Fired, concerned, worried, job issues, need information, and salary info!! help!

hopefornursing · Aug 2, 2008

Why did you get fired? That would go a long way into answering a prospective question from a prospective employer.

Good luck. :up:

Music in My Heart · Aug 2, 2008

Also, can anyone advise me what direction to go in? I'm a male nurse...I'm leaning to go into Psych nursing

I think psych is awesome but jobs are tough to come by, at least in these parts. Also, as things get tighter in the overall economy and government financing, psych is an easy and regular target of budget cuts.

Since I got fired from my first nursing job, should I expect a pay decrease?

It really depends on where you get hired. A lot of places have set salary ranges based on your level so you might be OK if you hire on with one of those. If you're having to negotiate your salary then you might have some trouble.

Also, changing fields is likely to cost you because you may drop a level (say, Staff Nurse II to Staff Nurse I).

I won't have any experience except what I did for the past 2.5 years either.

What did you do? Med-surg or something more specialize?

I'm going to need references too. I have several work email addresses from my coworkers, would it be out of bounds to email them at work to ask if I can use them as a reference?

It's a reasonable request but you should know that a lot of companies have policies prohibiting references by employees because of the potential for liability. It doesn't hurt to ask -- tactfully and respectfully -- though.

How do I handle addressing from interviewers why I got fired from my first nursing job?

Well, why did you get fired?

Should I be worried about my nursing license?

Did you do something criminal or negligent or unethical? If so, then perhaps. If it was a personality conflict with a boss or disrespect or being lazy then probably not. It just depends on what you did and on your state's BON.

If you get fired from a hospital, do they report it to the board of nursing?

Probably not if you didn't do something "reportable."

My wife said "I thought you had to kill someone with negligence to get fired"

Oh goodness, I hope the bar is never set that high. There are lots of good reasons to terminate an employee short of them killing someone.

Trust me, no harm was done to the patient!

OK, consider yourself trusted.

I wasn't even on probation when they fired me.

Well if you were on probation then they would not have needed cause. Since you weren't on probation it suggests you were terminated for cause (though in an at-will situation they do not need cause for termination).

As the previous poster said, you'll probably get better answers if you provide some details.

cutehumor · Aug 2, 2008

At shift change, blood transfusion was ordered. I hung the first unit. however, I didn't realize I left the iv fluids going until a few minutes later, which I came back and turned them off. None of the blood didn't even reach her yet, it was Normal Saline that was primed. Plus they were connectted. I just shut the iv pump fluids off and didn't disconnect. Nobody on this forum won't talk to me now

CHATSDALE · Aug 2, 2008

if asked during a interview then explain exactly what happen and what you learned from, trying to play it down can make the employer believe that you did not really realize the seriousness of the situation

nures pay varies some within a community but usually not a whole lot because nurses can and do change jobs and a facility that is not known for competitive wages will not get the nurses that they want and need, if you find a job that you think will suit you and the pay is a bit lower find out how soom you can realistically expect an adjustment

if you are in a government job they sometimes have a requirement of length of service in a certain pay grade before advancement

many people get fired or are asked to resign don't let this one thing get under your skin..learn and move on

tk3100 · Aug 2, 2008

Not sure why you were terminated for this. It was a matter of routine to have several things connected to pump/tubing when I worked in ICU. As long as you weren't running something concurrently in the tubing with the blood except NS...... what is the issue? :confused:

Crocuta, RN · Aug 2, 2008

At shift change, blood transfusion was ordered. I hung the first unit. however, I didn't realize I left the iv fluids going until a few minutes later, which I came back and turned them off. None of the blood didn't even reach her yet, it was Normal Saline that was primed. Plus they were connectted. I just shut the iv pump fluids off and didn't disconnect.

I guess I don't understand the issue. Did you correct the tubing problem and begin the transfusion? There's obviously more to this.

Nobody on this forum won't talk to me now

Huh?

GingerSue · Aug 2, 2008

if you're not sure which direction to pursue - maybe consider working for an agency? That way you can try various areas before deciding which one is for you. Or, if you are mainly interested in psychiatry, then start applying.

loricatus · Aug 2, 2008

I agree with the other posters who remarked on it being OK to run NS with blood and that there must be more to this than just having some NS running with the blood.

What exactly did they put in writing as the reason for termination?

Were you first given verbal or written warnings for anything prior to the termination?

What was your response to the questioning, right after the occurance?

What were your prior performace evaluations over the past 2.5 years there?

There are so many factors involved in giving you advise, we just need more information to be able to help you.

From what you have wrritten, it appears that you are giving up on a specialty just because of one occurance, which really wasn't even an incident because NS is the only approved solution that can be run in the same line as blood products (unless, of course, it is an emergency situation). If this is truly the case, then you have to look at yourself as to why you feel the way you do about not doing all those specialties you listed. What is the real problem?

Truthfully, psych nursing is very difficult and you have to have a good command of self knowledge and emotional health to get by. Just because you have a parent that suffers from schizophrenia, it does not neccessarily mean that you can handle psych patients on a professional level. I, also, have a relative (younger sister) who has suffered from schizophrenia since 4 years old (dx as childhood schizophrenia). I have come to realize that I would be ineffective with patients like her because of my emotional overlays. It is very hard to separate personal from professional when it comes to dealing with mentally ill patients, in and of itself. Add having underlying experience in your personal life with the mentally ill & you may find yourself in some unconcious emotional conflicts.

Truthfully, I think you have to come to terms with the real reason you were terminated in order to make changes that will make you successful in your next job. We are all human and make mistakes. Mistakes are really an opportunity for growth and change.

cutehumor · Aug 2, 2008

It's been a week since the incident, I was told by management the patient is fine. I turned off the d5 probably 2-3 minutes within starting IV pump transfusion. When I checked the line, the normal saline was still running! Blood didn't even reach the patient's IV yet. I didn't correct the tubing situation, I failed to see it as I was overwhelmed(shift change, MD breathing down my neck in the room). Did I mention the family had a diary and wrote everything I said down and vitals, meds given, who were the nurses, etc for 3 days!?? I really don't want to think about it anymore because it's depressing. My wife is entering her last semester of nursing school this month, it's leaving a sour taste in her mouth about it. I felt railroaded. no one hasn't commented about my license situation? do I need to worry? I haven't slept more than 5 hours a day the past week and I have lost 3 pounds! Job options?? should I be upfront in Job interviews about this? There is more to this story, but please ask via PM. thanks

Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN · Aug 2, 2008

I'm confused. How did you have anything else attached to the blood tubing? From what you wrote, it sounds like you were infusing blood via IV pump through a peripheral IV line, right? And you did not disconnect the D5 that was infusing into the peripheral line, even though you shut off the pump from the D5, right? So are you saying that you got fired for piggybacking blood through the original IV tubing that was used for meds and fluids?

Wasn't there another RN present when you hung the blood? If there are two signatures on the blood slip, then you are both responsible for proper procedure.

Blee

cutehumor · Aug 2, 2008

"I'm confused. How did you have anything else attached to the blood tubing? From what you wrote, it sounds like you were infusing blood via IV pump through a peripheral IV line, right? And you did not disconnect the D5 that was infusing into the peripheral line, even though you shut off the pump from the D5, right? So are you saying that you got fired for piggybacking blood through the original IV tubing that was used for meds and fluids?

Wasn't there another RN present when you hung the blood? If there are two signatures on the blood slip, then you are both responsible for proper procedure.

Blee"

Well the IV fluids were going in, I attached the blood tubing to it. the IV pump had two channels on it. one for IV fluids and the other for blood. I turned off the channel with the IV fluids. There was a 19 year RN, charge nurse who signed and looked at the ID band with me, but she bolted before I hooked it up. I picked the most experienced person there to help me so I wouldn't mess up anything. I think it was the third time I had to hang blood in my 2.5 years there. I'm glad you brought that up, I was going to ask her for a reference since I got terminated. But she probably won't do it, since I probably caused her not to get a xmas bonus if she got wrote up for it.