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.
Good for you and good for your coworkers. If you guys don't stand up for yourselves, no one will. If your employer is so brazen about violating the law in its treatment of staff, I hate to imagine what violations are taking place against the residents by management/corporate.
Hopefully someone or a lot of you will use your smartphone's digital recorder feature and start recording actual statements made by corporate money-grubbers since they won't put any of this in writing. Sounds like the s**t is only beginning to hit the fan! I'm SO glad I, too, walked away from the same crap you are experiencing right now.
Please keep us informed of the progression of all this. You know the outcome is inevitibly going to be bad for staff when corporate shows up onsite! UGH!!! Been there and done that.
Again, good for you for not tolerating this abusive environment! :up:
It is going to get bad for those staying. Yesterday, management received an email from Corporate that they are now under a hiring freeze. This means that they cannot replace the nurses who served their notice. Additionally, some nurses approached management about going PRN instead of being FT. They were told that their FT slot has to be filled first....with a new hiring freeze, that won't happen. At least one of those nurses has begun applying for other jobs.
There is going to be an exodus from this place and a severe staffing shortage!!!
I would not return until the corperate lawer had a look at this policy. A call to the corperate hot line is in order ASAP. Call in sick, use FMLA, PTO. Don't put your license on the line for this...agree with extern...DON, CEO need a psych consult STAT! I also would let the Medical Director Know why all the Nurses are qutting in droves...Pretty sure Medicare would like to know too.
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.
Hey, FLmom, since you are a veteran is there a VA anywhere close you can look into working at? I don't know if they give preference to vets but it's sure a good gig to get into!
Sadly, it will be the patients/residents who will suffer because of a staffing shortage. We all know LTAC would rather work short than bring agency staff in. Toileting will not be done as frequently therefore, skin breakdown will increase, more will become bed or chairbound because of less ambulation, increased incont., more complaints from residents and family, increased depression, on and on and on, etc. We all know the chain of events due to staffing shortages in these circumstances. I know I'm preching to the choir here.
However, I don't blame these nurses one iota for doing what they have to do as a result of this facility's ridiculous abuses. Calling the Corp. Compliance Hotline is an exercise in futility as it is Corp. who is behind all of this. It will only give them the heads-up on who is complaining about what and who will be the next target to fire. Perhaps getting the local Ombudsman more involved would be a better solution. Or a strike.
Not trying to put a guilt trip on anyone except for the criminals here: administration and corporate scumbags. They can rot, AFAIC:devil:
Hey, FLmom, since you are a veteran is there a VA anywhere close you can look into working at? I don't know if they give preference to vets but it's sure a good gig to get into!
Not in Jacksonville. The nearest is Gainesville. But, since my hubby is AD in SC, I am looking into the Charleston Area. There is a VA facility nearby, but the 2 positions open state "NOT FOR NEW GRADS", so I will keep my eye open. Yes I am a vet and I have civilian AF experience, so it would be ~15 yrs for a retirement if I went VA. I looked into NASJAX, but since I only have an ADN, they would give me LPN pay. Not happening. I may go to school and get my MSN in the meantime!
Sadly, it will be the patients/residents who will suffer because of a staffing shortage. We all know LTAC would rather work short than bring agency staff in. Toileting will not be done as frequently therefore, skin breakdown will increase, more will become bed or chairbound because of less ambulation, increased incont., more complaints from residents and family, increased depression, on and on and on, etc. We all know the chain of events due to staffing shortages in these circumstances. I know I'm preching to the choir here.
However, I don't blame these nurses one iota for doing what they have to do as a result of this facility's ridiculous abuses. Calling the Corp. Compliance Hotline is an exercise in futility as it is Corp. who is behind all of this. It will only give them the heads-up on who is complaining about what and who will be the next target to fire. Perhaps getting the local Ombudsman more involved would be a better solution. Or a strike.
Not trying to put a guilt trip on anyone except for the criminals here: administration and corporate scumbags. They can rot, AFAIC:devil:
After my departure, I plan on reporting them to everyone who cares. Yesterday, another nurse told me that she was told to leave the facility at 3:15 (her EOS). She told the Spvsr that she would clock out but needed to finish her documentation. She was told to LEAVE and the Spvsr would do the documentation!!!!! NEVER will I let someone else document for me! Lord! They could be setting her up! This is so wrong on so many levels. BTW, they are now having to schedule nurses for double shifts because the exodus has begun.
I love the residents and part of me hurts at doing this. I know they will suffer. But, me suffering instead isn't the answer. I can only pray that a govt agency steps in!
:mad:
:up:
But, me suffering instead isn't the answer. I can only pray that a govt agency steps in!
Aurora77
861 Posts
Good for you and good for your coworkers. If you guys don't stand up for yourselves, no one will. If your employer is so brazen about violating the law in its treatment of staff, I hate to imagine what violations are taking place against the residents by management/corporate.