Letter of Admonition

[Aveda]

Want to know if any RN's are working with a Letter of Admonition? Have you had difficulty finding a job?

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

From the board? Or from the employer?

[BrookeeLou_RN]

Sorry.. what is a Letter of Admonition?

[Laboratorian]

???? Blacklisted???

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

I had one from my employer once when I refused what I considered a dangerous assignment and went home rather than accept it (they refused to give me additional help). I refused to sign it. In the spot for my signature, I wrote "see attached" and attached my own version of the events, kept copies of both and forwarded same to the BON.

2 shifts later one of the patients in that assignment fell and sustained a SAH. My VP of nsg pretty much said touche at that point and it has never affected my evaluations or workplace relationships since.

[BrookeeLou_RN]

I am sorry I am naive about this.. who would ever agree to sign such a thing? Does an employer just do it? Does the BON notify you?

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

The problem with not accepting an assignment because you do not have enough help means that the patients now have FEWER nurses. So I wonder if the BON would consider leaving the hospital short is a way to protect the public or just a way for the nurse not to work hard that shift. Texas has a Safe Harbor law. If the nurse feels the assignment is unsafe they can notify the BON within 24 hours. Meanwhile, the nurse is to initiate the chain of command (trying to get help) and, if an incident SHOULD occur, the nurse's license is protected. As a manager I can tell you that help is not always available.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

According to Merriam-Webster, admonition is defined as "counsel or warning against fault or oversight."

Somehow this turned into a discussion about staffing and refusing to take an assignment due to that assignement. While this is an important issue, the OP did not tell us what her letter was about. I think it would be impossible to talk about her prospects for future employment if we do not know what the topic of the letter is....

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

the problem with not accepting an assignment because you do not have enough help means that the patients now have fewer nurses. so i wonder if the bon would consider leaving the hospital short is a way to protect the public or just a way for the nurse not to work hard that shift. texas has a safe harbor law. if the nurse feels the assignment is unsafe they can notify the bon within 24 hours. meanwhile, the nurse is to initiate the chain of command (trying to get help) and, if an incident should occur, the nurse's license is protected. as a manager i can tell you that help is not always available.

many places where i've worked have an "accpepting the assignment under protest" (or some such) form. the nurse who feels the assignment is unsafe fills in the specifics and forwards it up the chain of command. then if something does happen, it's on the supervisor who made the decision to let the assignment stand. or, if she tried to cover it and couldn't, it reflects on the facility. those forms were never taken lightly because after you fill one out there's an internal investigation, but it is recourse if you take the assignment and something happens because you were too busy to prevent it.

[leslie :-D]

Many places where I've worked have an "Accpepting the Assignment Under Protest" (or some such) form.

yep, very true.

my facility didn't have any such forms, but i did note my fears on the assignment sheet, in an incident report, as well as sending concerns to DON.

"accepting assignment under duress" is what i wrote, and made it very bold and clear.

leslie

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

This may be straying off the topic, but I have to raise this point...

We never had an "Accepting Assignment Under Protest" or the like...Our 'unit' consisted of 2 floors nearby each other in the hospital, and each had a charge nurse. One night shift, one of the floors got hit hard. To the point that each nurse started with 5 pts and through the night they got so many admissions that they each had 7 or 8 pts. The charge nurse for that floor said to the supervisor that is was totally unsafe and that she was jeopardizing the license of each nurse but making such unfair/unsafe assignments--the other floor on our unit had no beds left. Anyway, the supervisor (who was a really nice person, but not a great supervisor) said "well, if something happens to a pt., it's my license on the line as much as yours." I could not believe her gall to say something like that! Not only do I doubt that it is correct, she out and and out said that nurses were potentially risking their licenses!

[Aveda]

The Letter of Admonition is from the board of nursing and it is public record. I know some companies will not hire you if you have anything against your license? Mine just happened and I was wondering if anyone out there has a similar situation or knows. This Letter is against your license for the rest of your life. It never goes away. I am going to try and appeal it but I may not have any success.