previous employee coming back to work...and im nervous

Nurses General Nursing

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I work in a peds office, and we just found out that a LPN that left about 6 mths ago is coming back. All of us back office girls dont know much of how things are going to go when she comes back, other than she will be the "back office supervisor". right now we are fully staffed, so we dont know if someone is getting cut so she can have patient interaction, or if she will just do back office manager jobs. lets just say with the way the schedule looks for next week, there are way too many hands in the pot, and one MA is on vacation. The office manager have given us no information at all on how things will be. We're all going into it blind. After she (the LPN) left, i got to take over a lot of the responsibilities she had :D (inventorying and helping with ordering, training new back office employees, making sure drugcloset was organized, re-organizing parts of the lab, keeping the crashcart UTD....etc), but now im not going to get to do those things anymore. im going to be back to basic patient care needs, and have no responsibilities.:(

yes, i know im "just a (certified)Medical Assistant", but thats why i'm starting school this fall for nursing. im tired of not being able to have more responsibilities, and being the low man on the totem pole. this was a good "foot in the door for me". but i need more.

I think in this whole situtation what gets me the most is that she left because she was unhappy with how the office was run. Why would they willingly bring her back, knowing she was unhappy?

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Specializes in HH, Med/surg- liver & kidney transplant, ortho, ++.

Your office sounds exactly like the place I work at. I work at a pediatric clinic as a medical assistant. I have been there just over a year. My last day is August 1st because I am headed off to nursing school at the end of September. I have other things going on this summer that I need to leave earlier than I would have liked.

Anyways, it seems as if we never get any information about what is going on until last minute. We only know of someone being hired if someone is leaving. If they hire a receptionist or another doctor nobody ever knows. We are working on an EMR nobody knows when that will start. I have a feeling it will be through the flu season. What a way to start learning an EMR. I am so glad I wont be around for that.

Most people in my office (receptionists and book keeping included) received a bonus, with the exception of 3 new MA's and 2 other MA's. One being myself and another whos last day was yesterday. I was pretty livid when I found out people were given a bonus and I wasn't. I was pretty ****** to say the least. It is going to be really hard for me to work the next 3 weeks. I am really angry with my employer right now. I just keep thinking thinking of my last day and that it is only 3 weeks away. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I am actually getting a bonus, well...........not given by my work. I have decided to call in sick on Monday. I have some sick time I haven't used and it wont be paid out when I leave. So I am going to take advantage of that. Serves them right for not giving me a bonus. I just had a great 1 year review and even got a raise, whats up with that???? I get a raise but no bonus. I was told by a coworker that the bonus was to show appreciation for the employees. Lets just say I will be giving them a nice letter of how I feel UNappreciated on my last day of work.

Good luck. Just think you are going on to bigger and better things. You don't have much time left there, make the best of it. I know, easier said than done. I am going to try to make the best of it the last few weeks I have left. Soon that will all be in the past and you will have other things to worry about, like mid terms, finals, clinicals, care plans and MUCH more.

Congratulations on your acceptance. I am sure you are just as excited as I am to start school.

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Specializes in Med Surg, LTC, Home Health.
yes, i know im "just a (certified)Medical Assistant", but thats why i'm starting school this fall for nursing.

She was unhappy at your office, but obviously more unhappy where she went next. A lot of nurses are unhappy. You are a medical assistant and that is a great job! When i was an LPN in LTC, so many times i heard from the CNA's "youre just an LPN". If i hadnt been a CNA previously, i would have never been able to understand how they could be below me, and yet belittle my position. In fact, i still cant. You are not "just" a medical assistant. That is a real career and takes just as long to accomplish as an LPN in my state. Be proud. And, an LPN shouldnt be able to take your duties as far as im concerned! Good luck in nursing school! :wink2:

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Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.
Your office sounds exactly like the place I work at. I work at a pediatric clinic as a medical assistant. I have been there just over a year. My last day is August 1st because I am headed off to nursing school at the end of September. I have other things going on this summer that I need to leave earlier than I would have liked.

Anyways, it seems as if we never get any information about what is going on until last minute. We only know of someone being hired if someone is leaving. If they hire a receptionist or another doctor nobody ever knows. We are working on an EMR nobody knows when that will start. I have a feeling it will be through the flu season. What a way to start learning an EMR. I am so glad I wont be around for that.

Most people in my office (receptionists and book keeping included) received a bonus, with the exception of 3 new MA's and 2 other MA's. One being myself and another whos last day was yesterday. I was pretty livid when I found out people were given a bonus and I wasn't. I was pretty ****** to say the least. It is going to be really hard for me to work the next 3 weeks. I am really angry with my employer right now. I just keep thinking thinking of my last day and that it is only 3 weeks away. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I am actually getting a bonus, well...........not given by my work. I have decided to call in sick on Monday. I have some sick time I haven't used and it wont be paid out when I leave. So I am going to take advantage of that. Serves them right for not giving me a bonus. I just had a great 1 year review and even got a raise, whats up with that???? I get a raise but no bonus. I was told by a coworker that the bonus was to show appreciation for the employees. Lets just say I will be giving them a nice letter of how I feel UNappreciated on my last day of work.

Good luck. Just think you are going on to bigger and better things. You don't have much time left there, make the best of it. I know, easier said than done. I am going to try to make the best of it the last few weeks I have left. Soon that will all be in the past and you will have other things to worry about, like mid terms, finals, clinicals, care plans and MUCH more.

Congratulations on your acceptance. I am sure you are just as excited as I am to start school.

I hear your frustration, but please don't leave on a bad note from this employer. If you have good reviews from them so far, don't spoil all the hard work you have put into this job by having the 'last laugh'. The medical community is a VERY small one, and believe me, if you leave one employer on a sour note it can have repercussions down the line. Leave with a smile on your face and give them no reason to retaliate. You may not think that you will ever need a reference from them now, but trust me, there may come a time when you will regret it if you get revenge on these people by jerking them around at this point.

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Specializes in ICU.

i completely agree! burning bridges on your way out is just not good. now is time for a cool head and a smart strategy. :heartbeat

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i don't even know if its that she was more unhappy where she was. we don't know any details of why shes coming back, and i don't expect to learn any...but the insight I've gained from one of the doctors in the practice is that the owner doctor of the practice called her to come back and she more than likely named a salary which she'd come back for.

i guess i'll see how things go tomorrow :uhoh3:

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Never leave a job the way that you are planning to, as mentioned above, the medical community is quite small and can cause issues for you later on.

Give the two weeks notice and then finish out the two weeks and you will be done and no bridges will be burned.

It is always best this way.

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Specializes in peds, nursery family practice.

I wouldn't be nervous but I would watch my behavior. I too came back to a position after being gone for about a year. When I left I was a staff nurse when I came back I was the manager. I can' speak for why she is coming back but in my case I found I missed the one on one with my patients. I left an office with a patient population of 9,000 and went to a population of 15,000. Everyone there was a number not Ms Jones from up the road or Mr Smith who owned the deli next door. My coming back was with a pay cut and that was OK I was happy again. As far as your extra duties you lost- be patient, you never know what the future holds. When I came back I took over all aspects of the back until I found out who was reliable and who could handle the responsibility on top of their regular duties. During this time I re-evaluated my employees some of which were new some I had already worked with for many years. I found that I had to retrain some, fired a thief, and another employee who became completely unreliable(always late calling out sick) because she thought I would cover for her since we were friends. Give her time to feel her way through. Your coworkers (and probably you) will treat her differently because she is in charge now. Over time she will begin to delegate tasks but only to those who can be trusted. But you have to earn that trust. Good Luck!!:wink2:

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You should ask the office manager how things are supposed to happen when the LPN comes back. That way everyone will be on the same sheet of music; whether it is a new sheet, or the same sheet as when the LPN was there before, and there should be no misunderstandings or hurt feelings.

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Just noted the date of the OP. Can the OP get us up to date on how things have been going? Hope everything has worked out to everyone's satisfaction.

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And, an LPN shouldnt be able to take your duties as far as im concerned! Good luck in nursing school! :wink2:

Interesting comments to this nervous CMA. Has anyone even given the thought to the fact that perhaps her duties are being taken away because she couldn't handle it.

"I think in this whole situtation what gets me the most is that she left because she was unhappy with how the office was run. Why would they willingly bring her back, knowing she was unhappy? "

Did she leave on good terms? Do you know what she was unhappy about? If she left on good terms and was a reliable employee you have your answer as to why they would want her back. If her unhappiness was due to office polices you are probably in for some major changes in your office as this would be her bargaining chip for coming back

"i don't even know if its that she was more unhappy where she was. we don't know any details of why shes coming back, and i don't expect to learn any...but the insight I've gained from one of the doctors in the practice is that the owner doctor of the practice called her to come back and she more than likely named a salary which she'd come back for."

Whatever her salary is its none of your business. I've read your other posts regarding the return of this employee and your perception of her lack of skills-sounds more to me like your just a jelous employee who trying to justfy her posistion.

I guarantee if I were coming back as your manager, your employment would be very short term as you sound like a troublemaker who needs to go elsewhere. You say you're just starting nursing school hopefully while getting your education you will grow up too.

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