I'll make this as short and sweet as possible. I had really bad anxiety in nursing school, was diagnosed with panic attacks etc etc. Over the years I have grown a lot. Started working as a PCA and I went from shy bird to not so shy.
In school I was quiet, yes, but I still had friends and talked to them. I just was not the student who raised their hand up in class or was loud in clinical. I am very reserved and professional in professional settings and always get my work done.
I graduated this March. Failed nclex twice with 265 I honestly believe it was my anxiety combined with not doing enough practice nclex type questions. I finally passed this October my third time.
I began applying for jobs and reached out to a unit I really wanted to work on....I am a float PCA. Immediately got two interviews within days...was told I was going to get hired for my dream job but one more reference was needed from my clinical instructors or instructor.
They told me I had 3 days for my professor to submit the recommendation form so in desperate need to attain my dream job I emailed EVERYONE of my teachers...everyone ignored me or told me they were busy
Low and behold next day I get an email saying they decided to go with another candidate for the job....I apply to about 30 more jobs at my hospital and I was rejected to all automatically....I finally spoke to HR and the lady told me they wont be considering me for a RN position at all for a year until I get experience elsewhere BECAUSE A BAD RECOMMENDATION WAS GIVEN ABOUT ME BY A TEACHER WHO SHE COULDNT SAY WHO IT WAS....
Apparently this person expressed how much they were concerned about me being a "safe and competent" nurse. They also apparently said I would not take the initiative to care for my patients and I wouldnt be a good fit to be a nurse at this time....
SO APPARENTLY 4 YEARS AND 60K+ in debt instructors say this about me?
I also want to know how apparently I have a 3.3 GPA and never once failed out of clinical. Never once got a bad evaluation from a clinical instructor. Yet someone wants to say something bad about me NOW as a new grad and ruin my career and reputation? WHY? I cant express how much I hate nursing now...something I dreamed of doing since I was 7 years old. I cant express how depressed I am. How dumb I feel. How sad I am. How ashamed I feel. How embarrassed I am. I literally am not having the best thoughts right now. I want to just move out of this state and get away FAR AWAY.
I feel like I shouldnt have emailed everyone. I also shouldnt have stated that I got a position in the NICU (mostly NAS and GI problem babies NICU...no vents). I shouldnt have emailed out the forms as well. I feel like this person took advantage of me because the form had to be sent directly to HR so they knew I wouldnt see what they said or who sent it. Im deeply depressed. An entire hospital I was a PCA at for 3 years wont hire me. They said they take comments like that SERIOUS. They spoke with my current manager, looked at my transcripts, looked at me work evaluations and everything was good EXCEPT me failing nclex twice. The HR women said me failing twice with the bad comment was why they came up with that decision.
I am not loving life. Maybe I am not meant to be a nurse. Maybe I am not smart enough. I need somewhere to vent because I literally am about to lose my mind. The NICU was why I went into nursing. I remember going there as a child and I knew thats what I wanted to do...finally my dream was coming true and SOMEONE RUINED IT FOR ME. Help ): Where do I go from here. What do I do.........I worked at one of the best Peds hospitals...I wanted to stay in peds and now I am forced to go work else where..I have no choice...what if no one ever hires me?
Low and behold next day I get an email saying they decided to go with another candidate for the job....I apply to about 30 more jobs at my hospital and I was rejected to all automatically....I finally spoke to HR and the lady told me they wont be considering me for a RN position at all for a year until I get experience elsewhere BECAUSE A BAD RECOMMENDATION WAS GIVEN ABOUT ME BY A TEACHER WHO SHE COULDNT SAY WHO IT WAS....
Apparently this person expressed how much they were concerned about me being a "safe and competent" nurse. They also apparently said I would not take the initiative to care for my patients and I wouldnt be a good fit to be a nurse at this time....
I wonder what CCNE or ACEN would think about this.
OP - do you have a copy of your clinical evaluations? If so, perhaps you can bring them to HR and show them that the reference was in fact untrue to your knowledge. If you don't have copies, you should be able to get them from school. Always keep that type of documentation on file.
OP - do you have a copy of your clinical evaluations? If so, perhaps you can bring them to HR and show them that the reference was in fact untrue to your knowledge. If you don't have copies, you should be able to get them from school. Always keep that type of documentation on file.
This sounds like a good idea!!!
This is completely different then ur situation, but might help you feel better knowing that ppl do eff up and you might be able to correct them/show their lying in other ways (such as your clinical evals). Just recently when I had been offered a new job, the hospital needed to verify my previous employment. No big deal, right? WRONG. I got a call from Hr asking if i lied on my resume bc my previous hospital said i only worked there for ONE month! I was furious! I suffered on that floor for almost 2 years and they tried to tell me it was only a month!!!! They tried to rescind the offer. So i dug up my offer letter from the previous hospital and allll the pay stubs, my yearly evals, competencies etc and sent it to my new job HR. New job HR said oh, thank you, and then recommended that i follow up w previous HR (with legal
Counsel) bc they truly had provided false information. Sigh.
So this is very different from your experience, but as you can see, sometimes, things just suck. But, they will get better!!
I have a hard time believing anyone will care. If there's a conflict between a student and faculty the school will support the faculty (aka Diane in the office down the hall) rather than the student (aka who?) unless the conduct is egregious... and I'm not sure "bad job reference" counts. Faculty are allowed to have misgivings, even if you technically pass the class. That's why you pick your references carefully. Convincing a lawyer or a governing body there's more to it than that seems like a daunting task that's still not going to get OP that job.
My advice to OP is to take a moment, collect yourself, mourn the loss of the job you thought you had, and then move on. Find another hospital, have 3-5 references planned in advance (that you've spoken to, and who are given time to write a reference), and start over. Your life isn't ruined and your career isn't over because you missed this one job opportunity. You don't generally get to have vengeance on the people who've wronged you in the real world, you only get to learn from their betrayal and be a better and more wise person as a result.
Do you have any WORK references as opposed to school references? If where you work currently is the only place you have ever, then in light of them keeping you on as an aide, but not hiring you as a nurse, I would ask them to supply a reference for you (if you were a bad employee they wouldn't keep you on as an aide). Apply elsewhere, and use your current job as a reference. Say that current job didn't have any openings for you as a nurse, so you decided to look elsewhere. It's true and doesn't sound bad. Of course what happened to you is upsetting (!) but you can't force someone to hire you. And when you think about it, if after you have worked for them for THREE YEARS and they are willing to not advance your position, do you want to work for them? I would just move on...
Nursing is not about a paper and pencil and a test....being a good nurse comes from the heart and the rest comes after it.
I'm not sure that I can agree with this sentiment. Nursing takes a wide repertoire of skills- it is not either/or.
I'm sorry you got a bad job reference, but I don't think your life is ruined.
Understand that your assurances that you would never harm a patient mean very little. Do you think that people who actually harm patients get jobs by stating that they intend to harm patients?
The fact that your current employer is willing to keep you on as a PCA shows that they don't think you're a danger to patients. It's simply a matter of someone else being a better candidate for the RN job than you.
It's not unusual for people to not get hired into their dream job right out of nursing school. You might have to take a job in another setting that isn't necessarily your goal, but it will give you the experience you need to develop your skills and demonstrate your value as an employee, before you apply for that dream job in a few years once you've had an opportunity to develop yourself professionally enough to be a competitive candidate for the job.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I disagree with all respondents who have suggested that the OP contact an attorney for legal advice. After all, a litigious employee is basically an untouchable pariah in this competitive market. Employers will want no part of the OP once they catch wind that she's consulted with a lawyer.
The best course of action is to move on and seek employment opportunities that are not dependent upon good references. Nursing homes, hospices, home health companies, private duty, and other non-hospital positions will usually hire nurses without the need for references from former professors.
This worries me- your quote below about how it would affect YOU.. Your license... You do realize that maybe they were worried about the babies that could be harmed if you are not prepared to be a NICU nurse as a fresh grad????
Quote:::
"To the person who said maybe they aren't trying to ruin me and are looking out for me....why do they care? It's my license. Not theirs. At the end of the day I will lose my license if I am not competent."
Honestly I hope they are just gossipy old professors and you are an amazing nurse that overcame obstacles- because otherwise the school did you and the board of nursing a disservice by passing you. I would get a lawyer, just be sure you know what I mean above, at the end of the day it ISN'T just your license, it is someone's life - I hope you get it figured out
Sometimes its hard to explain what I mean over text. Sorry if it came off as saying its just a license and I wasn't considering someones life. I think an individuals life is a given...everyone knows thats important. I guess I was trying to get at the fact that this person went so much out of their way to ruin my reputation as a new grad when its my license NOT theirs.... Of course I don't know everything but I was going to get almost a years worth of training at my job and not only that I would have had to take special ICU exams...again like I said I wouldn't risk someones life. I made sure I didn't apply to a floor with babies on vents or in CRITICAL condition. The floor I was going to get hired on was the stable NICU with NAS babies, GI and feeding issues. Nothing I know I wouldnt be able to handle...Ive floated to the floor numerous times and worked with the nurses...they even suggested I apply for a job there.
When I made the statement about paper and pencil...I also meant that a test doesnt determine whether someone will be a good nurse. Someone can easily ace an exam but doesnt mean they will make a good nurse...they could just be a good test taker. Obviously nurses have to have the knowledge to practice...again thats a given. Sorry if I am offending anyone with my comments....its hard explaining myself through chat...my comment was towards the person who said I didnt get the job because I re took nclex......
OP, ask the school for a copy of your transcript. Get a copy of your clinical evaluations. Use said evaluations going forward.
In your clinicals, you must have had malpractice insurance. Ask them for advice, as it relates to the fact of your "performance" while at clinicals.
And I have to say that if this teacher had such reservations regarding your performance, WHY did you pass clinicals? That would be on the Dean of the school. And who the heck cares if you make "enemies" with the school? Most of your professors declined to give you any recommendations to begin with. You put in a LARGE amount of money into their school. But be sure to get your complete transcript first, including copies of those evaluations.
Be careful about being a PCA and an RN. Most systems will not allow that, as you are held to the standard of your license.
If, as a PCA you have a union, speak to a delegate. There are often legal avenues that can be gone down with no expense on your part. This is absolutely slanderous stuff. And makes the teacher look like an idiot for passing you if there were such issues.
Once you have all your ducks in a row, then look to another system all together. Use your clinical reviews as a "reference" as it will be all of the information you need, and they would need. Another thought is that you could use your academic advisor for a reference in the future. And if you had a good relationship with them, ask to see them now. Go over all of this with them, ask what avenues you should pursue so this doesn't happen again.
Please don't blame yourself about any of this. If you were honestly getting satisfactory reviews, your time discussing your clinical experiences gave you no indication that you were doing anything incorrectly (and any kind of remediation plan that you did not follow)
then you sincerely had no clue there was an issue.
But I can't say this enough. If a clinical instructor had huge issues regarding the safety and/or practice of a student nurse, then the student fails and needs to retake the clinical portion of their schooling. Student nurses have been dismissed for less. It is absolutely incorrect and where slander comes into play is that you passed and NOW there's all sorts of "reservations". Just not right.
I would just like to calm a little of this illegal/slander talk. Know what you are talking about before you open your mouth. Slander can only occur when a lie is told about the person in question. If the person giving the reference said that the OP faild a clinical eval and she didn't that is slander. If they said she failed the NCLEX that is not slander because it is true.
Now a professional reference is asking about the opinion of another professional regarding the prospective employee. Opinion is a defense, against slander, recognized in nearly every jurisdiction. If the allegedly defamatory assertion is an expression of opinion rather than a statement of fact, defamation claims usually cannot be brought because opinions are inherently not falsifiable
I can absolutely see how this happened. I am not an instrictor of nursing, however I do teach CPR. Over the years I have had a few students who manage to meet all AHA requirements, but I do not believe them capable of actually performing in an emergency. I cannot refuse to issue a card to these people, they have passed the requirements of certification. If asked I will provide documentation to that effect. If asked my opinion of their abilities, I would express my misgivings.
I guess I was trying to get at the fact that this person went so much out of their way to ruin my reputation as a new grad when its my license NOT theirs...The floor I was going to get hired on was the stable NICU with NAS babies, GI and feeding issues. Nothing I know I wouldnt be able to handle.
I think you're ascribing a much more vindictive attitude to this referee than is likely to actually be the case. There are some nursing instructors out there who get too personal and form vendettas (at least, if the frequent student threads to this effect are to be believed), but it doesn't sound like this was the case with you, if you had all generally positive evaluations. More likely is that the writer of the reference was satisfied that your performance in clinical fulfilled the requirements but had concerns about your safety as a nurse, especially in a setting like NICU, where your patients can't tell you when something's wrong and being their advocate is paramount. Instructors see many students, as well as the kind of nurses they develop into, and frankly this instructor's concerns may be justified in ways that you are unable to see from your perspective. At the student/new grad stage, you don't necessarily know what you don't know.
ixchel
4,547 Posts
I wonder what CCNE or ACEN would think about this.