Has anyone else experienced this? I just accepted a new position in an acute rehab facility. During the interview I was told that I would be replacing someone who wanted to work a different schedule within the company. I was also told that I would only rarely have to stay past my scheduled shift but that most days I would get out on time. I told the interviewer that I will work my five days each week but do NOT want to be called on my days off, as I am not interested in any overtime and she said she would make a note of it and wrote it down.
I am now a few days into orientation and I have learned from the other nurses in the facility that a.) I am replacing a nurse who got fed up with the working conditions and left the company without a two week notice, b.) I will end up having to stay over the end of my shift pretty much every time I work in order to get everything done, and c.) I received a phone call this morning at 6:30 where I was pressured to come in and work to cover a call off, even though I told the caller that I do not want more than five days a week and I am still on orientation to boot. She was not very happy when we hung up.
I feel duped and scared that I have gotten myself into something that I will regret. I do not appreciate being lied to and I think it was unethical to do so. Part of me wants to run before I get in any deeper and part of me feels like I need to stick it out, except that I'm worried that I will decide to do so only to find that I am constantly pressured into picking up overtime, being forced to stay over, and getting nagged to come in on my days off, in which case I will kick myself for not getting out right away. I am not afraid to say NO to the requests for overtime, but if this is an ongoing thing, it will make my life miserable anyway.
You did an excellent job of describing the acute rehab environment. Been there and done that. Won't do it again. I was Weekend House Supervisor. At least 50% of my time was wasted calling employees and begging, pleading & bribing them to come in for ANY hours. Spent more time working on the floor than I could/should physically do (was recovering from ACDF surgery). Between those two things, I didn't have time to do my own job -- I was supposed to be the employee education specialist and employee health coordinator. So, after two 16 hour days on the weekends, I worked overtime both days and then spent my next day doing orientation and then trying to catch up on my actual responsibilities.
I disagree with you about this part of your post:
"Yes, it may have been unethical that you were lied to. However, nobody would accept the position if they blurted out the unadulterated truth: our working conditions are brutal; we cannot keep people; our employee turnover rates are sky-high; we're picky on the charting; this is not a good place to work..."
If employers couldn't get employees because the working conditions were well known and unacceptable, then they would first be forced to hire only those who shouldn't be hired (we all know a nurse like this!). The consequences of this would be two-fold. First, if surveyors came in during the period of omg scary staff that couldn't pass a visit if the surveyors were blindfolded and had ear and nose plugs inserted, then the list of deficiencies would be astronomical and impossible to remedy without fixing the original problem -- the work environment that is intolerable and unsafe. Second, since this would be happening in multiple facilities simultaneously, there would be such a demand for nurses, they would all hire each others rejects for the first go-round. Thus, rinse and repeat would occur -- with the result of continuing horrible work conditions and even worse patient care After a couple rounds of this, surveyors and families alike would start demanding more of facilities and ultimately good change should occur.
Why should a nurse ever feel guilty or feel like this is her fault and stick with a facility that lied to her and that wouldn't hesitate to fire her if she doesn't keep her head low and her mouth shut??!?!
Nope -- call that dialysis facility back and make amends! Odds are they already know about the work environment you are in and are waiting for your call
Hi. I have experienced this. I say this with the most sincerity. I would either not answer my phone (you know why they are calling you at 6:30 am) or I would answer and each and every time they ask you to come in tell them you are sick, say sorry, and hang up. I know this may sound harsh to some but I can tell you from experience...they don't give a damn. Even if you came in and worked every single time they needed you, trust me, it will be forgotten the second you screw something up. If you told them straight up in the interview that you did not want overtime or to be called for it, then stick to your guns. Of course, you run the risk of them saying you are not a team player. But if you work your schedule then I wouldn't worry about that too much. They will still call you because they have to. I was ADON at a facility and the when someone called out the scheduler would just go down the list and call anyone who was off to come in. So, also, don't take it personally. I would stick it out for a little while and see how it goes. On the bright side, if they are always needing help, that's job security. Lol. Hopefully, you won't be expected to work short handed because of call-offs. I usually try to give a job at least 90 days before I decide for sure. Good luck.
Do it! You were lied to (working conditions were misrepresented to you) and therefore have no obligation to stay where you are; probably why the person before you left. I worked several places like this when I worked agency and know how impossible it was to finish anywhere near on time and how exhausted I was when I did finish my shift. I'm sure the dialysis company would love to have you after you work your 2 weeks; do put in your resignation letter that you were misled (sounds better than lied to) about your working hours and conditions and cannot be what they want you to be.
Schedule a meeting with your immediate superior and the person who interviewed your for the job and outline your concerns and the stated agreed conditions of your employment. I would arrange to take a support person with you. I would write them down like this:
When I was interviewed for this position, I was advised
.
.
.
I accepted the position on the basis that:
.
.
.
Since starting work, I have found that (Provide contemporaneous notes)
.
.
Consequently, I would like to ask the following
1) (Directed at the interviewer) Do you agree that these are the agreed conditions under which I accepted the position of ..... on .... ward
2) Have the conditions on the ward changed since my employment and if not, were you (directed at the interviewer) aware of the conditions on the ward at the time of the interview?
3) If the conditions on the ward have not changed since I was interviewed, will the company honour its verbal contract with me?
4) What can I expect from your company in the future?
5) What recourse do I have if the company fails to honour its verbal contract with me?
Hello. Yes, I have been lied to by interviewers on 3 separate occasions. All were lies of omission: 1) I was not told I would be on call after hours. I would never have accepted this job had I known this due to personal reasons, 2) I relocated to another state for a job. After 6 months, the company announced they lost their 5 year Cigna contract. At 9 months, I was one of the first 30 let go. I feel this company had to have known there standing with Cigna and that they should have never hired the last 45 employees. 3) The manager of a UHC job quoted me a salary. I later found out that she low balled several of us and I should have been making an additional $6000.00 as my base pay. My suggestion is to follow your gut. If you feel something is amiss, then it probably is. Stay with this current position. Continue to provide exceptional care on your scheduled shifts. Consider blocking company calls on off hours. And continue to look for another position. In your next interview, explain what you agreed to in this position and that the reality of the job were different. Or state that it was not a good job fit. Nursing recruiters will understand and appreciate your circumstances. You will be surprised how often new employees and employers are not on the same page. Take care. Blessings
So glad the OP decided to terminate employment. As so many noted, this was a disaster from day one.
Yes, many nurses are people pleasers. And instead of celebrating the nurturing and compassion, employers have learned to exploit it. In this situation as it often does, management dysfunction turned into a culture where working short staffed became the nurses' problem. It's a vicious cycle; unreasonable demands are put on staff, the emotionally healthy ones with decent boundaries eventually leave to protect their well being, and the ones who are left behind who tolerate the demands create the impression with management that they just need to go through enough nurses to find those who will let themselves be mistreated. And in a work environment where orientation is relatively inexpensive, they don't mind the turnover costs. So places like the OPs rehab become revolving doors, nobody has institutional memory or competence and it cycles ever downward. At one time it was just the travelers who got treated that way, now the suits keep hammering on keeping the budget low and profits high and everyone suffers.
Its a little like the abused spouse syndrome. The nurses with good professional ethics and a sense of commitment and responsibility keep wondering what THEY are doing wrong, the equivalent of the spouse who thinks they must have done something wrong or they wouldn't get assaulted. They stay in positions that are dangerous personally and professionally in the misguided belief that they matter to the people who sign the checks. And like the abusive spouse, health care management pressures staff to act as if the treatment they get is just fine, the smiles on the PR pieces are like the Christmas card from the family where there's so much suffering behind the glossy photo.
Anyway, here's some practical advice, though not necessarily for the OP, it sounds like she's doing OK. If you end up in a nightmare job, recognize that you aren't like the nurses who take the crap, and you never will be. Your focus needs to be on getting out, not on what anybody thinks about your being a team player. Do the absolute minimum you need to in order to meet your ethical standards and keep the job until you find something else. By the way that bar is VERY low - because that kind of a place would rather have your warm but unreliable body on their call list than not. Stop being mad about their lying to you, it was a one side agreement that you made in good faith and they didn't. Cut your losses and move on.
It's ironic, nurses worry about losing their licenses, but license action - other than re-education for a significant error - is typically about WILLFUL malfeasance (fraud, diversion, working impaired, abuse). What you need to worry about when you have an unsafe assignment is legal repercussions. If there's a bad outcome, the court won't care you had an unsafe assignment. You took it, your problem. Too busy to get those admitting vitals right away, the patient goes Dixie post-transfer and codes and dies? The lawyers will go after everyone who has a nickel to their name, you AND your facility. Once you accept an assignment (get report), the only thing that MIGHT save you is having documented in writing that you contacted your supervisor and told them the assignment was unsafe. As a former legal nurse consultant, I saw that kind of stuff all the time. And by the way, just because it's legal to refuse an assignment doesn't mean you won't get fired for it, in a right-to-work state you can be fired for anything.that's not discrimination against a protected class or harassment, and even if one of those cases you need to fight to get your job back assuming you want it
Worried about what leaving a job after two weeks will look like on your resume? Don't be. First of all, your resume doesn't need to include every job you've ever done back to your paper route, and it doesn't need to include a two week gig, and shouldn't really unless there's a really good reason. Obviously, if you're asked to sign an application saying it's complete to your knowledge, then you put the nightmare job down, and when asked, say, "Strangely, the position I was hired for wasn't available when I reported for work. The position available when I reported required 24/7 availability to come in for call-offs, and taking assignments of any size including some unsafe, after just a few hours of orientation. It was a poor fit between myself and their expectations. I resigned as soon as that became clear in order to minimize their training investment."
RUN GIRL RUN! Don't feels guilty about leaving your new position at the rehab place. You can alway explain to the dialysis center that the job was not what you were told it was supposed to be or that you felt you were not a good fit for the company. Never feel like you owe a company anything unless they have been very good to you. They aren't looking out for your best interests and will throw you under the bus if something goes wrong. It does not sound like a very safe place to work. I would accept the dialysis position since you are still in the orientation phase and have only worked a few shifts its best to leave now rather than later. Good luck!
This is a normal for facilities around the country the states are in compliance with the corporations. The work loads are way way, way, too too, too, heavy. The corporations are not held to legal and ethical practices and standards. On the other hand the nurses and staff workers are held to legal and ethical standards by the hour. So things will not change. The corporations are not required to change. You can leave but all facilities are the same with a different twist. Huge responsibilities and more than which you can complete in your required shift. Even though you will be expected to.
I doubt it. You'll never know until you try. What's to loose?? If they still offer you the job, I'd forget about the rehab place and don't fret about ethics. They weren't honest with you. Dream job? Or nightmare job?
OP holds a professional license. As you do not, these concepts may be difficult for you.
The credibility in question here is the facility's not the OP's.
By the way... OP was not required to answer your rude query regarding her BLS certification. However she did so, and gracefully.
How the heck would you know what professional licenses I hold or don't? I hold three in CA! Real Estate Brokers License and two in insurance- over 32 lines thank you very much!
And no one's credibly was in question! Not the OP nor the company! The OP needs to look out for herself- sharing her current employment status off the bat to the dialysis company hopefully won't look like she jumps ships if things get to rough (tough concept I know). The current employer IMO doesn't derserve her loyalty to them, even tho they are entitled to their bottom line. She needs to be loyal to herself!
And since you took offense... My inquiry on the BLS was a question. That was the first time I've ever heard of companies hiring without current certification! I know... Difficult concept for me. But it was not a criticism. Stop been so cynical!
old new nurse
1 Post
You did an excellent job of describing the acute rehab environment. Been there and done that. Won't do it again. I was Weekend House Supervisor. At least 50% of my time was wasted calling employees and begging, pleading & bribing them to come in for ANY hours. Spent more time working on the floor than I could/should physically do (was recovering from ACDF surgery). Between those two things, I didn't have time to do my own job -- I was supposed to be the employee education specialist and employee health coordinator. So, after two 16 hour days on the weekends, I worked overtime both days and then spent my next day doing orientation and then trying to catch up on my actual responsibilities.
I disagree with you about this part of your post:
"Yes, it may have been unethical that you were lied to. However, nobody would accept the position if they blurted out the unadulterated truth: our working conditions are brutal; we cannot keep people; our employee turnover rates are sky-high; we're picky on the charting; this is not a good place to work..."
If employers couldn't get employees because the working conditions were well known and unacceptable, then they would first be forced to hire only those who shouldn't be hired (we all know a nurse like this!). The consequences of this would be two-fold. First, if surveyors came in during the period of omg scary staff that couldn't pass a visit if the surveyors were blindfolded and had ear and nose plugs inserted, then the list of deficiencies would be astronomical and impossible to remedy without fixing the original problem -- the work environment that is intolerable and unsafe. Second, since this would be happening in multiple facilities simultaneously, there would be such a demand for nurses, they would all hire each others rejects for the first go-round. Thus, rinse and repeat would occur -- with the result of continuing horrible work conditions and even worse patient care
After a couple rounds of this, surveyors and families alike would start demanding more of facilities and ultimately good change should occur.
Why should a nurse ever feel guilty or feel like this is her fault and stick with a facility that lied to her and that wouldn't hesitate to fire her if she doesn't keep her head low and her mouth shut??!?!
Nope -- call that dialysis facility back and make amends! Odds are they already know about the work environment you are in and are waiting for your call