ever been accused of abuse?

passing thru · Jun 28, 2006

I worked with a nurse about seven years ago who was accused of abusing a patient. The nurse was fired. EVERYONE on the unit knew she was innocent. She was the best nurse. But, she was an older nurse. And, the hospital was in the initial stages of a big layoff. Their economics were suffering. They wanted to get rid of as many older nurses as they could.

(They can hire 2 new grads for what the older nurses cost them - per hour.)

The nurse was totally devastated. Naturally.

Everyone was wondering how the manager came up with that excuse to fire her.

A month later, I was fired on "alleged drug abuse."

Ha Ha...................me.............................................

purer than the pope........................................as I have said for over 20 years.

don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs,...........................

don't _ _ _ _ .................................

But, they saved lotsa bucks gettin rid of me......................

If they wanta get rid of you, they will.

Nurses, especially new ones, don't understand that you can be fired for ANY

reason, all it takes is a manager wanting to improve her budget, or a co-worker who is miffed at you.

You are outa there, without recourse, but a peer review, with your manager heading up the peer review committee.

Good luck to you.

Wish I could help.

Just know you aren't the only one.......................

The hospital I used to work at is having problems again. The newspaper says they will lay off 1000 employees.

It is to their financial benefit to fire nurses instead of laying them off.

How many will be fired before the layoff..... especially if they are nearing the time of being vested ?

How many will be senior nurses charged with patient abuse and drug abuse ?

buildingmyfaith57 · Jun 28, 2006

when filling out a job application, before you sign it there this sentence on the application free to hired and free to terminate for any reason without any notice. im wondering if alot of the companies or managers or having fun with it or do they know they can do anything they want because once you sign that application you have agree not sue?

chadash · Jun 28, 2006

I worked with a nurse about seven years ago who was accused of abusing a patient. The nurse was fired. EVERYONE on the unit knew she was innocent. She was the best nurse. But, she was an older nurse. And, the hospital was in the initial stages of a big layoff. Their economics were suffering. They wanted to get rid of as many older nurses as they could.
(They can hire 2 new grads for what the older nurses cost them - per hour.)
The nurse was totally devastated. Naturally.
Everyone was wondering how the manager came up with that excuse to fire her.
A month later, I was fired on "alleged drug abuse."
Ha Ha...................me.............................................
purer than the pope........................................as I have said for over 20 years.
don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs,...........................
don't _ _ _ _ .................................
But, they saved lotsa bucks gettin rid of me......................
If they wanta get rid of you, they will.
Nurses, especially new ones, don't understand that you can be fired for ANY
reason, all it takes is a manager wanting to improve her budget, or a co-worker who is miffed at you.
You are outa there, without recourse, but a peer review, with your manager heading up the peer review committee.
Good luck to you.
Wish I could help.
Just know you aren't the only one.......................
The hospital I used to work at is having problems again. The newspaper says they will lay off 1000 employees.
It is to their financial benefit to fire nurses instead of laying them off.
How many will be fired before the layoff..... especially if they are nearing the time of being vested ?
How many will be senior nurses charged with patient abuse and drug abuse ?

This is absolutely devastating. Why do they slander a nurse just to fire her? This is defamation of character. I am so sorry this has happened to you all. I can't even imagine how bad it would make me feel. I hope if anyone ever wants to fire me, at least they would have the decency to say: we just don't need you any longer or something!

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2006

I worked with a nurse about seven years ago who was accused of abusing a patient. The nurse was fired. EVERYONE on the unit knew she was innocent. She was the best nurse. But, she was an older nurse. And, the hospital was in the initial stages of a big layoff. Their economics were suffering. They wanted to get rid of as many older nurses as they could.
(They can hire 2 new grads for what the older nurses cost them - per hour.)
The nurse was totally devastated. Naturally.
Everyone was wondering how the manager came up with that excuse to fire her.
A month later, I was fired on "alleged drug abuse."
Ha Ha...................me.............................................
purer than the pope........................................as I have said for over 20 years.
don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs,...........................
don't _ _ _ _ .................................
But, they saved lotsa bucks gettin rid of me......................
If they wanta get rid of you, they will.
Nurses, especially new ones, don't understand that you can be fired for ANY
reason, all it takes is a manager wanting to improve her budget, or a co-worker who is miffed at you.
You are outa there, without recourse, but a peer review, with your manager heading up the peer review committee.
Good luck to you.
Wish I could help.
Just know you aren't the only one.......................
The hospital I used to work at is having problems again. The newspaper says they will lay off 1000 employees.
It is to their financial benefit to fire nurses instead of laying them off.
How many will be fired before the layoff..... especially if they are nearing the time of being vested ?
How many will be senior nurses charged with patient abuse and drug abuse ?

I have great a friend who is an "older" RN, in her 50s. She was also accused of abuse and fired. This person is a wonderful nurse. She was my mentor when I was an LPN, and encouraged me to become an RN, which I did.

She was so devastated over this, I was afraid for her. She now has a better job, where she is appreciated. But, to this day, the subject of what happened to her at that job cannot be brought up by anyone. She still cannot bare to think about it.

TazziRN, RN · Jun 28, 2006

Are you union? If so, hie thee to the phone and contact your rep asap. The rep should have been at the meeting when you were confronted.

cuz_i_can · Jun 28, 2006

Thanks for the response you guys, I really appreciate it. I was so upset when I made my post earlier that I failed to mention that I was not indeed fired. I was turned into socialservices, and they're investigating it, and from what I canunderstand, from there it will go to the state, then they willdo their investigation.

We are not union, and I’ve only been there for a little over 4 months.

I wasn’t going to go into full detail on here earlier, because I was so upset, but I suppose I could now. Basically, from my point of view, the charges against me would be consideredas taunting. 2 of the girls I work with supposedly said that they saw me "flicking" a resident in the nose (which is so untrue. I did 'tap' his nose, trying to get him more alert so that he would eat, because he never eats!)

I was accused of cursing in front of a resident. I really don't recall this event at all, and if I did, I would totally admit it. There were a few other things as well, but I don't totally remember them. The social worker that interviewed me was rather rude, and insisted upfront that I was guilty of all the things that were being thrown at me.

What could happen? I mean I was accused of 'abuse' once before, in a different state, but it turned out being a total mix-up, and it was cleared up and not put on a record. The social worker did ask me if

I had ever been accused of abuse before, and I told her about that particular incident. She wanted my supervisor at the time name, and the location and name of the place I was employed.

valifay · Jun 28, 2006

I wouldn't worry about it unless the state gets involved. A situation like this I would assume gets investigated before becoming a case. Was the SW an employee at your work? If so, I wouldn't worry about her. The state willl send out its own investigators if your boss is really concerned. Is this resident A&O? Or was anyone else present that knows your work style to back you up? Some people are devious, but this will all come back and kick them in the butt later.

vloho · Jun 28, 2006

An RN told me I didn't seem to know how to check a pt for fecal impaction,after 25 yrs of nursing I know how believe me.Thank goodness I didn't after reading "Former Nurse Sentenced"

KellieNurse06 · Jun 28, 2006

OMG..alleged drug abuse??? That's a huge accusation to accuse someone of...... Me..I would of said ..well let's take a blood sample right now (as I tapped my own arm) ...let's go......ABSOLUTLEY! I don't do any of those things either so anyone could take blood from me at any time 24/7 & I would be clean as a whistle..

How can they "accuse" anyone of abuse..whether it's to patients or drugs or what have you without solid proof to back up those accusations???

Those are some pretty big things to say which can ruin a career for someone even after being proven innocent...just because people tend to believe the first thing they hear typically........that's too bad! This makes me nervous about when I enter the workforce officially as an RN after graduation....... :uhoh3: As for the social worker...I say Puleeeese..they are THE most screwed up people you will ever come across...they are more screwed up than the people they are trying to help..alot of them are nutcases and I am serious.........I've seen some at places where I've been and they practically have their eyes spinning around in their head they are so nuts.......you can just see it .......That's too bad ..I hope this doesn't affect you & your license.....I really feel for ya...let us know how it goes........ keep happy thoughts...

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Jun 28, 2006

I'd get a lawyer. That's your reputation and your livelihood they're messing with.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Jun 29, 2006

I second that emotion.:yeahthat:

In fact, this topic is way beyond the scope of a general nursing discussion board, and the OP should seek appropriate legal counsel from a qualified professional. This is not only the potential loss of your license and reputation we're talking about here, it could be your freedom as well, and the less said on the Internet (or any other public arena) the better.

Closing thread now. Please see an attorney STAT.

Good luck!