I work on a general med-surg floor where an absolute shitstorm developed Sunday
night. It appears that the house supervisor asked our charge nurse to pull a
nurse to the GYN unit, which is out of our division. We've had a long standing
policy that nobody is required to work out of their division, although we can go
if we're willing. So the charge nurse (days) asked the night nurses as they
arrived if they'd be willing to be pulled to the GYN floor. Nobody was.

The matter apparently grew and pretty soon our new VP of Nursing is on the phone
speaking directly to the charge nurse (days), ordering her to order somebody to
go. She told her she couldn't order anybody to go because 1) there was a long
standing policy that precluded it, and 2) because they all refused. The VP
actually started yelling at her on the phone. She said she wasn't going to
leave one unit overstaffed while the other was unsafe. Our charge replied that
we weren't overstaffed; we were staffed correctly according to our matrix.

The charge nurse (nights) was witness to half of the phone conversation and said
that she never heard anything said that was insubordinate by the day charge. At
this point I'm not completely clear on whatever involvement the charge nurse
(nights) had, other than she wasn't going to go, either.

Anyway, they ended up pulling both of our nurse aids to the GYN unit, where they
had a *very* easy assignment. It is obvious their pulling wasn't to supply the
GYN floor with CNA help; it was to leave my unit bare so the RNs would have to
do primary nursing all night for a full load.... sheer spite.

So yesterday the charge nurse (days) came in and worked almost all day when they
called her into the office. Our nurse manager was in tears. They fired our
charge nurse!

Then this morning we had a staff meeting that the nurse manager was too upset to
attend; somebody else had to run it. In the middle of it they called the night
charge into the office (she'd come in on her day off to attend the meeting) and
they fired her too.

Nobody knows where this is going to end... the rumor is that the night shift RNs
from Sunday night will be canned in its entirety. They certainly seem to be
purging the hospital.

Let me back up a minute to Sunday again: I went in and got pulled to another
med-surg unit; one that *is* in my division. I didn't whine about it; I just
went. Anyway, when I got down there, people were pumping me for information
about my nurse manager. "Why?", I asked. It turns out that their own nurse
manager had been fired the day before and led off the premises by Security! Now
my nurse manager was their nurse manager too.

I've got to say this is one majorly fucked up situation. I didn't know the
other nurse manager but I understand there were a lot of complaints from staff
about her... but mostly from their CNAs. I do know our two charge nurses and
while one was kind of lazy, the other was a nurse's nurse, within just a couple
of years to retirement. She has an encyclopedic recall of nursing information
and I can't believe they let her go after so many years at this hospital.

The grievance procedure here is a joke, unfortunately. The committee that hears
grievances is made up of employees and they are yelled at if they don't find
"the company's way". Even if they stand up to the company, our CEO has final
say.

Anyway, I recommended to my friend that she simultaneously 1) file the grievance
just to get it on the record; 2) see an attorney to find out her options and
possibly initiate a wrongful termination action, and 3) go apply to some
agencies. With her vast experience, she ought to be in high demand. And in so
far as getting fired at her last job is concerned, any reference that gets
called (like me, for instance) is going to say her firing was an outrage and she
was screwed by an inept administration.

You know, at last month's staff meeting they discussed the results of the
employee satisfaction survey. It appears that not a single nurse replied
affirmatively when asked if they felt valued. I know I didn't. Anyway, the
administration has decided this was the fault of the nurse managers and has
given them 3 months to turn things around. "The floggings shall continue until
morale improves." I expect I'll lose my manager because this place apparently
thinks they *can* get rid of them all.

You know, any place that has a union richly deserves it. I'm curious to see if
a movement springs up in my hospital.

You know, at last month's staff meeting they discussed the results of the
employee satisfaction survey. It appears that not a single nurse replied
affirmatively when asked if they felt valued. I know I didn't. Anyway,
the administration has decided this was the fault of the nurse managers
and has given them 3 months to turn things around. "The floggings shall
continue until morale improves." I expect I'll lose my manager because
this place apparently thinks they *can* get rid of them all.

You know, any place that has a union richly deserves it. I'm curious to
see if a movement springs up in my hospital.

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" <mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com> wrote in message

You know, at last month's staff meeting they discussed the results of the
employee satisfaction survey.  It appears that not a single nurse replied
affirmatively when asked if they felt valued.  I know I didn't.  Anyway,
the administration has decided this was the fault of the nurse managers
and has given them 3 months to turn things around.  "The floggings shall
continue until morale improves."  I expect I'll lose my manager because
this place apparently thinks they *can* get rid of them all.
You know, any place that has a union richly deserves it.  I'm curious to
see if a movement springs up in my hospital.

Don't have any suggestions for you, other than look for another place to
work.  Maybe if your entire unit looked for another place to work, it might
get their attention.

First level management sucks.  You get blamed by your staff for everything
administration dreams up, and are the higher-ups' whipping-girl/boy.

This business of "a nurse is a nurse" also sucks.  I got pulled to ER last
month with no ER experience, and it did no good to protest.  I'm waiting for
the day that a surgeon is needed in the OR, and they tell the neurologist
that he has to fill in because they are short a doctor.