I’ve already quit. It wasn’t exactly pretty, but I am not showing up again. I’m posting this here because I want some anonymous feedback. To preface it, I’m a registered nurse who is leaving a really, really bad dialysis clinic.
I am resigning from my position at ********* effective immediately. I do so with regret. I have enjoyed my coworkers, but this letter is not about the techs and nurses. During my employment I have seen too many violations that have been passed over by management. Too many times I have been told not to report something because, “It will make us look bad”.
The clinic runs a skeletal staff daily, and that makes people make mistakes. Patients get on the machine without being assessed, and too frequently they are on the wrong baths. It’s not just the assessments or the baths; there are too many corners being cut for me to list. Here’s an example: Management has known for at least six months that the thermometers do not function correctly. Maybe one patient in twenty has their temperature taken. No action has ever been taken to fix the problem. This is what counts as “normal” at *********. That is untenable to me. I refuse to make up vital signs, yet management insists that I do.
Additionally, and this is getting back to how management skeletaly staffs the floor every day, there is a policy that states that employees can be there before 0430 to set up for the day, but can’t clock in. Management is setting up a system where it is strongly encouraged to work off the clock. I no longer have faith, or even trust, in the kind of people that would think that is “normal”.
I have tried in the past to take these concerns through the chain of command, but unfortunately my only option is to resign.
IMHO, it’s not a good idea to do this - it will achieve nothing other than give your management justification that you are ‘disgruntled’ and therefore you are the problem, and can be blamed for any of the things you complained about.
Do NOT send this letter of resignation. Just give 'em a “I am tendering my resignation as of 01/02/2013” notice…no reasons given.
If you want to register your dissatisfaction with your previous job, I suggest writing a letter to the SENIOR HR person outlining in very specific detail the events you are complaining about and including dates etc when they occurred. Your letter (as written) is vague enough to be ignored. You can’t just allege stuff like this without some corroborating evidence, and you can bet your bottom dollar that you won’t be backed up by existing staff.
IOW, write the letter, file it deep in your computer and walk away.
yeah, it probably wasn’t a good idea to quit as suddenly as I did, either. I.. um.. did it in a text message. Bad, I know, but I couldn’t stand another day. I could tell you stories about that place. Oh, lord, I could tell you stories.
However, I haven’t sent this thing yet. Does it come off as too pissed off and unprofessional? If so, how can I tone it down?
Do NOT be the TROUBLEMAKER - for one thing, you will need to explain a gap on your resume, because you won’t be able to use this shop as a reference.
I don’t know what town you’re in (or even continent) but most places have tight-knit professional communities - a bad word will be your word vs theirs - and you’re not the person the other bosses meet for drinks.
Plus, you will discredit yourself as a witness, should this ever be reported to the licensing people.
And the biggie: Do you really think this would be news to anyone in authority? Those are the people who, quite knowingly, CREATED the problems. They will NOT take kindly to having them pointed out.
First, I think it was a good letter. Second, don’t think for a second that you are the first person to have drafted and submitted a letter like this…depending on who it is actually submitted to. Corporate HR, no lower, would be my recommendation.
Coincidentally, my wife had a similar experience at a clinic she used to work for. Although she simply quit, and without submitting a letter like yours, one of her coworkers did, and actually had an attorney threaten a suit over bad practices, obfuscation and manufactured records during state audits, negligent care, chronic miscalibration of equipment, yelling at staff in front of patients, not allowing clinicians to clock in early or remain on the clock during long shifts, etc… She’d gathered a lot of information over a period of months. The clinic’s parent organization ultimately settled with her, I suspect partly because other coworkers were willing to testify to her claims.
Of course you don’t want to do anything to get yourself blackballed in the industry, so you have to pick your battles wisely, but sometimes it is worth a risk, and can actually serve to cause an organization to examine its practices.
I hear you. But this letter is meant for the senior HR person. I thought I was kinda specific regarding how management fucks up (thermometers, insisting people work off the clock, etc).
And as far as corroborating evidence… well let’s just say that my management’s higher ups already think that if there is smoke, there is fire - and I’m just adding to the smoke.
Additionally, I damn know well the techs will back me up. Problem is, they don’t have much of a voice.
I really want only two things with this letter. I need to convince the powers that be that my immediate superior and her immediate superior are the reason I quit. That may not be possible. But I want to try.
At this point, I already am. I made a decision to be the trouble maker. It’s done. But now…
I DO have to worry about that gap in resume. And it hasn’t gone through HR yet. I started this thread because I want to write a letter to the entire chain of command. I would much rather me going down in the books as a resignation that being fired. That may not be possible. But if it’s not, at least fix some of the bullshit.
I ain’t no martyr, when my boss’s boss put in the policy of not paying anybody for coming early to do their job, I still clocked in. I ignored it. I ignored it and he never said a word. He’d say a word to other people when they ignored it, though. Maybe me blowing up like this might at least give him a second thought. And I timed it to completely screw the guy.
Anyway, screwing him may very well have screwed me more. But, in a way, in a very strong way. I did it for the patients. The level of care just sucks there, and something has to change. But, well, where do I go from here? My back is already turned to the clinic. All I want is this to go down as a voluntary resignation and for the clinic to improve. I have no illusions of me getting a reference letter, but as long as the paper work says “resignation” rather than “termination”, I’ll be happy. Probably won’t though, to be honest.
But if a F.U. letter might improve the patient care, I’ll take the hit on my resume.
I’m just going to step away from the computer for awhile. Hell, I think my girlfriend left season two of Game of Thrones over here. Maybe I’ll watch that.
I say it was professional and fine to send. If anything you could afford to be even a little meaner and more specific about individuals who essentially forced you out.
When I quit teaching after 2 years they asked me on some form why I was quitting, and I pretty much spelled it out and didn’t spare any feelings. If you’re treated like shit, being asked to to do immoral or illegal things, and you can blame a person or two specifically for it, then do it.
Don’t expect anything to change or get done but it might and there you have it.
You’d do better to request an exit interview with the senior HR person. Resignation letters are basically useless, because anyone taking them seriously is going to have a lot of questions, and there’s no one to ask in a resignation letter.
(I have zero experience in either health care, or in law…but:)
It seems to me that some of your complaints are not just bad management–they are violations of professional ethics codes and also violations of the law. Not having working thermometers, not giving the proper bath–that’s got to be an issue for the medical licensing board, or whatever official body is in charge of public health. Making up a patient’s vital signs seems totally illegal to me. Certainly, making employees work off the clock is illegal, and grounds for criminal prosecution by the state.
If you’re going to make serious charges, you need good,solid proof.
And a good lawyer.
I wouldn’t send it to your manager, I’d send it to the CEO and copy in the Snr HR person and whatever regulatory body is involved.
Line managers will bury stuff like that, snr managers have to be more careful.
Think about why you’re doing it too. Are you just having a vent or are you prepared to stand up and push for change. Depending on your answer, your action follows.
Your letter will at best be filed in the circular file and forgotten. At worst it will hurt you and your career. What it won’t do is improve anything. They have been operating as they have for a while. No one is going to go “Damn I didn’t think about that!” If it is a patient safety issue report them.
Ain’t that the truth. I’ve spent the last hour trying to track down the HR department of Fresenius (that’s the name of the company, by the way) with no luck. I wonder if they hide themselves because of all the class action lawsuits. Called the “anonymous report line” and spent 20 minutes with some poor call center girl (she sounded like she was 17 - that’s why I say “girl”) who couldn’t even place the clinic I’m at. Poor girl had no idea. So that was useless.
Anyway, I think I am just going to walk away and do nothing. I don’t have any hard evidence about what I’ve seen, and if I had to testify - I’d have to say that I did those wrong things to get a paycheck, too. I don’t see me winning in that scenario.
Anyway, I’m done with them. Behind me.
Anybody know somebody in SouthEast Georgia that’s looking to hire a nurse? 'Cause I have just joined the ranks of the unemployed.
You might consider skipping the HR route and going straight to the licensing or accrediting board for your industry. There are laws to protect whistleblowers.
'Cause I have just joined the ranks of the unemployed.