Abandonment if I don't pick up over time shifts??

[hollyspiller0253]

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'm in NY.

HELP

[LockportRN]

Or perhaps, she could simply follow the chain of command and force admin to look at the way the charge nurse leads. It may just lead to a change in this position for the betterment of all.

[LockportRN]

Too funny!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

CosmoRN77 said:

legal consultations are usually free and your a nurse you should be able to Pay for a lawyer. And if u can't then maybe you SHOULD pick up that extra shift

First, legal consultations may be free, but hiring a lawyer is expensive. And I'm pretty sure that if you run out and have a "free" legal consultation every time you encounter a problem at work, the lawyers will either start charging you for your time, or ignoring you.

Second, it's "you're" a nurse, a contraction for "you are" and not the possessive of "you."

Third, text speak ('u" instead of "you") is against the terms of service. To say nothing of your weird capitalization and punctuation.

Fourth, my finances are none of your business. But I doubt very many of us who are working for a living and paying our bills can afford to just run out and pay $200/hour for a lawyer. Most of us would have to tap our savings, rearrange funds or work overtime.

And fifth, and overtime shift after every eight hour shift is not a reasonable expectation.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

SororAKS said:

Nope. It isn't considered Abandonment until you actually show up and accept a patient assignment. She's blowing smoke. Turn her down FLAT.

As had been mentioned earlier, if she shows up and gets her assignment, works her shift and then no one comes in to relieve her at the end of the shift, she has already accepted the assignment. leaving is abandonment. If that happens a second time, I'd work the extra shift (so I could not possibly be charged with abandonment) and then tender my resignation, effective immediately. And that should be discussed with management before it happens.

[CC Freakazoid, MSN]

Call your BON and explain the situation and get their feedback. Take that to your nurse manager. While a charge nurse is in the chain of command, they are the chain of command during that shift (at least where I work) and do not make administrative changes/declarations. Also, every job I have applied to has asked me if I would be willing to work OT if needed and I aid yes, if I do not, that could be considered falsification of information on a an app and subject to termination....did you make such an agreement?

Once all is said and done and worked out, I would then let said charge nurse know that if she ever threatened me or my job again without sufficient grounds, I would report her to the BON before she could even apologize. I would declare this with a personal witness and the nurse manager for the unit as well as the DON/CNO present. That way all would know that I am not one for bullying.

[Desert Lady]

Anyone can file anything. NOW PROVE IT. The bonus will be looking into her license and the hospital in general. The labor board would also hit the hospital. Too bad you Don not have a Union. They would put a stop to this nonsense ASAP.

[Desert Lady]

I hate this phone. Correction when it does not need correcting. BOARD OF NURSING just became something else and do not became Don. WOW

[ixchel]

Ruby Vee said:

As had been mentioned earlier, if she shows up and gets her assignment, works her shift and then no one comes in to relieve her at the end of the shift, she has already accepted the assignment. leaving is abandonment. If that happens a second time, I'd work the extra shift (so I could not possibly be charged with abandonment) and then tender my resignation, effective immediately. And that should be discussed with management before it happens.

After my last comment regarding the OP, I realized the nurse on leave was the shift immediately after OPs. For some reason I thought it was the shift BEFORE OPs. What a crappy position to be in. Were this me, I would be simultaneously circulating my resume while trying to battle this up the chain of command.

While this sucks big time, short staffing tends to pull the team together to close the gaps and get the job done. Perhaps the other two shifts could split the short shift, work 12s, and rotate which person draws the short straw for that. 12s are at least bearable, and it would be a more fair way to get it done.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

CosmoRN77 said:

legal consultations are usually free and your a nurse you should be able to Pay for a lawyer. And if u can't then maybe you SHOULD pick up that extra shift

I wonder if you arrived at the decision to post this piece before or after consuming your daily marijuana allotment?

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

I used to work for a place that liked to threaten new nurses by telling them (when they balked, naturally, at taking a ghastly assignment) that it was "patient abandonment" if they didn't take that assignment as is. Ummm...NO. They told the newbies that simply by clocking in, they had accepted the assignment, since the assignment was determined before they got there, so...yeah.

Except that the charge nurse scheduling an assignment for anyone didn't mean that the nurse KNEW what the assignment was (unless, of course, she was some kind of psychic) and therefore they could NOT "accept" something they hadn't even SEEN!

Back and forth, but I was one of the ones calling BS on that particular bullying tactic: if you TELL me what my assignment is, I can say "YES" or "NO WAY" and merely clocking in didn't do that. It meant I was there, as a condition of continuing my employment, on time and ready to take report. It didn't in and of itself constitute acceptance of whatever crud they were going to throw at me. YEESH!

[Caffeine_IV]

I often had to stay over when I worked LTC. Once you accept the assignment it is yours until you get relief. Her threats are ridiculous but they do put you in a bad spot.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Sparrowhawk said:

She's so full of it its pouring out....you cannot get abandonment for not picking up extra or overtime ... and you cannot stay past 16 hours...its illegal. File an EEOCC on her and get a new job...she is the one that can get in trouble not you sister

If she works 3-11, and the other nurse works 11-7, that is 16 hours. And yes, it would be patient abandonment to leave at 11 without being able to hand off the patients to another nurse.