[hipab4hands]

I've filed 2 complaints with our Union, because of unsafe patient care. I went through the chain of command as directed and was blown off by upper management.
2 days after filing the complaint, I was told by upper management that I was going to be transferred out of the unit. I was told that it was becuase of a work related illness that had been going on for almost 6 months.
I know that it was from filing the complaints and my work related illness has nothing to do with it.

[GLORIAmunchkin72]

They wanted you to shut up and look the other way. How sad...

Originally Posted by TNNURSE

Hi,
I am looking for some insight into retaliation acts by employers.I am a RN in a ICU setting at a major teaching hospital.I have been a resource to my entire unit.I received a promotion only weeks ago.I received a email from my unit manager only hours before she fired me "thanking me" for my dedication to the new nursing staff. I have never been written up, never a verbal warning.My evaluations have been excellent in all my years at this hospital. Until this past month....
I voiced my concerns over some incompetency acts performed by a coworker-nurse. These were acts that were not merely mistakes...they were acts that could have resulted in patient death. I tried to set a meeting with my nurse manager to discuss this nurses incompetent level of function...and I was met with a date to come in for a termination meeting...mine!
This nurse was the nurse managers best friend and recently was her assistant manager.She had done office work for years and had not taken care of any actual patient in years. When she opted to go back into staffing she "refused " to "accept" any orientation....and so she was left to learn by trial and error.In a ICU setting...thats just wrong!Othernurses had complained to the nurse manager to no avail...but I am a lil different.I have a history of being a strong patient advocate and I had told the nurse who was functioning incompetently that I was left with no choice but to go to our risk management dept re: her unsafe pratices.Hours later....I was "fired" for an alledged documentation error. This same kind of documentation error has resulted in no disciplinary action for other employees.Secondly ...my chart had been altered after I left...so I actually never had a documentation error.I dont know what to do. I have been a model employee for years.I have asked for dispute resolution....but they keep postphoning the dispute resolution hearing. What actually happens in a dispute resolution hearing? Are they a sham?Do you have any advice? I feel like I have been incredibly niave.Like I should have seenit coming...but didnt.
Any advice/insights on what to do?

[TNNURSE]

Why would I tell her? BC...its the correct thing to do.If you attempt to try to work thru a problem with a coworker.....and the 2 of you cant resolve your differences.Then you be adult and professional about the situation and let that person know what recourse you plan to seek.I wasnt underhanded about the situation.I was upfront.BC ,...as bad as I hate to admit it...the facility really set this nurse up for failure by not mandating she be actually oriented to her new position.So...I didnt do any "sneaking behind anyones back" etc etc.I dont play that game. I am honest, upfront and professional....but not least nor last,.. I am a very very verbal patient safety advocate.Good luck in nsg school!
There are certain things you learn over the years as a nurse.The biggest thing is to know your professional boundaries.What you can accept and can not accept ethically/ morally as a nurse. I call it my mirror test.If I can look myself in the eye and be "ok" WITH WHAT I did / did not do in a situation then it is worth it. If I had of not said anything...I wouldhave failed my mirror test.Thats why they teach you in nsg school ...that before dealing with anyone elses culture / beliefs you have to have a firm grasp of what "YOU" believe.I could not have "NOT" told her...it wouldnt have been the correct ethical thing to do.

[Lisa CCU RN]

Originally Posted by TNNURSE

Why would I tell her? BC...its the correct thing to do.If you attempt to try to work thru a problem with a coworker.....and the 2 of you cant resolve your differences.Then you be adult and professional about the situation and let that person know what recourse you plan to seek.I wasnt underhanded about the situation.I was upfront.BC ,...as bad as I hate to admit it...the facility really set this nurse up for failure by not mandating she be actually oriented to her new position.So...I didnt do any "sneaking behind anyones back" etc etc.I dont play that game. I am honest, upfront and professional....but not least nor last,.. I am a very very verbal patient safety advocate.Good luck in nsg school!
There are certain things you learn over the years as a nurse.The biggest thing is to know your professional boundaries.What you can accept and can not accept ethically/ morally as a nurse. I call it my mirror test.If I can look myself in the eye and be "ok" WITH WHAT I did / did not do in a situation then it is worth it. If I had of not said anything...I wouldhave failed my mirror test.Thats why they teach you in nsg school ...that before dealing with anyone elses culture / beliefs you have to have a firm grasp of what "YOU" believe.I could not have "NOT" told her...it wouldnt have been the correct ethical thing to do.

The reason I ask is because I always thought when you had a situation where turning somone in could possibly cause problems it was best to remain anonomous. If she was all buddy-buddy with the manager, I would think it'd be best to talk to someone else other than her manager about her. They shouldn't have had best friends working under each other anyway.

[TNNURSE]

That is true.It is a conflict of interest to have your best friend in a position of where you supervise her. Thats a classic scenario for conflict of interest.WE have a chain of command you follow for grievances.IF the employee feels the problem is warranted...we can go directly to our risk management dept...but we still should inform the nurse manager of our actions bc...otherwise when risk management contacts her she will not know what the heck they are talking about and it will be blown off.I followed my hospitals conflict resolution policy.Did EXACTLY as I was taught in the hospitals conflict resolution class....followed their compliance and ethics policy to a "T"....and I was fired for that.I stand behind my decision....nurses should not be allowed to gain competency thru "trial and error"...bc.....this isnt some peice of equipment we are talking about.Its a person.Someones mother, father , brother, child. I saw what happens when there is an "error" for her to learn from.....and let me tell you....it wasnt pretty...and I dont think I will ever forget it...nomatter how long I am in nsg.These are people with lives, thoughts , memories, personalities....things that make them "so special" to their families. When you pratice by trial and error...you have violated that families trust.It is ethically , morally and legally wrong.

[CseMgr1]

The so-called "ethics" of the companies who own these health care facilities who allow termination for whistleblowing is a pathetic farce. Their motto should read: "Do as we say, and not as we do".

I hope the facility who terminated you gets turned every which way but loose by your attorney.

[panhandler]

I hope the facility who terminated you gets turned every which way but loose by your attorney.[/quote]

Poor TNNurse. You are living a nightmare! I am going to slip you some mental coffee.

Honey, I hear you, hundreds of miles away, in Florida. Ditto Ditto Ditto: A staff nurse in ICU - who chose to remain at the bedside. I got terminated a few weeks back, and reported to the BOH. I was given the axe just days after being lauded for accurate documentation, leadership, and excellence in my years of service (perfect attendance, great attitude etc.). The rest of the "herd" -- my coworkers -- froze in place. No one spoke up for me. There was no "dispute resolution," no rejoinder to the slanderous comments of a physician who killed a patient with his incompetence. There was no bargaining. Just fabrications on the part of my boss and her boss.

Over and over I ask myself, Why? The most proximal event (closest in time) was that I complained in an incident report that the physician was accusing me of lying, as a smokescreen to cover up facts a, b, c etc.

Of course, the style of the Axe-ecution would make Dilbert puke. I was told, "have a nice vacation." When I got back, there was no job.

Luckily, there are two other Old Nurses still working who report regularly on the spectacular turnover in the place (>70% annually). So far, it's been very quiet in the herd. The lions are still hungry, after all.

The Director Of Nurses put words in my mouth and fired me for "saying" them. An unsigned (by me) Personnel Report was filed to the State, re-stating the fabrications. How's THEM apples!

A toxic environment will not change by the actions of a single unarmed individual. Toxic environment knows what it is, singles out competence and gets rid of it to preserve its own existence: to whit:

"Oh there's such a high turnover here, we just keep the number real quiet!"
"Our recruiter just can't keep up with the demand!"

My immediate boss is supervising her dear best friend, who imitates her in every way: choice of pets, clothing, hair color and country of origin -- plus: cruises, house swapping and socializing together. The "teacher's pet" is not only a mule's arse, but likes to intimidate other staff -- to the point of angry tears. All, of course done when her Sugah Mamma is on a day off.

I bet you feel wrong and wronged, and have searched in the attic of your mind for any kind of off behavior on your part.

Does this help? You were working without body armor! You were a fool to trust anyone in a suit! They KNEW that other nurse wasn't doing her job, but they kept her there because they are in the habit of not doing THEIRS. Your complicity ("Silence") puts you into THEIR conspiricy.

You did the right thing. Take a bath. Go on. Learn from this.

I have engaged an attorney. It's expensive to defend my license. I will use my good sense in calculating how far it should go.... cost/benefit. I am an OLD nurse (58). I have the luxury of low overhead in my life. .. husband and sister feel I should not spend my savings to sue the hospital and physician for slander, because of the low dollar return. The lawyer wants to make money. Who has the money? The doctor. Who has even more money? The hospital. The hospital in question, part of a chain, has an annual budged for legal matters in the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. At any one time they are managing FOUR THOUSAND CASES a year. I am bringing all this to the table with the attorney, whose middle name is Pitbull...

Did you not know that for-profit medicine is a cess-pit of corporate politics? The patients are of least concern, if any. Professional nurses work this arena with the tools of law, truth, intelligence and science. There is no other real help. Unions? They got burned with our bras in the 60s, but remember, I am old. Old Nurse.

If we give the fox permission to "manage" the henhouse, he eats fresh chicken every night of the week. Nursing has not taken control of its own profession. As long as we are wide-eyed DEPENDENTS of the system rather than its OWNERS, nothing will change.

I accept that subservient position to obtain money and time off. I forgo my rights under the constitution of the USA to be an Employee in a For Profit Institution. The fact that I am a compassionate, ethical healer with talent, experience and education is thrown out the window by the bean-counting managers who control the purse strings of an institution. Anything else you may hear is just background music that was written-for-hire by other salaried slaves, who are neither compassionate, nor ethical, nor talented, nor experienced, nor educated!

I love to help and to heal. I hope this helps. I hope it heals.
In 35 years of bedside nursing, I have always wondered, who nurses the nurse?

[genhen]

First, just let me say that I am a first semester student in an RN program nearing the end of the first semester. We recently covered legal and ethical issues. I find your story fascinating on many points.

1. When I first started my first clinical rotation at a local nursing home, the manager of the nursing home has us watch a video. In this video, a deputy attorney general for the state of California informed us/me that it is my legal obligation as a nurse (student or RN) to inform the state and supervisor of any situations that go against the nurse practice acts. I/we could be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He personally said that he would go "after us". He also explained that the patient and the public needed to be protected from incompetance and errors in care that cause injury.

2. In my first semester, the point that a nurse is an advocate for the patient was repeatedly hammered to me. So much so that the students caused quite a stir when we did clinical rotation at a local hospital. Our instructor told us time and time again that hospital protocol must be followed for various issues. RN's were taking datascopes (vital sign machines) into patients with MRSA and then moving on to other patients with the same machine without disinfecting it. Some were using their own stethoscopes when protocol for MRSA patients was to use a disposible one. At first, we were like, "were just first semester students". But...patient advocacy, legal implications, and high MRSA rates at the hospital made us do something. One RN even was flippant about the dangers of spreading MRSA, paraphrase:"its way overblown and can't be spread that easily." We began informing our instructor, who began talking with the nurse manager of the floor. We didn't want to get anybody in trouble. We just wanted to provide the highest quality and safest care to the patients. One CNA started to come out of MRSA patient's room with a datascope without cleaning. I told her that she may not be aware of the protocol. I told her what it was. I told her that I would love to take care of disinfecting the machine for her. She thanked me.

3. With respect to wrongful termination, they must prove that they had followed the policy for termination protocol. In addition, this protocol must be one that is "reasonable and similar to other like institutions in the area."

It appears that this is a personal issue with the manager. It sickens me that your manager is not an advocate for patients. She is not even an advocate for the hospital. The hospital has lost a good RN for no reasonable reason. In addition, her friend endangered patients, staff, and the hospital with focus on appearance. She perhaps thought that reorientation was beneath her. "I put my time in and I should have to do it." How selfish and stupid. The vast majority of us would not have a problem with reorientation. Most would be mortified by not doing it. Technology and treatment change. My instructor had not been on a working floor for 3 years and she was amazed at the change in tech/Tx.

Please for the sake of all your fellow nurses and those looking up to you guys (student nurses), don't be afraid to seek legal counsel and pursue this. You are worth it and the profession needs to have this kind of crap removed.

Good upper management should take a look at the facts of this case and be disturbed.

With the RN shortage, a good upper management person will not tolerate this kind of stupid, selfish drama by lower manangement. Plus.....hospital attorneys will be livid at the possiblity of an unnecessary lawsuit.

I'm sitting here thinking....I can't believe I got so worked up over your story. It seems like I have not got so worked up about anything for a few years. I'm really liking the decision I made to become a nurse.

With the facts that I read, you are right. Don't back down but be professional. Don't get into the drama of all of it.

Peace
Genhen

[scampi710]

Dear TNNNURSE: I feel for you. I admire your tenacious ethic to patient advocacy and your unyielding honor. HAUNTED and PANHANDLER have given you the most valuable advice, inasmuch as nursing in TEXAS or anywhere in the SOUTH is a heartache for any of us who are committed to a truly high standard of practice.
I too am an old nurse (63 years old) and have been traveling for the better part of 15 years. I was in horrible situations in hospitals in FL. and TX. The "mission statements" of hospitals are for show; the corporate mentality that dominates has no inkling of what critical care and lifesaving encompasses. Their only interest is the bottom line and protecting the corporation. To maintain our professional standards of practice is only to burden ourselves with a load that drains our strength and resolve to remain professionally committed to those who entrust their care and their lives to us, our patients. I personally have gone over heads to literally save my patient's lives. However those events took place in facilities in which nurses were represented by unions (in the Northeast). HAUNTED is an agency nurse, without the protection of a union, but the prevailing mentality in California is one in which nurses stand united (look at how they effected the Schwarrzenager referendums). She is indeed a tuba-blower, one whose advice is priceless, if we practiced in a state in which RN's stood together and united. Unfortunately, given the human factor in all of us, there is always the human frailties of character flaws in individuals. What I have noticed in my old age is that we are divided, because of our humaness to believe that we are "professionals" and "beyond" needing the blue collar protection of union representation.
As long as we perpetually believe the type of insidious propaganda that appeals to our egos subliminally, and not see through the facade, we are doomed in our ethical tenaciousness to protect and heal our patients. Unfortuanately there will always be those who have compromised all of their honor and ethics like your nurse manager and her cohort. You are indeed generous to percieve the RN who accepted a critical care position on a learn as you go condition as one who was being "set up for failure" by the hierarchy. No, that RN was as devoid of ethics, standards, and patient safety as those in the corporate structure for allowing such an event to transpire.
I myself hope that you take the advice of HAUNTED, but that is anathema to the prevailing mentality in Texas. Inasmuch as I know that is difficult for you, I hope that you indeed find a "pitbull" attorney, for no other type of representation will begin to chip away at the arrogance of those who protect a corrupt system.
In the meantime, salve yourself with the healing advice of PANHANDLER.
Your sister in nursing, Scampi710

[Lisa CCU RN]

Originally Posted by genhen

First, just let me say that I am a first semester student in an RN program nearing the end of the first semester. We recently covered legal and ethical issues. I find your story fascinating on many points.

1. When I first started my first clinical rotation at a local nursing home, the manager of the nursing home has us watch a video. In this video, a deputy attorney general for the state of California informed us/me that it is my legal obligation as a nurse (student or RN) to inform the state and supervisor of any situations that go against the nurse practice acts. I/we could be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He personally said that he would go "after us". He also explained that the patient and the public needed to be protected from incompetance and errors in care that cause injury.

2. In my first semester, the point that a nurse is an advocate for the patient was repeatedly hammered to me. So much so that the students caused quite a stir when we did clinical rotation at a local hospital. Our instructor told us time and time again that hospital protocol must be followed for various issues. RN's were taking datascopes (vital sign machines) into patients with MRSA and then moving on to other patients with the same machine without disinfecting it. Some were using their own stethoscopes when protocol for MRSA patients was to use a disposible one. At first, we were like, "were just first semester students". But...patient advocacy, legal implications, and high MRSA rates at the hospital made us do something. One RN even was flippant about the dangers of spreading MRSA, paraphrase:"its way overblown and can't be spread that easily." We began informing our instructor, who began talking with the nurse manager of the floor. We didn't want to get anybody in trouble. We just wanted to provide the highest quality and safest care to the patients. One CNA started to come out of MRSA patient's room with a datascope without cleaning. I told her that she may not be aware of the protocol. I told her what it was. I told her that I would love to take care of disinfecting the machine for her. She thanked me.

3. With respect to wrongful termination, they must prove that they had followed the policy for termination protocol. In addition, this protocol must be one that is "reasonable and similar to other like institutions in the area."

It appears that this is a personal issue with the manager. It sickens me that your manager is not an advocate for patients. She is not even an advocate for the hospital. The hospital has lost a good RN for no reasonable reason. In addition, her friend endangered patients, staff, and the hospital with focus on appearance. She perhaps thought that reorientation was beneath her. "I put my time in and I should have to do it." How selfish and stupid. The vast majority of us would not have a problem with reorientation. Most would be mortified by not doing it. Technology and treatment change. My instructor had not been on a working floor for 3 years and she was amazed at the change in tech/Tx.

Please for the sake of all your fellow nurses and those looking up to you guys (student nurses), don't be afraid to seek legal counsel and pursue this. You are worth it and the profession needs to have this kind of crap removed.

Good upper management should take a look at the facts of this case and be disturbed.

With the RN shortage, a good upper management person will not tolerate this kind of stupid, selfish drama by lower manangement. Plus.....hospital attorneys will be livid at the possiblity of an unnecessary lawsuit.

I'm sitting here thinking....I can't believe I got so worked up over your story. It seems like I have not got so worked up about anything for a few years. I'm really liking the decision I made to become a nurse.

With the facts that I read, you are right. Don't back down but be professional. Don't get into the drama of all of it.

Peace
Genhen

This may be small, but I have noticed that in school you learn this rule and that rule for patient care (I'm talking about CNA's) but as soon as I got on the floor, it was a whole nother story. My very first, experience with this was when I was to shadow another CNA. This woman ran one pan of water and proceeded to wash the entire hall with one pan! I think, she may have changed wash clothes, but that doesn't make any difference does it? Back on topic, at my job at a nursing home, we had a patient on isolation and as we learned in classes, you are supposed to use paper plates and throw them away inside the room for these kinds of patients. When I mentioned this to the nurse, her response was he has an infected wound and that's why he was on isolation. Is that even right? I also had to take is vital signs and she said to just use the regular tools to take them. Procedure is hardly ever followed in nursing homes. I'm sad to see it's no different in hospitals. Why have rules if you aren't going to follow them?