New grad RN terminated from orientation after 3 weeks on tele unit

[BMB Girl]

Where do I go from here? My main problem was time management, although I had worked on the unit as a tech and never had any issues. My preceptor left after 1 week on FMLA. I got a new preceptor who told me that she doesn't like precepting. They may offer me a position within the system. I will find out later today.

[Misskala]

Sorry to hear of your horrible new job experience, OP. Mine was similar though not quite as abrupt. Netglow, please explain more about this "place-holder" phenomenon. Why is a place-holder necessary or beneficial? Why isn't it made clear that some won't make the cut, so be prepared? I had a suspicion, picked up from little clues before I was let go as a new grad orientee, that there was already a replacement waiting in the wings and ready to start. There was also a distinct lack of welcome when I started and lack of feeling accepted into the fold. I was pretty much ignored on a personal level except by my preceptor. (This does not happen to me in other areas of my life. I'm accustomed to friendly relations with colleagues and others in general.) It seemed like a big mystery of nursing at the time, which I attributed to staff being so busy, but suspected was sort of a "don't get too close, she might not be here long" type of thing. Maybe nurses can tell in a short time whether someone will "make it" or not. (?) Weird. (I was also not on the next month's schedule, though no one could/would say why.) I don't think I'm especially paranoid, but my perceptive/intuitive skills are intact. Thank you Allnurses for helping clue the clueless!

Yes, trust your instincts! I was terminated after 7 weeks from a clinic position. I had 1 yr med-surg prior to it, and I couldn't understand why this was happening. Turns out the nurse who had left and whose position I was filling, wanted to come back (or the company recruited her back.) They said I was not "a good fit." Took me 4 months to lick my wounds and stop analyzing myself as being bad, horrible, terrible nurse that no one wants. So not true. Termination had nothing to do with me, my skills, my background, my patient interactions, or personality, etc. I wish I had trusted my instincts more and approached HR when I felt like I was not being accepted into the fold and needed training, which was not being provided. It wasn't being provided because they didn't intend to keep me! Now I'm job searching!

[Flatlander]

Thanks for the reinforcement. Like you, I've gone through a period of self-doubt and loss of confidence in my abilities and worth as a nurse. After my third interview with no call back, I sort of gave up and have been trying to get motivated again. It's been tough. Each time I read a story that sounds like mine, it gives me a little more hope that someday I will succeed in this profession.

[fullofenergy]

I really appreciate all your comments because it like reading my story in parts of every one of them. I had a horrible experience as a new grad in a tele unit. I never felt accepted, I constantly changed preceptors and was criticized daily. When I interviewed, I felt a little unsure because they told me it was a fast-paced environment, but they sold me on the premise that if it didn't work out they would help me find other jobs within the medical center. They also told me to speak up and request a new preceptor if the one I had was not working out. I did and that was the first step that led to my downfall. The old preceptor was upset and insulted. The trainer also was angry with me. I said I wanted to transfer to another unit if possible that might be slower paced. They gave me a list of jobs to apply for, then I was told by HR that I was blocked if I didn't pass through probation. I told them I wanted to stay and make it work. They put me on an "education plan" saying I had to have the maximum number of patients (I was only on my 10th shift at this point), finish all documenation on time (they checked me daily) they didn't have computer charting so to chart on four patients by hand for me was almost painful (writer's cramp), by 10 am, etc. I was able to do all this, to their surprise. They switched me from a preceptor who actually liked me and wanted me to succeed and I did. So I was switched to a different preceptor who was not so kind and reported everything to the managers without letting me know what I needed to improve upon first. It went downhill from there.

I haven't been able to find a job for now almost a year now, but I worked part-time at a per diem job all throughout. Unfortunately, they will not give me more hours at this position because I am there to fill in voids. It's hard to trust or believe anything you hear on interviews, because when you get the job, it all seems to change. I wonder when I will have the chance to be treated fairly and become the nurse that I know I can be.