Only "questionable" nurses would be willing to accept a position with no orientation...thats kinda like playing russian roulette with your nsg liscence....and if you accept a position with no orientation....then my friend... in the game of management "tag" you will always be "it"...you will be their scapegoat.And...in regards to endangering patients in a icu ....there is no excuse for it.I hope you have taken additional malpratice insurance out....bc...unless you are "just talking" ( said jokingly ) you will eventually need it( said seriously).We all have to answer for our inactions and actions.Nsg isnt a job...like fast food.....you deal with sick people....and if you dont have a strong ethical and moral "core"...then you dont belong in a ICU.BC..if ya want a job....where you are not "accountable"...go to work at mcdonalds. Nurses can now be charged criminally for their inactions and actions....manslaughter....negligent homicide. Dont let someone force ya into a job with no orientation. It doesnt make you "superman" bc you can function one day without a sentinel event in a job with no orientation...it just makes you reckless with your liscence and a liability issue....you worked too hard 4 that!

[TsunamiKim]

I was incredulous when my Hospital got away with cheating, lying and fraud, but they did. Those Government agencies, accreditation organizations and advocacy groups all fell for those shallow lies, hook line and sinker. They never even questioned weather “the Best Hospital in America “ was telling the truth; they just had to be, right. Then there was the Union that took 8months to get hold of solicited letters of accusation while I went to hearings completely ignorant of the actual charges against me. They couldn’t even gain access to my pay files, let alone anything from my personal files, so I was fighting blind, terrific Union. Meanwhile EEOC and other agencies could view all these fake documents behind my back that I was excluded access to. I was so thrilled to have a Union, not quite.
Our great Union had negotiated the minimal increment of pay increase while signing off on allowing the Hospital to pay off Vacation time at 50% if someone was fired. This proved a really great incentive to fire an employee just before they were due to go on Holiday; I was fired just three days before a scheduled Christmas vacation. That little “benefit package” care of my Union cost me an extra $1200 when I was fired; that, after two weeks forced time off that the Union did nothing about. The Hospital had made a total mess of my pay files and still owed me money when I was fired, but we just kissed that money goodbye, thank you Union!
On several occasions I asked my Union if I was going into binding or a non binding Arbitration, they said it was not binding. They totally misled me and I did not discover that I had been in binding Arbitration until over a year after the hearing. My Union Lawyer obviously did not bother to read anything I presented to him in writing or he might have let me know this crucial fact. This Lawyer told me exactly what I could and couldn’t say at my hearing, leading me to feel I was entering into the Hearing “bound and gagged.” The major thrust of his totally incompetent defense was the astounding premise that “the very bad thing that I did, was not really so bad.”
When the Director of Surgical Nursing very obviously told blatant lies under oath concocting a harrowing tale of an incident that simply never took place, he never even bothered calling the witnesses who would have refuted her testimony and proved that this top level Manager was deliberately lying under oath to persecute a subordinate. This was very important catching them in a very obvious lie, not just a mistake about the date, a vindictive fabrication in their testimony. Did it help? No, because even my own Lawyer sold me down the river. Big, powerful Hospital’s have money, they have power and they can buy any kind of truth or untruth they want.
I would have handled the Arbitration 300 times better without the interference of the Union and their incompetent and unethical Lawyer. Contrary to all of my written statements their Lawyer put my guilt in writing no less than three times in his summation which he then withheld from me for over a year until the ruling against me was final. It would have taken an act of God to win against those odds, so of course I lost. The Union Lawyer’s conduct was so appallingly negligent that it bordered on downright unethical behavior. My Hospital must have loved that guy and it is difficult to believe he did not represent them rather than me. I was even contemplating making a complaint to the bar association, because he had failed to inform me of the binding Arbitration and his putting my guilt in writing so that I lost my case. However by this time I was desperately scrambling to keep my house and nearing the end of my resources. Within a few months I left the United States broken and destitute.
After this experience no one can convince me that America actually has a justice system. The moral of the story is, do not assume that because you are in the right you will prevail, I doubt it. Do not assume that because they have nothing to charge you with, you are OK; no, they will make it up. Do not assume that if they try to concoct lies they will be caught out by their inconsistencies; no, HR, Compliance Lines, Risk Management, outside agencies, even the Nursing Board, you name it, they will all bend over backwards to make it all go away for your Hospital. They never really want to investigate patient safety concerns; while they offer a smokescreen of respectability, their whole existence is a complete sham. You will be left totally decimated, collateral damage, they have no mercy; what is one wrecked life compared with upholding their precious reputation. That’s what I faced, I only hope you fare better.
I am sorry if this sounds so negative it has been another devastating day for me here. I have been fighting against the odds to complete the NIFA program to become a First Surgical assist, but the odds against me are almost insurmountable. My Books are left with my ex-husband in Massachusetts, the replacement for my ailing, failing laptop is in Maryland. I am trying to negotiate use of the medical library at my local Hospital, but I am not an NHS employee and at it will cost me. I cannot work in a UK Hospital and I am now subsisting on unemployment. I cannot do any clinical time in a UK OR as the job categories are different here.
I did some of my clinical time in the OR of Cut Nyak Dhien Hospital while serving as a volunteer out in Aceh Province Indonesia as a medical volunteer following the tsunami; I was there for 6months. The trouble is my documentation was not complete before I left and I have failed in my attempts to contacting the Surgeon I worked under at the Meulaboh Hospital since I left. Getting word to him in a combat zone where there is no mail, no phone and the best contact is e-mail at the PACTEC tent in the UN Compound is challenging to say the least.
I want to go back out to Aceh to complete an ambitious project I began while I was there, but no NGO will take me on with my background of being fired and the suspicious gap in my employment record. This is why the efforts to clear my name are so important to me as the past still threatens to sabotage my future even as an NGO volunteer. I am looking into getting myself back out there at my own expense if I have to as I can at least continue my OR clinicals while I resume my humanitarian work; it beats living on unemployment. I hear some NGO people talking about how they are trying to find ways to squander the donated tsunami money, while my zero credibility stops me from obtaining funding for an emergency preparedness plan that is vital to the people of Meulaboh. I feel so despondent.
I have missed an important deadline with my NIFA program and I will now have to reenroll. However, I do not have the money to even contemplate such an expense anytime soon, so I am probably out of the program for good. As I said this was not a good day for me. I dread this time of year now as I must relive the gut wrenching memories of my public humiliation at dismissal and the ultimate loss of my home in the US; it all went down over Christmas. I can really empathize with the tsunami victims as I know how it feels to loose everything you hold dear, at least I have my family. I had hoped that with the advanced qualification I might move past the damage to my career, but that looks remote now.
Be so careful in your dealings with your Hospital, they will probably fight a long and dirty fight as they do not care if you loose your reputation and your livelihood. Be very well prepared for the tough fight ahead,

Fair Winds & Following Seas, TsunamiKim.