Pt assignment in trash

[Mama Nurse 7]

I found a patient assignment in the trash in a patient/visitor accessed area which contained sensitive patient information. I turned the assignment in to my manager which a few days later I was terminated for the reason that I was out to sabotage my peers by reporting that I found the assignment. Is this a true hippa violation and can I report my former employer.

[Mama Nurse 7]

Last year I had reported a charge nurse for suggesting patient abandoment to my manager. I asked her to medicate another pt for me while i was settling iny alcoholic scoring admission and she had told me to walk out of the patients room, stop dealing with him, and I could do the rest of my work. She must have been spoken to because a week later I overheard her telling aides and new grads to "make up stuff about me so I can get her fired." I reported this behavior to my manager and nothing was done. I applied to go to another unit and 4 days later recieved a warning that said I was being negative. I asked for specific examples and all I was given was an example of me rounding on the unit while I am in the charge role. Rounding on the unit is a charge expectation. No other examples were ever given to me. I did not agree with this warning and went to the director of nursing. The DON had the supervisors monitor my behavior and they reported back that the problem was not with me but instead was the charge nurse I had reported.

A few months went by and it seemed like the charge nurse stopped bullying me. I continued to meet with the DON as my manager still did not want to provide me with any examples of what I did wrong. The supervisors and DON all said there was no issue with me and I no longer needed to meet with them. The next week the charge nurse began to bully me again right after I applied to go to another unit and by the end of that week I received yet another warning. This time it had examples but the examples did not pertain to me. One of the examples went into detail regarding something that happened on my weekend off. I did rebuttal that one.

I applied to other hospitals and was sought out by another manager within the current facility and offered a job. I talked with my manager and explained I had a very difficult decision to make as I had been the for 9 plus years. My manager persuaded me to stay with the promise I would be able to move to the other unit within a couple of weeks. Well the week I was suppose to move to the other unit she terminated me because I turned in to her a patient assignment I found in the trash. It was in the trash in a patient/visitor area. My manager told me I was out to sabotage my peers by reporting this. Isn't that a hippa violation? I had also reported someone for asking me at the nurses station specific questions regarding my own sexual experiences and asking about another nurses sexual orientation 3 days before I was terminated.

Is this wrongful termination?

How do I now explain this to my future employer as every interview I go on seems to like me but then the next day I am told they went with someone else.

[Jolie, BSN]

If you inadvertently threw away a paper with someone's PHI on it, would you appreciate a co-worker who took 10 seconds to shred it, then reminded you privately to be careful about discarding sensitive information?

Or would you appreciate being reported to your supervisor?

What do you believe to be the HIPAA violation? Wrongful termination (if that is your point) is not a HIPAA violation. Nor do I believe that inadvertently throwing away PHI in a public trash can constitutes a HIPAA violation, unless that information was then seen by a member of the public.

[Mama Nurse 7]

Yes I could have taken 10 seconds and placed it in the proper bin to be shredded, but as a manager when it becomes a pattern with that person wouldn't they want to address it? I should have also added that it was the second time I found this particular persons assignment on the trash and I knew of at least 2 other times that others found assignments from the same person.

[caliotter3]

Looks as if the offending person is appreciated by the employer and you were not.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

The other nurse was not 'suggesting patient abandonment' to you. she was suggesting you care for all your patients. It's not abandonment to leave a patient's room to perform other necessary tasks.

Digging through the trash for 'evidence' of your co-workers supposed misdeeds is over the top.

I would learn from this and move on because you earned it.

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

Last year I had reported a charge nurse for suggesting patient abandoment to my manager. I asked her to medicate another pt for me while i was settling iny alcoholic scoring admission and she had told me to walk out of the patients room, stop dealing with him, and I could do the rest of my work. She must have been spoken to because a week later I overheard her telling aides and new grads to "make up stuff about me so I can get her fired." I reported this behavior to my manager and nothing was done. I applied to go to another unit and 4 days later recieved a warning that said I was being negative. I asked for specific examples and all I was given was an example of me rounding on the unit while I am in the charge role. Rounding on the unit is a charge expectation. No other examples were ever given to me. I did not agree with this warning and went to the director of nursing. The DON had the supervisors monitor my behavior and they reported back that the problem was not with me but instead was the charge nurse I had reported.

A few months went by and it seemed like the charge nurse stopped bullying me. I continued to meet with the DON as my manager still did not want to provide me with any examples of what I did wrong. The supervisors and DON all said there was no issue with me and I no longer needed to meet with them. The next week the charge nurse began to bully me again right after I applied to go to another unit and by the end of that week I received yet another warning. This time it had examples but the examples did not pertain to me. One of the examples went into detail regarding something that happened on my weekend off. I did rebuttal that one.

I applied to other hospitals and was sought out by another manager within the current facility and offered a job. I talked with my manager and explained I had a very difficult decision to make as I had been the for 9 plus years. My manager persuaded me to stay with the promise I would be able to move to the other unit within a couple of weeks. Well the week I was suppose to move to the other unit she terminated me because I turned in to her a patient assignment I found in the trash. It was in the trash in a patient/visitor area. My manager told me I was out to sabotage my peers by reporting this. Isn't that a hippa violation? I had also reported someone for asking me at the nurses station specific questions regarding my own sexual experiences and asking about another nurses sexual orientation 3 days before I was terminated.

Is this wrongful termination?

How do I now explain this to my future employer as every interview I go on seems to like me but then the next day I am told they went with someone else.

In my experience, and I was wrongfully terminated from a position 2 years ago it is very hard to prove a wrongful termination lawsuit. Believe me I tried. First I couldn't get a lawyer to take the case even though I had a clear paper trail of a pattern of patient abuse that I had blown the whistle on. In the end it was just easier to go get another job which I did and eventually went back to work in a psych facility which I love.

The first question you need to ask is "Do I work in an At Will state?" In an "At Will" state an employer or employee may terminate employment any time without notice for any reason or no reason at all. If you live in an "At Will" State you are pretty much out of luck.

The second question is "Is it worth the time, effort and money to pursue this? Unless a lawyer feels it's a "Slam Dunk" case he/she is probably going to want some kind of retainer. If you lose you might be liable for attorney fees incurred by your former employer and they may counter-sue for defamation. I guarantee they will have attorneys who are very expensive.

It didn't sound like a job that was very vested in you as an employee - go somewhere where your talents will be appreciated and move on.

Best of luck to you!

Hppy

[morte, LPN, LVN]

The other nurse was not 'suggesting patient abandonment' to you. she was suggesting you care for all your patients. It's not abandonment to leave a patient's room to perform other necessary tasks.

Digging through the trash for 'evidence' of your co-workers supposed misdeeds is over the top.

I would learn from this and move on because you earned it.

Mean, I don't think I have seen you post such a childish response before..

you don know what ASSume does, yes?

[morte, LPN, LVN]

I would not bother. apply to other places and do not allow contact. get a reference from your DON, if possible. if you choose, a little bad word of mouth....

perhaps even reporting manager for unprofessional behavior to the board.

[JKL33]

Yes I could have taken 10 seconds and placed it in the proper bin to be shredded, but as a manager when it becomes a pattern with that person wouldn't they want to address it? I should have also added that it was the second time I found this particular persons assignment on the trash and I knew of at least 2 other times that others found assignments from the same person.

What did this other person say when you mentioned it to him/her the first time you found one in the trash?

What did your manager say when you let him/her know that you've come across a couple of assignment sheets in regular trash recently and wondered if the staff could benefit from a reminder?

Why is there conversation going around about who finds which other staff member's assignments in the trash?

Tip for the future: Those who attempt to boost their own morale and personal sense of self worth (consciously or subconsciously) by trying to knock down others, NEVER truly win that game. NEVER.

[Wuzzie]

Read this post and your other one. You seem to have a history of turning people in to your manager. People generally don't appreciate that. Apparently your manager didn't either. You might want to curb that behavior if you find another job. Seriously, this isn't elementary school. When you find an infraction/deficiency why don't you try having a grown-up conversation with the person rather than throwing them under the bus. Now you know it doesn't feel so good.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Mean, I don't think I have seen you post such a childish response before..

you don know what ASSume does, yes?

"Last year I had reported a charge nurse for suggesting patient abandoment to my manager. I asked her to medicate another pt for me while i was settling iny alcoholic scoring admission and she had told me to walk out of the patients room, stop dealing with him, and I could do the rest of my work."

This is OPs version of 'patient abandonment'. It is not. OP also claims to have found paper in the trash- what was OP doing looking through the trash for in the first place, much less reading what was in the trash.

We'll have to agree to disagree here.