Minor things people get fired/wrote up over,,,give examples.

virgo,student nurse, CNA · Jun 16, 2011

My coworker whom is a CNA, got yelled at for not closing the door and or the privacy curtain when changing/putting resident to bed after lunch. Another CNA got in trouble for giving a resident a snack in the middle of the hallway. Must be something going on, I am glad I work once a month.

AngelicDarkness · Jun 16, 2011

LTC:

*seen an RPN written up for giving eye gtts in the hallway

Hospital:

*My preceptor got a talking to because I had to cut open a gown, and then I threw it out (2 IVs on from OR and I needed to change the gown)

*RN written up for "too many sick days" - she had a Dr's note.

rjflyn, ASN, RN · Jun 16, 2011

Well in the first posters instance thats a valid reason for a write up, RT should not be giving medications outside their scope. In the second instance well people get consoled all the time for minor things. Beyond that problem employees, ones who have a consistent track record of issues one might find even a minor issue to "write them up" over as long as it can be further documented per a facilities policies in order to move them along the continuum towards termination.

To reply to Angelic's post- most places have attendance policies that are cut and dried, drs note or no. I know mine give you so many days before you get a verbal and then written action- with policies in place for long term illness- this being more than 3 shifts of work.

EmergencyNrse · Jun 16, 2011

Giving a co-worker a Motrin or Tylenol from their bag.

Even though it's OTC medication brought from home

they were "dispensing" medication w/o a doctor's order.

caliotter3 · Jun 16, 2011

Getting called in to find out they are being laid off when there were clearly employees who deserved to be fired long before the layoffs were announced. Many employees talked about this one.

DroogieRN · Jun 16, 2011

... Also, someone told me to never do vitals out in the hallway where everyone can see due to privacy. It would be easy to get tricked into or pressured into doing stuff like that.
What are some other things that one may find minor or even tricked into that you can get in trouble for?
Thanks to anyone who post!

Eek. :confused: A few months ago, I had a patient who was a regular and a favorite, a chronic CHF-er, who stood by me in the hallway anytime I sat down to chart. He was mentally challenged and loved by the entire staff, and this particular evening, he was so upset and agitated because he wanted to go home and sleep in his own bed... He said he was afraid he was going to die there in the hospital. He didn't want to go back into his room and so I took his BP, etc., right there in the hall, while I was talking to him and trying to calm him down. I'd been a nurse less than a year and I never dreamed it was something I could get in trouble over. I'm so glad, though, that I didn't contribute to his distress. He died early the next morning. :crying2:

That said, I've seen folks fired over seemingly silly, minor things and then others not get fired over things that seemed huge to me (screaming profanity at the nurse's station, receiving multiple patient complaints, fist-fighting in a patients' room :eek: ...) I think it has a lot to do with hospital politics.

AngelicDarkness · Jun 16, 2011

To reply to Angelic's post- most places have attendance policies that are cut and dried, drs note or no. I know mine give you so many days before you get a verbal and then written action- with policies in place for long term illness- this being more than 3 shifts of work.

The nurse I had mentioned worked 2 jobs. One at the facility I work, and one at another facility. The other facility let her go. She still has employment at the facility I work at. The DON said the virus was specific enough and rare enough that with her Dr note she was allowed the week off to recover.

I know attendance policies can be cut and dry, but where do management draw the line? My DOC was admitted to a hospital for 3 weeks. She still had her job waiting when she came back. (Can't remember why she was admitted. 30 years old and complications with diabetes I think).

SeeTheMoon · Jun 16, 2011

Giving a co-worker a Motrin or Tylenol from their bag.
Even though it's OTC medication brought from home
they were "dispensing" medication w/o a doctor's order.

Good Grief.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2011

It seems to me, about 99% of time, when someone is fired for a "minor" offense, there is a lot more to the story than what that person reveals. Some examples:

1. A former coworker said to me "yeah, and they fired me for attendance right after I had been in the hosptial for 3 days with abnormall large ["female"] bleeding." Heard from another friend who I used to work with at this facility: since I had left this person who was fired called off many, many times and gave no doctors' notes, etc. She was put on a "zero tolerace" policy for her call-offs. Even though her last call off was a "real" one, she violated the policy she agreed to follow.

2. A coworker was fired after she made a rude comment to a fellow nurse. This fellow nurse said "It is really warm in here...I'm sweating like crazy." The soon-to-be fired coworker said (basically in jest) "yeah, I wasn't going to say anything, but you really do smell bad." The nurse who made the first comment went to HR. Other nurse was fired. Rude comment, but probably not an offense over which someone would get fired. Well, as it turns out, this nurse had several run-ins with coworkers before, and had been taken to HR over those incidents. She also was on a zero tolerance policy. People looking just at this one situation thought it was totally unfair for her to be let go. Those of us who knew the situation were not suprised (and not sorry) that she was let go.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Anyway, tough to judge these situation without knowing the entire backstory.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Jun 16, 2011

I got written up for giving someone a snack in the hallway. She did not want to stay in her room because her and her roommate were not getting along so she scooted out into the doorway with her cookies and someone from admin walked by and wasted their time finding out who committed this egregious offense. I still think I only got written up because they were worried about the possibility of crumbs on the carpet. :nono:

gettingbsn2msn, MSN, RN · Jun 16, 2011

I was fired last month due to charting an assessment at 2245 instead of after 2300. I work 12 hour shifts and assessments are to be completed q 8 hours.

I had never been late. I had been out sick x2 (with doc note) in 3 years. However, other nurses are kept on who have failed to show for a shift. We had nurses that called out sick all the time (I know because I usually came in to work for them!)

I just got back from the labor department as my unemployment was DENIED by the hospital.

I filed for a reversal and have to go before a tribunal (hospital and state labor board) in a few weeks. I was given the choice of a tribunal phone or in person. I asked for the in person as I want to face these people. I have not found a job yet. They had initially put me as a rehire. Also stated that I resigned.

As soon as I filed unemloyment they sent me a letter ASAP that I was fired. Also said that I broke policy by not assessing patients. Now I worry that they will give me a bad reference for a new job. I am probably going to travel nurse. I do not want to get attached to coworkers again. I moved here for this job 3 years ago to get experience. I got a call from an agency today.