I am a full time nurse 3p-11p. Our 11-7 nurse is out on DBL. The charge nurse told me she will file Abandonment charges against my license If I don't pick up some of those extra shifts.
Here is the thing...it isn't Abandonment because they knew of those absences in a reasonable time frame to find appropriate coverage. We even have contract nurses available.
What can I do about all of this?
And she didn't even ask me to pick up the shift. She threatened me with mandation, and when I informed her she could not legally mandate me she immediately told me she would file abandonment charges against my licence.
I would respond by saying: "I agree that everything you're saying needs to reported to the state, if you write down what you're telling me and sign it, then I'll be happy to send it in for you".
It's amazing the amount of crap some managers attempt to pull over on nurses with regard to license revocation.
I'd send her a printed definition of nurse abandonment, and refusing to take extra shifts in the future is certainly not found within that definition. What a crock.
Specializes in ER/Tele, Med-Surg, Faculty, Urgent Care.
Yeah, what she is saying is, well Stupid. Abandonment is when you have taken report & accepted the assigment then leave the facility before they can get a replacement nurse.
When I moved back to my hometown, the one & only hospital in town, the nurses used to throw out the mantra of abandonment the same as the losing your license mantra (to quote another thread). One day, the off going day nurse, gives me a slip of paper with room numbers (these are my assigned patients) just numbers, no names. Has not even started to give report, says " So you accept this assignment?" NO, not till I get report! You could at minimum have patients names & dx! Tried to say it was abandonment since I would not accept/sign her slip of paper. ( I had just gotten off 3 weeks orientation, and started on 3-11 shift.) Explained to her what abandonment really is, offered to call BON and have them clarify for her. Never had anyone else ever bring up the word, "abandonment" again.
I think I see what COULD happen though. He/she works 3 11. No one is slated to cover 11-7. so , since no one shows up at 1100, there is no one to give report to. Then that would be abandonment.
Why do nurses believe this stuff? OP, I shake my head that you even feel threatened by this. How does a licensed nurse not understand the legal definition of abandonment?
Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.
jrwest said:
I think I see what COULD happen though. He/she works 3 11. No one is slated to cover 11-7. so , since no one shows up at 1100, there is no one to give report to. Then that would be abandonment.
Time for a new job.
That's what I was thinking. I'm a newer nurse though, so I wasn't sure. At my last place of employment, a noc nurse called off each of her last shifts. It was predictable that she would. When the pm nurse had no relief, she was forced to stay. Accordingly, she ended up putting in her notice because she had other responsibilities at 8am the next morning.
It is in no, way, shape or form abandonment. Abandonment is if you go in take report and walk out on a shift. That is abandoning your patients. Why managers think that lying to employees and trying to intimidate them gets stuff taken care of is beyond me. All this person is doing is lowering morale and having people quit. Thinking this woman needs a few leadership courses because obviously leading people is not a strong suit of hers.
You cannot be forced to work overtime. There is something called the Dept of Labor in this country and the laws are spelled out there federally and your BON will have modified laws of their own. But the state BON cannot supercede federal law. Think about the marijuana laws. Federally, it is illegal. States can make their own laws that are less stringent. The state laws though do not supercede federal law. It is still illegal. But the reason why the federal govt does not step on the state's toes is because the laws are less stringent. I hope that my explanation makes sense.
Your charge is obviously confused on the abandonment law or she just hopes you are really stupid and will cave to her will. It's not your problem if your facility does not have adequate staffing. It's hers as a charge. They should never run it so tight that if one person is out, they can't cover. That's HR 101.
~PedsRN~, BSN, RN
826 Posts
I would almost be tempted to file something against her with the BON. Can you talk to management? She sounds like a real winner.