I quit!

[BSC_RN]

In ten years in this field, I have never reported a co-worker for anything. I am very laid back and I’m the kind of person who will approach an individual with an issue before I take it to a higher up. Even if I thought a co-worker was drunk (hypothetically) I would pull them aside and recommend they go home “sick” ASAP and never do it again! 
 

That being said, I was working on a travel assignment where an aide was often caught sleeping or just flat out not rounding on the patients. This was an adolescent psych unit so the kids require 15 minute rounding and are often caught trying to self harm during those rounds so they are CRUCIAL. I make it clear to my aides, I don’t care if you eat, use your phone, do whatever u gotta do... but do those rounds! I usually never have an issue and my techs love me. Well, I had confronted this tech about him sleeping and not rounding, but the behaviors continued. I took it to my manager out of genuine concern. While I was on vacation, I got a call from a supervisor who witnessed the same behaviors and he asked that I send an email just to document what I had witnessed and reported. I really hated to do that, but ended up being so glad that I did! 
 

This tech was in his late 20s. As I said, it was an adolescent psych unit. I was on shift when one of the kids confided that this guy had given her his phone number which she had been calling and speaking to him while he was at home. He was allowing her to use his cell phone while he was at work amongst other things. It was just a huge inappropriate boundary issue which I fully believe would’ve led to flat out pedophilia had I not reported him. Needless to say, when I got this report, I was FURIOUS because the man should’ve already been fired in my opinion. My manager’s response was to ask, “where were the nurses? Why did nobody notice this behavior?” UMM.. excuse me, MA’ AM! The behaviors that were noticed and reported were ignored! She said, “well, we didn’t know THIS.” My response... “true, we didn’t know THIS, but we knew he did not have the best interest of the patients at heart!” The administration really dropped the ball on this employee so when my supervisor suggested that I wait for my manager to come in the following morning and see how she wanted me to handle things, I did not. I reported this incident using the facility in house safety reporting system (which goes straight to all the higher ups to review in the morning safety huddle) and I also notified CPS as this was a clear case or exploitation. I didn’t go into many details, but he had told this kid he would come to her house if she didn’t answer his calls and all kinds of creepy stuff. 
 

guess what? They were upset that I had reported it! I was very vocal in letting them know that I didn’t trust them to report it cus the reports I made prior to this incident were swept under the rug and I refused to leave it in their hands! I only worked a few shifts after this incident because it really threw me over the edge the way the situation was handled and the vibes were just awful afterward. I had several weeks of my contract left, but told them I could not finish it: I agreed to finish out two weeks and they were happy with that. Unfortunately, I got an offer for a COVID crisis pay contract that paid more than that job and a PRN job I also had COMBINED! While I do value my reputation and my word, I had no problem emailing my manager to let her know I would not be returning to work. The new assignment required that I start immediately. Had all of this not happened, I would have felt a lot of guilt, but... I have been on this new job for over a month and getting paid almost triple what I was making working with the creepy guy trying to hook up with patients! I really feel it was a blessing that this job fell into my lap right after I did what I feel was taking a pedophile off the grid! My manager emailed my agency to let them know that she felt I “exaggerated” my complaints about the facility because I was looking for a way to take this new contract! That’s 10000% false as I had not even a clue about the new job until afterward. So, I had to email that manager and tell her that I’m a grown up and she should not flatter herself into thinking that I have to manipulate anyone... I quit because I wanted to and I can! That situation was actually very stressful for me and I never anticipated in my career having to report a co-worker to anyone, let alone authorities. It was so stressful having to think about what if I ended up in court and had to answer questions on the stand about what I did or failed to do after learning what I was told about this guy’s behavior. I knew the hospital would protect their own interests and not mine. I was looking up the nurse practice act and printed out the hospital’s policies and everything. What solidified my decision to go ahead and report against my superior’s advice is when I called to notify the physician. He told me, “you need to report to CPS. It’s your license. Don’t wait for them.” They were shocked when I told them the doctor ordered me to report. 
 

has anyone else been in a similar situation or had to make a report “going over administration’s head?” 

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

Get it in writing from that physician and hold it in case there is any blowback. He sounds like a good one. 

[caliotter3]

Reported assault on a patient to police.  I was fired.  Result?  Nothing was done about it; it was taken care of by firing me, the witness and complainant.   No good deed goes unpunished. 

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

Suggestion: your police department ombudsman community liaison and your local TV station and newspaper investigation teams. They WILL be interested.