Booted out due to politics (anyone else experienced this?)

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

rph3664

Full Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2010
Messages
2,642
Reaction score
522
I worked at a hospital for 7 years and always had above average reviews and a spotless disciplinary record, and starting in February, began getting written up for things that would not have merited disciplinary action in the past (and I believe some of them were made up). At the end of March, I was presented with a "quit or be fired" scenario and chose the former. I believe I was booted out to make room for the son of the head of another department, something they denied but they had that deer-in-the-headlights look when I confronted them about it, and that I was chosen because I am white, childless, not too old, and have no disabilities. 😡 The management is universally disliked by everyone in the department, a fact to which they remain totally oblivious.

I don't want to give any more details because they could identify me and I am suing, but in this time, I have had ONE interview and didn't get the job. I do live in a rural area, which somewhat limits my options, and I am NOT going back to retail. I would work the counter at McDonald's before I would go back to retail pharmacy. 👎

If I do get an interview, what am I supposed to tell them? I did tell that employer, and have put on applications, that I left "because I decided to work somewhere else". My lawyer says that blackballing is massively illegal, and I know that but am not entirely convinced.

I know this is a big problem in hospital nursing and has been for many years.:bang:
 
Last edited:
You have an option of not agreeing to the disciplinary action by not signing the write up and then provide your own explanation, even better if you have a witness. You should have requested a meeting with your HR, DOP, and the person who the DOP reports to discuss the disciplinary action and all agree it's justifiable. If you made mistakes and/or violated policies, then you should be written up. But if you feel that you were singled out while the management looked the other way for other employees, then you should have documented it. At the same time, you would not have known if others were written up as well.

I'm sure your attorney can advise you better. In fact, you'd have been better off not posting any of this...as you've already created an electronic trail.

Good Luck.
 
There's no way anyone could Google my real name and find out who really wrote that post. I was just so blindsided by those writeups that I did sign them.

All the documentation in the world wouldn't have done me any good, especially considering the number of people in our department who appeared to be exempt from ANY disciplinary action (and don't get me started on what I saw some other people get away with!).
 
I was just so blindsided by those writeups that I did sign them.

If they were false accusations, why did you agree to it?

All the documentation in the world wouldn't have done me any good,

Wrong.

especially considering the number of people in our department who appeared to be exempt from ANY disciplinary action (and don't get me started on what I saw some other people get away with!).

Was your DOP aware of wrong doings by others yet just ignore it? If so, if you documented that, you don't believe your attorney can have a field day in the court room or hearing as to unfair treatment you received?
 
If they were false accusations, why did you agree to it?



Wrong.



Was your DOP aware of wrong doings by others yet just ignore it? If so, if you documented that, you don't believe your attorney can have a field day in the court room or hearing as to unfair treatment you received?

I asked to see screen shots and they refused to provide them. And yes, there was a buttload of execrable behavior that was ignored simply because of who was doing it.

I'm the kind of person who can't defend myself and people know that and have always taken advantage of it.
 
I hope the number in your screen name is not your pharmacist license number!
 
I worked at a hospital for 7 years and always had above average reviews and a spotless disciplinary record, and starting in February, began getting written up for things that would not have merited disciplinary action in the past (and I believe some of them were made up). At the end of March, I was presented with a "quit or be fired" scenario and chose the former. I believe I was booted out to make room for the son of the head of another department, something they denied but they had that deer-in-the-headlights look when I confronted them about it, and that I was chosen because I am white, childless, not too old, and have no disabilities. 😡 The management is universally disliked by everyone in the department, a fact to which they remain totally oblivious.

I don't want to give any more details because they could identify me and I am suing, but in this time, I have had ONE interview and didn't get the job. I do live in a rural area, which somewhat limits my options, and I am NOT going back to retail. I would work the counter at McDonald's before I would go back to retail pharmacy. 👎

If I do get an interview, what am I supposed to tell them? I did tell that employer, and have put on applications, that I left "because I decided to work somewhere else". My lawyer says that blackballing is massively illegal, and I know that but am not entirely convinced.

I know this is a big problem in hospital nursing and has been for many years.:bang:

I got in a situation where the clique of pharmacists that are friends with the director got all pissed off at me because their clinical programs were questionable...and I let them know this...so to retaliate for daring to question them, they started tracking my mistakes for months...at one point the director wrote me up for putting in "albuteral q4h prn" as albuterol q6h prn". Yeah...pathetic. A month later I got called into his office for putting in a duplicate therapy of...oh god no...omeprazole. Like that mistake doesn't happen 3 times a week. Meanwhile, one of his special pharmacists almost made a kid go into a coma because they put in 110 units of insulin for a dose rather than 10 units...but nothing ever happened there. For her, it was a simple error that any human might make. If I put in omeprazole twice on the MAR, I'm a dangerous idiot that needs disciplined.

Of course, the night pharmacists have said to everyone over and over that when they do the MAR corrections at the end of the day, my error rate is actually better than most...it's just that nobody shows the director everyone else's minor errors every time they happen...

Then came the malevolent scheduling. Imagine this...you are all alone on a Saturday morning...and they give you 2 floor techs...with like 5 months of experience each...might as well be there by yourself...census was 160 or 170...during the H1N1 craze...plus you have to do employee scripts...and they opened up an entire new hospital floor on Friday that they are filling up on your shift. Hell on Earth.

And then on monday...one of the ***** that hates you comes in early just to look for any mistakes you might have made...like 8 all weekend...none major...all stupid things that didn't even affect patient care...the director calls you at home...after months of this ****, you are fed up, go on a 5 minute rant about how much of a ****ing idiot he and his RPh buddies are...and tell him that you're done with him...and hang up on him...

And even though you thought you made it clear you weren't ever coming back, the ******* calls you to tell you that you've been terminated, completely ignoring the fact that you screamed at him on the phone until you were blue in the face and quit. Though that is kind of a mixed blessing being as though I used that to draw unemployment...although the black eye is a bitch...

...oh, and a week later, the hospital hired a woman that is friends with that group of people that railroaded me. She just happened to be looking for a job. 🙄

Now...I probably shouldn't have done that and acted professional in the face of those idiots... definitely a lesson learned. Don't hand them a reason to get rid of you gift wrapped with a bow on it.

Good times. I've been looking for a job for months. Everyone at my old hospital except for the 3 *******s that didn't like me all told me to use them as references (everyone from the buyer to the techs to the other pharmacists) and have been feeding me job leads. None have panned out being as though that area is ungodly saturated...but I do appreciate it.

I'm thinking about going back to retail. I'm sick of these pretentious ****s that take offense to someone that disagrees with them. And they are in every hospital...everywhere. At least in retail, it's blue collar people...doing a blue collar job....my type of people.

I like the people that do retail soooo much more...but I like the work of hospital. Kind of a conundrum, eh?
 
I asked to see screen shots and they refused to provide them.

Then they had no proof. You should not have signed it. I mean...did you violate any policies? Either you did or you didn't...

And yes, there was a buttload of execrable behavior that was ignored simply because of who was doing it.


Since you have no documentation, it's your words against theirs... unless your previous co-workers hate the admin so much they'll be willing to testify on your behalf.. Of course I doubt they'd jeopardize their job security to save you..unless they really like you or something.

But it still boils down to either you did or did not commit violations stated in your write ups not what others did in the department.

It's like this... "Officer...why are you giving me a ticket... I was just following that other guy who was speeding..."
 
let them fire you. you can still get unemployment bc they must show GROSS MISCONDUCT on your end. a lot of states allow fired workers to collect. i would have told them thanks for the paid vacation.


bastards and their politics everywhere man
 
you can still get unemployment

I am. That's actually what I hired the lawyer for in the first place. Second best $350 I ever spent!

The best was actually $300 and was a nonrefundable deposit to my second choice of pharmacy school. When I was admitted to my first choice, where I had been wait-listed, yes I forfeited that money but I have NEVER considered it money wasted even though it was 2 weeks pay at the time.
 
I am. That's actually what I hired the lawyer for in the first place. Second best $350 I ever spent!

The best was actually $300 and was a nonrefundable deposit to my second choice of pharmacy school. When I was admitted to my first choice, where I had been wait-listed, yes I forfeited that money but I have NEVER considered it money wasted even though it was 2 weeks pay at the time.

nice enjoy the 52-70+ weeks of PAID VACATION. you get to sleep till 11, wake up, go to starbucks, while those miserable *******s sit in their basement.

i hope you slam them with the lawsuit. i hate corporate bull****. best of luck my friend!
 
This type of situation is what I have been seeing. Totally subjective. Administration can use any reason to terminate you if they want to. You can be better than most but they decided to replace you. They overlook mistakes and performance issues of others when they will pick you out for termination. In siutations I have seen the people terminating people are not pharmacists and have no idea what we do. Some have never even worked in a pharmacy.

There is a retired member on this forum that says the HR is there to help you. Perhaps you should go to them and they would prevent your termination and probably terminate those above you. (sorry I couldn't resist)😀

I have never worked under a union and I am aware of the good and bad of them but I am really starting to think that it is the best thing for the profession.

The one thing I encourage pharms or anyone working to do is to keep a personal journal at home on your computer. Everyday record the events that occured. Things such as an error someone made(small or major), someone coming in late, leaving early, not doing things when they should do when they should. Favortism shown to them as far as scheduling or anything that is not as it should be. You will be surprised how fast the journal will grow. Just keep it to yourself since you may never need it. However, in a situation like this you have documented information that will protect you from termination or at least give you the ammunition for a lawsuit or unemployment compensation.

Good luck.
 
Oh boy.. 🙄

birdsd.jpg


Always 2 sides to a story. I would like to hear the Admin's side of this case. The OP doesn't deny or admit wrong doing. I bet he did. Institutions don't just fire someone for the heck of it. What some readers fail to realize is that there are disruptive employees who contribute to negativity of the department. He/she states no one likes the admin yet I bet there are other employees in the department who are glad that OP has been terminated. I wouldn't doubt it if one of the fellow employees turned him/her in.

I mean it's always Admin/HR's fault and all employees are perfect and don't deserve to be terminated. [/sarcasm]
 
However, in a situation like this you have documented information that will protect you from termination or at least give you the ammunition for a lawsuit or unemployment compensation.

how does this help? couldn't anyone make up a log history? i guess if you had witnesses that could attest that the events occurred it would help, but who really remembers what happened on what day?
 
how does this help? couldn't anyone make up a log history? i guess if you had witnesses that could attest that the events occurred it would help, but who really remembers what happened on what day?

It really depends on the incident and the situation. We can only speculate because OP doesn't really delve into the reasons why termination occurred. If it's as simple as chronically being late, then it shows up on Kronos. If it's a sexual harassment, now it becomes he said she said... if it's mistakes, it typically shows up on the pharmacy operation system.

In court, falsified documents can get one in a heal of trouble...so a made up log shouldn't even be an option. For an institution to terminate an employee, they start the "process" which starts with documentation, verbal/written warnings and write ups and the employee goes on a plan of improvement. Like 3 strikes and you're out.
 
how does this help? couldn't anyone make up a log history? i guess if you had witnesses that could attest that the events occurred it would help, but who really remembers what happened on what day?


Errors should be documented in retail or hospital. So you would have your own record of them. Your notes could be compared to hosp or store records. If you have 30 or 40 pages of journal notes they are going to hard for everyone to dispute especially if a lawsuit is filed. Most people won't lie under oath. It would give you some documentation as to Mary coming in 20 minutes late everyday. The dop sleeping in the office or not working his required time. Tech errors etc. In a hearing you would be looked at in a postitive light with some kind of documentation rather than saying what you remember of days several months ago. Its a lot better than having nothing at all.
 
In court, falsified documents can get one in a heal of trouble...so a made up log shouldn't even be an option


Not made up, but a journal of your day. Nobody would want to falsify data but it would be hard for everyone to lie about facts that occured.
 
Oh boy.. 🙄

birdsd.jpg


Always 2 sides to a story. I would like to hear the Admin's side of this case. The OP doesn't deny or admit wrong doing. I bet he did. Institutions don't just fire someone for the heck of it. What some readers fail to realize is that there are disruptive employees who contribute to negativity of the department. He/she states no one likes the admin yet I bet there are other employees in the department who are glad that OP has been terminated. I wouldn't doubt it if one of the fellow employees turned him/her in.

I mean it's always Admin/HR's fault and all employees are perfect and don't deserve to be terminated. [/sarcasm]

Was that a cheap shot or what? Yeah, I can think of a couple of people who aren't sorry I'm gone but their opinions don't matter. The number of people who are far outnumber them.

I can think of several people in the department - techs and pharmacists alike - who have committed MULTIPLE offenses, firing and otherwise, and they cannot be disciplined AT ALL because of a known disability. I'm not perfect - I never claimed to be - but I did not deserve this.
 
Cheap shot? Not really as that post wasn't really directed at you. Some people here know that I've been in Admin for a long time and I'm taking a shot at the latest theme of "it's always the crooked and unfair admin and HR ganging up on innocent hardworking employees."
 
Cheap shot? Not really as that post wasn't really directed at you. Some people here know that I've been in Admin for a long time and I'm taking a shot at the latest theme of "it's always the crooked and unfair admin and HR ganging up on innocent hardworking employees."

Not directed at me? Sure looked like it. 🙄
 
Was that a cheap shot or what? Yeah, I can think of a couple of people who aren't sorry I'm gone but their opinions don't matter. The number of people who are far outnumber them.

I can think of several people in the department - techs and pharmacists alike - who have committed MULTIPLE offenses, firing and otherwise, and they cannot be disciplined AT ALL because of a known disability. I'm not perfect - I never claimed to be - but I did not deserve this.

You're missing Z's point. It's possible that everyone in the department deserve to be fired. The better question to ask is, did you? I don't think inconsistency is a reason for a lawsuit. Why did they tell you you were being let go? Is what they said true? Is it consistent with the company's policies - not their enforcement of them, but the policies themselves - for disciplinary action?
 
You're just a victim of below thread spilling over into this thread. Trust me, if I'm going to take a shot at you, it won't be a cheap shot...it'll be a full blown blatant personal attack.

The intent of that thread was to show how useless they are in interviews, really...
 
Not directed at me? Sure looked like it. 🙄

I wouldn't waste anymore of your time / effort with this job. Chalk it up to a life lesson about how a close knit group of people can manipulate the work place.

Change up what you are doing - move to get yourself a new job. Bigger cities tend to have less politics (and less cliques at the work place). Avoid getting into issues at work. Another way to decrease the issues is to work the 3rd shift. Seriously, without a boss around, things are a lot less stressful / competitive.
 
Another way to decrease the issues is to work the 3rd shift.

That's not an option for me. I did a few 3rds when I was about 20 years old and waitressing, and I was always sick for a week afterwards.
 
You could potentially miss many WVU football games with 7 on 7 off position.

Tivo. I only really care about seeing it live if I'm in town and can see it in front of me. Otherwise...meh...JUST DONT TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS!!!!

Seriously though...as long as its just me and no other humans other than a tech or 2...I'm good to go...
 
Tivo. I only really care about seeing it live if I'm in town and can see it in front of me. Otherwise...meh...JUST DONT TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS!!!!

I'll text you the score...play by play...then leave a voice mail.. have one of your employees spray paint the score on your windshield.
 
If you can swing the adjustment to your circadian rhythm, it is a great way to work.

There's 1200 - 2300 week on week off positions. Now that won't affect your circadian rhythm much...
 
I'll take that, too.

Geebus holy cow... that hospital always had positions....really hard to hire area... rough town... you wouldn't want to live there... anyways.. aint no job there...
 
Geebus holy cow... that hospital always had positions....really hard to hire area... rough town... you wouldn't want to live there... anyways.. aint no job there...

Nobody has a job anywhere. And if they did, I wouldn't have the right state license...so they'd ignore me, anyway.
 
This type of situation is what I have been seeing. Totally subjective. Administration can use any reason to terminate you if they want to. You can be better than most but they decided to replace you. They overlook mistakes and performance issues of others when they will pick you out for termination. In siutations I have seen the people terminating people are not pharmacists and have no idea what we do. Some have never even worked in a pharmacy.

There is a retired member on this forum that says the HR is there to help you. Perhaps you should go to them and they would prevent your termination and probably terminate those above you. (sorry I couldn't resist)😀

I have never worked under a union and I am aware of the good and bad of them but I am really starting to think that it is the best thing for the profession.

The one thing I encourage pharms or anyone working to do is to keep a personal journal at home on your computer. Everyday record the events that occured. Things such as an error someone made(small or major), someone coming in late, leaving early, not doing things when they should do when they should. Favortism shown to them as far as scheduling or anything that is not as it should be. You will be surprised how fast the journal will grow. Just keep it to yourself since you may never need it. However, in a situation like this you have documented information that will protect you from termination or at least give you the ammunition for a lawsuit or unemployment compensation.

Good luck.


HR is NOT there to help YOU. HR is to protect the company only. be careful about what you go to HR about. it can come back to bite you in the ass HARD.

i dont know how much the journal will help you to be honest because they can say "you never made us aware of these problems but now you do after termination?"
 
HR is NOT there to help YOU. HR is to protect the company only.


Dayum..you're like a broken record.

Here...I'll copy and paste it from other thread... care to respond?


The real department with a sole purpose to protect the corporate is "legal" not HR. It's the corporate attorneys who deal with potential risk to the corporate from other entities or from employees.

Now, HR has many other functions.

Salary & Benefit Management
Recruiting
Annual competencies
Payroll
Training
Personnel relations
 
And...again...HR is useless to any of us...just the managers who have sold out to the bourgeois...

Let the RPHs eat cake...

...mmmm, cake...

didn't you want to be a manager one day?
 
In pharmacy, you could truly be written up for just about anything. Everyone makes mistakes and it's all about what I call the 'halo effect'. If they like you, they will overlook most of your mistakes, if they don't like you, even non-mistakes will be the most major mistakes. I've worked with people who have made some jaw-dropping errors, and they were treated like royalty. If I missed a period in the sig, it's the greatest disaster since three mile island. :laugh:

To the original poster: it may take the rest of your natural life to fight this as wrongful termination, but you might just win in the end... It is very questionable if a boss's family member is your 'replacement'. Definitely a case I would want to throw in front of a jury if I were a lawyer, and they would probably settle before it ever did...
 
I don't know. Honestly, I just fear I'd become like the ones I've known IRL. Though I'm positive I could do a better job than all of them from a "managing people" standpoint...

If I ever go back to the hospital level as a manager or DOP, I would demand that my training period of 2 weeks will be spent doing tech work, staff pharmacist work, clinical pharmacist work, evening and graveyard work... basically do everything and learn what each job entails... that would be a good starting point.
 
Dayum..you're like a broken record.

Here...I'll copy and paste it from other thread... care to respond?

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call "The Twilight Zone".
 
Oh boy.. 🙄

birdsd.jpg


Always 2 sides to a story. I would like to hear the Admin's side of this case. The OP doesn't deny or admit wrong doing. I bet he did. Institutions don't just fire someone for the heck of it. What some readers fail to realize is that there are disruptive employees who contribute to negativity of the department. He/she states no one likes the admin yet I bet there are other employees in the department who are glad that OP has been terminated. I wouldn't doubt it if one of the fellow employees turned him/her in.

I mean it's always Admin/HR's fault and all employees are perfect and don't deserve to be terminated. [/sarcasm]

Love the cartoon.

I agree, the terminated employee always gets all the sympothy. Nevermind that the day before everyone in the department is complaining how X is constantly late, never gets anything done and how much more work they have to do to pick up the slack. Nevermind the disharmany in the dept caused by X. Nevermind all the trouble X caused.

As soon as X is fired it's, "How could they do that to Jim? He was so great. Better watch you're back folks, they are always out to get you! Who are they gonna fire next? You know no one is safe if they are firing Jim! And he was so nice and kind and great and he saved my child when my house was on fire, etc, etc..."

To the OP: this isn't aimed directly at you. I am sorry that you lost your job and I hope you find something better moving forward. I have noticed that the smaller the # of people you work with, the more important it is to get along with evryone. It's hard to be the odd man out if your dept. has 4 people. Good luck! 👍
 
This was a big department - over 60 people, and this person had signed a contract and there was no official opening for him, so TPTB had to create one. Several people told me that they had figured this out all by themselves, with no prompting from me.

😡

We had a situation a few years ago where an IV tech's job performance rapidly deteriorated (I won't say why, again because it might identify this person) and while we were all sorry to see her fired because we liked her, she HAD to be removed because I for one was hesitant to check her work because I no longer trusted that the bags contained what the labels said they did. There was another situation where three part-time techs were hired within days of each other, and ALL THREE were rapidly discharged because they were not a good fit, each for different reasons.
 
This was a big department - over 60 people, and this person had signed a contract and there was no official opening for him, so TPTB had to create one. Several people told me that they had figured this out all by themselves, with no prompting from me.

We had a situation a few years ago where an IV tech's job performance rapidly deteriorated (I won't say why, again because it might identify this person) and while we were all sorry to see her fired because we liked her, she HAD to be removed because I for one was hesitant to check her work because I no longer trusted that the bags contained what the labels said they did. There was another situation where three part-time techs were hired within days of each other, and ALL THREE were rapidly discharged because they were not a good fit, each for different reasons.

60 people! Wow, that's a huge pharmacy, is it not? I don't understand what you are trying to say about your replacement. No one has a signed contract without a position. How could you have a contract without a position? It doesn't make since. I'm sorry you were unfairly singled out.

Side note: everyone who gets fired has a litany of excuses. I didn't do anything everyone else isn't doing. They're just playing favorites. I am one of the best employee's they ever had, it's crazy they would pick on me. And on and on. The last one is my favorite. For whatever reason the worst employees always think they are the best. Talk about delusional. My point is if you come in on time, do your job and don't make trouble - you are gold. Every boss wants employees who will just do their job (plus a little more 😉) and not make trouble.


Good Luck with the job search!

p.s. What is TPTB?
 
60 people! Wow, that's a huge pharmacy, is it not? I don't understand what you are trying to say about your replacement. No one has a signed contract without a position. How could you have a contract without a position? It doesn't make since. I'm sorry you were unfairly singled out.

Side note: everyone who gets fired has a litany of excuses. I didn't do anything everyone else isn't doing. They're just playing favorites. I am one of the best employee's they ever had, it's crazy they would pick on me. And on and on. The last one is my favorite. For whatever reason the worst employees always think they are the best. Talk about delusional. My point is if you come in on time, do your job and don't make trouble - you are gold. Every boss wants employees who will just do their job (plus a little more 😉) and not make trouble.


Good Luck with the job search!

p.s. What is TPTB?

The Powers That....Banjo?
 
Top