Be Careful What You Say...

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Yesterday, less than one month after I had started my new job as a Telephonic Case Manager, the temp agency I work for called and told me that their client didn't want me back. It seems that their manager overheard me complaining to another nurse about the way their company conducts their business. Instead of confronting me with this issue directly, the manager gave me the boot in abscentia (coward!)

The Account Manager told me today that the Manager who fired me "felt terrible". I'll just bet she did! :angryfire

Agency nurses have to be very careful to be sure...we are the outsider and make an easy target for disgruntled staff and managers who have no outlet for their own stuffed anger and feelings of impotence.

I try to remember that when I've worked agency, and have also prayed the 'Lord keep my hand over my mouth' as I walked through the door of yet another pit. I've decided there aren't many good places out there anymore and just do the best I can, DNR them when I've had enough.

Sometimes as agency we have to stick up for ourselves. I was being given ALL the unstable admissions every shift in a hospital I did agency work for...sometimes I'd admit 2 in a shift and it was very stresful as I didn't know their routines, standing orders, docs, etc. I felt this was unsafe mostly because the staff was NOT helpful team players...and they were stingy with important information. They sat on their butts and watched me struggle. It felt like they were trying to see me flounder. So I wrote a letter to their manager explaining I could no longer accept their admissions...that as agency my role was to assist, not do all their most difficult work for them.. Of course, they didn't want an assertive agency nurse like me back... but that was OK, I'd had enough of their dumping. My final word to the staffing supervisors was my revenge 'this is why you can't get many agency nurses up here...and now you're losing me too....good luck. :)

Hope you find something soon. I know how hard it is to accept some of the conditions we find out there, and how nurses are treated when we speak up. :)

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Specializes in pediatrics.
Agency nurses have to be very careful to be sure...we are the outsider and make an easy target for disgruntled staff and managers who have no outlet for their own stuffed anger and feelings of impotence.

I try to remember that when I've worked agency, and have also prayed the 'Lord keep my hand over my mouth' as I walked through the door of yet another pit. I've decided there aren't many good places out there anymore and just do the best I can, DNR them when I've had enough.

Sometimes as agency we have to stick up for ourselves. I was being given ALL the unstable admissions every shift in a hospital I did agency work for...sometimes I'd admit 2 in a shift and it was very stresful as I didn't know their routines, standing orders, docs, etc. I felt this was unsafe mostly because the staff was NOT helpful team players...and they were stingy with important information. They sat on their butts and watched me struggle. It felt like they were trying to see me flounder. So I wrote a letter to their manager explaining I could no longer accept their admissions...that as agency my role was to assist, not do all their most difficult work for them.. Of course, they didn't want an assertive agency nurse like me back... but that was OK, I'd had enough of their dumping. My final word to the staffing supervisors was my revenge 'this is why you can't get many agency nurses up here...and now you're losing me too....good luck. :)

Hope you find something soon. I know how hard it is to accept some of the conditions we find out there, and how nurses are treated when we speak up. :)

It's so sad how myopic and self-serving some units are. Temps and agency usually have a broad range of experience and have seen diferent ways of accomplishing tasks. Nurses are so threatened that they would rather blast and agency nurse for "daring" to speak up rather than listening to what they say. I have worked with a lot of agency and travelers and honestly I prefer them over regular nursing staff anyday. It is refreshing to deal with someone who knows their job, is a quick learner, is not afraid of new things and basically not involoved in the political nonsense that goes on among the unit staff. I have been the "new" person enough to know all to well the "lack of teamwork" and refusal to help. I left a job primarily because of that. I guess I have worked among enough other really good teams to not accept that. The sure sign is when the majority of the staff has been there less than 2 years. Bad Teams turnover new staff quickly, you always have 2-3 who have been there more than 2 years but not a lot.

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Im glad to see that you admit that you have some fault here. If a temp came into my business and complained about how it was running - not to management, mind you, but another staff person - I would have fired you to.. I would have done it to your face though.

What you did was unprofessional at best.

Wow, that was a bit cold. :stone

I think it's important to remember that everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes in the heat of the moment, we say things somewhere or to someone without considering our surroundings, or thinking of what repercussions there might be.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7

Something to think about. There but by the grace of God go I.

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I'm sorry that happened to you. You probably just wanted to blow off steam, and this nonsense happens, huh. Good luck to you. I have learned myself that sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut with some things.

I couldn't agree with this more... sometimes it's the best policy to keep your mouth shut. I've learned this many times. Sorry that this happened to you, and I do hope that you get a job that's a better fit for you! :) It's best to learn from this experience and move on. Something's out there for you. Just keep looking of you haven't found anything yet. :)

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.
Agency nurses have to be very careful to be sure...we are the outsider and make an easy target for disgruntled staff and managers who have no outlet for their own stuffed anger and feelings of impotence.

I try to remember that when I've worked agency, and have also prayed the 'Lord keep my hand over my mouth' as I walked through the door of yet another pit. I've decided there aren't many good places out there anymore and just do the best I can, DNR them when I've had enough.

Sometimes as agency we have to stick up for ourselves. I was being given ALL the unstable admissions every shift in a hospital I did agency work for...sometimes I'd admit 2 in a shift and it was very stresful as I didn't know their routines, standing orders, docs, etc. I felt this was unsafe mostly because the staff was NOT helpful team players...and they were stingy with important information. They sat on their butts and watched me struggle. It felt like they were trying to see me flounder. So I wrote a letter to their manager explaining I could no longer accept their admissions...that as agency my role was to assist, not do all their most difficult work for them.. Of course, they didn't want an assertive agency nurse like me back... but that was OK, I'd had enough of their dumping. My final word to the staffing supervisors was my revenge 'this is why you can't get many agency nurses up here...and now you're losing me too....good luck. :)

Hope you find something soon. I know how hard it is to accept some of the conditions we find out there, and how nurses are treated when we speak up. :)

Thank you, Mattsmom. You are a voice of reason on this website!

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Specializes in MS Home Health.

While it is painful that happened I have always found the door swings both ways. Maybe they were thinking it would have been better to talk to your manager about operational questions/concerns rather than to a co-worker? Maybe another co-worker overheard you and thought it was not proper to say your concerns to a co-worker rather than a manager who might have been able to give you history for operational changes/etc. I personnaly like it when people come to me as a manager giving me the opportunity to evaluate processes rather than going to someone who does not have the ability to change things or maybe the courage to come forward to do so.

Just a thought per say. I encourage people to go to managers with comments, suggestions or ways to do things better. While some big companies do not give much wiggle room to change things, many times managers go to bat for their staff...

renerian

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.

The biggest mistake I made was not leaving, when I first discovered that this so-called "Case Manager" position was NOT the job that the Recruiter had described, and I informed her of that, when she called and told me that the Clinical Manager did not want me back. The job turned out to be no more than glorified telemarketing, and the disappointment was overwhelming, for the Case Management model in my previous job had gone from that of quality to quantity, and I had looked forward so much to being able to use my skills in a "pure" Case Management environment. I accept full responsibility for venting my frustrations to others, who were in no position to effect change, either, and look at this as a valuable learning experience as I move on.

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Thank you, Mattsmom. You are a voice of reason on this website!

Aww...thanks...what a nice thing to say! Best wishes in your job search! :p

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Thank you for your kind words. Case closed.

You're welcome..

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Wow, that was a bit cold. :stone

I think it's important to remember that everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes in the heat of the moment, we say things somewhere or to someone without considering our surroundings, or thinking of what repercussions there might be.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7

Something to think about. There but by the grace of God go I.

Cold?? I don't think so. One of the biggest problems I see with this profession are those that want to complain without doing anything to fix the problems. There are ways to deal with issues, problems and even poor management. The professional thing to do is to take your concerns to the people who can fix it. Complaining to a co-worker about how bad things are is NOT the way to solve problems, all it does is create desention.

Hope that is something for you to think about.

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Specializes in MS Home Health.

I agree that I hate when people sell you a job that is nothing like the job really is...very irritating.

renrian

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Agency nurses have to be very careful to be sure...we are the outsider and make an easy target for disgruntled staff and managers who have no outlet for their own stuffed anger and feelings of impotence.

I try to remember that when I've worked agency, and have also prayed the 'Lord keep my hand over my mouth' as I walked through the door of yet another pit. I've decided there aren't many good places out there anymore and just do the best I can, DNR them when I've had enough.

Sometimes as agency we have to stick up for ourselves. I was being given ALL the unstable admissions every shift in a hospital I did agency work for...sometimes I'd admit 2 in a shift and it was very stresful as I didn't know their routines, standing orders, docs, etc. I felt this was unsafe mostly because the staff was NOT helpful team players...and they were stingy with important information. They sat on their butts and watched me struggle. It felt like they were trying to see me flounder. So I wrote a letter to their manager explaining I could no longer accept their admissions...that as agency my role was to assist, not do all their most difficult work for them.. Of course, they didn't want an assertive agency nurse like me back... but that was OK, I'd had enough of their dumping. My final word to the staffing supervisors was my revenge 'this is why you can't get many agency nurses up here...and now you're losing me too....good luck. :)

Hope you find something soon. I know how hard it is to accept some of the conditions we find out there, and how nurses are treated when we speak up. :)

Matt, thank you for your thoughs. There are ways to correct this. I use a number of agency staff where I work. I consider them a valuable adjunct to the permanent staff. I have contacted a number of agency staff to discuss thier experiences on the floor. By learning which floors treat agency staff poorly has allowed the facility to focus more attention where it is needed, correcting the inappropriate behavior.

My whole arguement is not that people complain, but WHO they complain to.

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