Manager threatening patient abandonment

joonkilee · Nov 26, 2020

On 11/23/2020 at 11:23 AM, Jedrnurse said:

Why the one week's notice? People talk and this could come back to bite you...

I was planning a 2 week notice after verbally being offered a new job. New employer and I agreed on a start date but because new employer was busy and delayed sending me the contract as well as having to fix some of the wording and terms on the contract, I didn't feel right or secure enough to give a 2 week notice until I had the fully written and revised contract. a few days passed and it eventually became a week later where I finally got the revised contract but we already agreed on the start date which was 2 weeks from the time that I was verbally offered the job.

On 11/23/2020 at 11:41 AM, Hoosier_RN said:

Thats what I was thinking. Most bedside positions require 2wks to 1 month, management and APRN usually require a month minimum

see comment above

On 11/23/2020 at 12:05 PM, NurseBlaq said:

Has any of the other NPs agreed to take assignment of the patients? Have you spoken to the NP returning directly and asked if they're willing to accept the patient assignments? Communication with the other NPs in the company would really help you in this situation. Just my $0.02.

It's been a few days now, talked the other NPs and they said it'll be fine but didn't actually hand of any patients yet. Manager spoke to me again asking me to count how many patients I need to handoff and to write a handoff note for each of them. Manager didn't bring up the "patient abandonment" part. Maybe they realized they couldn't use it against me.

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Nov 26, 2020

2 minutes ago, joonkilee said:

I was planning a 2 week notice after verbally being offered a new job. New employer and I agreed on a start date but because new employer was busy and delayed sending me the contract as well as having to fix some of the wording and terms on the contract, I didn't feel right or secure enough to give a 2 week notice until I had the fully written and revised contract. a few days passed and it eventually became a week later where I finally got the revised contract but we already agreed on the start date which was 2 weeks from the time that I was verbally offered the job.

see comment above

It's been a few days now, talked the other NPs and they said it'll be fine but didn't actually hand of any patients yet. Manager spoke to me again asking me to count how many patients I need to handoff and to write a handoff note for each of them. Manager didn't bring up the "patient abandonment" part. Maybe they realized they couldn't use it against me.

OK, just hope this works out for you, as it may come back to bite you in the behind. Good luck with the new position

joonkilee · Nov 26, 2020

On 11/24/2020 at 2:16 PM, mangopeach said:

I was tempted to resign immediately from my currently employment. Things have gone downhill over the last few months. I tried to do some research on this matter and I am still not clear what does and does not constitute patient abandonment. I had a lot more clarity on this matter as a bedside RN. I need to be more educated about it as an NP.

As a result I gave them 30 day notice.

I read some information similar to what Neuroguy posted. I also read info on this site. The writer here seems to think reporting the provider (MD) to board was appropriate

https://www.jucm.com/the-consequences-of-a-medical-provider-quitting-without-notice/

Thank you for this info

THAT Nurse., BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, APRN · Nov 30, 2020

It sounds like you work for a group, and not your own clinic. As such, a lot of the concerns/obligations that would follow if you were running your own sole practice do not apply, such as the whole 30 day notice thing being given to patients before you are allowed to leave.

While I hate the term, who "owns" the chart? Likely the practice you work for, not you. The patient's don't sign an agreement with you, they signed with the practice. You are an employee, and one with a contract. That contract is your obligation, you can be as mercenary as you want about it. If you feel you need out, then go - as long as you fulfill your contract you've fulfilled your legal needs. Don't get me wrong, your professional responsibilities are still there when you practice, and liability for your action may follow you, but don't wrap employment law into it.

Real life example, my wife had a specialist, one day, with zero notice specialist is gone from the practice. (Found out details later, but long and not germane to this post). We found out when we arrived at the clinic for our appointment. The practice never informed us, but re-scheduled us with another provider in the group at the same time so we saw a new person at time previously scheduled for old provider. Said provider left shortly thereafter, we found out when we came for follow up, and found out we had been re-scheduled again. We stopped going back after I got the whole story on what was happening. Was this "nice"? No. Was it legal? Yes. Was it abandonment to lose our provider this way? No. The group which we had established with had other providers and maintained all obligations.

Don't be intimidated. Know what your obligations are and fulfill them and you are fine. I suggest looking deeply at your current state rules/regs.

TL/Dr version: If you call in sick, do all the patients scheduled have a claim for abandonment? No. If they fired you, what obligation would you have to your patients? None, if you quit without notice, what obligation then? None.

Me personally, I would've walked the day my manager threatened me. Don't ever work for an employer that operates by threats or intimidation. Makes for a bad life.