How do you handle an MA that's out of line?

[Susyq25]

A year ago I went to work at a clinic where one of the MA's behavior is more than questionable. She wanted to tell me which patients to see, what I could order, how much time I could spend in the room with them, among many, many other things. I followed the chain of command and she was written up a couple of times but only came back with a vengence.

She began talking poorly about me to other co-workers & patients, crossing the line of gossip to slander ( I feel). The reason why she is still working there (x15 yrs according to others who have been there that long) is that she is very tight with the Chief of the Dept. who believes every word she says & is blind to all her wrong doing. The woman was almost fired after the first time she was written up but the chief intervened & I was told deal with her or go.

Needless to say I'm leaving in two weeks & can't wait. I want to go to the top dr. (who supervises the chief of the dept.) & let him know what happened & why i'm leaving, because this woman has been getting away with murder for years and I can't stand to live with myself if I don't at least try. There's a lot more to this story, but I made it as brief as possible.

I've already found another job that i'm really happy about, but still need a letter of reference from this one so I want to make sure I have it before I take action.

Does anyone think I can do anything? How would you handle it? Would you write a letter so it's in writing or should I just leave & enjoy my new job & leave this behind me? I'm torn, people at this current job are begging me to do something before I leave, they say no one has ever been able to touch her & she knows it (she's union by the way).

Thanks

[noggin_wise]

I would just move on to your new job and just forget about it.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Same here. There's always one in every workplace. If you can identify her and steer clear in the next job, you're golden.

But for this job, it's pretty clear that they want to keep her; otherwise, they would've taken steps before this to find out why you are not happy.

[prairienp]

a year ago i went to work at a clinic where one of the ma's behavior is more than questionable. she wanted to tell me which patients to see, what i could order, how much time i could spend in the room with them, among many, many other things. i followed the chain of command and she was written up a couple of times but only came back with a vengence.

she began talking poorly about me to other co-workers & patients, crossing the line of gossip to slander ( i feel). the reason why she is still working there (x15 yrs according to others who have been there that long) is that she is very tight with the chief of the dept. who believes every word she says & is blind to all her wrong doing. the woman was almost fired after the first time she was written up but the chief intervened & i was told deal with her or go.

does anyone think i can do anything? how would you handle it? would you write a letter so it's in writing or should i just leave & enjoy my new job & leave this behind me? i'm torn, people at this current job are begging me to do something before i leave, they say no one has ever been able to touch her & she knows it (she's union by the way).

thanks

if you can afford to burn the bridge, meet with whomever you need to express your concerns. the reason she is still there because everybody is doing the easy thing, leaving with out expressing the true rationale. if there is any chance you will be returning, needing a reference from this job your discussion may have significant negative ramifications. i for one would say something; i am old enough and have practiced long enough where any negative ramifications would be negligible.