Hey there! I'm reaching out to my fellow nurses for some much needed advise, and appreciate any and all responses. Sorry for the long post, there's a whole box of crazy about to open!!
I've been with my current employer for a little over a year as a "direct support staff worker". My boss is very intimidating and since it's basically private duty, I feel like I have nobody I can report to over my boss's head. When I first found this job, I was very thankful. It paid better than the office jobs I held and my boss seemed happy to work around my nursing school schedule. Even though I was sexually harassed by my client at times, I took it in stride and justified it by reminding myself of their developmental issues. I work with a non-verbal teen male with severe Downs Syndrome. There were many times I thought about leaving and discussed it with loved ones, but stayed because I didn't want to put financial strain on my spouse (times have changed and my spouse has now found a different job that pays almost 3X more than when I began).
I've made note of the following things below:
-Before I started my last semester of my LPN year (this past summer), my boss told me if I couldn't be available for the hours I wasn't hired for (mon-thurs) then she would need to "rethink my position there". My boss was intimidating the hell out of me, and her eyes got beady and small and at that moment I knew what it was like to see crazy in someone's eyes. I stood up for myself and told her I was not hired for those days unless it was school break and she went as far as to pull up my buried application only to confirm what we already knew. She was trying to intimidate me and this one time it didn't work, but opened up a new perspective for me and showed me her crazy. Also this made me realize that she can't keep workers..hmm..wonder why.
-She keeps all employees at the same rate; new and old employees..all three of us.
-I was advised I'd be getting a raise to $16.25. However, when she had me sign my rate forms, she stated "I wanted to keep it an even number" while pointing her finger at $16. I received a whopping 8 cent raise after a year of being there. My year anniversary wasn't even acknowledged.
-Last year about two weeks before Christmas, I was told that "the company" would no longer be giving out bonuses; even though my hiring paperwork said there was $600 allocated to bonuses for employees each year. I was the only employee working there at the time and relied on this for my family. Many people who know this story believe she has funneled the money to herself, as she is the client's "support broker" and also the client's mother.
-I was told that when I pass the NCLEX-RN I would have a position offered to me of delegating nurse and be bumped to $50/hr plus mileage. I've seen the invoices for their delegating nurses, and they make less than that..a lot less..about $29/hr less.
-My boss moves my hours from one pay period to the next if I go over 40 hours (usually during school breaks) so she doesn't have to pay overtime.
and this is what really brought me to make this post...
-My boss refuses to change my position to LPN, or nurse (and maybe even bump my pay), yet expects me to provide medications and possibly injections to the client. It is not within my job duties as a support worker to provide any medications, and I feel pushed into it. I feel like my boss manipulates me quite frequently, and have gotten the feeling lately from her that she feels a bit entitled in every aspect of her life.
The way my mom explained it to me would be if a nurse went to school to be a teacher, and all of a sudden they wanted her to be the school nurse..even though she's now just the teacher.
It's been over a year now working for her and her son, and I've been fortunate to sit for my boards and pass the NCLEX-LPN exam. While my classmates are all getting 'real' nursing jobs, I feel slighted because I'm terrified that this woman will cause troubles for me if she knows I want to leave.
Even more, I'm afraid that if I take on a new job as an LPN at a new company that I may not be able to give it my full dedication because I have two more semesters until I get my ADN-RN. Many of my classmates told me that you have to orient on day shift (even though I'd be seeking fri-sat-sun only, or 11-7 weeknights) and I don't want to miss school. My earliest class is at 3p. I have been applying in hopes that I can find somewhere that will just work with me, but I'm so nervous. I feel robbed at this point, financially and from something worth even more than money- experience.
I look forward to responses, and once again thank you for reading!
