Absolutely FURIOUS!!!!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Hey, guys, I need some serious calming down.

A lot of y'all remember the thread "All is not well in the kingdom", where I talked about the horrible job and subsequent termination I had had.

I had a very promising interview Tuesday, and gave the name and home phone number of an NP that I had worked with at that clinic as a reference. The reference called me last night.

Apparently, when my potential new boss called, NP was in a room. A med tech intercepted the call, told the lady that all I did was get on people's nerves. She then told her that she did not need to speak to NP, to call the OM at the oher clinic, and hung up on her.

Well, NP DID speak to my potential new boss, and said that she was asking about me getting on people's nerves! She said that she told my PNB (potential new boss) that I did NOT, and gave me a good reference.

I am so steamed about this, I mean, this could cost me the job! I called OM and demanded that I get both an apology and a recantation, either by phone or by mail. I told her I was considering a lawsuit for slander, and should this impede my new job, I WOULD be seeing my lawyer. She agreed that the tech had no business doing what she did. She said she would handle it, and get back with me.

What do y'all think? Was I overreacting? What would you do? Thanks.

Specializes in geriatrics.

i agree with you.. you have every right to be furious.. i had similar thing happen to me.. i was hired at a facility where the medical director did not like me for reasons still not really known as we had never had words or problems.. he told the admin not to hire me.. that i falsified records.. was not good at assessments and something else.. he even went as far as to go to the president of the corporation.. they hired me anyway.. during my time at the bldg he made life a living hell and i believe but can't prove.. got the new admin to let me go w/the promise of admissions.. they let me go.. there were no admissions by this dr.. the admin eventually got fired.. and the bldg is in the toilet.. unfortunately.. for me.. there was nothing i could do because i can't prove he influenced my getting fired.. you can.. go for it!!.. she was unprofessional and had no right to be giving references.. just her intercepting the np's phone call should be grounds for dismissal!!!..

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Specializes in ER/Trauma, Home Care, Corrections.

Slander and/or deflamation of character both are NOT illegal. You could get a lawyer, but it will not pay to do so unless you can prove that the tech's remarks cost you the job and you could find no other. The facility will have beaucoup lawyers and they will assert that they did nothing wrong, that you sustained no compensible injury and/or that the tech was accurate in her depiction of you as a P.I.A. They will find employees willing to support their assertion and what will you have?

You can head this off in the future by getting the NP to write a letter of recommendation with his/her home contact info on the document.

And you need to get over it and move on.

Been there, done that, still have the t-shirt someplace...

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Specializes in Obstetrics, M/S, Family medicine.

You have every right to be furious. I will blow off the tech for the time being, because as you can see from other postings, the tech was wrong in every sense of the word, but the fact that the PNB did NOT speak with your actual reference, and then have the nerve to ask the NP if you got on everyone's nerves....they are in a world of problems, now. The PNB could've been the bigger person and excused her/himself from the conversation, instead, he/she listened to every word that tech had to say, then .... actually heeded their advice by NOT insisting on speaking with the NP (the REFERENCE!).

If this PNB is someone that would has a lot of control over the place that you will be working...i would give great consideration to the worthiness of this place of employment.

Good luck with everything.

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SUE! Regardless of the outcome, this was damaging and illegal on several counts.

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I'd like to kill that tech! GEEZ!! Where do people get off doing these kind of things? I still cannot believe that working "professionals" continue to behave this way. It is totally management's fault if they allow their workers to behave in such manners. There should be a NO TOLERANCE policy in place.

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Slander and/or deflamation of character both are NOT illegal. You could get a lawyer, but it will not pay to do so unless you can prove that the tech's remarks cost you the job and you could find no other. The facility will have beaucoup lawyers and they will assert that they did nothing wrong, that you sustained no compensible injury and/or that the tech was accurate in her depiction of you as a P.I.A. They will find employees willing to support their assertion and what will you have?

You can head this off in the future by getting the NP to write a letter of recommendation with his/her home contact info on the document.

And you need to get over it and move on.

Been there, done that, still have the t-shirt someplace...

Moving on is a good thing......

Sounds like the entire practice is thriving on Drama. The major communication problems you describe are entreanched within the group culture and continue to be perpertuated. As long as that continues, little will change. If you are gone from that practice, you do not have any power to change it. The only place you do have some power is over your own behavior. In my own experiences over the past 26 plus years working in the health care professions including currently as an NP, I have had a few opportunities to deal with this type of group dynamics. When I have taken the time to look at my own behaviors with honesty and humility and have let go of the victim role and the intense need to "be right" I have seen the part I played in the Drama more clearly and have been able to take actions that are skillfull, acknowlegde my part and move on. I have found I am alot happier when I communicate directly with others and remove myself from the cycle of Drama. Yes there may have been some serious mistakes made by others that negatively affected you but the bottom line is that you get to choose when to let go and move on. As long as you choose to feed the "righteous indignation", it will flourish. As soon as you let go, those folks you left behind will no longer be able to live rent-free in your heart and mind.

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Specializes in Med/surg, home health, ICU, PCU, Cardio.

I agree that you potentially have a lawsuit. I worked for a facility that was anal about legal culpability and they said we could never give a reference without 1. written permission from the past employee and 2. that they would only reveal dates worked, as any other information regarding performance, attendance etc, at least in VA, was a violation of law.

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In the future if you ask a person to be a reference and they accept, ask for their home phone number and address. It is really not a good idea to use work numbers for a place that you used to work at. It puts the people who support you in a very awkward position. Even if you left under good conditions, employers are often angry that you left and less than willing to do you any favors.

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Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.
In the future if you ask a person to be a reference and they accept, ask for their home phone number and address. It is really not a good idea to use work numbers for a place that you used to work at. It puts the people who support you in a very awkward position. Even if you left under good conditions, employers are often angry that you left and less than willing to do you any favors.

I DID give her home phone number, and that was it. I have no idea how PNB got the number to the clinic. I was as surprised as anyone to hear that NP was called at work. Her home number was the only one I gave.

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Does your state have a Labor Board?? They are the ones that set the guidelines for what info can be given out. At-will employers are very limited in what info they can divulge. CA is an at-will employment state and I think they can only verify dates of employment and possibly rate of pay, otherwise, they can't say a flippin' thing. So, contact your local labor board. The tech was w-a-a-a-a-y out of line. The PNB was out of line too; she should only have spoken to the ref and requested the tech to leave a message for ref to contact him/her.

My family was the way yours are. I didn't think I would ever measure up to my mother's expectations, no matter what I did, no matter what area of my life was up for scrutiny. We finally made peace a few years before she died--after I'd been her primary caregiver for 10 years, putting my life on hold to care for her. It's hard to hold on to your self-esteem when you're constantly being put down or compared to another, like Christine.

Lots of love & HUGS to you.

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I DID give her home phone number, and that was it. I have no idea how PNB got the number to the clinic. I was as surprised as anyone to hear that NP was called at work. Her home number was the only one I gave.

Then it is the fault of the person checking your references. Any HR person or manager who checks references should know better that to call someone at other than the contact number you provided. I am wondering if this job is another crazy place? I hope it works out.

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I DID give her home phone number, and that was it. I have no idea how PNB got the number to the clinic. I was as surprised as anyone to hear that NP was called at work. Her home number was the only one I gave.

I think you've now got a pretty good picture of your new boss. Best to be very wary and if I were you I would keep the 'ol resume ready to roll.

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