Job abandonment-CNA

Published

I have a question. But first, heres the situation. Ive been accused for job abandonment as CNA because its true i walked out of work soon after i clocked in. I hadnt been designated a work area so no not like i left my patients hanging half way through but i get it. Its technically that. I did because i was disrespected by a coworker. Anyway...bottom line 5 days later i get a call by a co worker saying that they reported me to the state for JOB ABANDONMENT.

MY MAIN worry is that im a nursing student. Will this affect my nursing career?? Anybody know? I live in NJ.

Asystole RN said:
One of the more disturbing aspects of nursing is the idea that workplace violence, in any form, is an unfortunate but unavoidable condition of employment and thus should be tolerated.

If more people simply removed themselves from an unhealthy work environment then things would be very pleasant for everyone. Sometimes the best action is to simply "take your ball and go home."

Being the patient's advocate does not mean you cannot be your own advocate too.

OP stated she was " disrespected". Violence and disrespect are two different things. If OP was experience violence, walking out alone would not be a wise choice. Better to notify security and management.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Vzuniga627 said:
no, assignments were being changed around due to extra staff. Anywho, my main concern is will it affect me as a nursing student/future nurse?

We can't answer that. It depends on what comes up in the background and reference checks that will be performed on you in the future.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU, trauma.

I was under the impression that because CNA's are not licensed individuals they couldn't be charged with patient abandonment because although they are assigned to do daily cares for those patients there is still a nurse assigned for the patient. My facility has had CNA walk outs before and never pursued it

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Asystole RN said:
One of the more disturbing aspects of nursing is the idea that workplace violence, in any form, is an unfortunate but unavoidable condition of employment and thus should be tolerated.

If more people simply removed themselves from an unhealthy work environment then things would be very pleasant for everyone. Sometimes the best action is to simply "take your ball and go home."

Being the patient's advocate does not mean you cannot be your own advocate too.

But you can't just walk out. You must talk with the boss and get permission to leave.

And it doesn't sound like there was actual violence in this case, in any form. Feeling disrespected doesn't mean the same thing as violence.

OP - where do things stand at this point?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
BSN16 said:
I was under the impression that because CNA's are not licensed individuals they couldn't be charged with patient abandonment because although they are assigned to do daily cares for those patients there is still a nurse assigned for the patient. My facility has had CNA walk outs before and never pursued it

How do you know they never pursued it?

Also, walking out by CNA's could mean the nurses who remain become overburdened, thus patients might suffer from inadequate staffing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Asystole RN said:
Contact the BON to clarify any questions they may have.

Generally speaking BONs do not regulate employment issues. Job abandonment is an employment issue. Patient abandonment is a BON issue.

You will be fine.

cancelled my response

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Vzuniga627 said:
I did because I was disrespected by a coworker. Anyway...bottom line 5 days later I get a call by a co worker saying that they reported me to the state for JOB ABANDONMENT.

MY MAIN worry is that im a nursing student. Will this affect my nursing career?? Anybody know? I live in NJ.

This isn't high school. Disrespect towards you is NEVER a valid reason to leave work without permission.

Now, it is rare that a CNA is ever found guilty of abandonment. There are a lot of valid defenses you can raise here and they all boil down to the fact that there were adequate staff to look after the patients.

I highly recommend you speak to a lawyer before making a statement to anyone. I'd also advise you not to speak to anyone (including your employer) on the issue. You've probably lost this job (and it doesn't sound like you have the maturity to go back there anyways), so there is no reason to shoot yourself in the foot by talking to the employer who is likely building a case against you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Kooky Korky said:
How do you know they never pursued it?

Also, walking out by CNA's could mean the nurses who remain become overburdened, thus patients might suffer from inadequate staffing.

This is actually why CNA's have a better defense against patient abandonment than nurses. I'll create a fictional facility for an example. Facility A is composed of 3 units of 40 patients for a total of 120 residing within the facility. Each unit is staffed by a single nurse and 5 CNA's. Normally, each CNA will be assigned 8 patients, but will be responsible for 10 patients when short staffed.

So in the worst case scenario, this facility could function with only 12 CNA's on the floor (3 x 4 = 12) which is 3 CNA's short of the 15 CNA's they would have in an ideal situation. We will call 12 the critical number here.

Now lets say one CNA decides to walk out after having a hissy fit. The building would normally have 15 CNA's, but now there are only 14 in the building. Because 14 is equal to or greater than this critical number, the patients technically have adequate staff to provide care to them.

Another scenario could occur where a unit is already short staffed, but the other two units are fully staffed. If an employee threw a hissy fit and left early, a CNA from a fully staffed unit could replace the CNA that left in the short staffed unit. Again, there would be a greater to or equal number of CNA's than the critical number.

The only case in which abandonment could be raised is if the facility is running at the critical number of CNA's required and another CNA decides to throw a hissy fit and leave. That CNA would be "abandoning" their patients because there is no viable alternative.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
NOADLS said:
This is actually why CNA's have a better defense against patient abandonment than nurses. I'll create a fictional facility for an example. Facility A is composed of 3 units of 40 patients for a total of 120 residing within the facility. Each unit is staffed by a single nurse and 5 CNA's. Normally, each CNA will be assigned 8 patients, but will be responsible for 10 patients when short staffed.

So in the worst case scenario, this facility could function with only 12 CNA's on the floor (3 x 4 = 12) which is 3 CNA's short of the 15 CNA's they would have in an ideal situation. We will call 12 the critical number here.

Now lets say one CNA decides to walk out after having a hissy fit. The building would normally have 15 CNA's, but now there are only 14 in the building. Because 14 is equal to or greater than this critical number, the patients technically have adequate staff to provide care to them.

Another scenario could occur where a unit is already short staffed, but the other two units are fully staffed. If an employee threw a hissy fit and left early, a CNA from a fully staffed unit could replace the CNA that left in the short staffed unit. Again, there would be a greater to or equal number of CNA's than the critical number.

The only case in which abandonment could be raised is if the facility is running at the critical number of CNA's required and another CNA decides to throw a hissy fit and leave. That CNA would be "abandoning" their patients because there is no viable alternative.

OP cannot is not accused of patient abandonment. OP abandoned her job. Patient abandonment refers to the professional breach of duty.

Feeling a "hissy fit" coming on.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

This is your bigger issue. Sounds like you have a LOT of growing up to do. I'd start now...'

Vzuniga627 said:
I have a question. But first, heres the situation. I've been accused for job abandonment as CNA because its true I walked out of work soon after I clocked in. I hadnt been designated a work area so no not like I left my patients hanging half way through but I get it. It's technically that. I did because I was disrespected by a coworker. Anyway...bottom line 5 days later I get a call by a co worker saying that they reported me to the state for JOB ABANDONMENT.

MY MAIN worry is that im a nursing student. Will this affect my nursing career?? Anybody know? I live in NJ.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi

I'm in NJ and my suggestion would to be to immediately resolve the issue with your employer. It will interfere with your nursing license. You don't want to have to deal with NJ BON trust me....

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Adult and Pediatric Vascular Access, Paramedic.

I am not sure about the abandonment, but I am sure that you need to wok on some life skills.

You cannot just leave a job every time someone disrespects you. You need to talk to the person, or otherwise figure out how to deal with it. Leaving isn't going to solve the problem and will only make others lack respect for you.

Good luck.

Annie

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion