I got my coworker fired

flygirl43 · Oct 15, 2009

let's be all warm and lovey...let's forgive and forget....otherwise this person is going to have to pay the price "on the other side" Hope your career doesn't turn out like mine! Reap:Sow. Love the way you go! Good luck bud...thinkin of you!!!

nursern1966 · Oct 15, 2009

let's be all warm and lovey...let's forgive and forget....otherwise this person is going to have to pay the price "on the other side" Hope your career doesn't turn out like mine! Reap:Sow. Love the way you go! Good luck bud...thinkin of you!!!

friendliness is the best route i agree

NurseBanana · Oct 15, 2009

Cursing, talking sexually explicit, and just generally acting immature in front of patients and family members. She was embarrassing to be around.

Wow. What an idiot. Good for you, I say!

Sparkklzz · Oct 16, 2009

There are many different ways to respond, depending on their behaviour. Since I do not know exactly what went on, I can only say that focusing on behaviour rather than a number of other important questions has me puzzled. One of the most important being: Was this coworker good at their job and good to their patients? If this person provided the right patient care despite their offending (assuming it was not abuse or neglect) behaviour than you may just have to congradulate yourself for the loss of a beneficial staff member. People have different personalities, some times these clash with mine but at the end of the day I measure them on their patient care and whether they are of benefit to the patient, not whether I want to gab with them or tell them off. That's just my opinion and what I think really counts.

rngolfer53 · Oct 16, 2009

I reported a coworker for her inappropriate behavior as a nurse. I expected her to maybe get suspended for a few days. When I went to work I found out the she was no longer an employee. I hate confrontation in general so it is making me very uncomfortable to have been in this situation.

Your duty is to report inappropriate behavior, not decide the consequences. You don't know if others have reported similar problems, which would likely be a factor in getting someone fired vs. suspended, etc.

So long as you acted in good faith, and had genuine knowledge of detrimental behavior, then you did your duty.

Granted, the former co-worker may see it differently--few of us readily see our faults in full--and you should take reasonable steps to protect yourself from retaliation.

rngolfer53 · Oct 16, 2009

Sounds to me like this nurse may have needed some stress outlets/couselling, not a report and dismissal. In fact, the focus on immature behaviour makes me wonder if the more important question was considered, as in: Was this coworder good at their job and good to their patients? I'm not saying that acting immature in front of a patient is acceptable, but seriously... If this person provided the right patient care despite their immaturity, than I think you might have to congradulate yourself for the loss of a good collegue when the chips are down for something as petty as "embaressment".

Treating patients/families/coworkers with appropriate dignity is of the essence of nursing and being good to patients.

It wasn't the OP's task or obligation to determine what the co-worker needed. The OP acted appropriately, from what the record shows here, in bringing to the attention of managers behavior that is detrimental to good Pt care and good interactions with staff.

rngolfer53 · Oct 16, 2009

I emailed one of my team leaders about a coworker who was talking in patient care areas about very sexually explicit topics. It made me uncomfortable but I was mainly concerned about the patients (pedi) and their parents. All I asked was that she talk to him about it and remind him to not have conversations like that in patient care areas. Next thing I know, I'm being interviewed by HR and my manager. The HR person stated that the facility did not condone this type of harassment. Honestly, I didn't know that qualified as harassment. He did end up being terminated. One part of me felt guilty but the other part of me hoped that he learned from the situation. He had a history of talking about sexually explicit topics and I heard from others that they were uncomfortable. My motivating factor was the patients overhearing it. So, long story short, try not to feel guilty. Sometimes people just need a reminder about what is appropriate behavior. Hopefully she'll learn and will be successful in her next job.

Like it or not, in today's legal climate ignoring or downplaying sexually-charged conversations, etc in the workplace can open the institution, the managers, and fellow employees to lawsuits and liability.

Not to speak of how Pts and families feel about it, if they're um, exposed to it.