Being Strong Armed by DON

[Texashardhat]

hello! everyone

I need some advice. If my situation would be worth notifying the licensing board or not.

I was hired on to work 32 hour weekends, 7am till 11pm. Everything was going well until they canned the DON and a new DON took over. The nursing home I work for has a revolving door, and that is primarily due, to poor management.

Last week nurses were on vacation and some quit, so the nursing home was low staffed, I agreed to work additional 12 hours on monday. The scheduler was trying to get me to work additional days on Tue, Wed, and Thurs, I told him I couldn't. Then toward the end of my shift the DON called me into her office, told me to sit down and she asked me "so what do you do on the weekends?" I explained what I was hired to do. She then calls in the scheduler, opens his schedule book and says she has these shifts available. I told her I couldn't work anything of those shifts because I had previous obligations. She then said she would have to take me off the schedule, so now I am working two 8 hour shifts this coming weekend. And then my employment will be over with them.

I'm going to file a complaint with the Texas workforce Commission, would it be worth my while to notify the licensing board of this?

Thanks

[bill4745, RN]

1.Unless you have a signed contract spelling out your job hours, your employer can increase, decrease, or change them in any manner they please, just as your pay can be lowered, benefits decreased, or terminate you for no reason.

2. Licensing has nothing to do with the terms of your employment. Their job is to make sure you are competent. If staffing is poor and patient care is suffering this is usually handled by whoever licenses hospitals in your state-in my area, the Board of Health; it is rarely a Nursing Licensing concern.

[nancykday]

I agree with all the above suggestions another thought might be The Office of Aging ( or the Tx equivalent ) and the LTC Omisbusman for the facility.

[Texashardhat]

Thank guys!

I realize Texas is a 'right to fire at will" state, however, Im pleased in the knowledge that I will be filing for unemployment insurance. lol! Ill have the last laugh, Ill increase their unemployment insurance payments. I sent a letter to the owner of the establishmen. Hopefully he has a lick of sense.

The place is a beautiful place to work for and it does have less then savory nurses. I did tell the owner, that I would like to work for him in the future, once that new DON is let loose or is fired.

[Larry in Florida]

hello! everyone

I need some advice. If my situation would be worth notifying the licensing board or not.

I was hired on to work 32 hour weekends, 7am till 11pm. Everything was going well until they canned the DON and a new DON took over. The nursing home I work for has a revolving door, and that is primarily due, to poor management.

Last week nurses were on vacation and some quit, so the nursing home was low staffed, I agreed to work additional 12 hours on monday. The scheduler was trying to get me to work additional days on Tue, Wed, and Thurs, I told him I couldn't. Then toward the end of my shift the DON called me into her office, told me to sit down and she asked me "so what do you do on the weekends?" I explained what I was hired to do. She then calls in the scheduler, opens his schedule book and says she has these shifts available. I told her I couldn't work anything of those shifts because I had previous obligations. She then said she would have to take me off the schedule, so now I am working two 8 hour shifts this coming weekend. And then my employment will be over with them.

I'm going to file a complaint with the Texas workforce Commission, would it be worth my while to notify the licensing board of this?

Thanks

I feel for you and the Texas workforce Commission may be of some assistance. The BON won't be because their mission is to protect the patient, not and I repeat not the nurse.

Larry RN in Fl

[CRNI-ICU20]

What a rotten thing to do to a capable working nurse! Here's an idea:

Find out WHO the OWNER of the facility is....you can do this by checking tax records within the county assessor's office....write them a letter. Explain to them how you were treated by their newly hired "manager"/DON.....tell them that as long as people are treated this way, NO ONE will work for them.....remind them that without adequate and trained staff, their facility will lose their MEDICARE payments.....remind them that one phone call to the federal government regarding the treatment of the elderly at this facility may cause them some VERY diffcult times. One phone call, anonymous....

You are covered under the federal whistleblower law....they cannot harrass or fire you for this....if the owner is intelligent, and not too greedy, they JUST MIGHT pay attention....if not, it's on them!

I wouldn't hesitate to let the federal government know just how bad conditions are when poor management causes bad patient outcomes....if they are JCAHO certified, you might drop them a jingle as well....sometimes, when someone strong arms you, you have to meet their force with equal and opposite strength....

crni