The Letter I Wrote That Got My Boss Fired
Tired of the Cruel Indifference of the Establishment? Do Something Different.
Most people never get the opportunity to get their boss fired. I’ll be honest, it feels pretty weird.
No, she didn’t do anything inappropriate and risqué with me, I’m sorry to say. That’d have been a lot more fun, while we’re being honest.
Sure, maybe it was just a coincidence…feel free to draw your own conclusions — I sent this little email out to everyone in my department on the Friday I quit, and the head of the hospital’s pathology department was incidentally “let go” that following Monday.
She actually said to me after the fact that she advocated “too much” for our wages to be improved, so upper management decided someone had to take the fall. Since they couldn’t fire someone who already quit, or take any legal action against me, since nothing I said in my email was inaccurate or libelous, they went with the top of the proverbial totem pole to send a message, or something like that.
Whoops! I actually liked her. That was certainly not my intent.
In Michigan, where I’ve lived most of my life, one is not required to be certified to become a phlebotomist. I never took an anatomy class, never studied pathology or hematology, never really planned on going into the medical field at all. Nonetheless, I found I had a knack for sticking people without them feeling much pain or discomfort, which made me feel accomplished every time I achieved a successful unnoticed venipuncture. I learned from on-the-job training starting at a plasma center in 2019, eventually switching to outpatient clinics for a Catholic hospital organization, so I was drawing blood the entire pandemic.
While I was a phlebotomist for a hospital, I took pride in the skills I utilized in my daily work. Now, I work in a call center for a bank.
While I still take some pride in my ability to take verbal abuse from disgruntled “customers” and explain financial nitty-gritty like mortgage escrow and interest charges to people old enough to be my grandparents, it hardly feels like I’m putting my talents and abilities to good use as I once did, or aspire to do.
I’ve redacted some names of people and businesses to avoid potential litigation and backlash, but here’s that email:
Good afternoon lab friends,
As those of you who know me personally have probably heard by now, today is my last day. I appreciate the kindness and encouragement I’ve received from many of you; this lab department is honestly probably the first group in which I’ve ever felt I belonged. I didn’t get to meet much of the inpatient side of the team, but I’m just as concerned with their wellbeing as I am for my outpatient colleagues. Phlebotomy has been an incredible learning and confidence-building experience, but it’s unfortunately become apparent that this field does not hold a financially sound future for me and my budding family. I don’t want to sound unappreciative or burn bridges here; I would love to return one day to performing phlebotomy. I take pride and pleasure in performing a painless venipuncture, and it’s been fulfilling work. I understand our management “totem pole” is more like a skyscraper, and even [department head]’s influence over our wages is limited. However, with that said, I want to encourage everyone to tenaciously advocate for themselves, and for fair wages for the whole department.
I started here uncertified, with a little under two years of experience, at $15.35 an hour. The recent pay bump brought me to $16.63, almost back up to what I was making when I quit [the plasma center]. The daily misery of [the plasma center] made that pay difference negligible, but this has been sort of a pendulum swing for me. Although this is undeniably a better work environment, I still find myself routinely stressing about never making it out of the financial hole of debt in which I was raised. I don’t want that for my daughter. I’m the primary breadwinner, and I need more than this field is willing to offer.
After hearing colleague after colleague tell me how much, or rather how little, getting certified increased their pay, I lost all interest in pursuing certification. Knowing how long my team leads have worked here diligently, and discovering I’m going to meet (or surpass) most of their wages by going to a godforsaken call center, I’ve lost all interest in trying to “climb the ladder”, either. I recognize that even at the highest levels of our department, hands remain tied when it comes to things that matter the most, which additionally discouraged me from attempting to create a career for myself here.
I didn’t start phlebotomy with strictly money in mind, but truthfully, it is the primary reason I’m leaving. I anticipated that something so indispensable to diagnostic medicine, especially with so many people utterly incapable of even attempting what we do, would have a steeper incline in wages as one’s skill and experience increases. I never had any expectations of “going pro” and becoming a millionaire off phlebotomy, but I did expect that home ownership would feel less like a pipe dream than working in retail or food service. I want to get married. I want my kids to go on the field trips my parents couldn’t afford to send me on. I’ve abandoned any hope of phlebotomy financially enabling me that way, and it truly breaks my heart. Healthcare workers need to stop being satiated by commercials hollowly touting us as “heroes” and petty condolences.
I urge you to look at the numbers and draw your own conclusions about the decisions being made about your collective financial wellbeing.
TL;DR: I care about y’all immensely, and I desperately wish this industry would treat you better. Look out for yourselves first. Your wages depend on your self-worth more than you might think. Never forget, the work you do is the backbone of diagnostic medicine. In my mom’s words, “a ministry cannot be a business, and a business cannot be a ministry”.
All the love,
Alex Wilson
Admittedly, the results of this email did not yield quite what I’d hoped at the time — no departmental wage increase, the people I’d hoped to inspire to pressure management followed my example in a sudden exodus from the lab department to be quickly replaced by hapless individuals who hadn’t seen the letter, and the first boss I’ve ever enjoyed working for suddenly found herself out of a job.
Hopefully, putting it out there more broadly will have a more positive overall ripple effect. It certainly wasn’t out of spite, and neither is this.
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