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Can a DON just suspend a Nurse if they came in 50 minutes before their shift, look at the assignment, the floor is very short staffed, with 2 nurses and 48 patients, 5 aides ,on call is called , no resolution to the situation , it's just basically, it is what it is, the nurse hadn't punch in and asked the oncall to consider this a call in and left back out of the building 10 minutes after entering.. but recieve a phone call later in the evening stating Suspension pending further investigation... what could possibly be being investigated?? Its not abandonment, it's 50 minutes before shift, he hadn't punched in...
I remember it being a lot of paperwork, too. Or maybe it just seemed that way when the sky was falling and it was one more form to fill out.
It's been my experience that being short-staffed or otherwise severely stressed multiplies how long it feels like it takes to do ANY paperwork (if not the actual time it takes) by a factor of at least three.
Can a DON just suspend a Nurse if they came in 50 minutes before their shift, look at the assignment, the floor is very short staffed, with 2 nurses and 48 patients, 5 aides ,on call is called , no resolution to the situation , it's just basically, it is what it is, the nurse hadn't punch in and asked the oncall to consider this a call in and left back out of the building 10 minutes after entering.. but recieve a phone call later in the evening stating Suspension pending further investigation... what could possibly be being investigated?? Its not abandonment, it's 50 minutes before shift, he hadn't punched in...
You're kidding, right? You honestly cannot come up with a reason why your "friend" would be suspended? If the investigation reveals other morally indefensible actions like this one, the nurse should expect to be terminated. With cause.
Technically it is not illegal however you can be terminated for any reason as long as it is not discrimination. I hear a lot of well, it is just not a good fit. That is a reason.
As a nurse manager I would not only think about termination I would terminate you for several reasons.
1. You are not a good fit, the appearance of coming in an hour early to "just check" out the situation is really bad manners. Why bother, why not phone a friend and ask them? What were your intentions of coming in? I am sure some thought oh good some relief, I am sure some thought where did you go. This makes you look like you are not a team player.
2. When you saw the schedule you knew what the shift my be like yet you called in. I think this shows a lack of good decision making and now I am going to question you and I do not have time to baby sit. To me it is easier to part ways and you can go elsewhere. I have a unit to run and I want this unit like a well greased tire, happy staff and delivery of good quality care. After what I witnessed you do I cannot have this with you.
Oh Boy,this is a thin ice scenario,where they feel they can abuse/work you like a donkey,and threaten you for whatever they dream up.This is a dicey area,if you had taken shift report on your patients and then left ,yess it is suspension blah blah blah.
If you are on the schedule as staff you are liable,up to a point.If you were prn and didn't take report it is not abandonment of patient but sometimes they use job abandonment.
I left on many occasions as prn when they lied to me about where i was assigned,BUT I had not set a toe into the unit.I believe you are within your rights but you will still have a fight on your hands,get professional advice and look for a different employer. Good luck.
" if I were that NM, I would make sure everyone knows about your lack of character." Not good to say that,TSK tsk .
Tsk, Tsk? If I have an friend who is a manager at another facility, and then came to me and said "So and So just applied for an RN job. I saw he worked at your facility. Do you know anything about him?" You better believe that I am going to tell them what happened. It would be 100% the truth--no need to embellish this situation for the other person to get the picture of what is going on.
ETA: I don't even have to be the manager/DON...I could just be a staff nurse who happened to be there when this went down.
Tsk, Tsk? If I have an friend who is a manager at another facility, and then came to me and said "So and So just applied for an RN job. I saw he worked at your facility. Do you know anything about him?" You better believe that I am going to tell them what happened. It would be 100% the truth--no need to embellish this situation for the other person to get the picture of what is going on.ETA: I don't even have to be the manager/DON...I could just be a staff nurse who happened to be there when this went down.
I was just another staff nurse at the same facility and got asked about two applicants to my new facility. I told the truth about their job performance and their character. If both had no issues with both their character and job performance, I would have told the truth about that too and would have given them positive recommendations.
It's definitely not a nice thing to do to your co-workers. You're going to make some enemies.
Should they suspend you for it? Well... I don't know. Seems like you wouldn't want to suspend people if understaffing is already a problem.
But can they suspend you? Yeah, I think they can.
I feel like you made a statement here. Will the higher ups realize they need more floor staff when nurses just go "nope."? Or will they just whip staff harder? Sounds like they just decided to crack the whip on you. Now if you all start doing this, higher ups might start paying attention. This is why we have unions.
Sour Lemon
5,016 Posts
Haha ...our managers and directors never worked when safe harbor was called. They just pulled staff from a different unit leaving that unit dangerously understaffed instead. Squeaky wheel gets the oil and whatnot...
I remember it being a lot of paperwork, too. Or maybe it just seemed that way when the sky was falling and it was one more form to fill out.