[TrudyRN]

Wow, you guys have a lot of gumption. I pray that all turns out right in the end and that the end isn't too long in coming. I used to be more of a fighter than I am presently. I'm embarrassed to say that I realize now that I have pretty much given up fighting. I must be getting lazy in my old days.

[pickledpepperRN]

If you are in California your attorney probably has this. If not it is the Burton Whistleblower anti retaliation law. Thousands of us nurses wrote letters to get this passed in 1999.

I just posted the first paragraphs of the law here.

Try this link - WAIS Document Retrieval
If that doesn’t work check “Health and Safety Code” and type Section 1278 to find it here - Find California Code or here - Bill List

CALIFORNIA CODES
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 1278.5. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is the
public policy of the State of California to encourage patients,
nurses, and other health care workers to notify government entities
of suspected unsafe patient care and conditions. The Legislature
encourages this reporting in order to protect patients and in order
to assist those government entities charged with ensuring that health
care is safe.

The Legislature finds and declares that whistleblower
protections apply primarily to issues relating to the care,
services, and conditions of a facility and are not intended to
conflict with existing provisions in state and federal law relating
to employee and employer relations.

(b) (1) No health facility shall discriminate or retaliate in any
manner against any patient or employee of the health facility because
that patient or employee, or any other person, has presented a
grievance or complaint, or has initiated or cooperated in any
investigation or proceeding of any governmental entity, relating to
the care, services, or conditions of that facility.
(2) A health facility that violates this section shall be subject
to a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000). The civil penalty shall be assessed and recovered through
the same administrative process set forth in Chapter 2.4 (commencing
with Section 1417) for long-term health care facilities....

[TNNURSE]

Hi...just giving you guys another update. spacenurse...my attorney is using the exception to public policy as one of his leverages. But....honestly guys...I finally got a long hard look at the "alledged" areas they claim is my writing.....and it is clearly a forgery.The incompetent practitioner who was practicing incompetently and committed an act that resulted in a sentinel event/death to a patient.....also went on to not only forge stuff under my name ...but also forged stuff under another persons name too.In their investigation at the hospital the investigators kept writng that my "story" was the only persons story who was consistent. The other 2 kept giving stories that varied each time they told it. They couldnt even agree on what day of the week they wanted to "lie" about....couldnt agree on times......one described signing a document as a witness that in no way resembled what the document looks like....then upon closer inspection.....it appears that the "incompetent practitioner" not only forged stuff under my name .....but also forged her "witnesses" name and initials too.And me.....well guys my story doesnt vary....and never changes bc I....I am telling the truth. My grandma always used to say "oh what a tangeled web we weave when we practice to deceive"......I guess its too bad my incompetent practitioner ex-coworker didnt meet my grandma......bc now....that Healthcare facility has to answer legally for her illegal actions.
Me...I simply want that healthcare facility to acknowledge that nurses error and to act accordingly. I want them to acknowledge that the patient was a human being with worth...she was not a peice of disposable garbage. She...was a person...a mother of 3 young kids. The only chance that she had to live...was effectively removed by an act that violated the hospitals policies and the standards set forth by the BON.I want them to acknowledge that she...was a person.I want to leave a papaer trail for the next nurse that this hospital feels they can do this to...so that their legal recourse will be easier than mione...to show the habits of this hospital.That...is what I want.

[MagicAvalon]

It's been over a month and no one has posted on their progress. Any updates? There are quite a few lurkers out here that actually praise you for what you all are trying to accomplish. Have any of you heard back from the media, courts, NLRB or ? (Fingers Crossed !!) Thanks.

[ingelein]

Hi Magic Avalon, I dont know if you included me in that update, but in case you did, here goes, my case in still in the appeals process.It takes years to either win lose or settle these cases, if one has found other employment in the mean time, its ok, but if you have been blackballed, it can be devastating.

[panhandler]

The teeth have been extracted not only from unions, but from professional nursing associations in our country. This means that employers can screw nurses over and there is no recourse. Period. My advice: learn the warning signs of a TOXIC UNIT. Test early and often. GET OUT OF DODGE if they test positive, and KEEP IT LIGHT... Do a good job, keep skills current, and remember that ALL INSTUTUTIONS have the SAME CACA. I am VERY OLD now and this is the sum of my experience. No one is going to hold your hand through your career. No patient wants to be cared for by a nurse who is suffering from the institutional abuse that should be blatantly apparent to you after your first 6 weeks on any job. Make your own job. Make your own life. Somebody gives you caca, tell them to stop it. If they don't -- then you decide ON THE SPOT to keep taking it, or to move along. Pick your battles. Don't rely on your bosses for "strokes" to your ego. Nurses eat their young. It's that simple.

[ingelein]

Originally Posted by panhandler

The teeth have been extracted not only from unions, but from professional nursing associations in our country. This means that employers can screw nurses over and there is no recourse. Period. My advice: learn the warning signs of a TOXIC UNIT. Test early and often. GET OUT OF DODGE if they test positive, and KEEP IT LIGHT... Do a good job, keep skills current, and remember that ALL INSTUTUTIONS have the SAME CACA. I am VERY OLD now and this is the sum of my experience. No one is going to hold your hand through your career. No patient wants to be cared for by a nurse who is suffering from the institutional abuse that should be blatantly apparent to you after your first 6 weeks on any job. Make your own job. Make your own life. Somebody gives you caca, tell them to stop it. If they don't -- then you decide ON THE SPOT to keep taking it, or to move along. Pick your battles. Don't rely on your bosses for "strokes" to your ego. Nurses eat their young. It's that simple.

How does one explain all those different employers on your resume when applying for a new job? Running is nessessary sometimes, but what happens when there no longer is anywhere to run?I agree that the teeth have been removed from the very sources we look to for help. The only semblance of improvement in the nursing field seems to be in California with the state mandated nurse/patient ratios.Maybe they are on to something BIG.

[panhandler]

How does one explain all those different employers on your resume when applying for a new job?

HEY GIRL -- Who is writing the resume?

[gauge14iv]

ok - tongue totally in cheek here and no offense meant but...

it *IS* funny that someone who is encouraging others to just jump ship at the six week point and/or run from job to job has the screen name of "panhandler"

[panhandler]

well I DO take offense.
I am not encouraging people to "run from job to job" and I am not encouraging people to "jump ship." You missed the point I was trying to make, to encourage others to take an objective rather than a subjective view of employment. Cheap shot, miss gauge14.