Question by quikl36: Can my girlfriend get charged with abandonment if she has no schedule at work?
My girlfriend is an STNA and does home healthcare. She has no schedule just her boses telling her at the last minute that she has to work. We are trying to plan things on the weekends and cant because she is scared she will get abandonment on her license if she isnt there when she is told she has to work…Is this the case or is he bluffing?
STNA = State Tested Nurses Aide
Best answer:
Answer by jannsody
I’m not sure, but perhaps she can ask someone from the local stna nursing association that type of question and ask for the answer in writing and/or ask an employment lawyer.
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First off, what is an STNA? And abandonment usually occurs when your assume care of the patient and then leave. So if she went to the job, then walked off the assignment. If you do not accept the assignment, you are not accepting the liability.
I am a Registered Nurse in Colorado.
This is a common threat from employers who want to control their workers and, over time, they have distorted what “abandonment” actually means. In the eyes of the law, abandonment occurs after a nurse has taken over responsibility of a patient, and then leaves before she has officially transferred the responsibility to another nurse of equal or higher training. Abandonment does NOT refer to the fact that your girlfriend will be leaving her employer without someone to work that day. Abandonment is about the PATIENT….not about your employer. If your girlfriend isnt even scheduled to work, there is no way in hell she can be accused of abandonment. Her supervisor just has her fooled so he can make her work whenever he needs her to.
Straight from an article I read in the ASBN (Arkansas State Board of Nursing) Update magazine:
Abandonment:
*A licensed nurse accepts a patient assignment and leaves the facility, supervisor is unaware the nurse has left the facility, nor has the nurse given a status report on her patient to another nurse.
*Leaving without reporting to the oncoming shift.
*Sleeping while on duty.
NOT Patient Abandonment (but possible employment issues):
*Resigning without notice.
*Giving two weeks notice but only working one week of notice.
*Failure to return to work from scheduled leave of absence.
*Refusing to come in and cover a shift.
*No call/no show for a scheduled shift.
*Refusal to work beyond a previously agreed upon work period provided at the time of the request to work the next shift, the nurse informs the supervisor or employer that he/she is not able to work.
*Refusal to work in an unfamiliar, specialized, or “high tech” patient care area when there has been no orientation, no educational preparation or employment experience.
So, no, her license is not under attack. Really, the only way it would be is if she went into the hospital, checked-in, worked, but then left without telling anyone. But, if she doesn’t go into work, there shouldn’t be a problem–at least not with her license, sometimes supervisors get pissed off.