Favorite saying of my friend from NS. We were both vets and older students....
I got a he// to the NO moment today. Our CEO has decided that NO nurse will work more than 8 hours on the clock (and policy forbids working off the clock). We were told that effective today, anyone working "unapproved OT" will be CHARGED WITH THEFT!
I know of one nurse that put in her two weeks notice at the end of the meeting. I am in my first 3 month probationary period.....and not sure I will go back on Monday. Aside from the patient load, documentation (charting), processing new orders that came in during the 2nd med pass (meaning you can't get to them until end of shift)....etc....we were also told that when there is only one RN in the building, SHE is responsible for anything that happens in the facility, including the acute/sub-acute side - where we did not "accept" those patients nor do we know anything about them. We don't go to that section during shift. We now must also be able to say what room our CNAs are in at a given moment (good luck with that).
During the meeting, the acute side's ADON suggested that since it is our license on the line, we would be wise to clock out and still do documentation (all the while saying the the DON, sitting at the head of the table, 'isn't hearing this'...). I mentioned that if something then happened to us, while off the clock, the facility would then say we were violating corporate policy and we would not be covered!
Sorry folks, we need to stand up to this. I WILL NOT do this. I don't work for free. I will not leave my life, safety, or license on the line for this.
How utterly ridiculous! Not to mention just mean and manipulative. They pretty much just threw morale out the window with threatening the nurses with a charge of theft. I feel sorry for anyone who would have to put up with such bullying tactics. I would NOT work there. Period.
It is a LTAC. I am looking for a hospital job. This place is insane!
As a veteran, I have learned that I can put up with a lot of sh*t. As a single mom of 5 for years, I learned that I would do whatever it takes. In IT, I always stayed until the job was done.....was wakened in the middle of the night to fix a problem, but I was ALWAYS paid for my effort. NEVER was I chastised for doing the best job I could!!!!!
I have worked in state and federal government, telecommunications, the beverage industry, a medical book wholesaler, railroad company, grocery chains, and the automotive industry. Nurses, this is not how business treats its employees even in right to work states. From what I can see, it appears that hospitals have 'abused' nurses since time immemorial(from posts on this site). I am not a union fan because it ended up where unions became the problem. But, this type of crap is why unions were formed in the first place!!!
As I said to my coworkers last night.....if we ALL put in our notice, they will realize that they crossed a line they never should have. If the workers follow this policy, it will get worse and their licenses and safety are on the line.
I, for one, would rather be unemployed without benefits than to allow myself to be abused like this.
Flmom, well said. I worked in the business industry for 13 years before becoming an RN. I had no idea how far to the bottom of the food chain I moved when I did become an RN. There is no respect whatsoever for RN's from corporate management. I'm out real soon, early retirement even if I have to live in a box under a bridge - 26 years is about all the 'I care' I can stand!
Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
Another reasong I don't plan to return to hospital nursing, unless absolutely, we can't eat if I don't.....Hang in there.
This facility sounds like a SNF.
I can't say anything more than what everyone else already has. I do agree, though, take it to the media, report to OSHA, BON...anywhere you can if you need to. You really have nothing to lose.
This was a meeting where EVERYTHING was verbal. We were given NO written policies to back up anything....which is their point. Instill FEAR. AND, yes, they DID say we needed to stop "chatting" and manage our time better. All I know is that I start my shift at 2:45 and I do not stop to sit until my second med pass has been completed!
Our DON stated that "in her day" when she worked LTC, she had 60 patients so she will not accept the EXCUSE that we don't have enough time. Well, in her day, there were about 100 drugs - not a DAVIS drug guide with print so small that you need a magnifying glass to read it....., nurses dictated to families and patients about acceptable behavior in a hospital setting and visits were time limited, there were no legal impediments about restraining patients, no "assault" for forcing meds on an incompetent patient, and life expectancy was 60 - 65. You didn't have the dementia population we have now with all it's issues. Lawsuits were rare, not a regular occurrence.
AND as my mother stated, when she graduated from NS, she was paid SALARY. The smokers got breaks so my mom took up smoking. (Of course she quit when she got pregnant with my older sister! (and never went back to smoking)). My mom is 76. She graduated in 1958 from LICH. She did have time in an LTC facility....but ultimately preferred hospital work and spent most of her 35 yr career there. She is a fountain of wisdom (and has a high IQ to boot! LOL). She has seen the changes. All she does now is tell all of us (sis, brother and me who are nurses) to get our NP, or in my case - keeps talking informatics since I spent 18 yrs coding...to get out of the mouse wheel!
I can't say anything more than what everyone else already has. I do agree, though, take it to the media, report to OSHA, BON...anywhere you can if you need to. You really have nothing to lose.
Our facility houses hospice patients, LTC patients in 2 sections. The rest of the population are acute and subacute skilled nursing.
If one of you were fired for not clocking out and went to the state unemployment office to appeal your discharge, I can't help but think they would start an investigation and penalize this company for illegal, unethical behavior. But who wants to be the scapegoat!
But if you could get written proof or even a tape recording of this you would sure have some amunition with a lawsuit and federal labor law violation!
It is exactly these types of bullying, harassment and intimidation in nursing that makes me want to get out and walk away. We work too damn hard, put up with too much **** and danger from the job itself to be treated that way by management.
Hospitals and healthcare places should appreciate us enough to go out of their way to make our lives and jobs easier and show real gratitude to the hard work we do by good working conditions and fair wages and good benefits. Instead we are treated like dirt, told we are too important to have a day off and we don't do holiday's anymore!
The sad thing is whenever I get down about where I work, I only discover there are too many other places that are even worse!
Any company that ask you to work off the clock is practicing illegal work ethics. You must Get paid for every minute that you work. I can understand if they encourage employees to be mindful of time and try to manage time properly, However that is horrible!
wow. i am sure that there must be labor laws, osha mandates, and eeoc issues buried in this theft charge they are trying to claim. so does that mean if you are on your 30 minute break and they call you they are stealing from you? with their line of reasoning the answer would be yes.
there are definitely issues behind the scenes not being addressed. if staff is consistently unable to get their charting done then there must be a staffing problem. now there are always those that milk the system and ride the clock but that needs to be dealt with by administration.
technically they have to pay you for time/hours worked and it is true that if you are injured, become ill, get assaulted, whatever and you are working it has legal implications. not to mention moral ones.
:mad:
Isabelle49
849 Posts
I would be willing to bet that there is absolutely no trace of a written policy that states a worker is to clock out and then finish their work!