i am not crazy

[nsaids_nurse420]

i work on the med/surg unit and sometimes get floated to other units. today was one of those days. the staffing said to go to another unit. i get to the other unit, and the staffing reads beside my name 15-19. at 1840, i ask the head nursing supervisor if they wanted me to finish passing meds and doing treatments for the night, or just leave at 1900. the nursing supervisor tells me to just leave. the charge nurse is sitting beside me and hears the whole conversation. so at 1850 i begin giving report on my patients to the charge, then we count out narcotics. i went back to the med/surg unit where my locker is and put my things away for the day and clocked out a little after 1900. at 1940, i get a phone call from the next supervisor on duty, stating that i was supposed to be working another unit now, and why did i go home? i told the supervisor that the previous supervisor told me to leave, so i picked up my child and was now at home. the supervisor tells me that the previous supervisor was still in the building and that i was told to go to the other unit to work. at no time did the previous supervisor tell me to go to another unit. i asked in ample amount of time what my assignment was supposed to be for the night. i was told not to finish my med pass or treatments and was told to leave at 1900. i left and went home. i think they made a staffing mistake and are trying to lie to get out of it.. don't know what to do. afraid they will charge me with abandonment, even though the nursing supervisor in charge told me to leave at 1900.

[Miss Mab]

Sorry, I can't speak to the oh so sketchy behavior of your management team--that'll have to be up to you---but on the plus side you absolutely cannot be charged w/patient abandonment as you reported off on those patients you did have and hadn't accepted assignment or report of any others. No way--empty threat.

Good luck.

That stinks...

[nsaids_nurse420]

thanks for replying... at least i have some reassurance... i do not feel responsible for their mistake.. i do not know why they would do something like this to me...

[NuteRN]

What shift were you suposed to be working?

[nsaids_nurse420]

i was supposed to be working from 15-23, but on the staffing, it was written by the nursing supervisor 15-19. then the same nursing supervisor told me to leave at 1900.

[NuteRN]

Personally, I would have gone back to my unit after leaving the unit I floated to to see what the staffing needs were or if I needed to float to another unit. But when the supervisor tells you to leave, you assume they know what they are talking about. Because they told you to go, and you reported off, I don't see how you really can get in trouble for it.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

Remember assume has the awful reputation of ASSuming and when you do it makes an a s s out of you.

Anyway; what happened to you is not unusual with the short staffing in places not being resolved by hiring the right amount of people because Hey! they can work you to death because many people do not complain but in fact comply. My first chewing out consisted of the DON yelling the assume thing at me because I said something about how I had assumed something about a patient. To this day I can't say the word in conversation.

It's desperation and covering some one's butt. One time I finished working a graveyard shift and 15 minutes prior to the end of the shift the charge RN calls in sick. So we can find no one to come in and I'm told I have to stay. I refuse because this turns into a safety issue for I hadn't slept for 2 days and I was starting to see double and have moments of acute narcolepsy (lol) anyway...I told the powers that be that I was just going to sit there and not do anything. I sat there and didn't do a thing but nod out all day. They just wanted my RN license in house so it didn't matter. I know this is not similar to your circumstances but I like to tell the story.

They're not going to do anything. They just like keeping staff on edge as they sway and plop their power around; it's to keep you in line. I like the advice that you got about going back to where you were originally to check prior to clocking out. Also when I go and turn it over when a med pass has not been finished I check it out thoroughly and want to know who is going to finish the pass and when etc...

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

There is NO WAY that they can accuse you of pt abandonment. You reported off. Done. End of story. AND you reported off to the charge nurse. She should have your back. If there was ever a question on whether you should stay or not, then why would she accept report? Was your assignment hours (beside your name) written in ink? That also should give you some leverage. If they told you to go home at 1900, then you did as you were instructed. I think the nursing supervisor got her lines crossed somewhere along the way. Good luck to you. I think it will work out.

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

I'm reading this completely differently. I think the supervisor was saying you could leave the floor to which you were pulled, NOT the hospital. People get pulled for four hours of an eight or twelve hour shift all of the time.

[nsaids_nurse420]

i am not a float nurse. i asked this supervisor specifically at 1840 what my assignment is. he tells me to leave at 1900. i asked them if i shoud finish the med pass and treatments for the evening pass. they say, "no just leave at 1900" usually, he would tell me, hey you're going to float to so and so floor at 1900, but they told me to leave. if someone tells you to leave, wouldn't you assume to go home? yes, the staffing was written in ink on the floor i was working 15-19. obviously, the other nurse in charge was assuming i was supposed to leave also after the conversation with the supervisor, they took my report, and counted the narcotics before i left. oh, now the don is involved. maybe this will get straightened out. i do not feel like i made the mistake.

[NoviceRN10]

I'm reading this completely differently. I think the supervisor was saying you could leave the floor to which you were pulled, NOT the hospital. People get pulled for four hours of an eight or twelve hour shift all of the time.

That is how I interpret this situation too. If I went in to work 3-11 I sure wouldn't have thought I could walk out the door at 7!

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

i am not a float nurse. i asked this supervisor specifically at 1840 what my assignment is. he tells me to leave at 1900. i asked them if i shoud finish the med pass and treatments for the evening pass. they say, "no just leave at 1900" usually, he would tell me, hey you're going to float to so and so floor at 1900, but they told me to leave. if someone tells you to leave, wouldn't you assume to go home? yes, the staffing was written in ink on the floor i was working 15-19. obviously, the other nurse in charge was assuming i was supposed to leave also after the conversation with the supervisor, they took my report, and counted the narcotics before i left. oh, now the don is involved. maybe this will get straightened out. i do not feel like i made the mistake.

I'm not a float nurse, either, so if I was working 3-11P and I was pulled to a different floor for the first four hours, it would be a given (at least in my institution) to go back to my own floor for the last four hours.

I would not assume that I was going home. I would assume that I was going back to my own floor because no one had offered me four hours off with or without pay. I would have at least clarified with the supervisor, "oh, so I'm getting four hours off, then? You know I'm supposed to be working for eight hours, right? Just checking."