Manic and Addicted Nurse Manager

[erroridiot]

Help!

My nurse manager (a new job) is manic, passive-aggressive and spent the entire morning on the phone yelling with loud, pressured speech at her Dr. office demanding Xanax and stating that she is not a substance abuser and they have insulted her over and over and over. This included yelling in the office that her son is in jail for substance abuse, etc., etc.

She is totally out of control and even threw an assessment I was working on in the garbage can.

Unfortunately, she is also has many other problems.

She is a terrible bully and has made it impossible for me to do my job.

There have been several incidents of patient issues being neglected due to her illness.

She needs to be reported to the impaired nursing program and I am too weak to report her.

All suggestions will be appreciated.

[Emergency RN]

Forgive me, but I get the distinct message that keeping your employment for as long as you can get the check is probably a bit more important than either covering up a legal (possibly criminal) mess or correcting the crooked path of your DON, am I right? If so, then keep your mouth shut, make sure that your name is not on anything important, and quietly look for another job. Once you're in a new job, you have two options:

(1) Photocopy all the evidence you're collected and send one to each with a short cover letter to:

1. Board of Nursing

2. Better Business

3. Your local Newspaper & Television Station

4. Your city councilman, local congressman & state senator

5. Local and federal law enforcement

Then consider doing the following; if they receive any money from the federal government, apply for recognition and protection as a whistle blower; find yourself a good lawyer; apply for a carry permit, then let the chips fall where they may.

...Or,

(2) Do nothing and get on with your own life.

Either way, I wish you well, and good luck. The moral is, if you're going to do something, come out with both barrels and without hesitation, go straight for the throat and be ready for anything. Otherwise, protect yourself, wipe your prints and leave as soon as possible. Nursing sure ain't what it used to be.

[caliotter3]

Any way you look at it, you need to get very proactive about finding another job.

[leslie :-D]

op, why are you so focused on the impaired program versus reporting her to the bon?

and why did they offer you the DON position, if they love her so much?

and how come you won't discuss your concerns with the owners?

isn't that what they hired you for?

were you hired as a temp or permanent?

did they share their expectations with you when you were interviewed...

that you were expected to turn it around before/by survey time?

some things just aren't adding up.

wishing you the best.

leslie

[erroridiot]

op, why are you so focused on the impaired program versus reporting her to the bon?

and why did they offer you the DON position, if they love her so much?

and how come you won't discuss your concerns with the owners?

isn't that what they hired you for?

were you hired as a temp or permanent?

did they share their expectations with you when you were interviewed...

that you were expected to turn it around before/by survey time?

some things just aren't adding up.

wishing you the best.

leslie

They said that she was going to retire. I have this in writing.

They lie when their lips move. One of the owners was or is a lawyer.

The impaired professional program would send the case to the BON if needed or in the case of noncompliance. This would be a chance for recovery and I believe in that. The BON could go through some punitive process and the substance abuse and or mental illness would remain untreated.

I was hired as permanent. I was not aware of the severity of the problems at the agency when I was hired. I will cut the owners a little bit of slack here and say that they may not have been aware of the severity of the problems.

The expectations popped up after I was there for a week or two at the daily meeting they let me know that I am responsible to clean up the mess by a certain date. That was like a termination notice right there. That is how severe the problems are. I did not make the mess and I can not fix it by the date they gave me, if ever.

They denied any impending survey during the interview. Basically, they were not honest about what I would be facing.

thanks for helping me to see this from some different angles

[Up2nogood RN, RN]

Well since you accepted this job to 'clean' up I would think that ethically it's your duty to do what's right. It seems like quite a predicament but I would report your findings to the owners or she'll take you down with her. Either way I'd look for another job ASAP, doesn't sound like a great company to work for.

[E.R. Rookie]

Think of the patients.

Def look for another job.

Suggest to her she use something other than Xanax, its obviously not working.

Joking aside I am sorry your going through this it must be very stressful.

[Carrie_D]

I've worked for some people with severe mental health issues (not nurses) before. If you truly believe that you will be fired eventually anyway, then my advice is to take a deep breath, organize your findings, take notes, and when you have a critical mass of information, etc., then push back, HARD.

I think the DON is bluffing you. If the people above her are too spineless to get rid of her, as you say, then they will more than likely also turn on her, IF you present clear, overwhelming and powerful evidence. My guess (based only on what you've written) is that the people above her would love YOU to make a strong case so that they can do what they want to do - get rid of her.

I would reconsider the strong position you believe the DON to be in. I think it's at least 50% talk, if not more.

When I've been in this situation (and it's been several times), I considered it a lesson in how to teach people how to treat me. It was valuable knowledge, even though it was not at all fair, and was a harrowing experience each time.

Sometimes, it really is a dog eat dog world.

Good luck!!:loveya:

[meluhn]

agency originally offered me her job and stated that she is "retiring". I turned it down I am not necessarily weak, but I am in a weak position. I have the notes and they are doozies. This person is the DON and I am the next in line. I have only worked there a short time, and was brought in to "clean up" a terrible mess. I have found things that put the agency in a bad position. The owners of the n because I do not want to be a DON.

Maybe becoming the DON is the only way to get rid of her and still keep your job. They can't be that in love with her if they offered you her job. If the place is a mess already and they have a crazy person running it, then you can only go up from there.

[MedSurgeMess]

I'm only wondering here, but if it can be proven that you know all of these things about her and the powers that be (BON, SBH) get wind of that, are you just as culpable? Could you lose your license as well? I've seen this happen about 4 years ago at a local LTC, and the ADON hadn't personally done anything wrong, but they didn't report the DON who was doing things. Don't let yourself be there. Check your state BON to see what your culpability/liability is and make sure to CYA and do what you need to. A little "anonymous" tip the press wouldn't hurt either!

[erroridiot]

I'm only wondering here, but if it can be proven that you know all of these things about her and the powers that be (BON, SBH) get wind of that, are you just as culpable? Could you lose your license as well? I've seen this happen about 4 years ago at a local LTC, and the ADON hadn't personally done anything wrong, but they didn't report the DON who was doing things. Don't let yourself be there. Check your state BON to see what your culpability/liability is and make sure to CYA and do what you need to. A little "anonymous" tip the press wouldn't hurt either!

The best way to cover my a** is to get out of there ASAP.

They are making me work 7 days a week with impossible deadlines.

You could be right. I have no official title of ADON. I carry a "supervisor" title attached to me last week when I was told to take call without pay. I am an hourly employee. They docked me for lunch breaks I did not get and are paying me less than agreed and "forgot" to provide the health benefits agreed on when I accepted the job.

I will check into this if I can. I believe it would depend on what the problem may be.

thanks

[erroridiot]

Well since you accepted this job to 'clean' up I would think that ethically it's your duty to do what's right. It seems like quite a predicament but I would report your findings to the owners or she'll take you down with her. Either way I'd look for another job ASAP, doesn't sound like a great company to work for.

I am looking for another job, but things are very bleak in this area.

I did not know I was about the big mess they were in or the pending "survey" until I had been there for a week or two.

Ethically, I do not have one bit of duty to clean up this horrifying mess (created by an addicted manic) under these circumstances, especially when it would take three or four of me working mass amounts of overtime to do it. They have me working 7 days a week with no breaks and impossible deadlines.

thanks

[erroridiot]

Maybe becoming the DON is the only way to get rid of her and still keep your job. They can't be that in love with her if they offered you her job. If the place is a mess already and they have a crazy person running it, then you can only go up from there.

This could be a temporary fix. However, if they dump one, they will dump another and another. That is how it works these days. Another consideration is that it may be contagious. If I become DON, I might go manic and start screaming for Xanax while I throw assessments in the trash. I might even turn into a nasty bully.

Becoming DON at this place is not an option.

I am ashamed to say that I am working there and it is not a viable agency.

The owners are already talking about opening another agency. When one gets shut down, they just move it to another location.