Sorry, I seem to keep bitching about stuff but I dont know what to do. On Wednesday I was called into HR yet again, but this time I was fired.
It goes back to August when I found out I was HIV positive. I disclosed to my work even though I didnt have to. I really did feel this was the responsible thing to do because as an RN I work closely with patients who are recovering from strokes and ortho surgeries. And because I had an incident where a patient threw himself backwards causing me to be injured, thankfully no blood was shed. But all I could think about was what if when I hit my head I had started bleeding, this would have put my CNA and my patient at risk. So me being me, I disclosed. What a big mostake. All of a sudden med errors against me began popping up, they even tried writing me up for a med that is given by the respiratory department, then came the multiple offers to knock me down to part time for "health reasons". When I refused a patient complaint against me popped up, and I was suspended. Then another one. Then they are saying I gave the wrong insulin to a patient (The write up was written up December 3, for the "error" which occured December4) THen there is the med error in which I never gave a patient any of her meds(again the write up was dated December 3 for the "error" dated November 11) Hello, I was never working that day. When I told them this they verbally changed the date to November 21, a day that I was working, but the write up clearly states November 11. My supervisor said that it took so long to bring up that med error because the lady from HR was on vacation, but that at this time they feel I am too unsafe to continue workiing on my unit and they terminated me. If they felt that way, why was I allowed to continue working until this past Wednesday????? Nope both myself and the union feel that I am being targetted because of my status. The union is trying to fight this but im still out of a job, and who is gonna hire me now. Not only this but as the meeting was concluded they told me they were still trying to decide wether or not to go after my nursing license. All i ever wanted to be was a nurse, i worked so long and hard to become an RN, and here a year and a half after becoming one, I might lose my dream. I dont know what to do. What will I be if not a nurse???? I dont want to lose my dream because im HIV positive, but it looks like its a possibility.
This is a clear discrimination suit and I would advise to get an attorney as soon as possible. If money is an issue, call local legal aid office in your area, there are a lot of lawyers who will take this type of case pro bono(free) or for a percentage of recovery of any settlement. If any one should know better it is the health industry! We positive people hear it all the time-as long as you take the proper percautions, you do not pose a risk to the public, etc…If that is truly the case, why are we hearing about stuff like your story? Not only that, I thought this type of discrimination was past us now, all these strides in our "aids community" from the early 80's. Goes to show it hasn't changed at all. People still see us as "wrong". I really hope the best for you and good luck with everything! Fight for what is right for yourself and don't give up! I'm cheering for you.
The discrimination you are facing hurts. Get a Lawyer, if you do, you will be helping myriads of others around the world facing a similar challenge but can never comtemplate services of an attorney since it is beyond them. The outcome of the suit will be known world wide. My whole support is with you, i wish i could do more.
It seems quite obvious that they terminated you after you had disclosed your HIV status. That being said; they very eloquently terminated you because of the recent write up and complaints and the "termination" was based on the "lack of performance. It's their way of firing you for being HIV positive without firing you for being HIV positive – and it's very hard to prove in court. You should look into suing them & they will probably just settle it out of court if your lawyer is good enough. Now for future employment – you should consider becoming a Nurse for an HIV clinic, health dept. or an infectious disease clinic. They will probably understand how you were railroaded by your last employer. – B