fired maybe i'll go into elementary school teaching....

Published

Well, I was fired today, mostly because of sick days missed during my rough pregnancy. However, I was also fired b/c I didn't call a physician about not being able to get a PICC Line in someone who wasn't able to get their potassium and magnesium. They were on an insulin drip, and with a BG of 641, and their K and MG levels were normal, so I did what I thought was more important. They said I should have given the doc a chance to put in an emergency PICC. I didn't even originally receive the order...and the nurse before me stated that the levels were normal and I shouldn't worry about it......I told them that but they didn't care...apparently, I also missed an order for a certain dressing change..I guess I did it with the wrong solution...I don't even remember that one. Well, it's over now anyway, hope I'll be a good school teacher. They said they were going to report me to the board.

Specializes in LTC.

How catty & petty nursing can be, we all have made med errors.

The pt wasn't harmed.

Though clarification and follow thru will CYA everytime.

The pregnancy thing is what's the real issue, very odd thing to say in a termination situation.

I wouldn't just talk to a lawyer, I'd call your state's Labor Board. They are an amazing resource for being handed a steamy pile from an employer or boss.

Years ago, I got a settlement check for unpaid lunches I could not take.

The employer took out 30 mins for lunches without us clocking out. Another nurse caught this and called, a bunch of us got the satisfaction of them being fined for wrong doing and a little cash too.

Point of the story is, you have options look into them. And best of luck :)

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Specializes in Telemetry/Cardiac Floor.
The comment to "reapply after your pregnancy" is very suspicious. Get a lawyer and review this with them STAT!

Thanks for this.

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I would definately do some calling to the state labor board, the unemployment, maybe even the EEOC. I think the issue is your pregnancy and the amount of health insurance for OB( prenatal and hospital L&D), postpartum, newborn care. Maternity care is expensive. How far along are you and when did they single you out? Maternity leave begins before delivery and length of time out after depends on what kind of delivery you have. Those forms have to be submitted to HR and they process them. You get disability benefits while on maternity leave. Google disability benefits and see who pay for thoses benefits- I bet it's the employER. The employEE does have some small paycheck deduction but that maxes out at a very small cost to you/year. Unemployment is insurance paid to the state by your employER. If you resign( verses being fired) the employER is off the hook and if you are pregnant you loose your health benefits and (?) disability. This was a purely money thing engineered by HR with the nurse manager's help. The K, MG, PICC line and the threat of BON action were only a smoke screen for you to get out of dodge so he/she would look like the low life scum they really are. Pick up the phone, the first thing on a weekday AM and call the dept of labor. Go to the unemployment office file for unemployment and google the EEOC- I think pregnancy is considered temporary disability. You may want to call the state disability office- get the whole damn state involved- and don't for get to tell them the "generous" offer they made you - "to return after your pregnancy" They gave them selves away- shame you didn't have a tape recorder in your purse for that comment.

When my manager pulled a similar broadway act-I was working for this cardiac hospital for 2 yrs perdeim. Getting cancelled left and right due to low census, I took a temp fulltime job. When the per deim job found out I had a temp full time position(second job), I couldn't do anything right. They would call me on days they knew I couldn't come in, began calling me at the second job, harassing me. My temp job ended because it was only grant funded for 940 hours. The perdeim job fired me 2 weeks before the temp job's grant ended. Told me I had a choice- quit or be fired. I let them fire me. I had a sony voice recorder in my purse taping the 1hr and 55 min interrogation on time stamping a computer documentation.( I had a patient loose his pulse and I had to send him down to Radiology. I did my computer documentation of the event after he went to radiology as a 'late entry': - perfectly acceptable to do) Per deim hospital tried to cut my unemployment and told unemployment- "she quit her job with us" so I brought the voice recorder to unemployment. The per deim job made another mistake 'in writing' ( per deim position/no benefit entitlement)- they sent me a COBRA notice with cause of cesation of benefits as "termination" on it in bold letters. That also went to unemployment, which I happily faxed to the unemployment investigator. I was awarded my unemployment benefits. (I wanted to call the nurse manager and tell her thank you for the unemployment and to keep working hard because I still needed the unemployment.) I got another position 2 months later and 4 months into this current position, Perdeim hospital call me to come in to work "they are short staffed" Guess they forgot they "fired" me. These NURSE managers are beyond scum bags.

Keep all your paperwork and any correspondence/write ups, mailings/notices from that job. Watch your mail for the COBRA papers.

These hospitals gamble on the fact that Nurses traditioanlly do not go to file unemeployemnt, They just go and get another job. Guess they forgot the unemployment rate in this country includes all the nurse they have maliciouly put out of work and no jobs avail to be had anywhere. So what do they think the nurse are going to do to pay the bills.

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research FMLA. Have I ever missed orders? Of course I have- I've been a bedside hospital RN for 30 years( med/surg, oncology, tele, sameday surg / endoscopy and some ICU/CCU and ER holding). That's why they have 24 hour chart checks. Some places, some units( example: tele and ICU's) have every 4 hour chart checks. Have I ever passed on tasks that I couldn't get to- of course I have. More times than I can count.

LOOK at the acutity of these patients- doesn't matter what speciality or unit. The patient must met the following guidelines to qualify for admission ( Interqual, Milliman, CMS-medicare and medicaid criteria) which is UtilizationManagement or called Util. Review and can be included with case Management in some facilities, on ALL units,including med/surg. If the patients do not, the insurance company would NOT pay for their stay. The determination is, the patient can be managed at a lower level of care- at home!, even if and especially if- they are charity care. Hospitals want the MONEY!!!! The UM dept would have them out of there quickly because the hospital has to eat the cost of the stay- depending on the level or are of care( med/surg vs ICU) could be $3,000/day and up.

Your pregnancy would cost the hospital money in that the hospital would be shelling out money to a FMLA leave. FMLA is a state (?)federal, Labor(?) LAW, not a perk like a uniform allowance would be. The HR dept is behind this with the Nursing management's help.( My guess is HR looked at the pregnancy/disability pay out and went to the NURSE manager and asked, this is what we need to do-save money, how can you make this happen)That is what I would take to a Labor (Employment) Law Lawyer( wrongful termination ?) in consultation with a NURSE Attorney for the nursing spin that was placed on this. I would sue the hospital, the CEO, the individual HR director, and the Nurse Manager, Nursing VP and nursing Director for every dime they have so you NEVER have to work again!!! Abd they will be working into their 90"s. This was ILLEGAL.

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:nurse:When will we nurses learn to stick together:nurse:, if nothing else for the bond of womanhood!

Oh, yes they DO. Just in different ways.;)

I'm not seeing what was so horrible about the mistakes you made that they feel the need to report you to the BON.

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In addition to above posters site: www.dol.gov

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:uhoh3:It's really scarry to think our profesion of helping people get their health back is so cut throat that it could lead us to a heartattack or becoming homeless in the process.

I would definately do some calling to the state labor board, the unemployment, maybe even the EEOC. I think the issue is your pregnancy and the amount of health insurance for OB( prenatal and hospital L&D), postpartum, newborn care. Maternity care is expensive. How far along are you and when did they single you out? Maternity leave begins before delivery and length of time out after depends on what kind of delivery you have. Those forms have to be submitted to HR and they process them. You get disability benefits while on maternity leave. Google disability benefits and see who pay for thoses benefits- I bet it's the employER. The employEE does have some small paycheck deduction but that maxes out at a very small cost to you/year. Unemployment is insurance paid to the state by your employER. If you resign( verses being fired) the employER is off the hook and if you are pregnant you loose your health benefits and (?) disability. This was a purely money thing engineered by HR with the nurse manager's help. The K, MG, PICC line and the threat of BON action were only a smoke screen for you to get out of dodge so he/she would look like the low life scum they really are. Pick up the phone, the first thing on a weekday AM and call the dept of labor. Go to the unemployment office file for unemployment and google the EEOC- I think pregnancy is considered temporary disability. You may want to call the state disability office- get the whole damn state involved- and don't for get to tell them the "generous" offer they made you - "to return after your pregnancy" They gave them selves away- shame you didn't have a tape recorder in your purse for that comment.

When my manager pulled a similar broadway act-I was working for this cardiac hospital for 2 yrs perdeim. Getting cancelled left and right due to low census, I took a temp fulltime job. When the per deim job found out I had a temp full time position(second job), I couldn't do anything right. They would call me on days they knew I couldn't come in, began calling me at the second job, harassing me. My temp job ended because it was only grant funded for 940 hours. The perdeim job fired me 2 weeks before the temp job's grant ended. Told me I had a choice- quit or be fired. I let them fire me. I had a sony voice recorder in my purse taping the 1hr and 55 min interrogation on time stamping a computer documentation.( I had a patient loose his pulse and I had to send him down to Radiology. I did my computer documentation of the event after he went to radiology as a 'late entry': - perfectly acceptable to do) Per deim hospital tried to cut my unemployment and told unemployment- "she quit her job with us" so I brought the voice recorder to unemployment. The per deim job made another mistake 'in writing' ( per deim position/no benefit entitlement)- they sent me a COBRA notice with cause of cesation of benefits as "termination" on it in bold letters. That also went to unemployment, which I happily faxed to the unemployment investigator. I was awarded my unemployment benefits. (I wanted to call the nurse manager and tell her thank you for the unemployment and to keep working hard because I still needed the unemployment.) I got another position 2 months later and 4 months into this current position, Perdeim hospital call me to come in to work "they are short staffed" Guess they forgot they "fired" me. These NURSE managers are beyond scum bags.

Keep all your paperwork and any correspondence/write ups, mailings/notices from that job. Watch your mail for the COBRA papers.

These hospitals gamble on the fact that Nurses traditioanlly do not go to file unemeployemnt, They just go and get another job. Guess they forgot the unemployment rate in this country includes all the nurse they have maliciouly put out of work and no jobs avail to be had anywhere. So what do they think the nurse are going to do to pay the bills.

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If you don't feel up to this task of calling, googleing, making lawyer appts. go to a family member- father, mother, sister, sisiter in law, brother, brother in law, aunt uncle- a 'baby boomer' relative( we're the ones with the big mouths and picket signs)- tell them what happened and maybe they can help do some of this research with you. 2 web sites were posted here- the EEOC and the dol( dept of Labor) check these sites out, but have someone or you yourself- make those calls and inquires!!!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.
I'm not seeing what was so horrible about the mistakes you made that they feel the need to report you to the BON.

My state requires employers to report any termination of a nurse to the BON. Hers may require the same reporting.

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