Fear of Losing License/Job

paddler · Apr 24, 2012

I and many of my co-workers feel this way, yes. Fear of losing my license is based on being overworked, understaffed and having to basically provide crappy care. Not the kind of nurse I want to be! But, I don't have a choice (other than leaving this job for another - which I am in the process of). Also, administration is always cracking down about this and that, and adding more and more paperwork, new processes, etc. The only time you see administration walking down the hall is when something went wrong and of course you are left to worry for a moment if they are coming for you, or a co-worker or just to add more work to your already too busy day. Endless threats of write-ups - for poor performance and various issues that should not occur but do - because of the aforementioned short staffing issues create a threatening environment. If administration walked around the halls patting employees on the back and thanking them for their hard work and APOLOGIZING for them having to mess around with how I attempt to do my job every day instead of having a "No news is good news" approach, I might not feel this way.

nicurn001 · Apr 24, 2012

Sorry , this is not meant to hijack this thread , but it always amazes me that nurses continue to work under tyranical conditions rather than , work collectively to change the work enviroment or at least reduce administrations threats . The most effective counter to bad management attitudes is to unionize ( I have seen both the good and bad re. unions ) but when you have your contract in place management cannot arbitrally / daily change policies and they have to follow the law , their own policies and contract clauses applicable to a disciplinary matter NB lets get this fallacy out of the way , a union cannot stop management firing a bad nurse , the union is obliged to represent the nurses covered by the contract , the union will then management have to prove " just cause ", if management has done its job properly they will be able to prove just cause and that nurse will be terminated , if they have not fone their job properly than the nurse may well be reinstated .

Ladybluebell · Apr 25, 2012

I used to think this was ridiculous when people made comments about losing their jobs or their license. But we have a new nurse manager that i think hates me and looks for things to ride me about. I think she would like to get rid of me and i do worry about lossing my job. Adminstration has way to much control over our practice.

nicurn001 · Apr 25, 2012

I used to think this was ridiculous when people made comments about losing their jobs or their license. But we have a new nurse manager that i think hates me and looks for things to ride me about. I think she would like to get rid of me and i do worry about lossing my job. Adminstration has way to much control over our practice.

Unfortunately your feelings are all too common amongst nurses , they think just because they do a good job they are immune to risk of losing their job , but with a change of manager , or ethos of the administration at your facility if you are targeted , you could walk on water , but they would still work to find a reason to be rid of you !!

The reason I advocate unionization so much , is I view my dues as an insurance payment , insurance that covers me from changes in management attitutude , for example now as a senior nurse I cost a lot , which could make me a target if budgets need to be cut , in order to be rid of me they would have to find and document just cause , not come up with some trumped up allegation and have security escort me off the floor .

BostonTerrierLover, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2012

"I was looking for a job when I found this one!"

:redbeatheBoston

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2012

if i've said it once, i've said it a dozen times. there is entirely too much moaning about "loosing (sic)/losing my license" on an. i don't know if it's related to the general catastrophizing outlook on life that comes from the daily news and how it's reported ("if it bleeds, it leads"), or a general innumeracy related to actual statistics and risk assessment. probably a bit of both.

you can go online and find out who suffered loss or restriction of rn license in your state. my state nursing association publishes them in the newsletter; it's maybe dozens per year, but certainly not hundreds or thousands. people lose their licenses for things like substance abuse at work, narcotics diversion, fraud, felony theft, patient abuse, and so forth. if you aren't planning on doing any of that, your risk of license restriction or loss is minuscule.

******* off the staffing coordinator, forgetting to chart something and doing an addendum later under established conventions, habitual lateness, getting the stink-eye from your supervisor-- these might cause you to lose a job or a promotion, but they do not rise to the level of losing a license. try to remember that.

nicurn001 · Apr 25, 2012

GrnTea makes a good point re. losing licenses , it doesn't happen that frequently and the charge has to be one that is both notifiable to the BON and proved .

The greater problem is that were management threatens staff with write ups and or termination for almost any infraction of what they want done or simply because you have become a budget drain to them . When you are employed " at will" as long as the termination doesn' come about due to discriminating against defined groups , you can be fired for any reason your employer cares to come up with .

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2012

I think the threat of losing your license, while very real, is over dramatized. It doesn't happen that often when compared to how many nurses work everyday....but it doesn't happen. drugs/substance abuse, diversion remain the major causes for loss of license. HIPAA/privacy breeches are the up and coming reason to lose your license with the onslaught of social media. Your license will more likely be disciplined/suspended rather than revoked.

Creamsoda, ASN, RN · Apr 27, 2012

if i've said it once, i've said it a dozen times. there is entirely too much moaning about "loosing (sic)/losing my license" on an. i don't know if it's related to the general catastrophizing outlook on life that comes from the daily news and how it's reported ("if it bleeds, it leads"), or a general innumeracy related to actual statistics and risk assessment. probably a bit of both.

you can go online and find out who suffered loss or restriction of rn license in your state. my state nursing association publishes them in the newsletter; it's maybe dozens per year, but certainly not hundreds or thousands. people lose their licenses for things like substance abuse at work, narcotics diversion, fraud, felony theft, patient abuse, and so forth. if you aren't planning on doing any of that, your risk of license restriction or loss is minuscule.

******* off the staffing coordinator, forgetting to chart something and doing an addendum later under established conventions, habitual lateness, getting the stink-eye from your supervisor-- these might cause you to lose a job or a promotion, but they do not rise to the level of losing a license. try to remember that.

thank you, i really do detest the " if i continue anymore, im going to loose my license" bit. i would call it a pet peeve really, haha.

AlabamaBelle · Apr 28, 2012

From one who has been there:

The guidelines/policies/procedures in our unit could and often did change on a daily or weekly basis. The Manager could never figure why on earth we didn't know these things (changes) because that's the way she taught everyone (not!).

Our unit had call requirements that began to increase dramatically. There were several weeks I worked 5 days because I was call person 2 days that week. Our manager said that that should never happen, but golly gee, she didn't have to do the schedule. When you have only 8 of your own staff members and you want at least 4, ideally 5, working, you know something's gotta give.

One of my primary patients' parent pulled my aside one day and told me that he felt he had gotten me in trouble with his comments to the manager.They were glowing comments and the manager was not happy. Nor was she happy when asking another family about staff members they'd like to recognize and they said only me. My patient's dad told me I probably ought to look for another job, because he'd been noticing things and picking up things in the unit and that the management was "really, really after your job Miss K****." And they were. Got reported to the board for remediation (nothing went against my license) and working conditions became miserable. I was written up one week after I put in a request for transfer. Others were given a verbal warning for the same issue. I'd had it and I quit. Like 5 other nurses before me - none had jobs lined up, but it beat what could have happened.

In this facility, just uttering the word "union" is grounds for immediate dismissal. We are an "at will" state.

And just yesterday I received a card in the mail congratulating me on my 15 years with the system.