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Carolyn Buppert, NP, JD Attorney, Law Office of Carolyn Buppert P.C., Bethesda, Maryland
7/21/13
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return to normal. To answer the second question, yes, it is legal, and I suspect that the unit is ripe for extinction unless the census turns around. The facilities' or supervisors' actions may seem unfair and harsh, and in fact they are. However, hospitals are subject to the same ups and downs as other businesses. For example, if large segments of the population have lost their jobs and their health insurance, they are going to delay surgery if they can. Fewer surgeries mean that fewer nurses are needed. Sometimes, a drop in admissions or procedures is a matter of predictable downturns: For example, people typically don't have surgery during the winter holidays. So, fewer nurses may be needed at certain times of the year, and more nurses at others. When the hospital hires nurses on salary, the hospital is making a commitment that they will have enough work to justify the expense of the nurses. Sometimes hospitals misjudge their needs and are surprised by an unpredictable downturn. The nurse who posed this question has been put in a difficult position. He or she has been hired at a specified salary for a 40-hour work week, and the nurse expects to go to work on the days scheduled. The nurse counts on having that regular salary. He or she probably pays a set rate for monthly parking or childcare, and has made whatever arrangements are necessary for supporting a full-time job. He or she can't take on other jobs during the times that he or she is scheduled to be on duty. The questioner didn't say whether the hospital was docking the nurses for hours not worked, or whether the nurses are working 20 hours one week and 60 hours the next. Either way, the nurses are put in an uncomfortable and unpredictable working situation that is stressful and ultimately may be unbearable. So, yes, the schedule changes are legal but are contrary to job satisfaction. Not only nurses, but many other employees are experiencing unstable work schedules. You need to step back and look critically at the situation, and if it seems that the facility or business is going to be permanently diminished, look for another job where the facility or business is thriving. Meanwhile, inform the supervisors about how the erratic schedule changes are affecting you.
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A nurse wrote: I was recently fired from my job as a medication nurse for filing a written complaint of harassment against another employee and the nurse manager. The harassing nurse was a new graduate with long ties to the facility, a favorite with nursing management, and the wife of another staff member. I have no intention of trying to get my job back. I have had a 3-month battle with the human resources department and a new supervisor, trying to get them to listen to me. I would like to see this brought out into the open. I cannot file a complaint of discrimination because I am not a protected class. I believe that my firing was retaliation, but sadly, I have no recourse. It is very suspicious that the day I filed a written complaint (I made previous verbal complaints), I was terminated. A complaint letter is in my file and the human resources department states that it will remain there for 5 years. Should I pursue legal action? The incident will be swept under the rug until the next time this nurse bullies someone. The federal government stipulates that harassment occurs "when an employee is subjected to unwelcome verbal or physical conduct based on the employee's race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or sexual orientation that adversely affects the work environment of the employee; or when an employment decision is contingent on an employee accepting or rejecting the unwelcome conduct."[1] Individuals who are covered by this definition may file a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The guidelines are available here. Harassment is difficult to prove and has few legal remedies. We have published some previous Ask the Expert columns on harassment and bullying.[2,3] I don't have enough information to get a sense of what occurred in this questioner's facility. Because I can't get the facts of the situation and haven't taken the questioner on as a client, I cannot say whether the firing was justified and can't give legal advice. If the fired nurse believes that he or she has a case, or wants to know whether he or she has a case, the investment of an hour with a local employment attorney would be worthwhile. What I can say, and know for sure, is that it is miserable to work in a hostile environment. It makes sense to try to change the environment, but if you can't, then the best solution is usually to take your talents to another setting where you won't have to face hostility. It's not fair that you have to disrupt your life, but sometimes it must be done for the sake of your well-being. Yes, you have an unfavorable letter in your file and you may not receive a good reference from your old job. But surely you can explain to a prospective employer, during an interview, that you left that job because of a hostile environment, you were trying to change it for the better, and that you learned something from the experience that will make you a better employee in the future.
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another person (the preceptor) gave the medication. Many legal and semi-legal problems are arising out of electronic medical records. One is the problem that you have described, that sometimes the record misstates who actually performed the service. It is a serious problem that needs to be worked out with your facility's IT department. Meanwhile, try to work it out with your preceptor so that it doesn't happen that you are signed off on medications that you didn't administer. If you are unable to work out a solution, you should log out when you walk away from the computer (a good practice in any case).
For all of the nurses who wrote about their frustrations at work, I have the same general response, which may be unsatisfying but which I believe is true: One of the toughest things to do at work is to resolve conflicts with others, whether they are with superiors, subordinates, or peers. We have all been there. It's not only nurses -- everyone who works experiences such conflicts. Usually, there is no legal remedy; it's a matter of the affected parties working it out on their own. It is best to work conflicts out directly, face to face, with the individual with whom you have a conflict. There are scores of books on how to do this. Some people even enlist coaches to help them prepare for conflict resolution meetings. I encourage nurses to talk directly with the individuals who are responsible for keeping them up at night, calmly and carefully, so that both parties can rest easy.
References
1. US Department of Labor. Civil Rights Center. Guidelines for Implementing the Policy to Prevent Harassing Conduct in the Workplace. http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/crc/crc-internal/CRC-Guidelines-toImplement.htm Accessed March 23, 2013. 2. Buppert C. What constitutes a hostile work environment? Medscape Nurses. December 20, 2011. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/755653 Accessed March 23, 2013. 3. Buppert C. Can I sue if I am bullied at work? Medscape Nurses. September 14, 2010. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/728117 Accessed March 23, 2013. 4. Clavreul GM. Why power napping might be right for the nurses at your hospital. Working Nurse. http://www.workingnurse.com/articles/why-power-napping-might-be-right-for-the-nurses-at-your-hospital Accessed March 23, 2013. 5. Casey K. Should employees be allowed to nap at work? MintlIfe. December 21, 2010. http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/napping-at-work-12212010/ Accessed March 23, 2013. Medscape Nurses 2013 WebMD, LLC
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Cite this article: The Latest Workplace Conflicts Keeping Nurses Up at Night. Medscape. May 03, 2013.
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