a little history - part 2

Ok this is a long one - but the real nitty gritty here - so grab a coke and have a seat - Fast forward to May of 08 we have a contract in place which includes vacation/sick days per year, continuing education, holidays, etc....Now nowhere is it mentioned in the contract about accruing vacation days only x amount per year...I even have my prescriptive authority he wanted me to get...I decide in May to have PRK (vision correction) surgery done - I was told I would need to be off just a few days for this so I schedule myself off on a Thursday (since I already had Friday's off) and figure with the weekend to recuperate I will be back at work on Monday. No, not that simple - I have complications from hell and can't see stuff right in front of my face must less read a chart or do an ultrasound so I have to call in and take an extra week (which I of course had a doctors excuse for from the surgeon) I go back just expecting to be fired again - because I mean hell, if he fired me for taking too long after a funeral who knows- but he was as nice as he could be and didn't give me any problems....Since I didn't take anymore time off during the summer I have like 10 vacation days left until...


August 08 - trip planned to Michigan to watch my kids compete in the Jr. Olympics (plane tickets purchased) I decided to take an extra day off and talked to the receptionists about it since they handled the scheduling and would need to know in advance to book light...before I can talk to the doc about it one of the receptionists apparently mentions it to him...So he comes to me and says - I think you have already taken too much time off this year and now you want an extra day - I have decided I want to terminate our contract and just go back to paying you a daily rate....I said so "Basically you just don't want me to have vacation or any benefits" - he says Yes, right...I said well, I don't know...He says well, this is what I have decided to do (basically like it or lump it - end of discussion).....so I go on vacation and decide not to let it run my vacation and not worry about it....

I get back - busy day in the office - he is late (as usual) charts are stacked up, waiting room is full....He calls me in his office and says Well, I don't think - No, I know - I am not going to need you anymore at the end of the 30 days.....I am in shock - I can't say anything but Ok? because I am not one to beg..Then the SOB has the nerve to say -and, I have an appointment this morning so I will need you to see the rest of the morning patients....(WTF - You are kidding right?, where the hell is candid camera hiding? - you just fired me and you want me to do you a favor?!?) He leaves and I loose it....I shut my office door, call my husband and the bawling begins....He says well, what do you want to do? I said I want to get my shit and walk out. He said well, fired is fired so if that is what you want to do - do it.....So, after I wipe all the snot from my nose, try to quit crying and clean up all the mascara I go out front and tell the receptionists "I am sick - and I am going home" they look at me like I was speaking a foreign language - so I repeat it with "you will have to reschedule all these patients"....I pack my shit and go home....


Fast forward 2 hours and doc calls me on my cell and says "Why did you leave the office?" I say - well, I am sick (since I feel like I have been drop-kicked in the stomach) he replies - well you weren't sick this morning....I said No, I wasn't until you fired me, but I could not go in and see patients crying, and feeling like I was going to puke....I honestly am in shock and pretty upset" He said well, I don't know why you are surprised I mean you were always late, and you just don't seem motivated, and you just took an extra day off and didn't even ask my permission - and you have taken all this time off you haven't accrued.....I said - You are right, I am late (anyone who knows me knows I am late for everything -)but since I am salaried I also frequently work into my lunch, and stay late seeing patients so I feel like that evens out - I have always been very productive (to which he says Yes, you have) patients like me (some of which would in fact rather have seen me - so HA) and we talked about that extra day - you knew about it...and my contract does not say anything about accruing vacation time...He says yes, but you didn't ASK for the extra day off....He asks if I am coming back at all and I say I don't know....


After consulting with an attorney I am advised if I don't go back I am essentially breaking our contract by not fulfilling my 30 days notice, and that may hurt me when people ask for a reference (like I want someone who fired me providing a reference?)plus that is at least a couple more weeks I would get paid for so I decide to use the rest (5 days) of my vacation/sick time and call in sick the next 5 days - I mean it wasn't like he was gonna pay me for them, and it took me 5 days to calm down and decide I could go back without bursting into tears (which I REALLY didn't want to do) I go back and he is as nice as can be - even says "thank you for coming back" so I delude myself into thinking maybe this will end up like last time and at the end of the 30 days he will decide to do the part-time thing or whatever again...At the end of the 30 days - dumb SOB doesn't even realize it (He is the one that gave me the notice and he can't look at a calendar and count out 30 days?) he asks me to work a few more days so I do (this I found out later was only because the new nurse practitioner couldn't start then) Somewhere in the last week I find out he had hired someone - none other than my "friend" - the same "friend" who came to our office as a student, who I had worked with at the hospital when I was an RN, the one I provided a reference for when she was job-hunting...the one who called me when he offered her a job before....She is now known as TBSJSB (the back-stabbing job stealing b**ch) - I know some people may not agree with this because if I was fired it wasn't my job anymore - but, he probably would have kept me on and done the part-time thing again etc - if it wasn't for her - plus it's my blog - if you don't like it too bad..


TBSJSB was not a "good friend" we didn't have lunch, or talk on the phone regularly, but I did consider her a friend - and in my opinion if she had any decency she should have called me and let me know what was going on (not that she needed my permission to take the job - but remember she did call me the last time) so I would have appreciated it if she had the balls to say - Look, he called and offered me this job, and I wanted you to know I am considering it - It is a good offer - or whatever....but instead she avoids me and does not make eye contact if she sees me now - Which is a very good thing for her because I do at time have anger management issues and have a whole speech ready in my head I plan on screaming at her if she dares speak to me (which she should not do in a public place because I am sure it will be quite embarrassing for both of us) so that leads us to the present....Part 3 tomorrow....