Getting Fired ?

TexasPoodleMix · Jul 22, 2004

thank you for 'coming out'...as i too was fired for whistleblowing on pt. conditions...which got my facility a few citations and deficiencies. and if you don't have a contract or union, they can pretty much fire you w/o cause.
it's a hard lesson to learn since you don't want to stop doing the right thing but don't want to be fired for it either....even though i would do the same thing all over again.
leslie

Ok, let me apologize for sounding naive or out of it, but I am very new to this... I am just wanting to be prepared before I enter the situation.

When you say patient conditions, what do you mean ?

So basically just keep your mouth shut and do what they tell you or else suffer the consequences?? ... who ARE admin. anyway ???? other nurses ??? MBA's ???

Thanks, I just have so many questions.

leslie :-D · Jul 22, 2004

Ok, let me apologize for sounding naive or out of it, but I am very new to this... I am just wanting to be prepared before I enter the situation.
When you say patient conditions, what do you mean ?
So basically just keep your mouth shut and do what they tell you or else suffer the consequences?? ... who ARE admin. anyway ???? other nurses ??? MBA's ???
Thanks, I just have so many questions.

if you see patients getting neglected/ignored/abused...or if you see one of your coworkers abusing/diverting/impaired...and your report it...it's often much easier to get rid of the 'troublemaker' than to address the issues at hand.

and that's the problem...many don't want to get involved, fearing these very stated consequences. so it's certainly 'safer' to keep your mouth closed...safer for you, but not the patients. when you do report unfavorable/dangerous conditions, you just need to be prepared for the potential outcome. much luck to you.

leslie

TexasPoodleMix · Jul 22, 2004

Thanks for the response. I want to work in LTC because I adore the elderly. I feel as though they are so disenfranchised. It would just break my heart to see them mistreated.

On the flipside, could you loose your license for not reporting outright abuse ?? What a crappy situation.

:uhoh21:

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 22, 2004

Then again, because there is a shortage a lot of people get away with a lot of stuff that should get them fired. Being constantly tardy, no call-no show, disrespectful to coworkers, laziness, etc.

I think though the majority of us are good nurses struggling in a tough job where only the strong survive. I really haven't noticed on this board "a lot" of people getting fired for no reason, considering the number of members who post on this board, and the number of people complaining they get fired, seems small to me not a lot. But sadly does happen.

Relax.

TexasPoodleMix · Jul 22, 2004

Relax.

Ok , i will ! :rotfl::balloons:

Brickman · Jul 23, 2004

In an employment at will state someone can be fired for any reason or no reason at all...except of course they cannot violate discrimination law.
Nursing is one of those jobs where they teach us very high ideals in school, then turn us loose in a system that makes us accountable for all these lofty goals but doesn't give us what we need to accomplish it. Speaking out honestly about poor working conditions has gotten lots of nurses fired and I've observed it frequently over the past 20 some years..and yes it happened to me once too. My own fault? Yeah I guess I should have just shut up and taken the abuse, like nurses have done for generations.
There's good and bad to nursing...and nurses who are not 'yes men' to the CEO's bottom line plan are generally not rewarded. It took me 10 yrs to figure out the CEO didn't want the same things I did...although he SAID he did. Someone here had a tagline which was so right on target...amazing how being a good nurse was so at odds with being a good employee.
Sorry to sound bitter / jaded, but the above has certainly been MY career experience. I'm still in nursing, so its not sour grapes rather an honest asessment from my life experience. Those of you who haven't run into this kind of stuff should consider yourselves fortunate, IMO. It's fairly well known in my parts with anyone who's been a nurse awhile.
Forewarned is forearmed so lets not sugar coat things for those considering nursing as a career. Just because someone was fired doesn't mean they are not good nurses.

My responce was directed at the "I was fired just because nobody likes me" crowd. I agree that what you have experienced is not uncommon at all. The difference is that when someone is fired because they won't keep quiet about problems, they tend to tell everyone that was the reason they were fired, as they should. It is nurses like yourself that speak out about problems that keep things from deteriorating even faster in nursing. I salute you and all the other good nurses out there.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 23, 2004

Ok , i will ! :rotfl::balloons:

Easier said than done. Woot! :rotfl: :balloons:

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Jul 23, 2004

Nursing is a profession in which frequently being an excellent nurse is often at odds with being an excellent employee.

Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN · Jul 23, 2004

... it's often much easier to get rid of the 'troublemaker' than to address the issues at hand...

If this is pretty much universally true, then what a sad state of affairs we're embroiled in.

leslie :-D · Jul 23, 2004

If this is pretty much universally true, then what a sad state of affairs we're embroiled in.

of course there are facilities (magnet and others) that do well by their patients. but i believe this to still be the exception and not the rule. and yes, a very sad and pathetic state of affairs indeed.

as difficult as it has been for my family and me, there is nothing i would change about what i reported. but yes, there are some hard lessons that were learned.

mattsmom81 · Jul 23, 2004

I too work with nurses who are rude, lazy, troublemake betwen shifts, are late and call in frequently, even make frequent careless med errors and frequent careless lapses in judgment. BUT they also suckup, so they aren't the ones who get fired particularly if the unit is dysfunctional. And soooo many are today. The one who tries to make a difference may be the target and get the axe.

The moral of the story is don't stay somewhere where you're not a 'good fit' or don't get good vibes, especially if you tend to be an activist.

AmethystVeralyn · Jul 24, 2004

I have been skimming through some posts and it seems as though lots of nurses get fired for no reason or because someone from management has it in for them (for lack of a better term). What my question is is this a common thing, do nurses run the risk of getting canned for no reason ?
I am planning on going into nursing and this disturbs me pretty bad !
Thanks in advance.

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One way people get fired is when someone writes

an abuse report on them. The same nurses

who take care of records that are read by the

state board are experts at covering up the truth

and will do this on abuse reports too if they are trying to get rid of someone.

That is they will obscure statements

made by a patient that might expose a situation as being

less serious than they want it to look,

or if the nurse they don't like explains their

side of it and this might save them, they won't include

that part of it in their report.

Eg. A story of a patient who told two staff members

that a nurse was, "yelling at her," (and this is how she percieved it) is changed when it goes into writing

and reads that, "she was rough in putting her to bed."

The statements made by the patient are obscured

and the statements made by the nurse when confronted

are obscured because they would have exposed this case

as one where discipline is not needed.

The next trick in line is to get rid of the person they've

reported without talking to them first because then they

might have a chance to tell explain what really happened.

That way they experience disciplinary action without a

chance to speak for themselves.

I have heard that New York is the only state where it's

illegal to lie on an abuse report.

I'm not sure if it's that way in any other states.

Maybe someone out there knows.

In most places I don't think they distinguish

between honest mistakes and careless statements

and outright lies.

There are laws against firing

people for personal predjudice but I think most

employers have smart ways of getting around this.

I hope to hear more on this.