My DON is harrassing me, can I save my job?

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Nurse Beth,

How do I save my job when my DON is harrassing me and ordering my direct supervisors to write me up for things I either should have education on or exaggerations. I have emailed corporate and will find the number for them. I talked two of my supervisors. I put in for a transfer that was approved on 10/21/19 then denied on 10/23/19.

The company has great potential and benefits I'd hate to lose out over being bullied. I'm a 1year nurse and working to my best abilities their expectations are unreasonable of a 10year nurse let alone myself.

Dear Harrassed,

You feel that you are right, and that if only the higher-ups were made aware of the situation, the DON would change her behavior towards you.

While your tendency is to fight back and defend yourself, it will not work. Do not call corporate. If you want to save your job, it will be through your DON. You would need to meet with her, listen to her concerns about your performance, and come to an agreement about measurable performance expectations. That is what will save your job.

It would take both of you cooperating. But it sounds like you and the DON are nowhere near this point.

It also assumes that there are legitimate opportunities for performance improvement, but you believe the expectations are unreasonable and you are being harassed.

If you have been written up and a request for transfer denied, these are signs your job is at risk. You don't want to be in the position of trying to land a job when you are unemployed.

So if you believe the situation is not redeemable, look for another job now. There are other organizations with good benefits, and you do have 1 yr experience, so you are marketable, and should have other choices.

Best wishes to you,

Nurse Beth

Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!

Start your job search today!

[beekee]

I’m going to wholeheartedly agree with Nurse Beth. Your DON is creating a paper trail to fire you. Corporate, if they do anything beyond forwarding your emails to your DON, it will be to support your DON.

While you may believe that doing your best is enough, it sounds like it’s not. What affirmative steps are you taking to get the education you believe you need? By “exaggerations,” do you mean things you believe are “no big deal”? If you are unsafe (and I have no idea if you are), your DON is going to intervene.

Spend your energy wisely. If you are unsure of something, ask. If you are corrected on something, make sure you know why and what the correct procedure is. Know your resources. Know where to find your policies and procedures.

Do you have a colleague you trust? Ask them for some perspective (but they may not be willing to get in the middle). Complaining that you are bullied because your clinical practice is deficient will get you no where except out the door.

I would start looking for a new job now. It’s very unlikely that you will be able to save this job.

[DeeAngel]

Quit and retain an attorney.

[Orca, ADN, ASN, RN]

2 hours ago, DeeAngel said:

Quit and retain an attorney.

I don't understand that advice at all. There is no legal issue here.

[floramary, RN]

I'm a retired nurse, grad of 78'.

With you being a "new"nurse, essentially, and you are at the 1 yr mark, you may not be hitting the benchmarks for your eval. It's hard to play catch up when you're new to a job and a new nurse both, we have all been there. She may be pushing you to get your best out of you. She see potential that you haven't reached. If you feel loosing your job is a real consideration, it's better to resign than get fired. There are lots of jobs out there and 1 yr experience may lead you to where you'll be happy.

[Hoosier_RN, MSN]

18 hours ago, floramary said:

I'm a retired nurse, grad of 78'.

With you being a "new"nurse, essentially, and you are at the 1 yr mark, you may not be hitting the benchmarks for your eval. It's hard to play catch up when you're new to a job and a new nurse both, we have all been there. She may be pushing you to get your best out of you. She see potential that you haven't reached. If you feel loosing your job is a real consideration, it's better to resign than get fired. There are lots of jobs out there and 1 yr experience may lead you to where you'll be happy.

Find a job prior to resigning, not all markets have tons of jobs waiting. Some areas are saturated with nurses, others not so much. Also, give notice, etc as well. Nursing is a small world, and this DoN may not give a good reference. As long as what she is saying is true--"Harrassed had 4 absences in a 6 month period", or "I counseled Harrassed for having a poor attitude", etc. Also, many times, things are mentioned behind the scenes--unfair, but hard to prove. So get another job lined up before leaving this one