cheated by hospital?

babs_rn · Dec 6, 2000

Originally posted by Julie,SN:
This is off the topic slightly...
My work issue currently is constantly being asked to come in on my days off b/c someone called in sick. I have a life outside of work, in fact I work a second part-time job. I feel my work crossed the line when they called me at my second job to ask if I would come work for them (meaning I would I have to leave my second job early to fill in for them). What is the purpose of a prn pool if I am constantly hounded to work overtime?

Another divorced mom and I ran into the same sort of situation at the aforementioned hospital (the one I complained about) once - a nurse had called in sick for 7p-7a on a Friday, and they called each of us to come in and work for her, but we both had our kids (mine are allotted 4 days a month with me and I was due to pick them up at 6pm in another town). We both got railed behind our backs for not coming in "because we had our kids". Neither of us appreciated it, either.

Babs

OC_An Khe · Dec 7, 2000

There is job satisfaction and life satisfaction both are inter-related and need to be in balance. When your job becomes such a dissatisfier that it prevents life satisfaction it time to find another employer. Enlightened employers know this and try as much as possible to create working conditions that encourage both job and life satisfaction. Unfortuneately they are getting rare in the health care field and extremely rare in hospitals. You can stay and try and change your employer but that can be risky especially in a right to work state and for single parents; as some of the contributors to board have identified themselves as.Eventually those employers that don't give the RN's the three "R's" of RESPECT,RECOGNITION AND REWARD will suffer and may not stay in business.

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mustangsheba · Dec 7, 2000

I learned this from watching another nurse who had a child. She had told the powers that be when they hired her that she would not work except on her scheduled days and when she was officially on call. She never deviated. When they would call her to come in, she would gently remind them that it was her day off and that she was not on call. (Let me interject here that she was an excellent nurse as well.) Eventually, the supervisors started to remind themselves that "Oh yeah - it's Sue's day off and she's not on call - duh". From this observation, I have learned to remind staff when I will not be available, even when it's my regular day off and they should know. Something simple like "Remember, it's my day off and I won't be available", and "Have a nice couple of days, I'll see you next whatever", etc. Sue was highly respected for her ability to say no. When she was at work, she gave her whole heart and soul, and when she was at home, she was unequivocally not available. I tell people that I turn on my answering machine and don't answer my phone on my days off. This may would not work everywhere, but it often is very effective. It's about saying no. Good luck! MS

OC_An Khe · Dec 7, 2000

Mustangsheba has given some very sound advice. Saying no does work in my expirience. My current facility would call RN's not only on their usual day off but while they were on vacation also. We have at least stopped them calling on vacation but it is almost a daily fact that many are called to work extra's. Not only because of call outs but because of open positions. The more we say yes the more the hospital will expect us to do and won't really seek qualified RN's to fill the open positions.

dawngloves, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2000

Originally posted by ocankhe:
Mustangsheba has given some very sound advice. Saying no does work in my expirience. My current facility would call RN's not only on their usual day off but while they were on vacation also. We have at least stopped them calling on vacation but it is almost a daily fact that many are called to work extra's. The more we say yes the more the hospital will expect us to do and won't really seek qualified RN's to fill the open positions.

My facility would call and say, " I know you'll say no, but...." So why did you call?!?!

The best is when they called me on my maternity leave!

"Not only because of call outs but because of open positions. "

Which has my wondering, why would they kick a nurse out in the middle of a shift. If I worked with you I would have raised hell! How dare they let their egos get in the way of the care of my patients!

[This message has been edited by dawngloves (edited December 07, 2000).]

Mijourney · Dec 9, 2000

Hi. I'm going around the block with this again. Babs, was the employee that replaced you at your former employer in the same unit as you? I am still not clear as to why the nurse mgr. would give a position to someone who had not requested it. Did this replacement have more or less experience than you? Circumstances that made her needs greater than yours? I don't get it. Was there someone new she wanted or had to bring to the unit, and you were simply an easy way out? Well, it's all over now. But, I want you to keep this in mind. Depending on where you live, there may or may not be an employee's market if the area is on a fast track. I know that there are many areas in Georgia that are sprawling from all the impact of Atlanta. Employers frequently use area population growth as leverage against their existing employees. So be aware and always ready.

andi,rn · Dec 10, 2000

Originally posted by babs_rn:
Hi there! Just wanted to vent a little...

I was hired on to work 11-11, and a nurse who was hired a week before I was for the same shift got moved to 7a-7p immediately upon starting. I put in my request for the a-p shift when one came open, and when that nurse put in her notice to transfer to another department, I was told with 99% certainty that I would have the a-p shift, since I was the only one who had requested it. When the schedule that was supposed to show that came out, the nurse manager called me in her office and told me she had given the shift to someone else who hadn't requested it to be fair to them.

Recently, I began considering other positions either (1) more family friendly in terms of shift hours or (2) a shorter commute since I was driving an hour one way to work 10:30 am till 11 pm in an ED. I wanted first to explore a possible departmental transfer within the same hospital, but positions are frozen ("low census", they say. B**lS**t. Census is higher than ever.) She asked for that transfer request in writing, so I gave it to her. Well, since I wanted to transfer and nothing was open, I told her I likely would be looking for something else and wouldn't be around after the first of the year. I did this to be fair to her, just to give her a "heads up". BIG MISTAKE. They decided that I had made a legally binding verbal contract to resign January 2 (scheduled to work New Year's), and they cut my benefits off without telling me. That is not in the handbook. I was out sick ONE TIME (the ONLY time I ever called in and I was justified in that, provided an ER note and all) just this past Saturday and I had earlier requested my TksGvg, Christmas, and New Year's Holidays to cover a week I was scheduled off this month and that was denied. Seems Human Resources has this unwritten policy that if you submit your resignation (which I still insist I had NOT done), you get no more sick time at all and no holidays within 4 weeks of your last day (even if you work those holidays). WELL! I couldn't afford that, and I told the nurse manager so Tuesday when she informed me of all this. I told her it may mean I will have to go to another job before the holidays because I can't afford to have a half a paycheck AND one that's a 12 hour day short in the same month - and here at Christmas time, too! She assured me that she understood, and told me if I needed to leave earlier, just make sure I give her appropriate notice so she can cover it, which I would do anyway. Well, I found a job 10 minutes from my home, and I feel very positively about it so I turned in a nice resignation letter (I didn't tell them what I wanted to say, just a nice one) yesterday morning when I went in to work - a full two weeks' notice. At 4pm the Human Resources director came down and told me that since my resignation date was sooner than they expected, that it was in their best interest for me to clock out and go home, that I was finished!

Fortunately, I discussed this with my new employer today and she recounted for me a story about her own experience with her last employer - she had been at that hospital in supervision and then management for 19 years and yet, 4 days before her last day, the VP came to her with a false accusation and gave her 30 minutes to get her stuff and leave. Thankfully, I was placed on the schedule to start next week and so my first paycheck will be a full one, leaving me in better stead than if I had worked out my notice. It's also a nice, small community hospital where I can be a nurse again, not just a liability and a paper-pusher and a drug-pusher.

Is this a new trend? Is it not bad enough that hospitals (excuse me. not hospitals, but "Regional Medical Centers") are treating us like slaves at work (now they have QUOTAS!!??!), but they have to screw you every other way they can find to as well? What is going on? I was shaken, hurt, insulted, betrayed,angry - hell, I experienced every range of emotion that exists, I think. The irony of it is that the nurse mgr wanted to make clear with the HR mgr that I was leaving in good standing and am eligible for re-hire if I ever wanted to come back. Like I would EVER darken that doorstep again.

Maybe they just want to have the last word? Like "how dare you" think that anything else could be better than them? Anybody else experienced this kind of thing? I know you have. Corporate attitudes in hospitals predispose managers to this kind of thing. It's always nice to know you're not alone.

Babs

[This message has been edited by babs_rn (edited December 01, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by babs_rn (edited December 01, 2000).]

andi,rn · Dec 10, 2000

hi babs rn -

i stumbled on this site, and could not overlook it. i scrambled to figure out how to reply to your article.

i am an rn also, fairly new to the field (about 1&1/2 yrs experience), change of career at age 35. now i'm wondering if i've made one of the biggest mistakes in my adult life.

in short, my contract was recently terminated by the hospital i was working at. i had only been there for 2 & 1/2 weeks, in a MSICU. obviously, i am a travel nurse, and am finding out that i have no rights and am in the worst possible situation a nurse could possibly be in.

i was asked to leave the facility due to a a "false accusation." rather than go into details, mainly because i don't know what is ok or not ok to verbalize, enough said; i'm sure that most rns' can imagine what happened and what sort of things went on, me being a traveler, and very new to their unit.

now,i am left without employment, also during this holiday season, as you were, and at present my travel company does not want to keep me on an "active" status, as they are putting it!

this is by far the most devastating event in my life , and at this time do not even want to continue in the nursing field, and in the worst case scenario, that may not even be my choice. i am in fear that this could happen at any time to any nurse, but also because of the disheartening feelings i am left with in regards to the occupation.

i had worked my way up the culinary ladder over 15 years and made it to the executive chef position on two occasions. i spent four of those years at nursing school thinking that this is what i truly had a passion for. i'm full of ambivolence and anger, and have no idea where to turn or where to go. am i being childish having these feelings?

i would like to go into more detail about the "false accusation," but i don't want to verbalize something that could be misconstrued against my favor. in reading some of the other replies, i am also working in a free will state, or right to work state, and yes, it does seem as though you must obtain help/advice from an attorney in these sort of situations, another disheartening factor.

i suppose what i'm getting at is that i know that i was terminated because i am expendable, and management basically can do as they please, no matter what the expense to the nurse; me, a nurse who truly cares and enjoys the nurse-patient relationship. i am also frustrated because my situation also involves patient safety, and i was not the person who was being unsafe, but was terminated as a result of someone elses actions. i mean, we are patient advocates, right?

at any rate, i can only hope that i will regain the confidence needed to return to the nursing field and hopefully stay out of these unavoidable situations.

any suggastions as far as you can make out, a nurse in my position, at the mercy of their "system?"

good luck to you in your new position, i hope it works out for you.

andi, very frustrated rn

moOHIO · Dec 24, 2000

I am an 11 year veteran of the nursing profession, and recently, a lawyer. I am so sorry to hear this story, even sorrier to say that it is, unfortunately, a frequently occurring problem. Your former supervisor and HR director should have been grilled harshly for their actions, but, in work at will states and non-union environments, nurses are losing their employment battles. I don't promote union activity, especially for nurses, but it is truly unfortunate that we don't have some type of intermediary within the healthcare industry to deal with NURSING problems. Instead, we get incompetent HR managers and nursing supervisors. Your legal rights are vastly different from those of a physician- although what we do is of equal qualitative value. It appears that your former HR manager and supervisor are both incompetent to deal with professional nurses and the needs of the health care industry. Unfortunately, there probably isn't anything that can be done.

But- you landed on your feet, and this is probably the best revenge.

babs_rn · Dec 27, 2000

Originally posted by andi,rn:
hi babs rn -
i stumbled on this site, and could not overlook it. i scrambled to figure out how to reply to your article.
i am an rn also, fairly new to the field (about 1&1/2 yrs experience), change of career at age 35. now i'm wondering if i've made one of the biggest mistakes in my adult life.
in short, my contract was recently terminated by the hospital i was working at. i had only been there for 2 & 1/2 weeks, in a MSICU. obviously, i am a travel nurse, and am finding out that i have no rights and am in the worst possible situation a nurse could possibly be in.
i was asked to leave the facility due to a a "false accusation." rather than go into details, mainly because i don't know what is ok or not ok to verbalize, enough said; i'm sure that most rns' can imagine what happened and what sort of things went on, me being a traveler, and very new to their unit.
now,i am left without employment, also during this holiday season, as you were, and at present my travel company does not want to keep me on an "active" status, as they are putting it!
this is by far the most devastating event in my life , and at this time do not even want to continue in the nursing field, and in the worst case scenario, that may not even be my choice. i am in fear that this could happen at any time to any nurse, but also because of the disheartening feelings i am left with in regards to the occupation.
i had worked my way up the culinary ladder over 15 years and made it to the executive chef position on two occasions. i spent four of those years at nursing school thinking that this is what i truly had a passion for. i'm full of ambivolence and anger, and have no idea where to turn or where to go. am i being childish having these feelings?
i would like to go into more detail about the "false accusation," but i don't want to verbalize something that could be misconstrued against my favor. in reading some of the other replies, i am also working in a free will state, or right to work state, and yes, it does seem as though you must obtain help/advice from an attorney in these sort of situations, another disheartening factor.
i suppose what i'm getting at is that i know that i was terminated because i am expendable, and management basically can do as they please, no matter what the expense to the nurse; me, a nurse who truly cares and enjoys the nurse-patient relationship. i am also frustrated because my situation also involves patient safety, and i was not the person who was being unsafe, but was terminated as a result of someone elses actions. i mean, we are patient advocates, right?
at any rate, i can only hope that i will regain the confidence needed to return to the nursing field and hopefully stay out of these unavoidable situations.
any suggastions as far as you can make out, a nurse in my position, at the mercy of their "system?"
good luck to you in your new position, i hope it works out for you.
andi, very frustrated rn

I've done agency work and managed to be in the favor of a particularly "picky" hospital - one that made a LOT of nurses "DNUs" (Do Not Use) - I can understand your dismay and I have been through more than my share of trials in my life - sometimes it got so bad that I wished I could give up hope, because at least if I didn't have hope I would at least know what to expect and where I stood. At the holiday time it is especially cruel. We as nurses are typically not regarded as people by the administration, nor by the public we serve. This is tragic but it has been the reality that accompanies the profit-oriented managed care mindset that has taken over in health care over the past 10 years or so. It has always been a tough line of work but it hasn't always been THIS bad.

It may or may not be difficult for you to find another position. I don't know what travel company you work for but they SHOULD be backing you and finding you another contract and soon, as well as penalizing the facility that broke its contract with you and the company.

Word of advice: ALWAYS keep a notebook and document EVERYTHING that happens that might have the slightest potential of coming back to bite you - incidents, unhappy patients or family members, just ANYTHING. Notify your agency/supervisors of these matters BEFORE they have to hear of it from someone else - the first story they hear is usually the one they will believe so always be the first to "fess up", so to speak. Make sure you let them know how you handled the situation and have humility enough to ask for their opinion of how you handled it and how they would have you handle such a situation in the future. This covers you two ways - (1) it takes away the fuel of the complaint if there is one, and (2) it shows you to be a nurse who takes responsibility for herself and is willing to work with others and it is also a way of kissing the butts of your supervisors because they will be flattered to have you approach them and ask their opinion. That never hurts when it comes to the actual complaints - the sup will be more likely to back you once you have shown yourself to be conscientious enough to come to them with these matters. Always outline the situation in writing and hold on to it. Be careful what you give the administration in writing because it can resurface later if they want to create a case against you.

Maybe this is the time to seriously reconsider your career choice. Unfortunately too many folks have glamourized ideas of what nursing is and have no idea of the reality of it. Take the time to find what you want to do with your life. Quality of life is EVERYTHING. Without it, it's just not worth living. I don't care how much work you put into your career choice - if it makes you miserable, move on. Period.

Oh, by the way, my new job is much easier and the past month has just flown by. I am well appreciated here and the praise is just effusive - the experience in the larger facilities has paid off, but I'm happy to be back to my roots in a small town, small hospital that is more concerned about staying open than about quotas and fattening the pockets of its owners. My patients in the ER go away happy and I don't get my ass chewed for people having to wait because they rarely have to wait here - unlike the larger EDs where the wait could last for hours. It gets busy, but I can handle it (I'm used to much worse) and the people I work with are just plain happy to have the help. I don't have so many ethical conflicts - I've been able to be a NURSE again, and to care again, and I'm beginning to actually like people again ( you ER nurses know what I mean by that). I actually have time to interact with them. I actually have the ENERGY to interact with them!

Best of luck to you - let me know how things go for you and you are in my prayers.

Babs