Fired because i did not accept the assignment

[radial34]

let me say this is my first post i have always read nurses different views but this is crazy i was fired from my job today because i did not accept the assignment i worked on this unit once before and go out extremely late they did not stock medications and narcotics they did not have any uniformity extremely unorganized on this unit the assistant director of nursing said i either had to goto the unit or get fired i told her i was not gonna put my license in danger and left has anybody been through something like this before cause this is ridiculous to me in nursing school i was told if you don't feel comfortable with an assignment you have a right not to accept it so why did i get fired... strange i need some help:cry:

[leslie :-D]

when you refuse, you definitely risk getting in trouble or as in your case, terminated.

what can't happen, is being charged by your BON w/pt abandonment.

but chances are, you will pay the price when refusing an assignment.

obviously you felt strongly enough by refusing.

and for that, your pts thank you.

leslie

[letina]

A little confused here. Do you work in a hospital and they wanted to float you to another unit? Or do you mean you refused a particular patient assignment? Did you take report and then refuse?

Just not sure what the specifics are. If you could give us a bit more info, we would be better able to advise.

[radial34]

I worked in a nursing home its huge tho 600 beds and yes they wanted me to float i have no problem floating i actually like floating but i just hate unorganization. Anyways i worked on the unit they wanted me to float to one time before that so i knew it was unorganized i didnt take report instead i went to the supervisor/DON to change to a different unit but they didnt want to change me.... thanks for all the replies i got

[caliotter3]

It may not sound right but it is better to get fired for not accepting an assignment than to blindly follow like a sheep and get into big time trouble because of a poor decision. Consider this a lesson in learning how to speak up for yourself and move on to a better and safer job out there. Just remember to try to stay away from bashing this employer in future interviews. You don't want to get passed up for a job because you were bad mouthing this facility, even if they deserve it. Good luck.

[elkpark]

Well, that's the catch in this kind of situation -- you have a right to refuse an assignment if it's unsafe in the sense that refusing the assignment won't endanger your license, but, yeah, your employer can certainly fire you for doing so.

I've been in a similar situation in the past, where we staff nurses were agonizing day by day over when it would finally be time to "throw down the gauntlet" and refuse to accept our assignments because the work environment was so unsafe (how unsafe is too unsafe?) We were even communicating directly with our BON about their rules and expectations to be sure we wouldn't put ourselves in a situation where we could be accused (by our employer) of abandonment. But we were very much aware that, if it came down to it and any of us came to work one day and refused an assignment, we would get fired for that ...

As earle58 noted, it comes down to whether the situation is bad enough that it's worth paying the price (getting fired) for taking a stand ...

I believe there are some states that have legal protection in place for nurses in that situation, that employers can't fire them for refusing an unsafe assignment, but my state is certainly not one of those (and not likely to become one any time soon! )

[towntalker]

as was noted they can fire you [if not unionized] for most any reason

this is a decision that you make when you decide that the situation is too dangerous for you, your patients or YOUR LICENSE

you did the right thing, better luck with your next job

[kayla123]

Like my nursing instructor always said to me, and has stuck for ALL these years, ask yourself will they go to jail for me, and that is your answer. I have guided my career by this.

[RenaissancemaN]

We were just going over this in class....My professor told us if you are floated to a unit that you never worked on, You ask for an orientation. I was also told to fill out a "written protest" and make a copy for your self to any situation you feel is dangerous so that you can carry out the assignment, and not abandon the pt. I don't think you should have got fired though! You'll find a better place to work.

[sfn2008, RN]

It may not sound right but it is better to get fired for not accepting an assignment than to blindly follow like a sheep and get into big time trouble because of a poor decision. Consider this a lesson in learning how to speak up for yourself and move on to a better and safer job out there. Just remember to try to stay away from bashing this employer in future interviews. You don't want to get passed up for a job because you were bad mouthing this facility, even if they deserve it. Good luck.

A nurse recruiter recently told me that termination under these cercumstances should be referred to as "ethical differences". In other words you and your employer disputed what was "safe nursing practice". This seems to be a reasonable explination if you are terminated or you quit. In essance, you quit when the facility required you to take an assignment that you assessed as being unsafe.

[PMHNP10]

what's so wonderful (and I mean this as sarcastically as humanly possible) about a situation like yours is that although your BON won't come after your license for refusing to accept an unsafe assignment, whereas they would hang you in a second had you accepted the assignment and something unfortunate had happened to a pt. under your care, they also won't go to bat for you; yeah sure, they protect the best interest of the consumer, but when you do the same, they could not possibly care less

[donsterRN, ASN, BSN]

And now, back on topic.

To refresh the memory, the OP was looking for a little support because she had been terminated for refusing an assignment.

Please do carry on.

And if one happens to feel the urge to comment publically on someone's usage of language, spelling inconsistencies, absence of punctuation or any topic not related to the OP's original request for support, I would urge one to fight it. Hard.