Back to square one?

[clamchopz, ASN]

Hello everyone,

I'm hoping to seek some advice.  I graduated with my ADN in Dec 2015.  I have a Bachelor in Science degree in another field.  Shortly after graduating from nursing school, I got married.  4 months after my wedding, my father suddenly passed away.  I feel into a deep depression, and I had issues with my grieving mother, etc.  We were finding ways to cope with our loss and had different point of views.  Shortly afterwards, I had suffered two miscarriages.  So, it took me a while to "screw my head on" correctly and pass NCLEX in May 2019.  I took time to grieve my losses by going to counseling and took a wonderful NCLEX review course that set me on the correct path.  All the while, I continued to work for a magnet hospital as their phlebotomist.  I was there for 10 years.  They passed me on twice in their New Grad program.  I continued to work per diem as a phlebotomist and took up an RN position in a "sketchy" LTACH.  On my third try for the magnet hospital's New Grad program, I was hired into one of their specialty units.  I was so thrilled to be able to stay at my hospital.  I quit the LTACH after 2 months from being there and began what I thought was going to be my dream job.  Unfortunately, my dream job turned out to be not-so-great.  I was bullied by my preceptor and did not receive much support the rest of the staff.  I tried my best to do what I could, but it seemed like whatever I did, it wasn't good enough.  My feedback was always "negative."  I never heard anything positive and I asked my Clinical Educator, "Was there even anything I'm doing correctly?"  She couldn't answer me.  I have told my Clinical Educator that I was feeling anxiety from my preceptor and struggling with night shift.  She told me, "This was the position you signed up for, so you should deal with it."  My preceptor made me doubt myself as a nurse and she went as far as asking what my NCLEX score was. When I told her how well I did, she was shocked.  Towards the end of my probation, my Director told me we were going to have a meeting with HR.  I have worked at this hospital long enough to know that you never go see your boss in HR without a Union Rep.  So, I did.  The union tried their best to save my job, but ultimately, I was let go for not passing probation.  I was crushed and it took me a while to recuperate from that.  

Two months after I was let go, I was hired as a New Grad Nurse into a smaller, less known hospital for their Emergency Room.  I never thought of myself as an ED Nurse, but I was willing to take anything.  I was hired into a Day shift position!  Almost unheard of for a New Grad!  My coworkers embraced me into the family and I had wonderful preceptors who were patient and nurturing.  I flourished in my department and learned a lot, especially throughout this pandemic.  This was not the perfect hospital, of course we lacked a lot of resources and had to improvise.  But we made it work. I was enjoying nursing again and I thought I found my place....I have been working on my own for about 3 months now.

A few days ago at our monthly staff meeting, the director of our department spent an hour and a half telling what we need to do to improve our department, how we need to keep up with our certifications, sepsis protocols, etc.  She then stated that our CEO was going to join the meeting in a little bit.  The CEO almost never comes to join the meeting.  When he came, he dropped the bomb stating they are going to convert our Emergency Room into a 24-hour Urgent Care.  They are closing our L&D dept and Cath lab.  Everyone was in so much shock that it took a while to process this information.  We met with our Union rep yesterday, and apparently the company that owns our hospital system is re-vamping all of our hospitals.  They are also converting other our sister hospital's ED into a 24 hour Urgent Care.  Our hospital will convert into a Psych/Jail hospital.  Each sister hospital will convert into a specialty hospital - one hospital will specialize in L&D, another will be a surgical hospital, another will be Cardiac ICU/Trauma, etc. They are not offering any transfers.  They have already started laying off a bunch of people.  

The union is negotiating a new contract and talking about a strike.  How can we negotiate when we're not even sure if there's a job for us? Once the transitions are complete, will there still be a Union?  

I am 3 classes away from finishing my BSN....  I have 6 months of Emergency Room experience (during this pandemic), 2 months of experience from the LTACH, and 3 months of experience from the other specialty.  At this point, I don't know if my position is "safe."  No one knows who will go and who will be able to stay.  My gut tells me to start putting out my resume out there.  Do I still qualify as a New Grad?  Am I still hire-able?  I have posted my story about being fired from that specialty unit in the past, and received great feedback. I deeply appreciated all of your positive encouragement.  Thanks again for reading my post and letting me rant my frustrations.  Please pray for me and my other colleagues! 

[caliotter3]

Go with your gut. Put your resume out there in earnest and hope for the best. Take what you can get depending upon what responses you get from prospective employers. One of my local hospitals engaged in massive layoffs one time only to hire new grads about four months later. Who cares what this new company puts out in their press releases? Take care of your own livelihood, even if it means going to the least desirable job in the area. Good luck.