Must Leave Negative, Current Hospital: What do I do when Applying and Interviewing?

Nurses General Nursing

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tl;dr Graduate nurse, trying to leave current hospital, received very little training and now trying to leave- how do I approach this when applying and interviewing elsewhere?

This is my situation:

I am a new graduate nurse at a small hospital, working there six months. I was promised a 12 week new graduate program, rotating through the med-surg department, OB and the ED accompanied by a preceptor, working on evidence-based research and learning in a weekly class with the nursing director. In reality what I got was 12 weeks of handling my own patients with various random nurses, frequently the charge nurse, supposedly precepting me. Mainly they would take care of their own patients, manage everything thing and tell me to "come fin me if you need anything." There were no classes, a day or two in the ER and nothing in the OB department. I didn't see anything of the nursing director, the man who hired me, for a month and a half. He had led me to believe he would be working alongside of us new grads. I was put on nights and spent most of my time searching the web and trying to stay awake as we had a small, relatively healthy patient population. The work environment has also been a nightmare. The management does not listen to the nurses, the nursing director is constantly coming up with busy work to make it look as if he were doing something and mainly stays in his office watching youtube, and the staff hate him. I have tried very hard to make it work, but following a recent preventable death I observed, I decided it was time to run out of here as fast as I can. I do not feel this is a safe environment for patients or nurses to work in nor a healthy work place atmosphere.

What do I do now? I didn't have a reliable preceptor, my nursing director doesn't know me at all, I have one employee eval that he pretty much just went down the list checking things off- so I don't have any references from this hospital. I am afraid of explaining why I am leaving after so short a period to a potential new employer and I am worried about my lack of training nor do I qualify for a new graduate program at most hospitals following the six months I spent here. I just feel stuck! Any advice out there? Has this ever happened to anyone? Can your career survive it?

Apply for new grad programs. Let the prospective employer know that your current employer did not uphold his promises of classes and adequate orientation. I don't think any employer wants a prospective employee to misrepresent himself...meaning it turns out that experienced nurse isn't so experienced and we have to send them through classes and full orientation as if they were a new grad. We've gone through that a few times, but it doesn't make management happy.

So I have a question on this scenario. Do you put this hospital on your resume and risk your application being tossed because on paper they see someone who quit so soon and think, why would we hire this person, she might just job hop. OR, do you leave it off your resume but talk about it in the interview where you have a chance to explain yourself. I ask because I'm in a similar situation and am concerned about putting the job on my resume for fear they will just toss it with no chance of an interview. Any opinions?

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