need help getting out of dangerous job!

HM2VikingRN, RN · May 14, 2006

I graduated from nursing school about 5 months ago. I have been working at a brand new small hospital in the MICU. I was really excited about the job but it has been a NIGHTMARE! My first week out of orientation I was designated the code nurse!!!! At our hospital a nurse from our unit goes to any code blue that happens in the hospital and coordinates it until the doc comes. While I have had ACLS I do NOT feel qualified for such a huge responsibility. I verbalized this to the charge nurse but was told I had to do it since we were short staffed that day. Thank God there were no codes that shift. When starting the job I was told I wouldn't be responsible for codes for at least a year.
The hospital also has a 6 month no pull policy which states you are not allowed to be pulled to another unit until you have been there for at least 6 months. This also is not honored. A girl from my floor got pulled to the CVICU her first week out of orientation and was given 3 heavy duty cardiac patients. She quit soon afterwards. I am terrified of that happening to me. I have verbalized multiple times that at this time I don't feel qualified to be pulled to such places and get assignments like that. I was told each time that if our census is low I will be sent there and I don't have a choice. :angryfire It's not a matter of me just not wanting to go there but a matter of patient safety. They don't even seem to care about the patients' safety! :angryfire
Me and the other new nurses' orientation period was very brief due to the lack of staffing at the hospital. I don't feel that the little training I received qualifies me for most of the assignments that I get. It would probably be better if I had been a nurse in a different area for several years first but I am a new graduate! I am terrified of going to work every day and cry every night when I get home.
I've decided I need to get out of the job ASAP. I don't have a written contract with them so I'm not sure how long of a notice period I should give. I'm also afraid that once it is known I'm leaving my assignments will get even worse. I am afraid to stay there for any longer. The whole situation is a big fat lawsuit waiting to happen and I fear for my patient's safety and for my license! Any guidance about what you would do in the situation would be appreciated!!!!

2 Thoughts:

Go and don't look back. Your health and self esteem are too important.

This is the kind of crazy management that ultimately results in a union forming. (Full disclosure: I believe that working in a unionized hospital is the only way to go.)

elthia · May 14, 2006

QUIT. just quit. Trust me, it took me all of 12 hours to find another job when I decided to leave my last one. And that includes the time it took to write a good resume and catch a good night's sleep. If you want to leave a notice, fine, but if you give notice and get a crappy/dangerous assignment then that could be considered retaliation and hostile in some states. ( I gave notice because in TX, the hospitals like to blacklist nurses that aren't eligible for rehire, but trust me I kept close documentation about the time/day I gave my resignation and the type of assignments/disciplinary actions I recieved after that time.)

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · May 14, 2006

Your state board will NOT be sympathetic to your cause, should an adverse patient event occur on your watch and your license brought up for review. They will ask, "WHY did you accept such an assignment, knowing that it was unsafe and that you had not received adequate orientation?" Not only may you lose your hard-earned license, but nurses are now facing criminal and civil charges in the wake of horrible patient outcomes. All it takes is one unsafe shift to ruin your career (and possibly your life) forever. This is why I advise new graduates to choose their practice setting very carefully. We have immense responsibility and accountability but very little true authority. Sometimes we just have to "vote with our feet" - which is what I advise you to do, ASAP.

lisabeth · May 14, 2006

QUIT. just quit. Trust me, it took me all of 12 hours to find another job when I decided to leave my last one. And that includes the time it took to write a good resume and catch a good night's sleep. If you want to leave a notice, fine, but if you give notice and get a crappy/dangerous assignment then that could be considered retaliation and hostile in some states. ( I gave notice because in TX, the hospitals like to blacklist nurses that aren't eligible for rehire, but trust me I kept close documentation about the time/day I gave my resignation and the type of assignments/disciplinary actions I recieved after that time.)

It doesnt sound like there is much job security at all in nursing. What part of Texas are you in?.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · May 14, 2006

Cali_Nurse05. . .this is typical of many small hospitals. The employees have to be chief cooks and bottle washers. That's the nature of the beast. The fact is that once you walk through the doors of the hospital you have to go where you are assigned. Most of the states have had lawsuits addressing this and the nurses have almost consistently lost on this and the state board is not sympathetic with the nurses. Floating is something that has been around in nursing as long as I can remember. No one likes it. If you are really worried about this floating to the CVICU your best bet is to quit before it happens.

When you were hired you should have been given an employee handbook. In it are the instructions on the amount of notice you need to give when quitting. If you are even in doubt, call the human resources department and ask them. There should also be a copy of the employee manual around your unit somewhere that should have this information in it. Don't trust word of mouth. Get the facts straight from the proper source--human resources. Make sure you make your notice in writing and keep a copy of the letter for yourself.

I'm sorry to hear you are having such a bad experience for a first job.

PANurseRN1 · May 14, 2006

You are not obligated to assume responsibility for pts. when you are not adequately trained to care for them. If I walked into my job and was told I was being pulled to NICU, not only would I walk out, I would be on the phone to the DOH.

I would rather lose a job for refusing an assignment than lose my license plus live with guilt if I harmed a pt. because I was too timid to say "No."

Cali_Nurse05 · May 14, 2006

Thanks for all of the good advice. I think I need to find a job at a larger more established hospital where these situations wouldn't be tolerated. I plan on turning in my notice tomorrow and trying to stick it out a couple more weeks. But, if I get another assignment I feel isn't safe and they refuse to change it I'll probably just leave right then and there. It's just not worth the risk!

aimeeinorbit · May 14, 2006

Just be careful that they cant get you for abandonment. Im not sure what the rules are in WA, but in AZ if you refuse to take report you cant be accused of abandonment. If you arent sure, check out your states regulations.

vamedic4, EMT-P · May 15, 2006

Sorry to those of you who say give two week's notice...but it's time to get out NOW. Don't wait a second. Forget about all that "later in my career BS. You're a nurse...and there are hundreds of jobs out there for you. I just hope this experience hasn't permanently skewed your view of how important you really are. Have a great day!!

vamedic4

Children's Medical Center Dallas

elthia · May 18, 2006

It doesnt sound like there is much job security at all in nursing. What part of Texas are you in?.

Central...it's a listing that hospitals put out about nurses and if they are eligible for rehire...those hospitals that suscribe to the list will not hire a "not rehirable nurse" from another hospital..

C.G. · May 18, 2006

This is terrible! Another case of how nurses eat their young! This makes me sick. Is this facility that you work in unionized? If so, there issues should be talked about in your contract. If there is no union, then get out of there! You will burn out before you even break in your nurse's shoes!

I've precepted many nurses and this is NOT the way to keep staff. You obviously have NO support from your charge nurses or supervisors. Giving you a less than standard orientation is horrible! You should not be released from orientation until you feel comfortable. If there is poor staffing (gee, I wonder why???????) it's that administration's problem, NOT yours.

Just get out of there and chock it up to experience. At least you'll know what kind of place you DON'T want to work in.....

janetrnc · May 18, 2006

Cali_Nurse05. . .this is typical of many small hospitals. The employees have to be chief cooks and bottle washers. That's the nature of the beast.
I work in a small hospital and this kind of situation is NOT typical! It wouldn't be tolerated for a hot second! A new nurse is automatically partnered with an experienced nurse after her orientation, orientation for new nurses on our L/D unit lasts for 6 months, PP gets 3 months simply because we recognized that 6 weeks in not adequate time to learn what you need to know. Our employees do get floated but we have policies governing what float nurses can and cannot do, for example if a nurse from L/D, PP or Nursery gets floated to medical floor they do not take patient assignments or give meds, they function as a tech, this is done in order to prevent errors. The situation Cali describes is dangerous and seems to part of the organizational culture of that facility.