I scanned and gave my meds one night to a patient who's parents did not like me ( i later found out) they accused me of not giving them right away but coming back 2 hours later (this never happened), but I gave my meds, but they say I forgot to give nystatin to the baby. I swear i remember doing it, but i guess its possible.
So i was spoken to by my manager 2 weeks ago. Today I had to come in for a meeting, i was nevous because she had just fired another nurse the week before because 2 parents complained about him. Anyway, I went in thinking "ok, i've never been in trouble, have no previous write ups etc, worst case scenerio, i get my first one"...WRONG, she says i am on final written warning for false documentation, and not administering a med. The "false documentation is the fact i scanned in the med to be administered.
I tried to go to my HR department who then gave me a huge list of hoops to jump thru to get it removed.
I want to just resign and get a new job, but we have GROUP ONE in texas.
Can my manager put ANYTHING in my GROUP ONE (in Texas) report if i gave 2 week notice during a final written warning (btw what happened to the first and second??) Is she at liberty to write what ever she wants on me even if i quit with, and was not asked to resign or fired?
Clarification - Group One is a DFW phenomenon. Haven't heard of any organizations in Houston or other metro areas in TX that subscribe to it.
These days, all hospitals are placing huge priority on customer satisfaction because of the implementation of HCAHPS - basing reimbursement on patient satisfaction. So even minor offenses can be escalated if the also involve patient complaints. I am sure that many organizations have a (not so ) hidden agenda these days... eliminating staff that are not 'crowd pleasers'.
In my state, you can be fired without cause. You can also quit a job without cause. Any type of union here, for any type of employment, is few and far between. The only protection for an employee here is if it involves some type of discrimination. I have been an RN for 23 years now, and have been written up for some of the most ridiculous accusations, but I have noticed that since the "customer satisfaction" crap came about, we get written up if the patient simply doesn't like the way you look. I was once accused of patient abuse; I was sent home without pay, of course, and told not to come back until they called me. As it turned out, it was a 94 year old confused patient whom I had never even met, nor did I take care of her! Her daughter just thought I was the "blonde" that took care of her mother. They immediately just assumed it was me, simply because the daughter said so! Two days later, they called and said it was a mistake and to come back to work. Two days pay down the drain for me. (BTW, the abuse never took place either, by anyone. Someone did a dressing change on her decubitus, and the patient claimed someone had "hurt" her!)
3. I would not leave without trying professionally to challenge the write up
4. Was there an investigation done? I don't get how they instantly took the patien'ts word? What was the time from when u took the meds out to when u charted med applied? was it less than the 2hr window that the family said you took?
Any manager can do what ever they want today, especially without a union. They interpret the rules their own way given what ever whim they are in at the moment. NONE of them observe the federal employment laws- they don't even know what they are. They are lawless themselves. They need to go home and treat their own families that way. They are going through nurses like water. And yes, they will destroy a nurse's career in a heartbeat. you mean nothing to them. As quick as you are out the door, someone is already hired for what ever poor excuse they have have for orientation. It's not going to stop until they are sued by their employees and former employees.
As far as this patient satisfaction crap goes: this is crap dreamed up by the business degrees. Look in any college or university course of study that offers business as a degree- doesn't matter if its an Ivy league university or a community college. Read through some of the course descriptions in their busines major/school. All this crap flinging that the healthcare professionals out there today that are actually doing/practicing are subjected to comes from these business majors. It's exactly as Esme posted. How many proceedures in nursing or medicine are "pleasant"? The "H" is for hospital NOT Hotel. Ever know a painless surgery?, How about a nice bowel cleanout? or Is that a designer colostomy bag you have? Where ever did you buy it? I think I'll have some cardizem with my bagel and cream cheese and Starbucks dark roast this morning? Can I make that a grande? Don't want your insulin? Let me bring you our dessert cart. Don't want to go for your Physical Therapy today , no problemo, just stay in bed and watch TV. Does anyone with a nursing education or medical education think these business majors know the difference? The business majors don't know what we do or have to do. They are clueless or they wouldn't be spewing such idiot garbage at us. Does any of them know what fools they are making themselves out to be by sending out the moron memos and policies they send out? These CEO's are walking colostomy bags. And it's not going to change until there is more healthcare professionals with "clinical" backrounds going into the healthcare systems and governing agencies taking the adminstrations over and out numbering these business clowns. Until then, these business degrees through their own stupidity and lack of education in the health sciences of pathophys and paharmacology are just breeding more acutely ill, more complicatedly sick individuals so they can keep there cash flow going.
I lived and worked in a large urban hospital in Texas in the 1990s. I was "counseled" because the mother of my 2-year-old patient complained that I wouldn't let the child have water before she went to the OR for a tonsillectomy. The mother said I was "cruel" by not allowing water, since the child hadn't had anything to drink at all since the night before, and she was thirsty. I did quit before I got fired, because the DON, who counseled me, didn't want to hear anything I said... never mind NPO before surgery!
I have worked in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas in the last 40 years, but NOWHERE else compares to the abusive ways nurses are/were treated in Texas!!
I lived and worked in a large urban hospital in Texas in the 1990s. I was "counseled" because the mother of my 2-year-old patient complained that I wouldn't let the child have water before she went to the OR for a tonsillectomy. The mother said I was "cruel" by not allowing water, since the child hadn't had anything to drink at all since the night before, and she was thirsty. I did quit before I got fired, because the DON, who counseled me, didn't want to hear anything I said... never mind NPO before surgery!
I have worked in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas in the last 40 years, but NOWHERE else compares to the abusive ways nurses are/were treated in Texas!!
You are kidding? Doesn't "DON" imply "nurse?" I don't understand this rush to satisfy the patient at all. It negates all of our education and experience in health care.
These are sad stories. Wisconsin must be a much better place to work than the South.
xoemmylouox, ASN, RN
3,150 Posts
This is ridiculous, but no suprising. Common sense says that parents may be mistaken, but who needs common sense anymore? Certainly not managers..