From an OB to Nurse to Rehab Nurse
I am an RN in my 23rd year. When I was in nursing school I only liked OB, L&D, and Mother/Baby. I proceeded to follow my dream and worked many tears in L&D and I found out that doctors can be abusive. So when the unit I was working on closed, I never went back to L&D. Instead, I stayed on in the mother/baby unit.
For 6 years I worked with my good friends who recruited me. Then a ton of bricks hit me and my husband. Our tax bill in our new home came in at 7K and home owners insurance at 4k. My husband could not find a job. Knowing in a few years we could lose our house, we sold and moved to another area of the state, and he got a job 1 month after closing on the house.
Sounds like a great move, right??? No, now it is. I can not find a job. Maybe it’s being 45 years old, or my weight; i can’t be hired in the hospitals where we moved. So I applied to a home care company and I was hired. The home was not up and running yet, but I needed to work, so I asked to work on the floor in the REHAB unit connected to the home care. So here I am: an OB Nurse going to work rehab. What a disaster! Every patient had 25 or more pills. They understaffed and we would get 9-19 patients a piece.
I would complain about the fact they understaff to no avail. I was constantly being “re-educated.” I would tell them that I am an OB nurse trying to make this work because it is close to home. I would tell them that this is abusive to the staff and they would say that we are looking into the staffing levels.
Then the survey came. Prior to the survey, I got a good evaluation and a raise. I did the survey, saying help, abusive, save the nurses. I could not quit because I had 3 kids to feed. I went on 3 interviews in different facilities and didn’t get the jobs.
Then, one day a chart completely disappeared. The charge nurse wouldn’t even help me find it. I gave report to the night shift nurse and she said she would find it and take the orders off. Then, I was looking in another chart at report and there was an insulin order not due until 9pm. The night nurse said don’t worry, I will take it off. Some how I got dinged for both orders not taken off. I wrote my rebuttal, but they fired me anyway.
Well of course I hated the job anyway, but I deserve to collect unemployment. Nope, they are fighting me. They actually told unemployment I was negligent. I had good evaluations and a raise. My patients loved me. Where is the negligence? They were and are abusive to the nurses in this facility. I spoke up so I get fired. Not sure what to do here. It seems they are going to win unless I get a good defense at my unemployment hearing. I would love to sue them for discrimination because I am Jewish (whiny New Yorker) and over 40. I do not want my job back, just satisfaction that they are the negligent ones here, not me. Why is it ok in California 5:1 in rehab but in other states 10:1 is ok???????????????
