On mobile, sorry for formatting.
I’ve been working at this job for 4 years. It’s a job that only requires a high school diploma and most of my coworkers are college students (like myself). This job is in healthcare and involves working with people with disabilities.
I love this job. I think I’m quite good at it. I’ve always had very good performance evaluations, and my coworkers always enjoy working with me. My residents also enjoy having me. It’s one of the highest paying jobs in my area (it’s well above minimum wage) and the hours are perfect for a college student.
A couple years ago I got a new boss. Her and I have never had a very good vibe like I did with my other bosses. She clearly favored a couple other, less experienced employees than me but I was okay with that. A little miffed, sure! But I just shrugged my shoulders and carried on.
A couple weeks ago she requested to meet with me in her office after I worked with her that morning. Part of my job that morning required I shower a non-verbal resident before the other staff come in (so the shower is free) which I did. In her office, she essentially accused me of not showering this individual. She told me that she believed the shower chair was not wet enough to have actually showered the individual. I asked her if she saw the individual’s hair was clearly wet, their room was still wet, towels in the hamper, etc. She didn’t really respond to this and deflected to another thing.
She was upset I did not use a tool we are supposed to use for showers. Now this I admit, I did not. But also no one does. In fact I have seen my boss not shower individuals using this tool also. I now use this tool after this incident. I should’ve used it the whole time and I understand that. But I do feel it’s important to note that I’ve also seen my boss not use this tool and I know she’s seen others not use this tool and has never complained.
She then told me people had been complaining about me. This is what she deflected to after I asked her if she had seen all the evidence that I did shower this resident. I asked her what the complaints are about, because I feel confident with my work and if there is something I am missing I will do what I can to rectify the situation. She couldn’t give me an answer for this and just told me she’ll let me know.
She didn’t write me up, but she said that if she catches me doing “anything else” I’ll be put on probation. I’ve never been on probation in my life.
I also work with her daughter. This morning, I again showered this resident before staff come in as we’re instructed to do. Her daughter asked me about 40 minutes later if I showered the resident in an accusing tone. Since we were still at the home, I showed the daughter/my coworker all the evidence I showered this resident. I showed her the wet hair, wet towels, wet floor, and showed her that while the front of the shower chair had dried the back was still pretty damp. She seemed to back off after this.
I am in college to be a nurse. Getting fired from this job would possibly hurt my career because it is healthcare work. I really don’t want to leave because it’s a perfect college job and perfect for my major. I get along well with all the employees (even the boss’s daughter, usually!) and I love my residents dearly. As I said it’s the highest paying job in town for students and the hours don’t conflict with classes. Most of my coworkers love this boss so it’s very frustrating that she’s never seemed to like me.
At this moment I’m not ready to call it quits. If it becomes more hostile I may consider it but I’m not ready just yet. What can I do to protect myself should this escalate any further, though? I was not asked to sign anything at the first meeting so I’m not sure if it was documented, but I told a trusted coworker about it and I wrote my own statement about the whole thing the day it happened in my notes app. I haven’t told anyone about her daughter accusing me of the same thing yesterday, yet.
My next yearly evaluation is coming up too, and I’m concerned I’ll get poorly rated.