Abusers Win

MedSurgeMess · May 22, 2009

Don't hate nursing, this goes on in every field, at every level. Hate the ignorant a**es who put you in this position. I spend lots of time in trouble for pointing out safety issues, but because I don't rat out people for talking about each other or other stupid stuff, upper management acts like I'm just a troublemaker.....I just keep notes on everything. My heart is with you, I can relate to how you feel.

abbaking · May 23, 2009

If you want to fight it and make it look really bad and a PR nightmare for the facility, Go public. Contact Fox news (fox will make a mountain out of a molehill and make moral panic over nothing), your local newpaper, the state health boards and Joint Commission....have all your ducks in a row and report to them the abuses you saw at your facility. If patients lives and the lives of staff are in danger....be an activist for change.

Be prepared for the onslought of denial, fighting, and more denial. Healthcare administration is mostly greed and all about $$$! I used to think patients came first, but I soon realised that all of the mid-level and and senior managers only care about the budget.

NTexasRN · Mar 10, 2010

I was terminated for excessive tardiness, in spite of the fact that other nurses there are MUCH more tardy and more frequently than I. They had to find a reason, so they did. I'm angry. I've cried. I miss my patients. I loved my job. Loved my job. I love my patients, still. They are wonderful people. Wonderful. Just got out of the official meeting. The Administrator was there, the DON and the ADON, who stood in a corner snickering the entire time. God was watching. I have to remind myself that. I'm hopefully going to get unemployment. I have an attorney and we'll go after them. I'm not putting my "dukes" down. I know that I get despondent. Who wouldn't? But if I quit, then I'm no better then the abusers. Period. It's hard, it's scarey and it's worse than I could convey. I was paid very well there....but......my morality is not for sale. And if I confront another problem like this in the future, I will glove up once again. We only lose when we quit the fight. And my Daddy didn't raise no quitter!
It's not over. What happened today was a necessary event. I've written a Senator about this. I've notified the Ombusman. I'm not stopping. If I do, I give them power. No more. If I were the patient, I wouldn't want the nurse to quit on me. Would you?

Yeah, karma has a way of being there when most needed alright. Excessive tardiness is (or was) a reportable offense to the state BON that has caused more than one nurse (I know personally) to have endangered their license. I was once accused of abuse of a patient. My state's BON dropped all charges at my hearing but little good that did because since I'd been terminated for the sake of just one person's 'substantiated' word I had my license tagged with a charge so I couldn't get a job and blew my carefully built credit history out of the water which ruined me financially. The nurse and facility found themselves in court fighting a lawsuit for sexual discrimination, defamation of character, loss of wages and mental stress among other things. Karma really is a good thing indeed but justice is even better. Everyone needs to be careful when they accuse anyone of anything.

JoytoWorld · Dec 4, 2010

Unfortunately you have to be well versed in self protection if you are going to report concerns about what you witness on the job.

A good approach is to send an EMAIL to YOURSELF describing your concern. Be as factual and non-emotional as you can in your documentation. Use initials to describe people. This will DATE and TIME your concern. Do NOT use company email, use a personal private account. You can also write a LETTER to yourself and have it NOTARIZED. Many banks will do notary for free if you have a checking or savings account with them. The email or letter will show that you are seeking a way to do the right thing without sacrificing yourself in the process.

Then SEEK the ADVICE of someone knowledgeable, outside of the company, that you can trust. You can call STATE AGENCIES and discuss the issues without sharing names of people or facilities to obtain advice. Use a phone that cannot be traced back to you such as an hotel phone or public phone. Many States have OMBUDSMEN for elderly or the abused who understand the issues and can explain the issues. Report anonymously if you can. You can always send an anonymous letter. Be factual, not emotional. Realize that you may not have all the facts even about what you witnessed.

NOT all States have whistleblower laws, laws that protect the person who does the right thing by reporting, even though they also have laws that require you to place yourself in jeopardy by reporting unlawful employer acts. Anticipate that you very well may lose your job if you report without self protection. The federal whistleblower law only purports to protect federal employees, and not very well. There are some specific laws such as Occupational Safety (OHSA) that will cover your report of unsafe workplace situations.

Once you decide to report seek ATTORNEY counsel first. Many attorneys will give you a free introductory counsel then request a fee if you hire them. You may also be able to purchase insurance such as NSO if you are licensed and the employer attacks your license for reporting. NSO has license protection insurance. A State investigation is no guarantee your job will be protected or reinstated. Even if the State opines in your favor it may be a long time before the case is settled or heard in court, meanwhile you will more than likely be unemployed.