This is a tough subject for me, as this is a very tough situation. I’m gonna give you the complete picture as much as I can though, and of course include a TLDR at the end. But I’m thankful if you do read this whole thing.
My mom is the strongest person I know. She’s a retired Army medic, who saw the Army as her only way out of the poverty she grew up in. And honestly, she was right. She made it when a lot of her siblings didn’t… But, she was deployed into active combat and came out of it very fucked up. She’s very disillusioned and distrustful of the US government after, and that includes the general American dream associated with working. But she’s been broken by them too and so has an Army mindset of just sticking through it no matter what.
After the military she did coroner’s work. Then radiology. Then cardiology. Right now, her diverse knowledge of her field has only fucked her over more. The hospital she works at has her jumping around between the cath lab, stroke call, and rad tech positions because they’re so short on staff. She’s under a decade away from retirement and has worked at that hospital for over 20 years. And yet, they still treat her like shit. She’s a woman in her late 50’s staying up 24 hours regularly with only enough time to eat one meal most days.
I’ve begged her over and over to quit and move to another hospital. Her seniority could easily get her the same or better pay elsewhere, and she’s even had other hospitals offer to her. The problem is she just wants to stay where she is until retirement because she’s scared of change.
Something scary happened recently though. She got very sick after another round of COVID and her body had a serious immune reaction. She was sleeping there, at the hospital, alone on call, in a patient cot. It could have been deadly if things went even slightly differently. After, I finally got through to her and she put in to be moved hospitals. Best part is, she’d stay in the same hospital network so she wouldn’t have to change insurance or lose seniority.
Then next week rolls around. I’m out to dinner with her and ask how the move is going. She says she decided she just wants to stay and stick it out. I was horrified. This job is literally going to kill her and I can’t get her to see it.
What should I do? What would you do?
TLDR; My mom’s hospital mistreats her really bad, and after a workplace related serious sickness she finally agreed to move hospitals, only to later take it back and decide to stay. I’m worried she might actually die.