Fired from longtime job, too much LOA r/t cancer, deaths in family. Not Fair.....

EmmaG, RN · Sep 23, 2007

after 6 years at my last job, being voted "nurse of the month" in my unit two months prior, having the respect of the physicians i worked with and also most of the nurses and aides, a new don came into town. her target? any nurse there before her, or at the top of the pay scale. i was in both categories, and had so many things done to me to make me quit. i hesitate to post them here in case there are colleagues (former) on here.
however, i needed lots of time off for surgery and treatment for my back and after i asked for modifications to my schedule and to my environment due to my disability under the americans with disabilities act, and also due to physician restriction, i was denied all of them. i was harassed continuously. my co-workers on my shift knew and helped me out so i did "meet" my restrictions.
then i was diagnosed with cancer at christmas-time last year. i started treatment, had surgery, and when i called my boss to tell her i would need some time off. she asked why, and i started to cry, saying "i have cancer". her response? "there's no reason for you to return. you're fired". click. i can't tell you how upset her careless response made me feel.
i gave 110% to that employer, worked extra, came in when they were short, helped institute a new type of "rapid response" team with the physicians, tried to help everyone despite the toxic environment caused by other shift nurses who refused to do their work. refused to do admits that came in 4 hours before shift change!!! refused to do orders after doctor's rounds...left them for next shift. ridiculous. when this new don came strolling in...i was targeted. i worked harder with a painful disability than some of the nurses there (i don't want to sound like a snob, but hey, we all know when other's aren't pulling their weight). i wasn't the only one let go either.
a nurse in her late 60's had a mi at work, was sent to er and admitted. she was written up for attendance!!!! "leaving work before end of shift". i'm not kidding. a few weeks later, her very ill husband on hospice passed away. she came back to work really fast, but it wasn't until later that i found out it was because the don told her she'd be fired if she took more than three days off, and to bring in a copy of the death certificate as proof of death!!!! she was so ill sometimes at work, but needed the insurance desperately. she was a very kind nurse, and was a good worker before she got sick. she was let go not long after me. fired for "excessive absenteeism".
there are no more "old timers" there. it's all new grads now. many mistakes were being made, state in to investigate complaints, etc. the new management ruined that place. it used to be a great place to work, very flexible, caring managers (not easy to find!!!), good co-workers (even harder to find!!), and decent staffing. until the witches flew in on their broomsticks and cast their spell.
i am pretty disgusted by nursing right now, too. fired for cancer??? where is the caring and compassion for the nurses who do all the caring for the patients??? we are supposed to care for everybody, except ourselves. oh, don't ever get sick, or need surgery, because you're not allowed to care for yourself, unless you want to get thrown to the wolves. especially all nurses out there with long-term disabilities like mine (back injury, chronic intractable pain), who could still contribute to nursing with our minds, are turned away simply because our bodies are worn out.

i am so very sorry you had to experience this. i can't help but think a good lawyer could get you a settlement on a claim against these asses. hell, i do it just for the aggravation factor--- god knows they aggravated you enough.

i had extensive abdominal surgery for cancer, and had to be out the full 12 weeks on fmla. six months later, i was admitted emergently for a perforated bowel (as a complication post-op). my doc scheduled me for a colonoscopy to follow up. i happened to mention this to my manager (i wouldn't have needed to take time off--- only to work my usual 3 12's on friday, saturday, and sunday and do the procedure during the week on my time off). her response? that i was "not allowed" to schedule any more medical procedures for the next six months, as i'd taken too much time off in that calendar year (she seemed to forget that by law, they can't count my fmla against me). "not allowed", on my own time. when i quit without notice, this was one of the examples i gave hr as to why i was bailing.

steelcityrn, RN · Sep 24, 2007

Anyone can be replaced, this is very well known in nursing. Right or wrong, its good for all to remember.

HeidiSuz · Sep 24, 2007

i hate nursing. i just found out that a lady i know in town was fired from her longtime job at one of our nursing homes. she and i got out of nursing school around the same time, she's in her early 60s now. she was a resident care coordinator for a long time, and i heard great things about her through the grapevine. she has gone through a couple of bouts with breast cancer, and of course needed time off for that. then, last april her adult son was killed in an industrial accident. she was naturally devastated and needed a loa. she now had only one living child out of 3.
i found out today that she was fired after this last loa because she had missed too much work. i hate nursing. we are expected to give our last ounce of blood, and who takes care of us? no one.

dear jlsrn, thank you for your email. like i have written and said before that, " nurses need to unite, unionize and demand better treatment." the newbees coming into nursing do not undertand that there is not anything to help us. forget nursing associations, i have found they are useless. the laws need to be changed. our profession is not like others and yes we deserve special case treatment. we need to have a list of nursing requirements for the employer to fulfill otherwise we are open to anything anybody wants to do to us and our discipline is treated unfairly. here is an example of an unfair thing that happened to me recently so i made a form letter: i wrote this to an agency who denied me work.

[color=#808080]dear andrew:

[color=#808080]

apparently, your agency has failed to understand what i wrote as you have failed to contact me. i have been a nurse for 20 years, had a foolish complaint as someone wanted my agency nurse job. (i told you up front and i do not lie.) a bed was at 30 degrees instead of 45. the patient was contracted and had dementia and smacked his lips, i spilled some water and the nursing asst. was black, this is the south and there is pregadice. i cannot believe that you have not tried to do a background check on me. i have never been arrested for anything. oh i had a traffic ticket. i am insulted that your people have not called me back. because this whole thing is foolishness and that today five years later the nursing board changed its approach and anyone who had a first complaint and it is not serious has it dropped. i probably could have it dropped except a new attorney just out of school handled this like a criminal investigation which it was not. it was a complaint. it was foolish. it was done by some silly people who did it to get out of work. and why that nursing asst who wrote the complaint did not assist me with the patient, i do not know. she was not licensed as a cna because the state did not have a license for cnas at that time. i checked and she is no longer a cna. then, to have my roomate take the complaint six months later and retaliate on me to the state with it was uncalled for also. for you and your company not to understand that things happen we have no control over. i am proud to be a nurse and i cannot waste my time with a petty company that does not understand that does not understand the nature of things and the nursing environment. this could have happened to anyone. it is not allowed today due to hippa and my employee file would have a policy on it. my roomate did this as she got fired from the company and the agency shut down. nurses are in such demand that something like this is a joke. your company is not the license board. my license is free and clear and ready to work. i sure would not want to work for a company that does not believe in me. i do well and i am a good nurse because i have experience. one complaint in 20 years. with the way this world is then, i must be doing something right. i do not want to bother with sagents health as it sounds like it is full of biggots. i do not need that i am a single female nurse over 50 and i do not have time for foolishness. i have so many other companies that call me. i have already been hired by maxim health care and arbor who i worked for before is desperately trying to find a contract for me. maxim has come up with the most information. i told them i had a complaint, i argued about the fee for it and had a bad representative assisting with it and my x roomate who did not have a roof over her head sent this out of my employee file without permission from anyone in the company. i personally failed to get the correct information about her before i helped her and brought her into my home. things happen. my world is not perfect. whoever did not understand this needs to learn a few things. making it harder on people does not give your company a good name and i remember these things when other nurses ask what agency is good for contract. i am so sorry i am not perfect. thank you. bye the way i am getting a compact license from maine. this means that i can work in over 22 states i believe. i did not get that from being a criminal. since i have been judged by your company without knowing my abilities. ( even the president of the us has a traffic ticket with a drunk charge in kennebunk port, maine.) i do not again, need the foolishness in my life. there are so many other jobs for me. i always get hired for contracts. bye.

sincerely,

[color=#808080]cannot change the color back jlsrn,

[color=#808080]i cannot believe that during the 21st century we have not found an answer. i would love to head up a union movement in this state. i would give em hell. i am sick of being sick of unfairness. also at 60 they should kiss that woman's feet for putting up them. they just want someone without experience that they have to pay less and do not care because they can find another one. nurses need to set boundaries to their profession or there will not be nurses out there who dare to practice for fear of retaliation, punitive treatment, unfair play and people who circuvent the system so they can do what they want to someone. there are evil people in this world. i have had some awful things done to me as a nurse. i have to remember what goes around comes around. those who are guilty of abusing nurses chances are have been abused themselves and are sick as heck.. my new motto is help stamp out sick nursing employers and give them the headache. i am venting. i am an agressive go getter. i am also gunho to make a change and will certainly give it a good effect to change the way the system works. how about other nurses just coming into this state. how do other states handle things or nurses ?

[color=#808080]also, i was once taught to file the paper trail, i am former military also so i will do it. i would suggest that the nurse who got fired got to the equal employment agency and write that she is over 60 and got fired. also, file unemployment and get the news involved, there is usually a business section in the tv stations that get involved. once i even wrote the better business bureau and let them know how awful staff nurses are treated and mention the hospital. call the governors office and talk to a mr. newman. one last thing is that the white house has a liason office who will get her to the right agency for redress. do not let it go as the more things that are filed the most chances we have of someone taking a look at the situation.

[color=#808080]this shortage of nursing is not as bad as it is made out to be, as it is the employers who create ill will to us and treat us like bad children. i have had a few good jobs in my time. i have had one recently and i am waiting to return to it.

[color=#808080]i am strong and do not give up. you see what i have had to walk through. i did it. i spent many hours being treated badly. there ought to be a law against who is allowed and what is the degree things are done for someone to see your license otherwise the nurses will get less and less as time goes on. it is stupid and foolishness. i have survived all of this and will continue to be steel. i am not afraid. i do not go alone as there are other nurses out there that understand and have the same thoughts and feelings. we have to unite. thank you

HeidiSuz · Sep 24, 2007

I hate nursing. I just found out that a lady I know in town was fired from her longtime job at one of our nursing homes. She and I got out of nursing school around the same time, she's in her early 60s now. She was a resident care coordinator for a long time, and I heard great things about her through the grapevine. She has gone through a couple of bouts with breast cancer, and of course needed time off for that. Then, last April her adult son was killed in an industrial accident. She was naturally devastated and needed a LOA. She now had only one living child out of 3.
I found out today that she was fired after this last LOA because she had missed too much work. I hate nursing. We are expected to give our last ounce of blood, and who takes care of us? No one.

This is a repeat by accident so sorry I hit the wrong button.

Chaya, ASN, RN · Sep 24, 2007

This is the number one type situation I would like to see addressed by a nationalized health insurance or other means. It's pretty common for a person in almost any field to have to work through chemo in order to keep the health insurance that pays for it even though they may be sick as a dog. It's totally indefensible for this kind of situation to exist in an industrialized country in the 21st century. I don't know that it's any worse in nursing but we tend to think that people in the healthcare field should have better or at least adequate access to healthcare and support. T'ain't so.

oramar · Oct 2, 2007

) I think of my relationship w/ my former employer as akin to having an abusive spouse. Always criticizing and cutting you down when you called out sick or had a problem, ready to take advantage of you to the fullest, and very stingy and mean w/ any sort of praise, recognition, or $. You've got to take care of yourself. Use your decent salary to get some supplemental unemployment insurance and learn how to say no. I hate sometimes how we individuals buy into the nasty mentality and are not nice to one another.

The abusive spouse is an excellent analogy. I have thought as much myself. In my entire life I have never been abused by anyone or anything like I have been abused by nursing administration. If you talked to some of my previous employers they would tell you I was a problem employee. What was my problem? Is it conflict with other employees, or serious laspes in judgement in the area of patient care or med errors or did someone die in my care or suffer serious injury? No to all of the previous suggestions! My sin is that I protest nurse abuse. Their reaction to complaints about 10 to 1(or God help me even 12 to 1) nurse to patient ratio is "How dare you, you are disorganized, you are not a team player, you are chronic complainer, get out!"

RNforhire07 · Oct 2, 2007

I know what you mean.......I was fired almost TWO yrs ago and am having a heck of a time finding another job at a decent facility. Add another person to the HATE Nursing crowd!

rnmomtobe2010 · Oct 2, 2007

This is the saddest stuff I have ever read. How can people be so heartless and cruel? I am thinking long and hard about my future after reading this. It is enough I will be stressed out about giving my all tothe patients, but to be going through cruel (I can't say what I want) personell is unheard of.

RN1121 · Oct 2, 2007

I have a different outlook on the topic...

In response to the op, I think it IS fair to relieve an employee of their duties as a result of recurrent absenteeism.

I can't blame the facility for deciding to dismiss her. The circumstances are sensitive, and some flexibility is important in her situation, but unfortunately life has brought some difficult times.

The issues were obviously interfering with her job performance. It is difficult to rely on someone who is consistently absent, in any occupation, but especially health care.

leslymill · Oct 3, 2007

DEAD???

Now that just makes me trembling mad.

HeidiSuz · Oct 3, 2007

The abusive spouse is an excellent analogy. I have thought as much myself. In my entire life I have never been abused by anyone or anything like I have been abused by nursing administration. If you talked to some of my previous employers they would tell you I was a problem employee. What was my problem? Is it conflict with other employees, or serious laspes in judgement in the area of patient care or med errors or did someone die in my care or suffer serious injury? No to all of the previous suggestions! My sin is that I protest nurse abuse. Their reaction to complaints about 10 to 1(or God help me even 12 to 1) nurse to patient ratio is "How dare you, you are disorganized, you are not a team player, you are chronic complainer, get out!"

YOU are so correct. I like it and will adapt your philosophy.

DeLana_RN, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2007

....
then i was diagnosed with cancer at christmas-time last year. i started treatment, had surgery, and when i called my boss to tell her i would need some time off. she asked why, and i started to cry, saying "i have cancer". her response? "there's no reason for you to return. you're fired". click. i can't tell you how upset her careless response made me feel.
i gave 110% to that employer, worked extra, came in when they were short, helped institute a new type of "rapid response" team with the physicians, tried to help everyone despite the toxic environment caused by other shift nurses who refused to do their work. refused to do admits that came in 4 hours before shift change!!! refused to do orders after doctor's rounds...left them for next shift. ridiculous. when this new don came strolling in...i was targeted. i worked harder with a painful disability than some of the nurses there (i don't want to sound like a snob, but hey, we all know when other's aren't pulling their weight). i wasn't the only one let go either.
a nurse in her late 60's had a mi at work, was sent to er and admitted. she was written up for attendance!!!! "leaving work before end of shift". i'm not kidding. a few weeks later, her very ill husband on hospice passed away. she came back to work really fast, but it wasn't until later that i found out it was because the don told her she'd be fired if she took more than three days off, and to bring in a copy of the death certificate as proof of death!!!! she was so ill sometimes at work, but needed the insurance desperately. she was a very kind nurse, and was a good worker before she got sick. she was let go not long after me. fired for "excessive absenteeism".
....

i would say this is unbelievable if i didn't know any better (and i certainly don't doubt anything you say) ... i'm just shocked and outraged that something like this can happen!!!

i sure know that sociopaths like your former don exist in nursing (my former regional manager was one; i don't even want to remember the things she did... i just know that i would never return to this company as long as this devil :devil: works there).

i hope things are better for you now.

((( hugs )))

delana