abandonment

[grannie]

I have been written up and charged with abandonment for switching a shift with another nurse. This is a common practice on our unit, I usually am the one working for someone else. In fact 4 days before the warning I worked a shift for someone and we were shortstaffed. I might add for 16 years at this hospital I have never been written up for anything. She has not reported it to the state, or my malpractice carrier would get involved. Have spoken with her boss, got nowhere, should I just hire a lawyer or pursue it in hospital? I want it off my record. Thanks

[suebird3]

First let me thank all of you for responding. There is m y hosital policy re: abandonment and it is no call no show when you are scheduled to work. Switching a shift or getting another RN to take your place has never been a problem throughout the hospital. I worked for another nurse 4 days before I was written up and we were shortstaffed then. I have documentation from that nurse as well as the one who worked for me, she told the director 2 days prior to the switch she was working for me. The email the director sent states you cannot switch if the unit is shortstaffed. Now nurses are saying they will just call off. She sent this email the day after she gave me the warning. I know none of this makes sense, but this person has no control, she rants and raves I have witnessed her throw keys at another nurses feet and almost step on her fingers when she attempted to pick them up. This is one example of what I am dealing with. The shame of it is we witnessed this and did nothing. She screams at anyone who calls her for whatever reason when she is on call. There is no one on the unit who has not been attacked in some way. She has been fired from a prior position for anger management issues got a lawyer and is back in this position at the same hospital. I guess I refuse to be another victim. I have spoken to the staff representative who knows her well, knows she dosen't back down will never admit she is wrong. She has asked me to give her a few days to try to ressolve this. But I think I will still be going to a lawyer. Will keep you posted again thanks.

You have got to be kidding.....she got her job back? Puh-lease!

[hollyster]

I would document everything and request a meeting with the DON and head of HR. Have the nurse that you covered for write a statement and the nurse that was supposed to cover you.

I would give my notice and get out of there if management knowing allows an unstable individual to be in charge, you need to leave immediately

[epiphany]

it really doesn't matter what the facility says abandonment is.

if i may chime in, the above is true. according to my nursing guide to practice by the office of professions, for you to have committed patient abandonment, you must have established a nurse-patient relationship, which begins when "the nurse accepts responsibility for providing nursing care based upon a written or oral report of patient needs." employer abandonment, on the other hand, is related to termination of your employment in a wrongful manner.

neither case applies to you, so this would not be the jurisdiction of the department. even if you've broken some internal regulation, this will not affect your license - "the department has no jurisdiction to interpret or resolve issue limited to employment and contract disputes."

good luck. you should look through the guidelines, and if it were me, i would quote the above to the manager, maybe even show her the paragraph which states that it's inappropriate for nurses to be threatened with charges of abandonment as a means of coercion. (there is such a clause!)

as an aside, i'm new to this business, so i am reading the guidelines like a bible. i am getting the general impression from guidelines and faq's that many nurses may have been concerned with committing abandonment and made queries, and thus has necessitate the faq's. i also read it in suzanne gordon's nursing against the odds - that employers often throw the term "abandonment" around liberally to scare nurses. from your situation, i'm now getting the idea that this might be true. (sigh.)

[DusktilDawn]

Definately seek legal counsel/advice. This woman sounds like a wack job.

[kevagonia]

She sounds like a sociopathic sort of person. Constantly causing problems and is known for being an angry, unhappy, weird person. I work with a couple of these. One of them is just a problem child. Once she was fired and when she was rehired, no one could believe it, but alas, there is a "shortage".

[Straydandelion]

I couldn't see myself continuing to work with/for someone like that. Oh my goodness.

I agree

[Jamesdotter]

She screams at anyone who calls her for whatever reason when she is on call. There is no one on the unit who has not been attacked in some way

I think I worked with this woman! She was manager for several years and nothing much was done until she screamed and swore at a physician one day. She's no longer there, and I suspect she's on a "will not rehire" list.