Lied on at work....

[RN3121]

I have been working on a busy Orth-Med/Surg unit for about 5 months now. Though it doesn't have the most ideal working environment, I've been trying to remain positive and make it work. The other night when I was on call, I got a phone call about 8pm (shift starts at 7) from the night unit supervisor stating that they needed me to come in right then. It was very last minute and I live 45 minutes away, so I told her I would be there as soon as I could, but would definitely be there before 11. I got there around 10:30 and it was a complete mad house. Three nurses had called in that night, leaving us with 3 nurses, no tech, and 15 patients. The night supervisor told me that the dayshift unit supervisor had tried calling me earlier that afternoon for me to come in but couldn't get a hold of me. She also said that the dayshift staffing supervisor stated that he had talked to me earlier and I had told him that I couldn't come in. Neither one of these things were true. I was at home all day that day and my cell phone was on and not one person called me from my job. I know they have the correct contact info, because they called me not to long ago to call me off work due to low census. I later found out that had the night supervisor not called me in that night, I would have been written up and possibly fired for being a no call, no show. When the night supervisor told our manager about it the next morning, she basically shrugged it off and said "oh well, you know they're trying to cut out overtime due to budget cuts and haven't you worked short staffed before?" She said nothing about the fact that these 2 supervisors lied on me and could have cost me my job.

To be honest, though I'm upset, I can't really say I'm suprised. There is so much backstabbing and drama that goes on between my coworkers (I try my best to stay out of it) that you really don't know who to trust. I go to worked completely stressed out now and things aren't getting any better. I know the job market is tight right now, but I really don't know how much more of this environment I can take. I've never had any problems on a job before and I've never been one to job hop, but I'm seriously considering leaving this job..... sooner rather than later.

Thanks for reading my vent

[caliotter3]

Start looking. Good luck finding something before you are out on your behind. This place sounds as if it is lucky for a person to have a job from one day to the next. And BTW, lying about calling or not calling an employee is common, very common. It happens to me all the time.

[GHGoonette, BSN, RN]

Sounds to me as if both these characters weren't just lying about you, they were lying to the night supervisor to cover up the fact that they omitted to arrange for adequate staffing. They more than likely had plenty of forewarning and just didn't bother. I detest managers who lie to cover up their incompetence.

Start looking around, you don't want to be stuck with characters like that.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

Is it your cell phone they call? You should be able to show them call logs then to prove that they didn't in fact call you. My bill always comes with an itemized list by date, time with the number.

[catshowlady]

Start looking. Good luck finding something before you are out on your behind. This place sounds as if it is lucky for a person to have a job from one day to the next. And BTW, lying about calling or not calling an employee is common, very common. It happens to me all the time.

I have also had problems with my work with calling wrong or old numbers. I changed my cell phone number when I split up with my ex just over a year ago. I gave them the new number twice. I also specified that I want the cell phone number called first, as I don't always hear my house phone if I'm sleeping. A year later, they are saying they tried to call me - yeah, they are calling the old number or the house. I don't know how many people I have to tell - CALL MY CELL PHONE IF YOU WANT ME!

I have had to resort to displaying my cell phone logs, also.

So it's not just you.

:paw:

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I don't understand....were you officially on call? How is it that you could (potentially) be written up for failure to show up when you weren't scheduled to work?

Whether they called or not, whether you answered or not doesn't really matter unless you were either on the schedule or on call.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Wait, you normally have 6 nurses for 15 patients on med/surg? Wow.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

I don't understand....were you officially on call? How is it that you could (potentially) be written up for failure to show up when you weren't scheduled to work?

Whether they called or not, whether you answered or not doesn't really matter unless you were either on the schedule or on call.

I'm also wondering about that.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Yeah, if you even care at this point.

But as Hiddencat says, with my cell carrier I can go online and find all detail of incoming and outgoing calls. It sometimes is not there immediately but a day or two later it sure should be. Just go online and print yours to keep if you feel like doing anything.

Sounds like the whole thing is a bluster to cover incompetent a**. Funny how they do this when it's clear they need you. It's similar to the thread where a DON threatened an RN who gave notice, that she was going to call his BON and complain if he quit. LOL! Really, to me, this kind of behavior opens the door for you to gain the upperhand, they have shown their weakness to you. I usually look at this as MY opportunity to take advantage. My new attitude would be to turn the tables... "If you want me to ________, here is what I need you to provide for me." Point Blank. While I look for another job.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

I feel for u. U sound like one of those people who does their utmost for their patients & other staff.

I had a completely psychotic NM calling me all the time thru one agency (and I don't use the term psychotic lightly, being in mental health) She used to ring & demand I come into work right away all the time - she'd ring at anytime, even though I'd given the agency before & after times to call & I wasn't doing nightshift as I had a heavy study load, & only worked 4 days a week. She would call all and anytime & become abusive if u even hesitated re taking a shift. Even on days off that I needed to fin assignments etc, she would ring & if I said no, would become abusive & send abusive emails. She was extremely aggressive too.

Yes, dust off the resume (CV) & get out if u can, because it won't get any better, trust me. U will be fighting a losing battle & won't stay positive. Sometimes it's better to walk away from BS. And as far as I know, u can request mobile phone records that prove ur outgoing and incoming calls - I'd get one of those then see nursing HR & take it further.

[Belle Epoque]

I don't understand....were you officially on call? How is it that you could (potentially) be written up for failure to show up when you weren't scheduled to work?

Whether they called or not, whether you answered or not doesn't really matter unless you were either on the schedule or on call.

Yep, alot about the OP makes no sense. Unless she was on-call or standby, but I didn't get that from the post. No sense at all.

[heron, ASN, RN]

From the original post:

I have been working on a busy Orth-Med/Surg unit for about 5 months now. Though it doesn't have the most ideal working environment, I've been trying to remain positive and make it work. The other night when I was on call, I got a phone call about 8pm ...

Granted, largish blocks of uninterrupted text are a bit hard to read, but the OP says pretty clearly that she was, indeed, on call.