Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
While it is understood that the public deserves to be protected from hospital employees that have a criminal background, why should people be punished forever for being less than ideal employees? Apparently, GroupOne is legal; but is it ETHICAL?
Healthcare professionals fall prey to the general trials and tribulations and tragedies of life, just like every other professional group. What other group of people feel compelled to punish people for time and attendence problems to the extent that gainful employment is not an opportunity?
Any healthcare management people who really believe in the GroupOne method needs to imagine having the same wrath doled out on them. Just because somebody missed work one too many days doesn't mean that they will always be a "bad" employee. Hasn't anyone in management ever been "burned out?" Does anyone in management understand the day in and day out grind of providing care to the sick and their families, if they don't then they need to.
Healthcare is a tough job, but the kindness and charity that is given to the patients should also be given to the healthcare worker. What is going to happen when all of the caring nurses, respiratory therapists, xray techs, and lab techs are gone and all that is left is the ideal "corporate" worker? The corporate mindset has invaded healthcare, even the county hospitals.
Last edited by catkellydr; 12-04-2007 at 11:21 AM..
Reason: Additional thought
I work for a hospital that uses that system. I have witnessed them interview people, love them, want to hire them and then they run that wonderful little "List!" Boom, they are knocked off the canidate list. One was knocked for something over 5 years ago. It's crazy! They cannot find canidates because they look at this list and never let the canidates explain what happened. I am in nursing school and I fear that some day it will be close to impossible for nurses to get a job because of lists like GroupOne. Also a gripe of mine is how they have these peer interviews for the nurses, they ask personal questions and love to say no to a great nurse because they have children or sick family members.
Why hasn't someone who has been denied a job because of Group One sued them? It seems like it would be an open and shut lawsuit. You could sue them for defamation of character if there were false or improper information being reported. Heck you could sue the individual at the hospital for libel for printing false information about you.
Again the nurses in Dallas need to organize to stop this foolishness.
texas is not a union state--the refineries along the coast and some of the large companies who have built plants like the GM plant in Arlington, Bell Helicopter MIGHT have unions, Lockheed does I think
but most companies like to move here because there are no unions to entangle them --- like the chicken processing plants in TX are definitely not union plants
the employment laws are stacked in favor of the employer--companies have right to fire w/o cause in almost any situation -- meaning even if you are doing a great job and they have never had a minute of trouble from you if they want to fire you, they can...done... so starting a nurses' union which you recommend would NOT happen here--
a PEER REVIEW is when team members--not bosses--are in the hiring chain--they ask questions of the people interviewing and their input can be the MOST important factor in who gets hired or one of several factors in choosing an employee--so several nurses would be in charge of interviewing nurses applying for positions--in addition to or in place of admins or supervisors in chain of command
in some situations--like college hiring--students are added to the interview panel with other professors and admins...
some people chosen to do peer reviews are not trained in any way for what to ask for or how to set criteria--they are shopping personalities many times and allow THEIR personalities to weigh more than needed---
texas is not a union state--the refineries along the coast and some of the large companies who have built plants like the GM plant in Arlington, Bell Helicopter MIGHT have unions, Lockheed does I think
but most companies like to move here because there are no unions to entangle them --- like the chicken processing plants in TX are definitely not union plants
the employment laws are stacked in favor of the employer--companies have right to fire w/o cause in almost any situation -- meaning even if you are doing a great job and they have never had a minute of trouble from you if they want to fire you, they can...done... so starting a nurses' union which you recommend would NOT happen here--
I suppose it is this kind of attitude that keeps Group One running strong.
Nurses are the ones who start a nursing union NOT the employers. I am quite sure the major hospitals in Dallas would oppose a union. It would mean they would have to start treating their employees fairly. You are absolutly correct, the employment laws are stacked in favor of the employer. Which is exactly why there needs to be a nursing union!!!! It would level the playing field and give nurses a collective voice. Imagine If every hospital nurse in Dallas banded together and formed a union. It would not take long for it to be one of the most powerful organizations in all of Texas.
Actually there is an attempt to unionize nursing in Texas. Recently a hospital in Houston voted to unionize. This is a spin off from agreements between Tenet Corp and the National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association due to negoitations in California. Although the organization carries the California name, it is actually a national organization. Tenet initially agreed to allow the group to contact it's other facilities regarding a union but after the facility in Houston voted "yes" the company opted to fight the situation. While an arbitrator upheld the vote, Tenet is still looking at legal ways to intervene. If Houston does indeed organize a union, the expectation is that Tenet facilities in Dallas will be next. And the implication for other hospitals to follow suit could be a step in state wide unionization. Group One could indeed eventually become a thing of the past or at the very least be morphed into something much different than what it is today.
This union stuff is still a very touchy subject and nurses do not usually speak aloud of such a thing. But the day may very well come where you could see a nurses union in Dallas. Here is a link to the story from WFAA.
Arbitrator upholds vote to establish nurses' union at Tenet hospital in Houston | WFAA.com | Texas Southwest (http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/050808dnbustenet.d96a7540.html - broken link)
I feel a need to report the unfortunate ruining of my brand new career in respiratory therapy, mainly due to Group One. This is a long story but I want people to know what can and does happen, with total disregard on the impact on people's lives, in my case with six children to support and now locked out of any jobs.
I am 46 years old with a bachelor degree from UTA way back in 1988. I hated college and just wanted a degree, as everyone back then said, "Oh, just get a degree, and all of these doors will open up for you." Not really, as I ended up staying in the automotive field as a mechanic and then as a manager for the better part of twenty-five years. Now, let me start from the beginning.
Back in 1991 my ex-wife (as of April, 2008) and I had a very difficult pregnancy with our first son. A very long story short, he was born weighing 14.3 ounces and was not expected to live. He was in the NICU for eighteen months before we were ever able to take him home, literally died twice, Care-flighted to Cooks in Fort Worth 5 times, on and on and on. His medical history is immense, when the hospital sent the initial bill it had to be delivered by UPS because it was too heavy to go througbh the post office. Regardless, I had a fantastic image of Cooks Hospital and always thought to myself what a great place to work. As I got older, and I thought wiser (not) I decided to make a gigantic career change because I wasn't happy fixing cars anymore. I told my wife and six children that I wanted to go back to school and do something else. I thought respiratory therapy would be a natural choice since I had been doing it at my house with my son for sixteen years. I left a good salary in the mechanic field, made a lot of sacrifices materially and entered RT school.
My first semester there an opening was posted for a part-time "equipment technician" that was after school and every weekend. I interviewed for the job and was ecstatic because I was getting to work at the place of my dreams. It was very difficult for me as I had been out of school for all these years and working after school until 10 three nights a week as well as the weekends almost killed me. I did it to get my foot in the door because I was told when I graduated I would be guaranteed a full-time RT position. Basically I cleaned monitors, CF nebs, stocked all of the respiratory stock rooms, ran the pasteurizer, and the drier for the flow sensors. When I graduated I indeed was given a full-time position working nights and weekends. Everything was working as planned.
The strain of school and night shifts and raising six children, again one with very special needs, took its toll on my marriage, and I found out during my last semester that my perfectly Catholic wife was filing for divorce, not because of an affair or anything, but I didn't do enough around the house, as well as other issues. What a shock!! I am not trying to make this a pity party but this info is necessary to understand what has happened. During this difficult time, living between two houses, I did not get, for whatever reason, my renewal notice from the state for my RCP license. Cooks has a policy also that all employees will be notified when any employee's license, or other credentials, are within one month of expiring. I DID NOT get any notice from them either, as they admitted to by terminating the person responsible for issuing these notices. Regardless, I did not get either notice, and my license expired in December of 2007. I had fantastic reviews, got along great with everybody, and had just been oriented to the NICU and was scheduled to work there full-time. When my superior found out my license had expired, I was called ON THE PHONE and told I was being terminated, and that it would list on Group One as " terminated for policy violation." The last thing I was told by the higher-ups was, "be sure to get a job before this shows up on the Group One." I was also told by the head of the department that I was eligible for rehire, but " I wouldn't call back in two or three months though." Luckily for me my night supervisor had taken a new position at a hospital thirty-five miles away and he hired me immediately when he found out what had happened, as he emulated that I was an excellent therapist (his words, not mine.)
I then applied to Dallas Childrens because I wanted to get back to a pedi setting. I was willing to either drive from southwest Fort Worth or take the little commuter train for the opoortunity. Anyway, I put on my application, truthfully, that I had indeed been terminated from a previous position for policy violation. The truth is always best, right? I interviewed with three different individuals, all therapists, on three different occasions. The first words out of my mouth were "I am on the Group One list, this is what happened, these were the circumstances." Everyone said it would not be a problem because I had told them up front and they wanted me as a therapist. I did not even know what Group One was as it took me six months to find out about this "secret entity" that no one would discuss. Anyway, I was received a WRITTEN OFFER in the mail from them, and at this point I decided to turn in my two week notice. When I gave notice I mentioned that I wanted to stay on prn.
I had just taken my drug screen and at 1000 on the morning of around the 20th of September I had received a call from Dallas Children's occupational health department to schedule my physical, which I did. Thirty minutes later I received another call from the HR recruiter, the same person who made me the verbal and written offer, that because of my Group One entry they were rescinding the offer. When I finally found out that I could comment on this Group One entry I decided to do that not two weeks before this call. I felt compelled to reply because the way Cooks left it "policy violation" could be anything from a license revocation to giving the wrong medication and killing someone! So I replied," This entry is the result of an accidental expiration of my RCP license from the state of Texas, as I was not notified, per Cooks policy, that my license was coming up for renewal." I was not implying in the least that it was not my fault for the expiration, I was just trying to defend myself. they did not have to put me on the Group One "list" as I know several people who have been terminated from there and were not put in this inclusive category. Anyway it apparently is an arbitrary decision of the manager to do it or not, in my case she sure did. The lady at Dallas Childrens told me off of the record, " You may want to reword your response to take the word accidental out of the equation. She then went on to inform me how it was my responsibility to keep my license current as a professional and on and on. She would send me a letter regarding this and goodbye. I don't know if it was the actual Group One entry or my response that led them to make the "judge and jury" judgment that I was trying to blame the hospital for my license expiration. How ridiculous!! But again, they are the only ones that get any imput here. I was not asked to explain any circumstances or give any imput before they made this determination. I called the respiratory manager and asked her and she said she fought HR for me and explained to them that she had told me on two different occasions that the Group One entry would not be a problem. She said," If you get a written offer, everything is a go." I got the offer, took off, and exploded like Challenger.
Luckily I was somehow valued enough at my present position that they for some reason took me back, but what if they had not? So here I am- I cannot get another job anywhere in the metroplex. I do not know enough people in the field as I have only been out of school a little over a year now. Basically this has completely tied my hands and ruined my "new career." I was not even notified of my entry on Group One, which seems illegal to me.
Now, everyone says, "You need to sue them." I DONT HAVE THE MONEY TO SUE THEM. I have access to someone with plenty of money and I am trying to decide if that is a route I want to explore. I have a phone call into my brother about truck driving. You have been warned and if anyone has any ideas for me I would certainly appreciate them. Sorry for the length but I thought it was necessary. Best of luck to all of you. What a terrible shame- the medical establishment loses a therapist who is in it for the right reason, and I can't even get a job. I'm sorry for the cynicism but I feel really screwed and I can do nothing about it because Texas is a right to work state. I always loved being born and raised here- not anymore.
Wow chevy that is really deep! That's like being blacklisted for the rest of one's life. Hope it all works out for ya.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Group One-Don't Think It Can't Happen To You!!
