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| No. 20 | 
Oct 05, 2008, 12:49 PM
 Re: Threatened to be Fired for "patient safety" issues.
This isn't going to be a popular opinion, but I'm posting it anyway.
You actually were not legally or morally obligated to tell your nurse manager that you were pregnant. The time to tell would have been if they started asking questions or you were asked to touch medications or deal with patients ie. MRSA that would have put you physically at risk.
Unless you had a specific problem with your pregnancy, I don't understand the purpose of the 25 lb weight restriction from the start. That is why she asked for a doctor's note. Many nurses work through their pregnancies up to the due date with no problem...so if you didn't mention a problem other than the fact you were pregnant, that is why she wanted a note from your doctor to quantify the reason for the restriction.
When you got into the accident and this same doctor put you on a 5lb weight limit....you started treading into water whether or not they could still reasonably accommodate you at all.
You would have to have assistance anytime you helped a patient with ambulation, you would put your patients at risk every time you entered a room because if something happened, you couldn't move them without assistance in order not to violate the weight restriction.
Once you informed your employer of the weight restriction, if they choose to continue your employment, they have to take responsibility.
So with all of that....in essence, you really were not able to work at all.
Legal or not, anytime you have a condition and/or illness that requires extensive accommodation as a brand new employee, you are always putting your head on the chopping block.
Whether it's right or not.
Union, will only get you so far, especially when you keep going to them over and over again.
If a company wants to find a legal reason to fire you, they will eventually find it.
 | | Advertisement Sponsored Links | | | | No. 22 |
Oct 05, 2008, 02:27 PM
Re: Threatened to be Fired for "patient safety" issues.
Hopefull has raised some valid points about the OP's situation.
It seems to me that this arose from a combination of questionable management practices coupled with the actions of a well-intended, but naive new nurse who is learning from her experiences. IMO, it would be in the best interests of both the OP and her employer to seek work elsewhere with a good reference in hand.
I wish you the best of health and much joy with your baby!
| | No. 23 |
Oct 05, 2008, 03:21 PM
Updated
Oct 05, 2008 at 03:40 PM by crimson and clover
Re: Threatened to be Fired for "patient safety" issues.
Hopefull2009, my NM didn't ask for a note restricting the weight lifting at the start. I told her I had one and once she told me that if I brought it in, I would have to look for other positions, I chose not to bring it in. A 25 pound weight lifting restriction seems to be the standard nowadays as far as pregnancy goes. As far as being rear-ended by another motorist and put on a 2 week restriction, well, there wasn't much I could do about that and accepted leave without pay until I was cleared of miscarriage precautions. I suppose I understand that as a new employee, having medical issues right away doesn't win me any friends, but at that same time- doesn't it say something about the management that holds it against me for the rest of employment? After I was cleared of the 2 week restriction, I was back on the floor, working very hard not to make mistakes, WITHOUT restrictions. So it was a total of 2 weeks that I couldn't lift more than 5 pounds, at which time I took leave without pay. I was not accomodated.
Alexk49- I am NOT a seasoned nurse and DID have a lot of learning to do. I knew that making mistakes was not an option for me because I was already on manager's bad side with the pregnancy, but unfortunately, I managed to make mistakes anyways (mostly procedural). 
But I DID have a positive 3 month review- after having made errors on orientation- so, what gives? I DID document my side to every story with the NM and once I caught on to the fact that I should have witnesses to my interactions with my NM, I started invoking my Weingarten rights. I guess I've never been in a work situation that was so complicated and where you really had to cover your butt constantly and be on the offensive. My NM HAS had a history of being unfair, hating the union, and playing favorites with employees. There are many documented grievances on her behavior- so I think she will get hers one of these days. Probably not in my time there, though.
Oh, by the way, our floor was half MRSA positive and I did have to ask occupational health about whether or not I should be working with these people and what my restrictions were. They wouldn't say anything and told me to go to my doc, which I did, and ended up with that 25 pound restriction and to avoid MRSA. Because I wanted to continue working, I never brought in the note and my NM and I pretended I was not on a restriction.
And again, as much as I would like to have been perfect, I think that is something to strive for, but I realize now, impossible. Even the best nurses make mistakes sometimes and I feel I have been judged much more for my mistakes than on the positives of my nursing practice. Granted, I mainly mentioned my mistakes here and so how is anyone supposed to know that my charting is impeccable, my bedside manner exceptional, and my ability to learn above average? How would anyone know that no matter how tired and stressed I was I kept going to that hostile environment day in and day out and never let on to my patients that anything was amiss?
And of course, as I say, I realize now that EVERYTHING has a procedure.
| | No. 24 |
Oct 05, 2008, 03:36 PM
Re: Threatened to be Fired for "patient safety" issues.
crimson, what gives is that from the beginning of your employment you had limitations on what you could do. You were largely a liability if you were being trained AND pregnant and therefore in need of special considerations regarding patient assignments.
I think your NM stinks, but you have to be a little more realistic about why she might have been mad. Again, she's a lousy manager, but you were a PITA employee from the beginning.
Cut your losses, make sure you get a reference, and hang out until the baby's a few months old. And say you left because YOU felt that your limitations were a hardship to your unit. You'll win friends on the interview if you take that attitude.
| | No. 25 |
Oct 05, 2008, 03:50 PM
Re: Threatened to be Fired for "patient safety" issues.
Well, as I said, my only documented limitation while I was there was during that 2 weeks. I DO understand why she would have it out for me since I started pregnant and then got into that MVA. It was a bad situation being my first nursing job and my first pregnancy because I really did not know what I could and couldn't do. Anyways, I can see why she wanted me gone from the start, and then I went to the union for advice a few times, made a few mistakes, and bam- she's trying to fire me. It is not a surprise to me at all. I knew this was coming, but I thought if I work hard to learn from mistakes, take criticism well, and be responsible- maybe I had a chance of overcoming that first few weeks.
Oh yes, and in the future, I would never again disclose a pregnancy until much later on! This job has been a real learning experience in what NOT to do.
| | No. 27 |
Oct 05, 2008, 04:09 PM
Re: Threatened to be Fired for "patient safety" issues. Originally Posted by crimson and clover  Well, as I said, my only documented limitation while I was there was during that 2 weeks. I DO understand why she would have it out for me since I started pregnant and then got into that MVA. It was a bad situation being my first nursing job and my first pregnancy because I really did not know what I could and couldn't do. Anyways, I can see why she wanted me gone from the start, and then I went to the union for advice a few times, made a few mistakes, and bam- she's trying to fire me. It is not a surprise to me at all. I knew this was coming, but I thought if I work hard to learn from mistakes, take criticism well, and be responsible- maybe I had a chance of overcoming that first few weeks.
Oh yes, and in the future, I would never again disclose a pregnancy until much later on! This job has been a real learning experience in what NOT to do.
The other piece of advice that I'll give you, is never go to the union unless your license or your job is at risk. It's all about picking your battles.
Once you go to the union (or human resources, if your hospital doesn't have a union), your head is on the chopping block from that day on with management.
Yes, it's not right. No, it's not fair. It's also not totally legal, b/c they are not supposed to retaliate against you if you make a complaint...but that is where they will watch you like a hawk and just wait for you to mess up, so they can start documenting like crazy and legally get rid of you.
I wasn't trying to defend the NM...just give you a heads up on what you can do differently. Maternity leaves are expensive, and any employee that has to be worked around, regardless of the reason, places a hardship on the rest of the staff.
I personally have never heard of a weight restriction during pregnancy unless it's the last trimester, post-partum, or if you are at a high risk for miscarriage. When you think about the practicality of it when working with patients, that's hard to maintain.
What OB's warn about is to not try anything NEW that may cause you to over-exert yourself. If you lifted weights at the gym before you were pregnant, then you should be able to after pregnancy. So if you were lifting patients before you were pregnant, no reason you can't while pregnant.
With the MRSA...I am with you on that one...I would probably walk out of a job before I would take care of a MRSA patient if I was pregnant...absolutely no reason why you should have to do that. However, you would volunteer, let's say, to take an extra patient or two to make up for the nurse that has to take that patient...you see what I mean?
I'm still a student myself, but our instructors have also taught us alot about the political side of nursing in a hospital, b/c that can make or break your experience in a new position.
| | No. 29 |
Oct 05, 2008, 04:25 PM
Re: Threatened to be Fired for "patient safety" issues.
Yeah, I don't really expect to be keeping this job, and what IS important to me is learning from this experience and taking that with me in the future. Hopefull2009, you are absolutely right that my union involvement may have been excessive and setting me up for failure. True, it's not fair, but look what happened.
I guess I am hesitant though to use this hospital as a reference. I DID learn a lot there, but at the same time, they are alleging that I practice unsafely and don't follow procedures. Plus, I've got a board hearing that I can choose to not attend, but honestly, I really want my side of the story out there and don't want to concede to their allegations, although I have a feeling that they WILL side with the NM and that it's hopeless.
I don't see how hiring an attorney (I have a consultation only right now) for advice on this matter could affect future jobs.
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