I have been working at my current workplace, a hospital downtown, for a little over a year now as full-time. As of Monday I will transfer to part-time because I am starting a new job closer to home. Both managers are aware.
This afternoon I received a phone call from my current manager scheduling a meeting with her, human resources and a union representative on Monday. She would not give me any details except that it was SERIOUS, which is what worries me most, and she would pay me for my time (odd but nice). I asked if it was about a patient (which is my #1 concern) and she said no. But that's all she would tell me. I know this will be at the back of my mind all weekend long, stressing me out! This is the first time I've been asked to come in on my day off and meet with people other than her. Any ideas what it could be about?
Although I don't think this behind the reason and if it was I will tell her the truth. I called in sick yesterday. I don't call in often ... maybe a handful the entire year. This time it was legitimate, I had schedule conflicts at both workplaces and couldn't find anyone to pick-up my shift. It left me with no choice. I can't be at 2 places at once. I called in really early so they a good amount of time to call or a replacement.
Your manager is a spiteful shrew. She should have just terminated you and be done with it. She needs to get a life. Don't worry about her...what goes around comes around.
I don't think you will lose your license for this. It's petty and they will know that. Nurses call out sick when they aren't just like the rest of the world. We aren't robots.
Advice...be sure when you get your last check that it doesn't include pay for that day. If it does DON'T cash it. Advise your union rep and make them cut you a new check without it so they can't claim you took fraudulent funds.
I've never seen a bigger mountain out of a molehill. She will apparently livid you took another job to do this.
it really sounds like you are still just learning, and i would convey that to the college....if....they ever even contact you. i would definitely look closely at that last check you receive from them......and if they try to slip that "sick pay " onto your check........cash it......and immediately get a non refundable cashiers check for the exact amt of the sick pay......and pay them back. send it in a registered letter that mandates a employee of the payroll dept sign for it....and say that they had paid you in error for this time.dont tell anyone you are going to do this......just do it. again...dont tell anyoooonnnnneeee you are going to do this....just do it.
Hey meadow! I am SO sorry to hear how bad your meeting went. It really chaps me. That is ridiculous!!! Bad enough getting fired, but reporting you to the college??! PLEASE!! Too much time on her hands.
Let us know how you do, feel free to pm if you need to vent. I will keep you in my prayers. Just in my opinion, they lost a d---- good nurse!! Keep your head up!
Sorry about that meadow. That seems too harsh to me, without any chance to repents and learn. As I said, I think you are a great gal, you really just had a lapse in judgement.
Specializes in Urgent Care, Family Medicine & OB/GYN.
I've been following this thread, but can't have too much input seeing as how I'm not even in NS yet. I'm praying for you and a positive outcome. I can't believe how harsh someone can be. Karma is something else.
Thank you for keeping us all up to date! I'm really curious to know exactly why the college would be interested in this issue. It seems like a cut and dry employer/employee issue so I'm not really getting why your license would supposedly be on the line here.
And yeah, you screwed up but that horse is now dead, dead, dead. I truly think it was a totally minor screw-up and nowhere near worth the level of drama that has been drummed up over it.
the "college" in canada is the provincial governing body of nurses, equivalent to the bon in the us.
the standards of practice (see below) determine that calling in sick at one job to go to work at another is a breech of professional standards.
you can have as many jobs as you want, but you have to be able to coordinate the schedules to avoid this exact situation.
each province develops "standards of practice" which are based on the cna's "code of ethics". although i have not reviewed each province's standards, i believe (unfortunately for the op) that there may have been a breech on that level.
union contracts, hospital expectations and standards of practice all need to be considered in this case. and yes, unfortunately calling in sick for one job and going to work at another is something one can be fired over and disciplined at the college level for if it is a long-term practice.
the op has told us she didn't know that it would be a problem, and has learned the hard way that it is. unfortunately for the bulk of us, there are some people who have made a practice of purposefully doing this (i.e. taking sick leave from one facility and working ft at another) and have been disciplined by the provincial college of nurses and have made management very suspicious of situations such as these.
this manager may have run into this situation before and therefore terminated and reported. or not, who knows. my opinion is that she over-reacted, but we don't know what her experience with similar situations is.
as i said to meadow...if the college feels it's worth investigating, she may receive a slap on the wrist. there seems to be no pattern or history of meadow doing this repeatedly.
The "college" in Canada is the provincial governing body of nurses, equivalent to the BON in the US.
The standards of practice (see below) determine that calling in sick at one job to go to work at another is a breech of professional standards.
You can have as many jobs as you want, but you have to be able to coordinate the schedules to avoid this exact situation.
This manager may have run into this situation before and therefore terminated and reported. Or not, who knows. My opinion is that she over-reacted, but we don't know what her experience with similar situations is.
As I said to meadow...IF the college feels it's worth investigating, she may receive a slap on the wrist. There seems to be no pattern or history of meadow doing this repeatedly.
RNAnnjeh
Bear in mind, once HR and the union was brought into the situation, the decision to report this incident to the CNO may not have been in the manager's hands. Once a manager involves their superiors or HR, what is done in any given situation is no longer the manager's call, although they may have input.
It sounds like the Canadian 'College' is extremely strict. In my state this would strictly be an employee/employer issue, with perhaps a union rep mediating.
It sounds to me like the OP was naive about the ramifications of this situation, is totally open to imput, and should never have been terminated without having had a chance to be counseled, after having received a warning. She's a young nurse, for goodness sakes! To be summarily fired for this is really unfortunate!
I want to preface this post by saying that my state is not a union state so keep that in mind when reading my reply.
I have been a manager more than once. Usually whenever one of my nurses called in I had the less than enviable result of having to pull the shift myself if I couldn't get a volunteer or a PRN person to cover. Did my staff sometimes take unnecessary sick time? Sure they did but I could understand why they did. Did most of my staff work 2 or more jobs? Again sure they did and I understand why they did. Have I had to terminate someone for a sustained pattern of abuse of paid sick time? Yes I have.
However I really feel that the OPs NM could have called her into the office, counseled the OP as to what the NM found out and given the OP the opportunity to decline paid time for the day she called off. The NM could also have used this time as an opportunity to explain to the OP why her choice was a poor one. The NM could even have discussed if the OP wanted to move up her effective date of resignation.
End result? No fraudelent monies out of the units budget, a better informed newbie nurse and hopefully a soon-to- be-former employee who could carry that example of how to manage something without making a mountain out of a molehill with her as her career progresses. It has been my experience that when a supervisor allows themselves to feel they are in a power struggle with their staff nothing good results. I am confident enough in myself that I don't need to prove my power to my staff. Whenever we lose sight of each others basic humanity it never turns out well for anyone.
To the OP I hope all goes well with you at your hearing. Remember we all make mistakes and this one does not invalidate your worth as either a person or a nurse.
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Batman24
1,975 Posts
Your manager is a spiteful shrew. She should have just terminated you and be done with it. She needs to get a life. Don't worry about her...what goes around comes around.
I don't think you will lose your license for this. It's petty and they will know that. Nurses call out sick when they aren't just like the rest of the world. We aren't robots.
Advice...be sure when you get your last check that it doesn't include pay for that day. If it does DON'T cash it. Advise your union rep and make them cut you a new check without it so they can't claim you took fraudulent funds.
I've never seen a bigger mountain out of a molehill. She will apparently livid you took another job to do this.