Disclose getting laid-off due to hospital finances on future job apps?

[BlankedyBlank]

Hello. I recently graduated from nursing school, in Puerto Rico, with a BSN. I had applied for jobs on the island and I got hired to start at a major hospital the day after my graduation. Unfortunately, I was let-go on my fifth day of work, along with many other new nurses. I was told by the administration that this was due to the "economic situation" of the hospital. Apparently, the upper administration never told the people who did the hiring to stop hiring, so Human Resources had no idea that the hospital had a financial crisis. In reality, the entire island of Puerto Rico is experiencing a huge financial meltdown, as I am sure that you have seen on the TV.

I want to apply for jobs in the US but since I am fresh out of school, and already have a history of being let go on my fifth day of work, I am worried. The official policy of the hospital is not to disclose any information about their employees to anyone that calls, so if a HR employee from some US based hospital calls to see what happened, they will learn nothing, which in itself will raise red flags. I did succeed in getting a letter written by the director of HR, stating why I was terminated: "...... was terminated for economic and reorganization of the Hospital. He was on probation period but the reason for the termination is not related to the performance of Mr. Blank".

Furthermore, on the letter, the director disclosed his personal extension (seemingly so that he *could* explain what had happened to me), but it is definitely not certain what will actually occur if a hospital calls up looking for clarification.

I am wondering what to do on my upcoming job applications. Do I disclose my brief gig with the hospital, or do I try to hide it? I'm worried that it could come up in a background investigation, since I had wrote about the job on my Facebook and LinkedIn (I've since deleted it), and furthermore I filled out some federal tax forms upon beginning my employment at the hospital.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

[dianah, ASN]

So very unfortunate for you and for Puerto Rico's medical system in general!

Pros:

* You WERE hired, that is a feather in your cap; you were deemed worthy of hiring.

* The financial circumstances that occurred and which led to your dismissal were not related to your performance.

Cons:

* You have no years, or even months, of nursing experience at the facility

* You cannot know (as you stated above) what the hospital personnel will tell a prospective employer if s/he calls the extension you were provided.

Wow, I really don't know what to advise you to do in this case. My gut leans to honesty (for the "I was worthy of hiring" points)....

I am anxious to see how others may weigh in on this.

[BlankedyBlank]

Thank you for your reply, Dianah!

[BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN]

It's not like you were terminatated because of something you did. I think you are over-thinking this. Especially to the point that you are trying to cover up the fact that the position even existed by deleting all references from social media? That behavior sounds odd to me actually.

[BlankedyBlank]

Hi BuckyBadger,

Thank you for your input! You're right, I very well might be overthinking it! I guess this anxiety started when I spoke to a VA Nurse Recruiter in Puerto Rico, because she told me that the fact that I *did* get laid off on my fifth day of my first nursing job, coupled with the possibility that the employer might not be able to get any official information regarding my termination, might raise a red flag. She asked me "How would I know that you didn't hurt a patient? Or curse someone out? Etc." So yes, I kind of took her message to heart and have been anxious since then.

Also, I understand how you could think that what I did with my social media was odd. But it wasn't, really. I got hired so I put on both websites that I was working there, and then when I got fired, well, I was no longer working there. So I deleted it. That's it, nothing freaky.