Liar Liar pants on fire!!!!

caliotter3 · Dec 17, 2010

Home health agencies don't have a monopoly on telling lies to employees and prospective employees. Many employer representatives will tell you what they want you to hear. One should always assume they will find out that the truth has been bent to favor the intentions of the person doing the telling. Trust no one.

Blackcat99 · Dec 17, 2010

Thanks caliotter3. That's so true. Trust no one. I just wanted to pick up a few extra shifts per month. Now, if I want to work extra I have to drive 100 miles!!!! I don't think so. I told that other agency that I didn't want to be verbally abused by that mother. Apparently, that is the one and only case they have available in my area. :down:

ocean waves · Dec 17, 2010

Hello. I understand your concerns about less than up front comments from private duty home health agencies. A couple of years ago I experienced some of that when I started doing private duty home health assignments for a company. As you wrote, I also "specifically asked (in my interview) about shifts and cases available in my area...". At first when I discovered that the situations were not as the employer had described, I was extremely frustrated, however I tried to convey a good team player attitude. As time went by I wondered if maybe the reason why private duty employers mask the truth about work options is because if they didn't they might not have any takers? I was assertive and continued to politely ask the employer for the shifts and locations I had been told were available. After only four months of trying my best to go with the flow, I kindly submitted my resignation in a positive manner so that I would have a good work reference. Maybe one needs to be more flexible than I could muster in order to fit in well in the world of private duty home nursing? Best wishes!

Blackcat99 · Dec 17, 2010

Thanks ocean waves. I guess they are afraid to tell the truth because they would have "no takers". Sorry to hear that you too have had this frustrating experience. Thank Goodness, my regular agency has full time hours for me in my area. I hate to drive long distances. The wear and tear on the car plus feeling so tired after the drive.

I think another problem is that these agencies acted like they thought I was desperate for work hours and would be willing to "do anything" to get extra work hours. I did get a phone call from my regular agency today. They have just now found a new client and so now they have some extra hours available for me in my area. :yeah:

caliotter3 · Dec 17, 2010

It is still better to be signed on with more than one agency. You never know when the second agency will have something that fits your requirements perfectly.

Blackcat99 · Dec 17, 2010

Yes, caliotter3. I quess I had better " pretend" I am not upset with these new agencies. If my regular client ended up in the hospital that would be a disaster. Yes, my regular agency has extra hours for me now. However, they are going to have to pay me overtime for these extra hours. So, you know they are going to try their hardest to find someone else for this new client so they don't have to pay me overtime. :crying2: Yes, maybe in the future, these other agencies might have something in my area. Thanks for your insight.

Kyasi · Dec 18, 2010

Is this really happening out there? I just don't understand the reason for lying about shift availability. I am very upfront when I interview potential employees. If I can't offer them shifts according to when they tell me they are available, I tell them. The hiring process is a huge time expenditure and costly to both the employer and employee. I do not want to waste my time or theirs if I don't have work for them. What good is hiring them if they can't work when I need them? If they tell me they only want evenings and nights and want to work full time, what good will it do me to lie to them if I don't have any clients needing help at those times? I absolutely will not allow someone to quit a full time job if I can't offer them full time hours. I will often suggest that they stay on at their present job and work for me PRN and then if/when hours pick up and they connect with a patient they can make an informed decision to come on board full time. I would rather be honest and have nurses/HHA's that are walking into a situation with their eyes wide open then to have them join my team and be disgruntled and upset.

It's a win/win situation to be totally honest. In this economy, I won't mess with anyone's livelihood by being deceptive. The result is that I have a team of happy nurses with a very low turnover.

Kyasi

Blackcat99 · Dec 18, 2010

Thanks Kyasi. I sure wish I could find someone like you. Instead I got 2 agencies that looked me in the eye and lied. They both told me that they had plenty of work available in my area on the days that I requested. :mad:

It would make so much better sense for both employer and employee to just be honest and tell the truth.

allnurses Guide · Dec 18, 2010

Yep. And in the spirit of the thread title "they lie like a rug!!". Gosh, where should I start. . . oh yeah.

"We pay an extra $2-3 dollars an hour for vent cases"

"We have cases everywhere! Choose your own hours!"

"It's not really a bad neighborhood . . ."

"We have inservice classes twice a month!"

In fairness, not all of them do this, but it is way more common than it should be, imo.

ArwenEvenstar · Dec 18, 2010

My last agency was not always forthright either. Kyasi, I too wondered at first why they would waste the company's time and money in the hiring process if they did not have the hours/locations/case types the nurse was interested in or available for! But after seeing the situation more at Maxim at least....Maxim was very sales oriented, and I think they just wanted as many nurses "on the role" to call as possible to fill cases. Any warm body would do. They saw nurses as chattel to make the company money. Also...They would literally HOUND me to work (calling me multiple times about the same shift at times!) - but if I was not available, I was not available. I came to the conclusion that too many of the nurses must have been VERY lacking in assertiveness and easy to manipulate....and would end up saying yes after being called for the 3rd time, even though the shift hours or location or type of pt was NOT really good for them.

WI_home_RN · Dec 18, 2010

why do these private duty home care companies lie so much? before i filled out all of the required and extensive paperwork, i specifically asked ahead of time if they had the days and shifts that i was seeking. oh yes. they both assured me that there was plenty of work available in my area. now the reality is that no, they don't have anything they promised. lies, lies, and more lies!!!!!

i can understand your frustrations, however what do you do when you discover that one of the private duty nurses you work with lies about everything? there is no supervisor to talk to. this rn tells little white lies and huge lies that affect our patient's life. when family was told about these issues, they didn't care, told us nurses to stop gossiping about one another and quit the drama. but there is a real serious issue at hand! help!!!