i would like to start off by stating that i have never been terminated from any job position i have ever held...until today. i have always had a great reputation at work and never had any issues at any of my jobs...including this specific job. i am going to be very brief and vague in my description in order to avoid possibly giving to much information. with that said...i am just going to briefly give a description of my actions which apparently led to this termination in order to hopefully recieve feedback and some direction. here goes...
today only 30 minutes into my shift at the immediate/urgent care facility i work at part time i was interrupted in the middle of carrying out an order by the physician which was to apply a wet to dry dressing on a patient. i didn't even start applying the dressing yet when the medical assistant barged into the room screaming for me to hurry up and follow her. i asked my patient if she would be okay in waiting here and had her sit completely back on the exam table before leaving. as i followed the ma out of the room i ushered for another ma who was standing in the hallway looking at me to stay with the patient and make sure she was okay until i returned. as i followed the ma down the hall i began asking her to tell me what was wrong. all she kept repeating though was "i have no idea what happened i left her alone for only 5 minutes." when i entered the room the patient was slumped in her chair with one other ma and a receptionist propping her up. she obviously had a vasovagal response to something. i immediately had the ma's assist me in laying her down flat on the floor as i elevated her feet and pulled an ice pack from the drawer to place behind her neck/head. i told the receptionist to go and get the np or md and she stated the np was at lunch and the dr. was doing an exam. i reassured her that it would be okay to politely nock on the door and let him know what was happening. she hesitated before departing. i than grabbed an ammonia tab and had an ma begin waving it under the patients nose in order to try and awake her. i than did a rapid assessment. the patients airway was patent with no signs of obstruction. breathing was normal and even with no shallow or labored breaths. patient was perl. her bp and pulse were low. there were no physical signs of trauma or of a potential allergic reaction. the dr. entered the room, assessed the patient, asked me what happened, and than had me start an iv. he had an ma retrieve the atropine and than gave me the order to administer the medication. i asked if he meant im but he was clear that it was through the iv. i politely refused as this was not in my scope of practice. he looked at me as if i had spit in his face. i tried to explain myself but he rebuked me and asked me to leave the room. i went back to my patient completed my order and continued with my work. i was called into his office 45 minutes later and was informed that i was being terminated for insubordination with a possibility of neglect. there was a huge debate that followed but i will not get into that. it ended with the office manager and the np stating to me once the dr. left the room that they were sorry and that i did nothing wrong. they even said that i can use them as a reference and they would both call around to other urgent care's who had an opening.
i have been there 1 1/2 years. never have i been written up or anything. i am so sad. i have no idea what i did wrong. on a good note; i already was offered a job at a small private urgent care by a pa who partially owns the clinic. in addition i also currently work for my local hospital part time. he was contacted by the np at this job.
i want to know if i should have done something different in these circumstances in order to have avoided this outcome. i admit i am not the most experienced in dealing with situations like this so i know my former coworker who is an rn probably would have been more helpful...but i did what i could... any feedback would be appreciate.
However, since you were not harmed I don't see what an attorney will really get you. While you could file charges perhaps he is genuinely remorseful and really what would that accomplish
IMO, it doesn't matter whether the OP was hurt or not: the OP was still the victim of battery. I would not want to work for a MD who would raise his hands to me, and IMO I would file charges since for me to not do so would imply that it's OK for docs to lose their temper and physically act out...even if no one is harmed in the end, it's still wrong.
But again, how the OP handles it is ultimately up to the OP.
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
Seriously? yeah, it was wrong, yeah, it sucked, but adrenalin was pumping and she was not injured so you want her to lay out the cash for an attorney when in all likelihood she will get nothing in return?
I so disagree.
Every situation is different and I am all for reporting true assaults, but i feel it was the adrenilen of the moment and trying to get to the patient more than anything. Wrong way to handle it? Absolutely! He knows that now.
Geez, if everyone here hired an attorney every time it was advised they could really make some bucks!
P.S. OP - awesome job getting an IV in during such a stressful time. Wow!
Seriously? yeah, it was wrong, yeah, it sucked, but adrenalin was pumping and she was not injured so you want her to lay out the cash for an attorney when in all likelihood she will get nothing in return?
I'm not referring to trying to milk the doc in a lawsuit, I'm referring to filing criminal charges against the doctor. Because the way the OP has described it, the doctor's pushing wasn't just some accidental "adrenalin" response.
Even though the OP is a man, that shouldn't stop him from pursuing battery charges if he wanted to. Ultimately whether it's worth it is up to him.
The fact that she wasn't harmed by his act of shoving her out of the way, into an exam light does NOT negate the fact that she was a victim of BATTERY (not assault, he laid his hands on her and by definition of the law, that constitutes battery).
My opinion is that his eyes have been opened to the very serious situation he's created for himself and attempting to woo the OP into his office for a pleasant discussion with the promise of no yelling is his way of trying to make it all go buh-bye without any ugly consequences. I'm also willing to bet that this is not the first time that this workplace bully has had to backpedal to make amends for his snap decisions.
If it were me, I'd make the police report yesterday. (hopefully you've already done this OP!!) I'd also meet with the Dr, with the manager present and an audio recorder rolling--check the laws of your state, if it's a one-party state, you don't have to inform this egomaniac that you're even recording the meeting--one party means ONE party of the conversation has to know about recording devices and that would be you =)
GL in whatever decisions you make and keep us posted!!!
The Dr. snatched the phone from the NP's hand... He said before he ended the call "Don't disappoint me or make me come to you.". This worries me... immensely.
Specializes in Ambulatory Surgery, Ophthalmology, Tele.
[if this happened to me, I would not want to work at that facilty. Your supervisor should have stood up for you more. You did nothing wrong. One should never be afraid to speak up when it comes to working out of your scope of practice. When I mentor nursing students on the floor this is one of the first things I teach them.
And in regards to being pushed by the doctor...Wow!!! It amazes me that this still happens. I would press charges, This doctor must realize that this is not appropriate behavior.
QUOTE=bsyrn;6110087]If you truly liked this job, why not see if you can talk to him about it. While it is no excuse whatsoever, sometimes people (myself included) fly off the handle and make very poor decisions.Since this happened yesterday, hopefully by now the Doc will have figured out the error of his ways. If not, move on with your head held high, you did nothing wrong.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i wonder if the op liked this job and the md involved before this experience. if so, it might make sense to forgo the attorney at at least go see what the md had to say. maybe he'll get an apology and the job back.
I am unsure of what to do now. I was called by my friend the NP from my prior job who told me that the Dr. wanted to talk with me. I kindly declined because I do not like confrontation. The Dr. snatched the phone from the NP's hand and told me that he wanted to speak with me and that there were things that needed to be worked out. He said that "things were said that weren't necessarily meant" and that he expected me to be in his office tomorrow in the AM. He assured me that there would be no yelling but that this would be a "pleasant" meeting. I did not know what to say...so I said okay. He passed the phone back to the NP who told me she would call me later. I later found out by calling my friend who is an MA there that she informed the Office Manager as well as the NP that the Dr. shoved me off of my heels onto my butt and into the exam light. She said that she was asked by the NP because all of the MA's who witnessed it were talking about it as the clinic "Gossip". She said that my friend the NP pulled the Dr. inside her office along with the Office Manager and they had a "heated debate". That so far is all I know but she did say that she think based off of the small bits of conversation she was able to hear through the room that he plans on "apologizing" and offering my job back. I don't know if I should show up or if I should just decline. He said before he ended the call "Don't disappoint me or make me come to you.". This worries me...immensely.
He is scared that you are going to do the things that we have advise you to do. Make the the son of a dog sweat. Make an investment and show up with a lawyer. Make him as upset and shaken as you were. Don't let this idiot do a quick 'I'm Sorry' and continue his behavior.
Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN
4 Articles; 7,907 Posts
IMO, it doesn't matter whether the OP was hurt or not: the OP was still the victim of battery. I would not want to work for a MD who would raise his hands to me, and IMO I would file charges since for me to not do so would imply that it's OK for docs to lose their temper and physically act out...even if no one is harmed in the end, it's still wrong.
But again, how the OP handles it is ultimately up to the OP.