Accused of Job Abandonment Should I Hire a Lawyer?

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Dear Nurse Beth,

Should I get an attorney?

I worked as a travel ICU RN at a critical access for six months. I later came back for a short period to be staff house supervisor. I loved the area but not the hospital because of the hospital politics. I never enjoyed being floated to med surg/Pacu/er and also didn't enjoy being a supervisor.

However, I wanted to live in the area and bought a house. It's very remote and there are very few jobs there. I enjoy teaching critical care nursing and came from a level one teaching hospital. Well, I was convinced by the manager during the interview that this was a cse job and that I would not be floated and could work on CSE curriculum because the nurses didn't even know how to use an a line.

However, when I got there, I was beginning to be floated 90% of my time. I was also supposed to credential all of the ICU staff in two weeks. I noticed the ICU nurses were also titrating their gtts inappropriately as they had just gone to weight-based. I explained to the manager what I was seeing and he was only able to say, well you have a lot to work on! But yet I was being floated to multiple different units to cover staffing shortages. The turnover in this unit is so high because of the floating. I explained to management that I could not do this job with these floating requirements and that the job was grossly misrepresented in the description.

I told Human Resources I am not coming back because I was so frustrated and felt lied to, that the job description did not match the job and that needs to be updated. I went back to travel nursing and the Hr department put in a letter that they tried to call me and I did not answer and that I abandoned the position. Since then they have reclassified the position as an ICU float position.

I have tried to reach the HR manager and she refuses to answer my phone calls. They go straight to VM. I have also spoken to other HR employees who have advised me to call her and yet she still doesn't answer. I do not want a job abandonment on my record and I was in favorable employment status when I left after house supervisor.

Any advice as to what to do is much appreciated.

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.

Dear Frustrated,

I do not know what cse and cse curriculum is, I'm sorry, and while I'm familiar with CCRN certification, I don't know of credentialing for ICU nurses that takes 2 weeks.

Still, I gather you were told you had some sort of educational role and instead they used you to float and fill staffing shortages.

You were frustrated and told HR you were "not coming back". By that do you mean quitting without notice? If so, that is in fact job abandonment and is considered voluntary resignation.

This would make you not eligible for rehire in most organizations.

When asked for a reference many employers have a policy of giving out dates of employment and job title only. They do not to expose themselves to litigation by giving a negative reference and inflicting damage, such as causing you to not be hired. When asked if you are eligible for rehire, they could say they don't disclose that information. That response would be the best case scenario in your situation.

However, when asked if you are eligible for rehire, they could also say "No".  There's no way to know for sure until you apply elsewhere and they are called for a reference.

Are they breaking the law by disclosing you are not eligible for rehire? No, they are not, but you could always consult a lawyer. A lawyer may possibly write a letter on your behalf claiming it violates your privacy rights. However, most people do not retain a lawyer when they quit a job without giving notice and are given a not eligible for rehire status.

You need to be prepared to speak to your not eligible for rehire status in interviews if asked, or even preemptively. Assume it will come up and be brief. Do not dwell on any negativity and segue to the positive as soon as possible.

Put yourself in the interviewer's shoes. Let's assume they want you for the job, and just have this one last question. What do they want from an applicant in this situation?

Not defensiveness, not a long story, and not a list of your previous employer's faults. The interviewer wants to see you respond with grace and candor.

You could say that your skills were not used as you had hoped and you are eager to put them to use in your new work team.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth

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