You! Yes, you, you psychotic hosebeast! You're FIRED!!

That is IT!! The last straw! The final thin layer of ice, the last little bit of good will shattered, the ULTIMATE PIECE OF RIDICULOUS BULLSHIT SPEWED FORTH FROM YOUR TOUCHED BRAIN!!

I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!!!

End of year is rapidly approaching. All kinds of work to get done to make sure we’re ready for month end/year end. Last minute diagnosis code changes, reports for the bean counters, reports from the facilities, patient charts to ship to storage, tiny little last minute details that make my days at year end go by very fast indeed.

As I am walking from the warehouse to my office, I pass Joan’s cube. Strike that. I almost pass Joan’s cube. When what to my wondering ears do appear? Why, that would be the following sentence, as delivered to a facility that we contract with: “Yeah, you wouldn’t believe some of the coding screw ups of our programmers. They don’t know what the hell they’re doing. I have to watch them every second.”

:eek: :eek: :eek:

My jaw drops. She continues: “They’re supposed to be working with me and the other nurses,” (YOU…YOU…YOU ARE A MEDICAL ASSISTANT!! YOU FLUNKED YOUR BLOODY LVN TEST!! DON’T YOU DARE PASS YOURSELF OFF AS A NURSE AGAIN IN A PROFESSIONAL CAPACITY, EVER!!) “but I never hear from 'em, they say we’re up to date, but who knows, know what I mean?”

OH
MY
GOD!!!
Someone!! Thorazine! Trank gun! Something!!! SHUT THIS BITCH UP!!!

“Joan. Who were you just on with?”
“The south city unit. Why?”
to self: “At least we own that one, they can’t quit on us…” to her: “Because. I don’t think telling one of our facilities that any division of our operations is incompetent is a good idea, do you?”
“Well, they are. Besides, I know this girl, we talk all the time.”
“No. That’s not acceptable. It isn’t professional. It undermines our clients’ confidence in our ability, and that is not a good thing. Do you understand this?”
“So have a cow already. It’s our facility. It’ll be fine. You’re overreacting.”

She walks away. To go get coffee and talk on her cell for a half hour. She’s still in there. I’m writing this in order to calm down so I can be rational when I write up her termination. I won’t fire her 'til Tuesday morning, but by God, SHE IS FIRED!!

Jobs sure must be easy to get around there. So have a cow already? Sheesh!

Maureen, from what I’ve read, there will surely be celebratory after-work drink Tuesday night. How you have put up with Joan this long amazes me. You must have the patience of a tibetan prelate.*

Somehow, I don’t think that there will be many (or possibly even any) dissenting voices around here.

Since you are probably in need of a guffaw:
*Dija hear the one about the monk who visits New York city, walks up to a hog dog vendor and asks, “Can you make me one with everything?”

Is she the one who tried to steal the stereo from the coworker who won it in the raffle?

And the follow-up joke: The monk holds out his hand for change from the bill he paid with, and the vendor says, “Change comes from within.”

I think waiting till Tuesday to fire her is being too kind, but I am a heartless bastard. I would say to let her ring in the New Year without the burden of the job she so clearly doesn’t want. You are clearly a better person than me. Hope she enjoys looking for her next job as a “nurse”.

Mmmmm, hog dogs.

(This is my favorite typo so far this week.)

(Yes)

Maureen, it sounds like you are a very kind hearted boss and have allowed the last straw to be a very late one.
It is nice you have held off this long.

Jim

I think you’re perfectly well justified in firing her, but I think a response like “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough. Comments like these make me wonder if you’re really a good fit for this place. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off and think about it” would be called for.

Such a response might result in her quitting, saving you paperwork and potential legal complications. Right now she doesn’t think she’s done anything wrong, and will therefore think she’s been fired for no reason. She may consult a lawyer, and she would clearly lose, but it would be a headache.

That said, she’s undoubtedly given you reason beyond just this to fire her, and no matter what you do, she’s likely to be a headache anyway. If she needs to be fired, she needs to be fired.

I can see the anger at her acting like a nurse, but what is so bad (that is, so wrong as to require firing) about bitching about co-workers to a friend in another area of the same company?

Yes. Same person. I just…I can’t even…

Have you ever been so completely pissed off you can’t even get out the words? Yeah.

JustAnotherGeek, thanks for the smile. :slight_smile:
NAF1138, I probably am being too nice, (hell, obviously; there are people here who think I should’ve fired her for the radio fiasco) but I figure by giving her the paid holiday, it’s one less thing I’ll have to hear from her when I do fire her Tuesday morning.

Good riddance to a horrid liability IMO. I’d hazard a guess that a box of chocolates or other goodies for the programmers Wednesday would be welcome? Glad your stress level will be greatly reduced in the upcoming year, Maureen. :slight_smile: Here is a link to the thread Guin referred to, it’s old so don’t post to it, and here is another thread about the co-worker.

It isn’t quite the same company. Like this:
The parent company, let’s call it Ajax Healthcare, owns Ajax Dialysis and Ajax Laboratories. Ajax Healthcare owns several dialysis units throughout the western U.S. and two bicoastal labs. Joan and I work for the lab. We also contract with several dialysis units throughout the U.S. and perform their dialysis lab work. Word of mouth has a bad way of ruining a good business relationship. “Our programmers don’t know what the hell they’re doing” can go very easily from a biller to an office manager to a doctor, and pretty soon the unit is looking for a new lab, because who wants to do business with a bunch of incompetents? Yes, this was one of the Ajax units, but the fact remains, it’s highly unprofessional. She says things without thinking on a consistent basis, this is just the latest one that finally met the end of my patience.

If I recall correctly, she has been written up in the past. If there is proper documentation, she will have a difficult time suing.

You should give her a radio as a going away gift. :slight_smile:

I believe her going away gift is a last, paid holiday. :wink:

And her going away gift to you all is the going away!! :smiley:

And her going away gift to you all is the going away!! :smiley:

She doesn’t really sound all that terrible. On the other hand, she hardly sounds like a major asset, either. And, since she seems to raise your bloodpressure like that, I agree- let her go.

I’d say be extra nice and give her two weeks and “laid-off” rather than fired- but I am a nice guy. :slight_smile:

It’s ironic that people like that stay in the workforce for so long; and yet I, a responsible, easy-to-get-along-with, dedicated person cannot find a job.