Abandonment

morte, LPN, LVN · Apr 6, 2009

I am concerned about abandonment. I was just recently terminated because I left work without permission. I clocked in but never took report. The DON was called regarding the situation but she did not answer her phone so I left because I was uncomfortable with the workload. Is this considered abandonment?
-FL RN

check the florida bon website.....i would think this would not qualify, but check it out......also if you have malpractice ins (and you DO, dont you?) give them a call.....because the facility may try to report you anyway...good luck

northwestwind · Apr 6, 2009

I have serious issues with your judgment. Yes, it is abandonment to be scheduled for a shift, and leave without permission. That you didn't get report is not the issue. Who's to say you wouldn't leave in the middle of a shift, because you didn't like the workload? Your license is on the line. You would be better off in another industry where personal accountability for a person's life isn't part of your job.

morte, LPN, LVN · Apr 6, 2009

I have serious issues with your judgment. Yes, it is abandonment to be scheduled for a shift, and leave without permission. That you didn't get report is not the issue. Who's to say you wouldn't leave in the middle of a shift, because you didn't like the workload? Your license is on the line. You would be better off in another industry where personal accountability for a person's life isn't part of your job.

the fact that she/he didnt get report is, in fact, the issue....she/he had not accepted the assignment/not formed a professional relationship to the patients....in most if not all states this is a requirment to charge abandonment.....

Ruthiegal · Apr 6, 2009

I have serious issues with your judgment. Yes, it is abandonment to be scheduled for a shift, and leave without permission. That you didn't get report is not the issue. Who's to say you wouldn't leave in the middle of a shift, because you didn't like the workload? Your license is on the line. You would be better off in another industry where personal accountability for a person's life isn't part of your job.

Wow that's pretty rough talk there... She hadn't taken report, so who did she abandon? She did not accept the work load.... She was looking for advice, on how to handle these things, maybe she should have stayed until she reached the DON, but to say she would be better off somewhere else??? I think that's a stretch...

Just my :twocents: worth

Flame me if you like, I have thick skin and broad shoulders.

Melinurse · Apr 6, 2009

Wow that's pretty rough talk there... She hadn't taken report, so who did she abandon? She did not accept the work load.... She was looking for advice, on how to handle these things, maybe she should have stayed until she reached the DON, but to say she would be better off somewhere else??? I think that's a stretch...
Just my worth
Flame me if you like, I have thick skin and broad shoulders.

No flames here.However, I can see the arguement either way for you did clock in and you did not give time to find a replacement thereby putting the patients in potential jeopardy. Do look around your BON web site to see what they say. Talk to your DON unless you plan to find another job due to unsafe patient care loads,etc. Perhaps a compromise or some kind of agreement can be reached. Good luck and keep us posted.

Lovely_RN, MSN · Apr 6, 2009

Yes this is abandonment because you did not give the facility adequate time to find your replacement and that potentially left the residents in danger. Also once you clocked in how can you prove you didn't go to your unit or take report? If your facility wants to pursue this then it's going to be your word against theirs. A nurse at my job did this and was also terminated on the spot but the DON decided to not report her to the BON. Hopefully your facility will also decide to not pursue it any further and if you get that lucky don't even think of doing anything like this again.

I do feel bad for you because I have been given schedules to work on one unit and then when I have showed up to work I have been pulled to other units. It's the old bait and switch or sometimes I think I am going to be working with a certain amount of staff and due to call ins people get pulled but no matter what I can't leave. When those situations happen to me I do what I can to keep all my residents alive and safe and if someone doesn't get a colace or a simple dressing done then so be it but you don't ever leave.

Polley93 · Apr 6, 2009

Technically? This was not abandonment as you did not recieve report and were not taking the responsibility for patient care. Professionally? You should have stayed at the facility until the powers that be were notified as to the reasons for your refusal. Everything should have been documented, signed, and time stamped. (the infamous "CYA" syndrome)

The nurse that was trying to "give" report was put in a bad position, as she could not leave until she reported off shift to another licensed nurse. If she were to leave, this would have truly been classified as abandonment.

With ANY state board of nursing, if you get called in for ANYTHING regarding patient care they will ask you the infamous question....."why did you accept this assignment?". We, as RN's, have every right to refuse assignments that we deem unsafe. This of course, is in a perfect world.

Those of us who have been in the business for a long time know all too well the insanity of assignments at times. Just about everywhere you go, the patient assignments can be unsafe. Heavy patient loads and substandard or inexperienced staff. This is scary. Nursing has changed so much in the past 20 years and nursing education continues to be about 10 years behind the actual need in the workplace.

The trouble with this whole scenario is that things like this tend to follow you. You want to be careful to build a strong reputation for yourself and not have the hangovers from past employment follow you to future endeavors. Nursing is a big world, but a very small community, and reputation is huge when it comes to moving forward in the same location or area.

Best of luck to you! :nurse:

morte, LPN, LVN · Apr 6, 2009

Yes this is abandonment because you did not give the facility adequate time to find your replacement and that potentially left the residents in danger. Also once you clocked in how can you prove you didn't go to your unit or take report? If your facility wants to pursue this then it's going to be your word against theirs. A nurse at my job did this and was also terminated on the spot but the DON decided to not report her to the BON. Hopefully your facility will also decide to not pursue it any further and if you get that lucky don't even think of doing anything like this again.
I do feel bad for you because I have been given schedules to work on one unit and then when I have showed up to work I have been pulled to other units. It's the old bait and switch or sometimes I think I am going to be working with a certain amount of staff and due to call ins people get pulled but no matter what I can't leave. When those situations happen to me I do what I can to keep all my residents alive and safe and if someone doesn't get a colace or a simple dressing done then so be it but you don't ever leave.

if anything happened to YOUR patients, during that understaffed time, it WOULD be YOUR lic on the line, because YOU accepted an unsafe assignment.......and your DON "decided' not to report it because she had no case.....but by putting that thought out to the staff she is intimidating you (staff) to continue to put your lic on the line, and the company saves money.....

Saifudin · Apr 6, 2009

Leaving work w/o permission reveals a serious lack of judgment. As a DON I would also a terminate an employee who does the same.

There are mature, professional ways to deal with work related situations. Leaving duty is not one of them.

Lovely_RN, MSN · Apr 6, 2009

I'm going according to what is says in my states nurse practice act.

That is why I questioned how could she prove that she didn't take report? Also, how can she prove that she did give the facility a reasonable notice? How can she prove that reasonable arrangements could have been made? I think it's a sticky situation and if she works for really spiteful people it really will be her word against theirs.

I agree with Polley93 where is the documentation?

Where I live there was a case of employer abandonment by a group of Philippine nurses working for Sentosa because they all decided to quit around the same time. The case went in the favor of the nurses but the point is that they had to go through a lot of legal hoops for about a year until the decision was made in their favor. The OP would have been better off completing the shift and then giving her notice because the end result is the same she isn't working there anymore.

It's likely that the situation would be decided in favor of the OP but if she lived in my state the facility could report her to the state and she would go through hell before things were resolved. In NYS if your license is suspended it can take up to 9 months to resolve the issue and during that time where are you? Somewhere without a license and a way to make a living until your case is heard.

The thing is that I don't live in FL so maybe the BON does things differently so the OP should check with her states BON.

Abandonment and Unprofessional Conduct
The decision to charge a nurse with abandonment will depend on an examination of all of the circumstances surrounding a particular situation as assessed by State Education Department staff in consultation with a member of the State Board for Nursing. Key questions considered include:
* Did the nurse accept the patient assignment, which established a nurse-patient relationship?
* Did the nurse provide reasonable notice when severing the nurse-patient relationship?
* Could reasonable arrangements have been made for continuation of nursing care by others when proper notification was given?
An investigation by the Department of abandonment charges would consider whether managerial or supervisory personnel made adequate provisions for competent staffing to ensure necessary patient care in routine situations. The Department and the nurse may obtain a copy of the nurse's written notice of patient assignment refusal in the event of such an investigation.
In most cases, the following situations are not examples of unprofessional conduct nor automatic violations of the Regents Rule:
* Refusing to accept responsibility for a patient assignment(s) when the nurse has given reasonable notice to the proper agent that the nurse lacks competence to carry out the assignment.
* Refusing the assignment of a double shift or additional hours beyond the posted work schedule when proper notification has been given.
http://www.op.nysed.gov/nurseabandonment.htm

LovebugLPN · Apr 6, 2009

Okay, let me get this straight. The OP went to work and clocked in. She/he realized that the patient load was unsafe and did NOT take report but left work. In all of this the DON was unable to be contacted. Okay, if all of my facts are correct this is my answer. This is without a doubt NOT abandonment. Could it be handled differently? Yes. Should a nurse put their license on the line to make the dollar hungry higher ups happy? H*ll no! You probably don't have job anymore so start looking for a job Sister but you were concerned and you did what a lot of nurses should do and if more nurses would do what you did we would have better work loads and more respect from our employers. I totally support you but again you could have waited until you got ahold of the DON but not taken report.