HELP!! Being blackmailed by ADON

Claymore · Dec 13, 2008

Look for a new position. That ADoN is abusing you.

nurselsteele · Dec 13, 2008

help!! i am a new graduate in nursing and my first job has been a complete nightmare. they hired me as a lpn nurse and trained me for 3 days and after 2 weeks started scheduling me as an stna. i complained to the adon about being scheduled as an stna to no avail. to make a long story short, last night i went in to work and again they had me scheduled as an stna but they had added the duties of housekeeper!! i had 32 patients! i had no way to not accept the assignment because it is 3rd shift and no one there but the employees prior to me so they left me holding the bag. i waited until another stna came onto the floor gave her report and reported to the floor lpn that i quit. now they are threatening me with abandonment. i gave report to the stna and reported to what would have been the aide's supervisor, the lpn on the hall. i thought i protected my license.... did i or am i going to lose my license 3 months after graduation. i feel like i am being blackmailed!! where do i get a lawyer for this?

1st question: what is an stna?

2nd question: they hired you as an lpn? right?

3rd question: have you contacted your board of nursing to ask them this question? they would be able to give you the exact guidelines to abandoment as it is detailed in the licensure laws of each state.

4th question: did you report this to the administration of this facility? they hired you for one job & then assign you to another?

5th question: at this point i think the d.o.n. has something out for you & you wouldnt have lasted long there if you had not quit. i have had people leave their jobs in the middle of their shifts, if there is enough staff that remains to care for the individuals than it's not abandoment in my state, but thats a state by state rule as far as i know...

look into it with your board of nursing!

softstorms · Dec 13, 2008

First...no new grad should only have 3 days of orientation before hitting the floor. Second...you are being abused here, not only by the DON, but by the facility itself! You can ask you Human Resourses person for a copy of your job discription to see if it is a practice to put new LPN's to task in any postion needed!!!! AND YES! feel free to call your state board with this question! They are there to help you and advise you. Then tell you DON that this is not the job for you! (and they wonder why we lose so many new nurses) !

Thornbird · Dec 15, 2008

I gather STNA is some type of aide. Aides cannot be charged for abandonment. Nurses can'e be disciplined for abandonment of they gave report and left the patient in the care fo a nurse.

Just get out of there fast. LPN's are not aides (in LTC anyway) and certainly not housekeepers! Find a job where you will receive a proper orientation as a nurse. LPN's in LTC often have 30 or so patients, but that is to give meds and treatments, not personal care for that many. Boards of Nursing aren't stupid, if someone reports a nurse on a ridiculous complaint, they dismiss it. It's probably all a bluff on this horrible employers part. Many times even serious complaints aren't reported to the BON by employers. But, there are still enough actual founded complaints that BON's don't have time for frivolous stuff like this.

Most Boards have come out with statements regarding what patient abandonment is because so many employers have used the threat of a report to bully nurses into mandatory OT. The Board sides with the nurses when employers are being outrageous and abusive to nurses.

So, don't worry too much. Just find a better job and chalk on up to experience.

systoly · Dec 16, 2008

I'm so sorry you ended up in such an abusive situation for your first job.

There is no excuse or reasonable rationale for the facility to throw you out to the wolfes like this. Please don't give up. There are really good places out there. As for leaving your shift. I was in a similar situation once and the ADON threatened me with reporting me. I spoke to the DON, I apologized profusely (allthough the facility was wrong, so was I), but also made it clear that I had observed many instances of non compliance by the facility. In the end, nothing happened other than that I never set foot there again. For future reference ( I think this is the safest in any situation) once you clock in, consider yourself stuck. Suck it up, knowing that all shifts end, and that it will probably be much easier for you to find another job than for them to replace you.

Coloradogrl · Dec 17, 2008

Defintly call the BON to clarify but I have also been told that CNA/Aides cant be charged with abodenment

What is a STNA?

nurse.t · Dec 17, 2008

Thanks everyone! I feel much better about this situation now that I know it is not the norm.

foxxcat · Dec 20, 2008

Sorry to hear what has happened to you

First of all they did not give you enough training , AND YOU ARE AN LPN NOT AN STNA ( STATE TESTED NURSES AIDE ) Always remember that you put in the time and studied to be a nurse SO BE A NURSE

She was just being a pain that is all you gave report to and STNA and the nurse There is nothing they can do to you GO FINE A GOOD JOB and AI would make sure the DON is aware of what has happened do it in writting and keep a copy

pagandeva2000, LPN · Dec 20, 2008

I doubt that this is abandonment. I won't repeat the great advice already relayed to you, but a word of advice for the next position. Do not quit while on the grounds...I would have just given report to the STNA and left, and THEN called back to say that I resigned, effective immediately. It still doesn't mean a hill of beans, however, because it seemed as though they had you sort of working out of title and gave a poor orientation to a new grad (this is what usually happens in LTC, unfortunately). What sense does that make to have you do other tasks but are not practicing nursing, the job you were supposedly hired to do?? This would make you an unsafe practitioner, because you didn't learn your own freaking job!

Screw them, contact the state and share your story. I believe they will tell you that you have nothing to worry about. I email the state often, and they are very friendly, informative and prompt with responses. In fact, I think that I need to email them about another issue that is plagueing me. I am sure that they know my name well.