Quit?! What do I do?

[sweetgirl61399]

I need advice. I am considering quitting my job. I am a new grad rn working in a LTC facility for 7 months now. There was recently an incident at the facility and I was suspended and brought back after 2 weeks. They assured me that my license was ok. Got a letter in the mail over the weekend that it's being investigated. I was supposed to work Monday and went in early to speak to them about the situation. I told them that I do not feel safe there and my license is in danger now and I needed time to think and find a lawyer...etc. I am very hurt and upset about the situation and since it's an unsafe working place and always understaffed I want to quit. My concern is that it will look bad that I quit there since I'm under investigation and that I'm not going to give a notice. They didn't give me a notice to suspend me so therefore I don't think I need to give one to leave. I am speaking with my lawyer in the morning but want some advice in the meantime. I am sick over this situation, to the point where I can't go back. I also thought of saying that I need to go to prn status immediately. I am supposed to work tomorrow but I do not feel like jeopardizing my health and license any longer.

Help.

[elkpark]

Mentioning to your employer that you're getting a lawyer was not a smart move, IMO. You're creating an openly adversarial relationship (please note I'm not saying talking to a lawyer is a bad idea; just telling your employer that you're doing it). Also, you can ask if you can go to prn status, but it's not your choice to make; that decision is up to the employer and, if you ask (or, worse tell them you "need" to), their response may well be that they don't have any openings for prn nurses, and your choices are to keep your current, full-time position or resign -- or, worst case, they might treat your request to go prn as a resignation of your full-time job. I would guess that, at this point, they will be looking for anything you say or do that they can claim is a resignation in order to get rid of you as gracefully (for them) as possible. I've seen that happen.

It will "look bad" if you resign without notice and while under investigation. Your statement about not needing to give a notice because they didn't give you notice they were suspending you is just kinda silly; no one gives anyone advance notice that they're being suspended because of an incident at work. That doesn't relieve you of any responsibility to conduct yourself as a professional in your dealings with your current employer, and doing otherwise can only make your situation worse.

I hope that your lawyer will give you some good advice and you will be able to get through this experience okay. Best wishes ...

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

I wouldn't have tipped my hand and told them that you're lawyering up, but what's done is done. I've never heard of an employee getting a two weeks (arbitrarily pulled out of thin air) notice before they are suspended, so that arguement doesn't really work for you to say they don't deserve a notice from you before quitting since they didn't give you one.

Only you know if you can continue to work there, mentally speaking. I guess I'd need more information about what the investigation entails before saying its a very bad thing to quit during the process.