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

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

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.

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after reading your post, i hate nursing too. :stone:stone:stone

leslie

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That is just the thanks we get from corporate America, I actually have found a way out, will be leaving my nursing job in about a month. I am now doing something fun, and am securing my financial future.

There are other options out there!!:up:

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I know someone who was the victim of very similar tx. In fact she also had breast Ca. and worked for many years at a hospital where she had to be a pt. several times prior to her death. She had to move in w/ her elderly parents(due to $) and then go to a nursing home for a very short time. Hospitals certainly don't often treat their own w/ the greatest compassion. I am sorry to hear re. your friend. It is really sad. I'm sadder to say that it is not an isolated thing.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

I can't believe my typo in the title, I was trying to hurry, the family wanted me to watch a video with them. That's "FIRED". I get a little to sloppy with my typing.

Anyways, I'm sick of hearing these types of stories. One nurse at my hospital disappeared, wouldn't let anyone call her. I just found out that she quit nursing and went to trucking school. She's been a nurse for forever and a day, she just got fed up.

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Specializes in CVICU-ICU.

Do you think something like that only happens in the nursing profession? I will bet that if your friend was a teacher, secretary or any other profession and had the same things happen she'd still end up losing her job.

Sorry to hear about your friend though....sounds like she's had more than her share to deal with.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

It would be amazing if we were viewed by administration as the valuable contributors to healthcare that we are. After all, healthcare facilities cannot possibly run without the blood, sweat, and tears of the nurse. We are the backbone of healthcare.

However, stories like the abovementioned one only serve to reaffirm my solid belief that management views nurses merely as warm bodies who fill shifts.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

it is not isolated to the nursing profession. i know of many people in corporate america who have been through similar circustances. jobs don't care about you and that is why we must care about ourselves first.. every thing else is second.

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Specializes in Jack of all trades, and still learning.

That stinks! Like she hasn't been through enough, and still managed to keep doing her job. She was under a lot of pressure to start with.

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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.

I hear ya.

I worked with a nurse years ago (she was on our "sister" unit) who had some chronic health issues; yeah, she had missed work on occasion, but was always there to volunteer to cover shifts, worked her ass off, was great with patients and staff and a wonderful resource. The hospital fired her after she'd gone through a rough stretch, calling out one too many times. She was absolutely devastated; not only personally, but professionally. One of her co-workers went to visit her later that week, and found her dead.

I totally agree with you. There's a special corner of hell for these people.

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Do you think something like that only happens in the nursing profession? I will bet that if your friend was a teacher, secretary or any other profession and had the same things happen she'd still end up losing her job.

Sorry to hear about your friend though....sounds like she's had more than her share to deal with.

I disagree, I know people in other profession like teaching that suffered terrible health problems and were treated very well. Matter of fact, most the time they are treated very well. Occasionally I have heard horror stories of a school board that mistreated a teacher with a health problem but it is rare. In nursing the opposite is true, you are much more likely in nursing to be shafted than in any other job that calls itself a profession. There is a deep well of nastiness in healthcare administration that may pop out anytime. I truely would not recommend the profession to anyone. I have offered encouragement to people that felt they had a calling and were determined to become a nurse because I don't like raining on anyones parade. But I refuse to beat the drum and try to recruit anyone into the profession.
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It would be amazing if we were viewed by administration as the valuable contributors to healthcare that we are. After all, healthcare facilities cannot possibly run without the blood, sweat, and tears of the nurse. We are the backbone of healthcare.

However, stories like the above mentioned one only serve to reaffirm my solid belief that management views nurses merely as warm bodies who fill shifts.

You've got that right. I wish I had been smart like you when I was younger. Nursing is just a cost center to many in admin. and they often are downright annoyed that we make so much $ (at least in their eyes). 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.

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