Questionable Employer Policies

25 Posts

Ok - in a nutshell - I am leaving a place (urgent care clinic)where the corporate philosophy is that ALL office staff should be trained in nursing, x-ray and lab. They are then casually referred to as "nurses" SOme of them are MAs or X-ray tech or Lab techs, but not all. Some have started as receptionists and get "on the job training." NEedless to say the LPNs and RNs are fleeing in droves.

I know this is not good medicine - the quality of charting is laughable. Personnel who lack even basic medical terminology are triaging patients.

One classic example is the chart that came to the doctor stating:

Cheif complaint - slender in foot.

THe patient actually had a deeply embedded splinter in the sole of his left foot. THe wound site was red, hot and puralent. This had been going on for 2 days and worsening.

All of this I , the ACTUAL nurse had to go and determine, making the cost cutting effort ineffective.

I was asked to work x-ray. As I cancer survivor I asked my radiation oncologist if this was advisable and I was told as long as I wore a badge it would be fine ----BUT -- they don't issue badges!

Thankfully, in the meantime I had located my spine and simply said, no thanks, I am a nurse, not an x-ray tech.

My question ----- is all of this even legal?

What do other posters think of this?