HELP!! Railroaded by co-worker!!

[Phenomenon]

:o I will try to tell as much as I can without giving details in case someone I know is lurking around. I am still fairly new on my unit, about 1.5 years. Recently I did something that I shouldnt have, but that isnt necessarily regarded on my unit as serious. The problem is this coworker that I have to deal with. I have no probs at work with anyone besides her!! She has had it out for me since the moment i stepped on that unit. Now i know it would help to give more details about what it was but please understand that I cannot right now. Basically, it has been done by many OTHER nurses and nothing happens to them. But, because of her distaste for me she took it upon herself to c/o to the manager and HR and now I am facing a serious meeting with them. To make matters worse, I talked with my manager briefly and the details she was provided by this nurse were entirely falsified and exaggerated and there was at least one blatant lie!! THe problem lies in that I cannot prove it, as it is basically her word against mine and she has been there for years and years, has much more seniority and much more of an ongoing relationship with the 'higher ups'. I am dumbfounded! The whole thing has me spinning. I now even contacted my union and asked for advice. I told her I wanted out I wanted to resign. She stated that would be a bad idea at this time as it would appear as though I am running away from the problem. True enough, and please also understand that I will and do take full responsibility for the error that I did make. Just burns my butt how it is overlooked in other ppl, but because someone doesnt like you they can use it as a way to unfairly railroad you. I cant imagine working with this person for 1 more second!! But union rep says if I resign I may be losing a reference. Wont I anyways based on this?? How will I get another job without a reference?? I am so angry/hurt/upset etc.

Secondly, this is not the first incident I have had with this woman!! I dont understand what her problem is!!

Any advice???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Angels']

phenomenon:

:) i wish you well in all that you are to do, and all that you feel you must do

to have the outcome you want.

a returning student :)

angels’

[TypicalFish]

Admit what you did, state that you know it was wrong and you have learned from your mistake. There is a very real possiblility that the nurse who is out to get you has done something such as this before with other nurses and the managers are aware of her personality flaws. Stay honest. If this is a situation that can have a positive outcome for you then you should address the situation with the nurse in an attempt to solve some of these issues.

:yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat:

The best defense is a great offense; I would completely blow them away by asking to speak at the VERY Beginning of the meeting, explain EXACTLY what you did, starting with something about how you like your job, how you have heard several versions of what happened through the "garpevine" and would like to clarify, maybe why-or if there were any circumstances-but NO EXCUSES; end with saying "I realise now that what I did was unaaceptable, and I have learned from my mistake; I love my job at XXXX, and aprreciate the opportunity to work here; I would sincerely appreciate the chance to continue here" or something similar-If the wench is there do not let her speak first, or even your supervisor-"higher ups" generally want zero drama, so if you state the facts, apologize, note that you have learned from it, and thank them. FIN. they won't see any reason to drag it out, and if anyone does try and drag it out, that person will look petty. Best of luck, let us know what happens.

THEN-document document-everything you do and don't do AND keep an at home log of issues with this person, if it is that bad-with dates times situations and people involved-just so you will ahve your facts if there is another run in.

[Faeriewand, ASN, RN]

In regards to a work reference, let me tell you what one unit manager told me. She said that at her hospital the only thing they are allowed to say when someone calls in asking about a person who worked there is just "yes so and so worked here": and for how long. They are not allowed to say ANYTHING else. Nothing bad because they could be sued for defamation. Nothing good either. Just to affirm WHO worked there and for how long.

Hope that somehow helps with your jitters. Hope all is going well.

[spidermonkey]

.

[lindarn]

This is rather unprofessional behavior, in my book. A letter to the State Board of Nursing, might be in order- start a paper trail on this troublemaker, (and keep a copy for yourself). There is nothing worse than working with a troublemaker, be it a physician, or a nurse, or other co worker, or employee, and when they screw up after a long history of being troublemakers, the regulatory agency knows nothing about it, or them. And their hands are tied, when it comes to disciplinary actions.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

[HyperRNRachel]

In regards to a work reference, let me tell you what one unit manager told me. She said that at her hospital the only thing they are allowed to say when someone calls in asking about a person who worked there is just "yes so and so worked here": and for how long. They are not allowed to say ANYTHING else. Nothing bad because they could be sued for defamation. Nothing good either. Just to affirm WHO worked there and for how long.

You are right, a past employer cannot give out specifics related to a termination but, I believe, they are allowed to tell potential employers whether you were terminated or resigned.

[chadash]

You know, working with nurses is like a continual survivors episode, where you are routinely voted off the island and someone pulls you back in to do it again.....

[austin heart, BSN, RN]

Ha, sounds like my last work situation! I think that this type of thing happens all too often. Good luck to you!!!!

[Cute_CNA, CNA]

Unfortunately, this happens at the CNA level, too. Why the heck is this pathological behavior so prevalent in nursing???? What's wrong with these kind of people?

[Bipley]

You know, working with nurses is like a continual survivors episode, where you are routinely voted off the island and someone pulls you back in to do it again.....

Totally, 100%, without a doubt... agree.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

having been a manager and dealing with many employee complaints and problems, with and without unions and union reps involved, i can tell you that you when it comes to incidents where it is the word of one employee against the other with no other documented evidence from anyone else that the thing ever occurred, you should be on safe ground insofar as your employment is concerned. whatever seniority or special relationships with supervisors and mangers your nemesis has doesn't mean much in a situation like this. however, whatever the situation, if there were any witnesses or written proof of any kind that substantiates this other person's claim (like, did you admit to it?), then your fate is in the hands of your employer. i had one memorable situation where it was one employee's word against another. a nursing assistant accused an lpn of handing her a syringe of insulin and telling her to give a patient his insulin, a really serious accusation. several days later the nursing assistant was able to talk the unit secretary, her friend, into stepping forward as a witness to the alleged situation. we had no choice but to fire the lpn, but i felt that the employee who came forward was lying as she didn't particularly like the lpn who ended up getting fired and saw a chance to stick it to her.

let me tell you a little about union reps, as well. they are generally very nice people who are supposed to advise you of your rights with regard to the contract the union has with the hospital. i will tell you right now, however, that if you violated a hospital rule and it can be proved, there is little the union rep can do to help you other than explain how the grievance procedure works. i sat in many a meeting with union reps and hr and there was nothing the union reps could do for a union employee if the employee had broken a hospital rule and, in fact, in the pre-meeting with hr the union reps would often sit with mouths dropped open at what the employee had done wrong and have no choice but to agree with hr ruling on the situation. the good thing is that the union contract binds the hospital to following their own rules and policies (including the process of disciplinary action) to the absolute letter to which it is written.

your union rep is giving you wrong information about losing a reference from the hospital if you resign. also, that is not union advice he is giving you, only his/her own opinion. first of all, there are two kinds of termination: voluntary (where you quit) and involuntary or forced (where you are fired or laid off). secondly, when you go looking for another job, the only information that hr is going to give to a prospective employer who is verifying your work history is (1) the beginning and ending dates of your employment, (2) your job title, and (3) whether you terminated voluntarily or involuntarily. this is for legal reasons. if you need to get someone to actually speak about your performance, you generally get to name that person on your job application, so pick someone you know who will give you a good recommendation, like another co-worker, who you got permission from to use them as a reference. most managers know better than to give out any negative information about one of their former employees to a sneaky, aggressive new employer who might call them looking around for information about you. (you don't want to work for someone like that anyway.) (1) they are usually instructed to give no references at all, (2) to refer all people asking for references to the hr department. this is also for legal reasons. most places want to get your written permission to contact a reference you have named on your application. you don't want to bring up your problems with a former employer if you can avoid it because it sends up red flags all over the place. better to just keep your mouth shut about it and tell them you left a job because you felt it was time to move on and try another kind of nursing. if they ask to speak with your former manager i would lie and just tell them that she quit and no longer works there leaving your unit without leadership at this time, another reason why you are leaving. even if you get caught in a lie, the worst is you won't get the job you applied for, you won't be hauled off to jail for committing a crime. if losing your job looks like a real possibility i would wait until the words termination are spoken to you and pipe up immediately and ask that you be given the opportunity to resign voluntarily. you can also add that it would be really helpful in finding another job if you can resign.

if you can, transfer to another unit asap to get away from this employee who is harassing you. now, i will tell you that transfer will be difficult because a prospective new unit manager has access to your hr file and can also go to your present manager and ask them why you are seeking to transfer. if i wanted someone off my unit i would find ways to make the employee look good without lying to the other manager. sometimes the stuff in the employee's hr file speaks for itself though. if you win the right to stay employed you are going to be concerned about watching your back all the time. it's probably best if you start looking for a new job. i'm sorry you happened to find someone who is willing to clash with you. it is always best to get away from those people asap because you can never know the extent to which they will go to establish their dominance over you.

[following_faith]

Please keep us posted-I wish you the absolute best luck! Stay strong!