unfair dismisal?stabbed in the back!

[James Garrity, BSN, RN]

Hello,I hope some one can give me some input on this.

In the spring of 2006 I started my volunteer hours at a large Pediatric hospital in central alabama as a Clinical Asstant,orthopedic dept,I assted with their cast clinic once a week,

Once the techs and staff saw that I was on the ball and had a can do attitude,I was given far more responsibility and what started as a 3 hr a week job became some time 3 times a week 8 hrs a day(un paid mind you) doing every thing from assting in OR,to actualy helping set traction on a patient! something volunteers NEVER do.I felt blessed to have the experence and had the praises of the staff I worked with.But then one day,I get an email from volunteer services my srevices were not needed at this time and thanked me for being a valued staff member. I went down to the hospital and was told directly by the volunteer co-ordinator that they were changing the way volunteers were being used in ortho dept.,that new residents and med school students would be comming in (like that had changed?) and I was told I was not the only one(volunteers) getting an email like that.Ok, but some time later,I was visiting the ortho dept and was told"man we need you back these other volunteers there sending us are not worth a flip"yada yada.

So I asked,"your saying y'all have volunteers working up here now"? hmmm

I went to the volunteer directors office to inquire about this,and had a bomb dropped on me,after going over the fact that at times, I had left without clocking out(I discussed this withe volunteer co-ordinator)and for using more than one meal ticket(vol.get 1 meal ticket for ever4 hrs of work,8 hrs/2,do the math,also discussed with the vol co. previously) I was told that I was being let go for these reasons,and "if I were a paid employee,I would have been terminated long ago",That I was being "demanding and threatning" in the clinic,when I asked to what exactly she was refereing to,I did not get any specifics and that the ortho. supervisor requested my removal.no explination,no calling in the office to discuss it,nothing,just being lied to by the vol.co-ordinator and if I hadn't push and ask what was up,they would not have told me anything at all,just leave oblivious to what had actualy happened.

Now,there was no question at all about my work performance and my dedication to the hospital (I drove and hour each way for no more than free parking and lunch,leaving at 5:00am to be there by 6:00,and start at 8:00)doing jobs the techs told me I should have been paid to do,but I did it because I have a burden for sick children and loved what I was doing.

I feel stabbed in the back,(my supervisor wrote me a glowing letter,after a year of being there,and I thought I had his trust),.I dont know what happened,I only have what they told me as I have no recourse,but I can say this,I wasnt in a position to,or would ever be "threatning or demanding"However,I will say,if I was "employed as a future nurse,then I can be very demanding on some one who is not doing their job and a life could be at stake,I have no patience for people or equipment that dont do what they/it is suppose to do,but I would never,ever be "threatning"

I was told I could come back in May,be put in a diferent dept("But what ever,you will never be back in orthopedics") And I would be directly under the watch of the volunteer administrator and"if any thing further happend,I would be gone", But I have decided I do not wish to be working for an organazation that would treat there "good" workers that way,much less the bad ones.Ifeel insulted and betrayed by the entire system there.Any advice?) I want to say I still belive in what that hospital is doing for childrens health care.

[llg, PhD, RN]

The short version of the story is that the Ortho supervisor didn't like you for some reason and asked that you be removed from his/her unit. It may not be fair, but that sort of thing happens in every career field at least ocassionally.

The big question is: What are your long term desires? If that Ortho supervisor and volunteer coordinator were to leave the institution, would you want to work there someday as either an employee or volunteer? If so, then you may want to invest a little more and get a good reputation on another unit. Leaving the institution now under this "cloud" might come back to bite you later should you want a letter of reference or a job in the future. It might be worth it to be a "normal" volunteer for a little while on another unit -- not sticking your neck out, not going beyond the usual functions of a volunteer, etc. -- just to get a final positive evaluation on your record.

If you have no interest in ever having any dealings with this hospital again ... just let it go. As a volunteer, you were on shaky legal ground to be doing that much on the Ortho floor anyway. You don't have the same rights as employee, etc. So, I doubt there is much you can do about anything. You simply have to let that go. I must say though, volunteers are never given much responsibility where I work. Only professionals get to do much with the kids -- though some specially trained volunteers are allowed to play with some of the children, read to them, rock them, etc. But they don't do anything of a more clinical nature.

You just have to decide what type of relationship, if any, you may want with this institution in the future before you burn all your bridges.

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Learn from it, make your decisions about the future, and move on.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I would really caution the OP not to use such an identifiable user name in a post like this. Many employers are running internet searches on social sites as part of their background screens. Although this post is not exactly a 'rant', he is expressing some very negative opinions about the facility he was associated with. Future employers may be a bit gunshy - thinking that he may do the same thing to them if he becomes unhappy about anything..... just sayin'.