I have been a nurse practitioner for 10 years. I was asked to come to a meeting where I was informed I was either going to be fired or could either resign a job I was good at. My offense was speaking out against incompetence with the current management. I know silence is golden but I can only take so much fraud and complacency with it by a system. I will not mention the institution but every day I see them turning a blind eye to doctors bills no for services not performed or adding consultants that are not needed to feed the money cow. I can get a lawyer and go that route or take their severance package. I am an honest person. My word is a very serious thing to me. I am in such conflict in this. I have a family to support, and usual bills. If I fight and win it is only a matter of time before I get canned and then blackballed. What does the brain trust think. My anxiety is through the roof.

Jim

Why the heck would you fight to get that job back? Take the severance package and run. Then find a practice that makes you feel good to work at. Especially if the package is big enough to get you through enough time to land a better gig.

Jim,

Take the severance and find a better employer. Life's too short to be stuck working for assholes, particularly dishonest ones. I don't take a job I'm not willing to walk away from, and I have.

The temptation will be strong to put your feelings in a resignation letter. It's best not to.

You might talk to an attorney privately about a whistleblower claim.

Severance and bail out. You’re not responsible for all that crap. You did what you could.

Ugh. Sorry for your situation. I've been laid-off 3 times, once when I was young so no big deal, but twice in a row in my 40s = big deal.

Many factors to consider, including whether fighting it, successfully or not, will adversely impact your getting a new job (short- and long-term). If you were unhappy, and it sounds like you were, moving on is probably the best thing...and taking care of your family. Fighting the good fight might be worth it, but you have to consider pros vs. cons.

Best of luck regardless.

Agree take the severance and go find another employer and move on with your life,

the job market is tight now meaning employers are paying more for good employees, get a new job, start fresh and forget about the problem people...

People will snap you up. I'm on my second month being in Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Nice place, consider moving here!

Ensure that the place you are being asked to leave has a neutral reference policy. (verifying employment only...no comments, good or bad).

If they do not, be sure you know what will be said if someone calls to get a reference on your work there. You need to be prepared to answer the, "why did you leave the last job question", and your current OP is not something you can go with....you'll be labeled a risk-hire and the hiring manager will go with the safe choice.

Jim,

I’m a recruiter (not in this field). Take a deep breath, what is happening is a big blow and even worse is that it is unjustified. Here’s my advice:

1. Take the severance, don’t say anything negative moving forward. Be a model employee for the last couple weeks.

2. Look for a new job, and don’t badmouth the old employer. Think about possible reasons for a change (new challenge, kids grown up, closer to family etc), and use that excuse when discussing with recruiters and interviewers.

Good luck! After 1 and 2, you can meet with an attorney discreetly, but the important thing is to take care of you and your income stream.

Who sang "Go on! Take the money and run!?"

Look for a better employer. Take the severance. If you fight it, it will make life more difficult in finding a new job in the meantime.

And after you've calmed down a few days, objectively look at the issues that came up or the fraud you detected. If it helps, record them in column and grade them on severity. In the end, were you making mountains out of mole hills? Also, did you do things that may have been considered out of bounds or against policy? My experience has been, even for really good employees like you, there's a little give and take to make a good work environment. Outright fraud and deceit would be difficult to stomach though.

In this good economy, move up in employer. Ain't nobody got time for that crap.

Find a better job elsewhere and take the severance package. A CNP that doesn't have a firing on their record should get snapped up easily.

Would probably feel good sticking it to those miserable turds.

But this doesn't seem like a hill worth dying on.

Swallow the anger, take the severance and go be happy.

May take some time and effort, but this seems like a faster path to happiness than battling those shits for who knows how long.

Come to Georgia.

Another thing to think about is what you’re describing is likely insurance fraud, and if Medicare and Medicaid are involved it is likely a federal crime....

There are likely whistleblower protections out there if you would want to explore that route

Does the severance package contain a silence clause?

Because, if it was me, I would probably take th severance and then report what I had seen...



(No one gets away with that stuff forever. I’m a lawyer that owns a medical practice and worked once upon a time as part of a private profiling team that consulted for law enforcement. It’s been an interesting life. Anyway, when it goes south, they will look at former employees to be witnesses. If what you’re seeing really is rampant fraud it’s just something to consider)

You are lucky this is happening. You would be miserable working there in the long run. You will find a much better place to work and will be happier.

Then I would consider making a complaint about their business practices. Also, gather evidence to use against them. Not to sue for your job, but to help authorities go after the corruption. I would not make copies of anything, but perhaps memorize some of the patient names and dates of false billing. You cannot break patient confidentiality, but a few notes to help you remember when, where, and how the management is stealing from the insurance companies.

Take the money, write down as much as you can remember just in case such details may one day be of value, and move on.

I was once fired for just such an offense. No severance.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevbo:
Another thing to think about is what you’re describing is likely insurance fraud, and if Medicare and Medicaid are involved it is likely a federal crime....

There are likely whistleblower protections out there if you would want to explore that route

Does the severance package contain a silence clause?

Because, if it was me, I would probably take th severance and then report what I had seen...



(No one gets away with that stuff forever. I’m a lawyer that owns a medical practice and worked once upon a time as part of a private profiling team that consulted for law enforcement. It’s been an interesting life. Anyway, when it goes south, they will look at former employees to be witnesses. If what you’re seeing really is rampant fraud it’s just something to consider)

Can a silence clause be enforced if what he reports was fraudulent? I’m curious, and pretty naive about legal issues- like OP, I just believe what’s right is right, and that the telling the truth shouldn’t be punished.

I agree, move on and don’t badmouth your current to your future employer. It just leaves a bad taste. As others said, once you’ve stabilized your position, take a closer look at the infractions you witnessed and determine if they are reportable. At that point, I’d follow my conscience.

I'm an HR Director. Take the severance and move on. In today's job market it isn't worth fighting to keep a shitty job.

Do the best job you can on the way out and don't speak ill of them to future employers. You won't get hired if you speak negatively about past employers.

You'll get snatched up in today's job market. Use this as a way to move forward to something better.

Whistleblowers don’t do well in the real world. Take the package and your good reputation and move on.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Do not burn bridges. Time tempers memories (theirs, not yours) and there may be a time they will need to remember you. “Friendly” parting is the memory they should have.