What do I do now.

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I was fired because I was acccused of abandoning a patient. I didn't abandon a patient it was a tiff with the charge nurse. Nothing bad happened to the patient. Anyways I still lost my job. Now the State Board is investigating it. I met with a lawyer and he told me that patient abandonment is probation or termination my license. He wanted to charge me 13,000 dollars to maybe get me probation. If I pay him that much I don't want anything on my license. Anyways I cNt afford 13,000 so I'm preparing for the worse. I don't know what to do with career after this. I thought about being a teacher but I read that if you try to get another job with a license that they won't give me another professional license.

Specializes in ED, Cardiac-step down, tele, med surg.
I am not going to get a lawyer. I'm going to pray. If I am not meant to be a nurse then I'm not meant to be a nurse. Bulking in nursing is a serious problem with no repercussions. This woman ruined my life with one false statement.

That's a bad idea. It's your career. Bad things happen to good people all the time. It has nothing to do with God.

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Doesn't the burden of proof lie on the former employer, as to proving that the OP abandoned the patient?

Without video evidence, I do not see how the employer can prove that that patient was abandoned, unless medications and documentation (i.e. vitals, reassessments, etc.) were missing.

Thinking about it: How can a nurse prove that he/she gave report on a patient(s) without coming off as "paranoid" (i.e. for instance - recording the conversation on a smartphone)?

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I think I smell a troll...

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Get absolutely the best lawyer you can and establish that by research and more research. Previous history of similar defence and immediately agreeing to file counter lawsuits against the charge nurse and Hospital for deformation and whatever your lawyer can drum up. Look into previous history of this hospital re lax PT care, contact the previous nurses mentioned. The best defense is an offence and be prepared to fight hard for your license because based on your responses here, you are a bit wimpy. Sorry to be inconsiderate but show them you are not willing to put up with their nonsense. If you show them you've got mettle, they'll back down but you need ammunition!

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I think I smell a troll...

That may be my fault...frozen burritos..sorry about that. :troll:

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Specializes in Med-Tele; ED; ICU.
I am not going to get a lawyer. I'm going to pray. If I am not meant to be a nurse then I'm not meant to be a nurse.

This reminds me of a story:

A man of faith was in his home after a horrible storm, as the river began to rise. His neighbors fled in terror and encouraged him to follow. He replied, "no, I will stay with my home. God will protect me."

As the waters continue to rise, a man in a canoe came by and said, "climb aboard... I'll paddle you to safety." Being strong in his faith, the man declined: "No, I'm safe. God will protect me."

The waters rose higher so he went to the upper floor and continued to pray. The Sheriff came by in a motorboat and said, "come with us, you'll be safe." The man said, "No, God is my protector. He will not let me drown."

The waters continued to rise and the man fled to the roof. A Coast Guard helicopter came and lowered a rescue swimmer but the man declined. "No, he yelled through the noise. I've praying and I know that God will protect me."

The flood waters rose and swept the man away to his death. Upon arriving in heaven he looked upon his Lord and said, "Lord, why did you let me die. Your word promised to save me and I prayed faithfully." God replied to him, "My son, I sent you a canoe and a motorboat and a helicopter..."

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
This reminds me of a story:

A man of faith was in his home after a horrible storm, as the river began to rise. His neighbors fled in terror and encouraged him to follow. He replied, "no, I will stay with my home. God will protect me."

As the waters continue to rise, a man in a canoe came by and said, "climb aboard... I'll paddle you to safety." Being strong in his faith, the man declined: "No, I'm safe. God will protect me."

The waters rose higher so he went to the upper floor and continued to pray. The Sheriff came by in a motorboat and said, "come with us, you'll be safe." The man said, "No, God is my protector. He will not let me drown."

The waters continued to rise and the man fled to the roof. A Coast Guard helicopter came and lowered a rescue swimmer but the man declined. "No, he yelled through the noise. I've praying and I know that God will protect me."

The flood waters rose and swept the man away to his death. Upon arriving in heaven he looked upon his Lord and said, "Lord, why did you let me die. Your word promised to save me and I prayed faithfully." God replied to him, "My son, I sent you a canoe and a motorboat and a helicopter..."

LOL! Hahahahaha!

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I am not going to get a lawyer. I'm going to pray. If I am not meant to be a nurse then I'm not meant to be a nurse. Bulking in nursing is a serious problem with no repercussions. This woman ruined my life with one false statement.

Just my personal opinion, but I don't believe God intends for us to sit on our rears and just expect him to clean up our messes for us.

Your inaction seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Why in the world would you roll over so easily? If you lose your license, you cannot work as a nurse in any capacity. And before you say "well, I'm not sure I want to be a nurse anymore," consider that there are lots of nursing jobs that don't involve working in hospitals or even direct patient care. But most jobs of any nature require hard work, honesty, and good communication skills with clients, co-workers, and supervisors. Just by your own version of events, it's clear that your communication skills were severely lacking in this incident. Asking to switch patients just because your patient was complaining about being NPO seems kind of dramatic as well.

Take the advice given...protect your license and ability to work. No matter where you go you will run into jerks in the workplace and you need to be able to keep your composure around them.

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