I'm a CNA, will I lose my license?

wantobern01 · Dec 6, 2018

This is the right way, we all get sick and at times while at work. As a responsible person you tell your supervisor on the the floor before leaving. The people you care for were left unattended and since no one knew you left there were not getting the care they needed. Next time tell someone before you leave. Think of it this way if it were you in that bed waiting for help and the person taking care of you just left..and your there waiting.

Guests · Dec 6, 2018

I'm calling in tomorrow cause I came down with the flu.

The "stomach flu", or gastroenteritis, is not really the flu, just so you know.

Good luck with your job but I would assume they have terminated you for leaving without notification.

Bonstemps, EMT-P · Dec 6, 2018

How did it turn out OP?

amzyRN · Dec 7, 2018

You've got to tell people that you are leaving. You probably violated hospital policy and should know what those are. I would apologize and tell whoever you need to that this won't ever happen again and it was your mistake. If you take responsibility now and not let this happen again you might not lose your job or lisence.

Orca, ADN, ASN, RN · Dec 7, 2018

It really depends on what your manager does with it. If they report you to the state for abandonment (since you initially walked out without telling anyone), you could lose your license/certification. You can not control when you get sick and the responsible thing was to go home, but you have to be sure you speak with someone before you leave and that someone else assumes responsibility for your patients.

As a manager, my main issue with the situation as reported is that the OP notified nobody, just left the facility during her break. When she said that she called the DON assistant (I'm not sure whether this is an assistant DON or simply the DON's administrative assistant, who in most places wouldn't be authorized to take call-ins or authorize early departures from duty), this confirmed that she left the facility without notifying a supervisor.

Leaving a work area without reporting to a supervisor is abandonment. Whether this CNA loses her certification or not may depend upon how far that her employer wants to take it. They may just terminate her, or they may take the additional step of reporting the violation to the certifying authority (here, that would be the State Board of Nursing).

People get ill at work, and sometimes too ill to continue a shift. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to handle it, and the OP definitely jeopardized her certification by the way that she handled this situation.

baileyrh · Dec 7, 2018

Really glad I'm not the only one who feels this way..... I don't think it's acceptable in pretty much ANY job I've ever worked in, including F&B, to just leave, not tell anyone, and call back an hour later..... let alone in healthcare. This seems like a lack of judgement skills, courtesy to your coworkers and patients, and common sense

Neats, BSN · Dec 7, 2018

I hope you are feeling better now. I think throwing up at work is awful. I do not think you should lose your job over this though. You should have said something to anyone hey I am throwing up can you let my supervisor know I am leaving now before it happens again. So sorry you are sick but when you are taking care of people you have to close the loop so to speak and not leave anyone hanging. I had a charge nurse who did this but she let another nurse know she needed to go home-took her all of 5 mins, she went to the emergency room had an appendix burst. She was one tough cookie!

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Dec 8, 2018

She doesn't say where she walked out of - the break room? Out of the building where the job is and she did not return, rather called an hour later?

She was on a break and got sick. If I were her boss, she would not be fired. She would be counseled and told to always let someone know if she

has become too ill to stay at work - and to tell the Charge Nurse before leaving the building due to illness - or due to some other emergency, for that matter.

i don't think she abandoned anyone, I think she was acutely and rather severely ill and just not able to think clearly just then. Whether true or not, I'd give the benefit of the doubt, but only this once. Next time, she'd have to be bleeding out, fainting and cracking her head open from falling, or something equally persuasive.

OP - get in the habit now of never making anyone wonder where you are. I hope you are feeling better and that your boss sees the situation as I do.

LaurieCRNP2002, MSN, RN, APRN · Dec 8, 2018

OP--I am sorry to hear you were sick at work. I don't think you handled things well but when you are sick, you are not always thinking clearly. I agree with Kooky Korky...I don't think you should get fired for this incident but you definitely need to be aware of the procedures to follow regarding who to call should this situation (or a similar one)arise again.

I pray that your manager will show some mercy and not terminate you but if that's the case, I pray that you learn from this and when you are applying for the next job, you have the courage to say "I made a mistake, I learned from it and I will not let it happen ever again." Godspeed to you and please let us know how things turned out for you! I think everyone here hopes for the best for you!

Cora_Ann · Dec 9, 2018

You left without telling anyone!!! I'm sorry you didn't feel well, but you should have gone to the charge nurse and told them.

How would you feel if someone just left and didn't say anything? If you had said something they could have worked on getting coverage so you didn't leave the other CNAs short handed. And what about the CNA that now had to cover your group and theirs?

Paws2people · Jan 18, 2019

I'm curious... Who took care of your patients the hour plus you went missing?

In the future when you are sick, notify the proper higher ups and get the okay to leave before you go home.