Abandonment?

[karenrn111]

I work in LTC day shift Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I am being told by my employer that if I do not pick up Thursdays that I will be turned into the State Board of Nursing for abandonment. Would anyone consider this abandonment. I do not believe it can be consider abandonment. I am that only nurse that is being asked to pick up an extra day. The nurse that works Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday is not being asked to work. What are my options?

[Lisacar130]

It is absurd that they would threaten you with this but now I am afraid they will search through all your charting and find some minor mistake you made somewhere that they will then report to the Board, in retaliation for not working on Thursday. So if it were me I might consider working it but I would be trying to leave and find other employment elsewhere.

[CharleeFoxtrot, BSN, RN]

Start throwing your resume around, that is a scare tactic and a definite signal to move on down the road.

[SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN]

That's NOT abandonment. Put in your two weeks the folks you work for are dirt-bags & that never gets better

[Farawyn]

Pish tosh!

[rn1965, ADN]

Put in your notice. This is not the definition of abandonment.

Also, for good measure, record every conversation with the supervisor and keep any texts or emails that threaten you.

Good luck and get out quick! But, do not burn bridges. Put your notice in and then work every last minute of that notice.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

Personally I would never work for a manager who is that either 1) manipulative & dishonest or 2) ignorant.

In no way is it abandonment.

YOUR DON has a nursing license too. If she reported you for abandonment, she would also be admitting to abandonment herself. See as a licensed RN, she can put on a uniform and BE ONE. Her other choices are hire more staff or get agency staff.

[SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN]

I have a poor picture of these facilities in my head that is probably not earned industry wide. I lasted exactly one shift in a long tern care facility and it was a raging hell hole. I think that people get what they settle for in life. Nurses in particular accept the unacceptable commonly. If more nurses put in there two weeks notice when this nonsense occurred the bull would crap less frequently. The previous poster is correct. Tell your boss to work that shift and if she leaves its abandonment as staffing that joint is her job not yours. Right after that hand in your written notice and work your scheduled hours then leave and never look back

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

And this friends, is why there is a so-called nursing shortage. What other profession is so blithely coerced into working with threats like this?

[SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN]

Tru Dat!!!

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Only option as far as I'm concerned is to tell your employer to kiss your donkey and quit. No way would I work for an employer that uses threats to get staff to pick up an extra day, especially an empty threat such as that. Not picking up an extra day on your schedule is no way, shape or form abandonment. In order for abandonment to apply you have to first be on the clock and second accept your daily assignment and third leave your assignment without either finding somebody else to cover or informing your supervisor you are leaving. It seems like common sense to me that it's not abandonment if you're not even there but some nasty employers seem to like making that threat. I very much dislike employers that make that threat.

[BBP42]

I had an employer who specified in our employment agreement/handbook that we could be mandated to stay if no one was came in to relieve us, up to another full shift if a replacement could not be located. They would try to stretch that and tell people they were being "mandated" to come in earlier than scheduled or "mandated" to work extra shifts several days in the future. They only did that to certain people that they felt would not be likely to argue about it, though. Very sneaky and dishonest way to fix their staffing issues. This seems like a similar tactic.

[Julius Seizure]

Hah. I'd dare them to report me. In fact, I would do it via email, so that there would be a record of me clarifying that they really did mean that they were threatening to report me for abandonment if I didn't start picking up extra shifts.

Sure, go right ahead and report me, boss! I'm happy to save you the time and forward them the email myself if it would help!