Frustrated and still angry!

[kwagner_51]

Hi! I sure hope you can help me.

I am 45 y/o and a new RN. I passed boards in October.

Before I went to nursing school, I was a SAHM. I have another AS degree in automotive technology. [i can work on cars]. I also ran a paper route.

Anyway, I don't know what to put on my resume.

In July of last year, I was hired as a nurse extern/grad nurse. I wasn't taught anything related to nursing. I was taught to answer call lights, help get people up, pass meal trays and do vitals and accuchecks.

I earned my license on Oct 4, and was told when I went in to work 2 nights later that I would have my own team of patients!! My preceptor would have to co-sign my work and basically do all my work and her's too. I refused to take the team and my preceptor backed me up.

On the 10th of October I was fired! One of the reasons stated was my refusal to take a team of patients. I was not recommended to transfer to another unit, just fired outright. I went to the VP of Nursing and she reviewed my complaints and agreed with me that I had not been given any training but that I had failed in 'service excellence'. Therefore, she had no choice but to back the NM.

What I think happened was I didn't fit into the 'clique' I have a very strong work ethic and felt guilty for standing around not doing anything.

I found a job at a NH and was hired on the spot. I told the DON that I was brand new and needed lots of training. She agreed. I worked 12 hr shifts and had several different preceptors. One month to the day after hire, I was on my own! 6 1/2 days later I was terminated!

I think the resons were:

1.) I was hired to work nights and she had me working nights and days. I explained that I couldn't work days because I needed to take my children to school.

2.) State was coming in and they needed another RN on nights. They passed with 100% [1 1/2 weeks later my position was terminated.]

3.) After re-reading the termination paper, It was clear that I wasn't fired, my position was elimiated. They run ads in the local paper, but the shift I worked [7p-7a] is not listed!!

4) She said I had a full month of orientation. I actually had 12days!!

5.) I made some medical errors; Pain patch missed, but put on as soon as discovered [ charted, and reported to the on coming nurse.] I gave an Ambein to a patient at 5:30pm. [it was a prn and he asked for it]. I didn't give insulin to a diabetic who's BS was 65, but did give applesauce and orange juice and rechecked it.

6.) I made some charting errors. There is soooo much to chart about in a LTC!! I did chart on each the the errors, but forgot to circle the MAR for the BS.

On the bright side, the DON said I would have no problems getting another job and that 'I have a heart for nursing'. She sugested that I file for unemployment. I tried, but the quarters I worked are not counted.

How do I explain in an interview the reasons I was fired from the first job?

What do I put down to impress potiential employers?

I never worked in the medical field but did take an EMT basic class. I never got certified because we didn't have the money!

I just don't see what I can put down that will help me get the job I dream of: Working in ICU or on a cardiac floor.

I loved my patients and made them feel good. One pt at LTC told me that I treated him like a human being and not an inmate!! I got hugs from the patients at the first job. I even had a pt serenade me with his harmonica!!

I am angry because i don't know what I did at the first job that led to my termination and I don't know how to explain it!!

Please will you help me?

Will you show me how to get a job and how to keep it?

Right now, if I got hired, I would be afraid to open my mouth and be friendly because of my first job experience. I don't want to get stabbed in the back again. I just want to fulfill my dream of being the best nurse i can be and making a difference is people's lives!!

Thanks!!

In His grace,

Karen

Failure is NOT an option!!

[kwagner_51]

I don't know how to do block quotes so some of my answers are under elkpark's. I marked them with ***.

1) I don't know how much clearer we can all be (without getting ugly/mean, which no one wants to be to you) -- you were fired. No "position" is "eliminated" because of poor performance on the part of the last person to hold the position -- the facility is just trying to be somewhat polite and "tasteful" in the official termination documentation (no point in rubbing it in).

***I don't care that I was fired!! I know I was fired!! That isn't the problem!!

2) Nobody enjoys firing people, and everybody tries to be as nice as possible about it, and say whatever they can to "soften the blow." Frankly, I would not give as much weight to what the NH NM said to you in person (which quits mattering as soon as the sound of her voice dies out in the room) as to the negative things noted in the documentation related to your firing, which is part of your permanent record at that facility.

***To clarify, It was the DON of the NH who said I could come back and that she would give me a good reference!!

3) From what I can gather from your posts, it sounds like you quit the NH position without working a notice (did you do that at the hospital, too?) -- at many facilities, that automatically makes you ineligible for rehire, regardless of whatever nice things the nurse manager may have said to you in person. (Termination often makes you automatically ineligible for rehire, also, per facility policy, regardless of how your previous NM may feel about you personally.)

**I did NOT quit either one of my jobs!! I was fired from the NH in the middle of my shift!!

4) The "list of crimes" from the previous job may well be "lies," but that doesn't really matter -- it will always be your word against theirs, and few potential employers will be willling to take your word for it that the entire problem with that job was that mean people treated you unfairly.

***This is why I started the thread in the first place. I was trying to get help on how to explain WHY I was fired! I am trying to stay neutral but I am angry! NOT because I got fired but because I DO NOT KNOW WHY I was fired from the HOSPITAL!!

5) You will now be job-hunting with a few strikes against you. You need to be prepared to explain what happened with the previous jobs without sounding angry, bitter or paranoid ("they were just out to get me"). One of the worst things you can do in a job interview is to speak ill of a previous employer. Also, you need to be able to communicate that you recognize your part in the "poor fit" of the previous jobs, and be able to talk objectively and realistically about what strengths you would bring to another job, PLUS what weaknesses you have identified and what you are doing to improve those areas.

***Exactly! HOW do I get the anger out of my posture, my tone , and my expression? I am struggling to present the HOSPITAL in a good light!

6) The best advice I can think of, again, is to find the biggest hospital nearest you that is accustomed to dealing with new grads and has a strong formal orientation program (even if that means driving quite a distance), and throw yourself on their mercy. Take whatever job they are willing to offer you, regardless of what floor or what shift it is (since you cannot really afford to be picky right now), and settle in and start working hard toward developing some solid skills and experience. A "basic" med-surg unit, as someone else suggested, would be ideal. You are not in a position, at this point, to hold out for a specialty area or any special requests about shifts, etc. After being fired promptly from your first two jobs, most employers will feel that they're doing you a big favor and taking a big chance by offering you a job.

***I have a phone interview at 4 PM with Nurse Search Unlimited who has a job opening in Scottsdale AZ for a GRADUATE nurse!! From what I have read, it is a 12 week course geared to new nurses!

7) I don't mean any of this to sound mean. You can still turn this around, but you will need to lose the "rose-colored glasses" and start thinking v. realistically and from the potential employer's point of view. For now, do what you need to do to get and keep a job. After that, you can start thinking about working toward your "dream" ICU or cardiac job. Best wishes! :)

I am not picky. I have interviewed in the last 6 weeks for jobs in HH, and Neuro, Med/Surg, Renal/diabetic, and a float position! I think I am losing the jobs because I don't know how to present my screwups in the previous jobs.

You are not mean!! I just didn't explain myself very well. Please understand, I haven't been in the work force for a very long time. Most of my jobs were min wage.

I am also going to an employment counselor at the employment office. I have the potential to be hired as a Head Start Nurse in my area.

Thanks for your advice!! Now how do I figure out where I messed up? Most of the crimes were personal=I didn't fit into the 'clique'.

Thanks!!

________________________________________

In His Grace,

Karen

Failure is NOT an option!!

[BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN]

I think I am losing the jobs because I don't know how to present my screwups in the previous jobs.

You mean w/ your resume?? I can understand that (if you sent thaem out with yor reasons for leaving as you stated).

I am also going to an employment counselor at the employment office. I have the potential to be hired as a Head Start Nurse in my area.

Not sure what that is, but it sounds like a good idea.

Now how do I figure out where I messed up? Most of the crimes were personal=I didn't fit into the 'clique'.

You are most probably right, but that is very hard to prove. It is a reality of nursing, sadly.

Do you get nursing spectrum in your area? Theres an advice column. i actually wrote in a question online and they answered it for me. There are also old questions and answers that may help you. I'm sure this subject has been posed there.

Hang in there. It will get better. You, unfirtunately got slapped with this at the very beginning of your career.

________________________________________

In His Grace,

Karen

Failure is NOT an option!!

[fergus51]

Did you ask why you were fired from the hospital? It sounds like the NH gave you an explanation (med and charting errors), so maybe your nurse manager at the hospital could shed some light on this for you.

[augigi, CNS]

This post may sound harsh, and I do not mean it to, so I apologize in advance if it does.

It doesn't matter why you got fired in terms of a new job, it only matters so that you know what you need to do to improve so you get to keep the next job. Judging by what you said about your mistakes, I would as your employer have had to counsel you, and have you supervised closely by an experienced RN - but I think they were wrong to summarily dismiss you without attempting to correct the problem.

On the other hand, you do seem angry and defensive even in this thread, so perhaps they tried to approach you about errors and you were not receptive to the feedback.. I can't know.

Don't even think about cardiac/ICU stuff right now. What you (and every new grad) needs is (agree with a previous poster here) a basic medical/surgical ward. You need to learn the basics of teamwork, time management etc. Lots of times, "nursing" DOES mean getting people up and about, showering, wiping bums. It is hard for grads to see, but this is basic patient contact which is needed to build a career.

I can only advise exactly what all the others said - unless the NH gives you IN WRITING an itemized list of errors, it will be "he said she said". Just move on, accept that it was a mess. Do not comment on your resume about reasons for leaving (nobody does or should). Do not be evasive in interviews for a new position, just do as suggested and say that you felt inadequately supported, or needed a more structured orientation and preceptorship program.

Best of luck.

(and good luck with ICU.. ever since the day I walked in, I loved it too :) )