performance eval not fair-- !

pagandeva2000, LPN · May 29, 2008

Pagandeva,
This is another good piece of advice, which I wouldn't have thought of. I should have though because we know for a fact that many of our CNA write-ups HAVE gone into the circular file!

Thanks-that was a piece of advice that a nursing supervisor-mentor told me years ago. She said that when people would add second pages for their rebuttals, they were convienently thrown away, but if even a warning of more to say is evident, at least it shows questionable behavior of the person who actually wrote the eval.

mc3, ASN, RN · May 30, 2008

I hate performance evals too...waste of time! If I'm doing something wrong, let me know then. If I'm doing something right, let me know then. Don't wait until the end of the year - it's meaningless. Plus, it irritates the ***out of me!

:nurse:

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · May 30, 2008

Our yearly evals are done to determine whether we get a raise. Is it possible that you're getting paid more than Xanax nurse, and a weak eval is a cover for an attempt to save the facility money?

robonurse1 · May 30, 2008

Angie,

This is absolutely not the case. I have been here for a long time and know a lot of things by one route and another. As it happens I was handed a check stub from "Xanax nurses" check (by her!) so that I could see where a certain pay value was located. I just happened to notice that her base pay rate is MORE than two dollars above mine and I have been here longer!!!

Seriously, this place is like a den of vipers. There is so much favoritism and other unprofessional behavior here, you probably wouldn't believe it!

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · May 30, 2008

Having been in the business myself awhile, I do believe it. If it were me, I'd have to give serious thought to moving on and letting Xanax nurse start earning that salary.

robonurse1 · May 30, 2008

Angie,

ter reading a lot of posts last night on whistleblowing, and thinking back over the last few years about how I have been treated at this facility for in-house reporting, I think you are right. I don't know about moving on, as in leaving the job,though that is what my heart s to do, but I think I will speak with the admin. about the raise discrepancy and leave the other alone. I don't believe that they will increase my raise, but I cannot let it go without saying something. I don't know how so many of us deal with such inequities and keep going. It batters your soul. I have kept at it for a long time for the pure love of my residents. If noone cares and stands up for them, then what? They return my love and always ask where I have been, even when I am only off for a few days.

I am Christian and I will try to turn it over to the Lord. The world is becoming such a wicked place, we have to have Him to battle Goliath.

Thanks so much for your replies to my post. It means a lot to know that other good nurses are out there.

Agnus · May 30, 2008

Hi everyone,
I really would like some advice. I have been a nurse for 31 years. I have been in the same job for 19 years, in a nursing home in a very small town in Florida.
I have an excellent reputation among my fellow workers and with the patients and family members.
I got my eval yesterday, (7 months after it was due!!) The eval was done by the DON who rarely ever comes to the halls where we work and truly doesn't know much about how we do our jobs.
She gave me average on nearly all sections. Then she recommended I get a 3% raise. Of course, it is a very long story, impossible to completely tell here, but I promise you, I am not an "average" nurse! Most especially when compared to the performance of the majority of our other nurses.
My RN supervisor vehemently disagreed with the eval and said that she would be willing to tell the administrator so. The same DON recommended other nurses for a 4% raise.
As I said, this is a small town and people can be very petty when you disagree with them.
Any suggestions on what I should do? By the way, she was in such a hurry to get my eval done that she filled in my section on "self-eval" too!

She filled in your section on self eval?! This is fraudulent.

You have been there for a long time, and you likely have had both longevity and and merit raises . So you you likely make more than many other nurses who work there.

I suspect she does not want to give you a 4% raise because it would be a bigger increase than the 4% the others are getting. You are expensive to keep because of your longevity. Also, if she p!$$es you off then you might quit and then she can hire someone with less experience for less money.

Because of the financial element the Administrator is likely to back her up.

you can complain and I would. I would challenge this BUT if you want to keep this job I would not push it.

No it is not fair. You have to weigh what is most important to you. Principle and a 1% increase over what you are getting or this job.

robonurse1 · May 30, 2008

Thank you for the input Agnus. I just got back from my "meeting" with the DON. I didn't mention not agreeing with the eval as a whole. I realize what tenuous ground I'm on! I walked in and told her I had some questions about my eval. She said "okay, whatcha got?" Just that second someone else came to the door and asked her " is this a bad time?" She said "no, no, give me two minutes"!!!! Really concerned, huh? She was furious that others had told me what their raises had been. Said if it was not a firing offense under our policies it Should be! She looked me straight in the eyes and lied like the devil himself and said she didn't recall giving either of them 4%! Both of the others got their raises in the last month!!!! This isn't the first, or doubtless the last, time she has lied like rip. It is infuriating the way they behave and then speak to us in such a sanctimonious manner, as if we are naughty children! Anyway, she ended our talk by saying she would speak to the administrator and see what she could for me. I have a bad feeling that what she can do for me won't be good! LOL!

barefootlady, ADN, RN · May 30, 2008

You sank yourself this time. I do not think you should have told her the other nurses told you they got 4% raises, just that 4% seemed to be the going rate this year. I would have brought up her filing out your part of the eval and clearly stated you wanted to have that noted in your file, perferrably by you. I think a new job is in your future. Good luck.

leslie :-D · May 30, 2008

I would have brought up her filing out your part of the eval and clearly stated you wanted to have that noted in your file, perferrably by you.

i agree:

that she should have never filled out your section.

i would have also been curious as to why you got excellent evals up until this year, where it had deteriorated to average.

leslie

crissrn27, RN · May 31, 2008

Federal law prohibits people from NOT being able to talk about their salaries. They can talk about them if they wish to.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · May 31, 2008

when i was a manager i so dreaded doing evaluations.

first off, you should have objected to the evaluation at the time it was given to you by either refusing to sign it or making a clear statement above your signature as to why you disagreed with it.

secondly, anytime a person is giving you a negative assessment, demand proof or documented examples. make them prove that what they are saying is so. i was taught to never ding any employee on an evaluation without written documentation to back it up. that makes the evaluation as fair as you can make it.

third, check your facility policy on how to go about disagreeing with an evaluation or filing a grievance and follow it to the letter. keep copies of all written letters and memos which you now start writing (no more just talking informally). one thing you need to bring up is what i mention above. . .no documentation (write ups or disciplinary actions against you) exists to prove the claims that were made on the evaluation. however, to get above average scoring on evaluations, some places may require documentation of actions in categories you are evaluated on that shows above average performance. that is not the same as having an excellent reputation.

it is not fair to claim that the "don. . .rarely ever comes to the halls where we work and truly doesn't know much about how we do our jobs". the cnas also say that of many of the charge nurses they work with! now, how do you suppose people get that idea? probably because they are so busy doing their jobs that they don't have time to be noticing whether some other guy is doing his job or not, do you suppose? then, they get upset that they aren't getting noticed for the hard work they are doing. a manager should always make their walk through a unit a big deal so everyone is aware of their presence and there is no room for doubt that they have been around to see what is going on.