blackballed

Nonyvole, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2014

OP, like you, I had over a decade of EMS experience and was a paramedic. It helped me during school, yes, but I still had a lot to learn about nursing. In getting a job, it really helped me because I was able to point at my resume and say "I have been consistantly employed as a full-time employee since graduating from my first college." Also, I had an incredibly smaller learning curve when it came to working with patients than some of my classmates; after all, I'd worked with an amazingly large and varied patient population, had seen things that pictures really can't describe, and had a handful of the technical skills required. The one time that I tried the "I'm a paramedic, I know stuff" card I was very politely put in my place by my professor - because I really didn't know the topic from the nursing standpoint. And I deserved it.

However, just because I had that EMS experience it didn't mean that I was a perfect fit for an ER RN job. As a paramedic, what I said may have went in the pre-hospital environment, but the minute I stepped through the doors of a hospital and was working under the direction of the nurses and physicians, I was the low man on the totem pole. They are two completely different environments with two different job descriptions.

Also, I applied to something like 15 jobs before getting one interview. I think that in the end, I applied to closer to 30. The job that I did get? Came about because I had done a clinical rotation there in school and had asked the nurse manager about working there after I graduated and passed the NCLEX. You can refer to experiences that you had as a paramedic, but be careful about how you frame them. "I successfully saved this patient" comes across a lot more negative than "my partner and I were able to successfully defibrillate the patient and return her to a normal sinus rhythm before arriving at the hospital." The first one is self-centered, the second shows teamwork.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2014

I haven't read through the thread, so I'm ONLY going by your OP. You may or may not have been blackballed, but based on your OP I'm not reading anything that can be considered "hostile work environment..." failure to hire on its face does not equate with hostility.

Is it possible they're just not hiring new grads? My hospital employes >1200 RNs, and a few months ago my husband mentioned his boss's sister-in-law just graduated w/ her BSN, passed her NCLEX, and was having trouble finding a job. My husband was clear that "She's not hoping for the ICU or ER, she just really wants to work in a hospital." So I contacted one of our nursing recruiters and asked if I could e-mail her resume to them--even just for *future* consideration. Their response: "We currently do not have any openings for new grads, nor can we save a resume. Encourage her to keep checking our website. Generally the positions for new grads are on psych or mother-baby."

Have you tried actually talking to your manager to find out if anything is up? She/he has to know that you're now a GN or RN and are now looking for a nursing position. If your own unit doesn't have a position for you, it should come as no surprise to anyone that you are looking for jobs elsewhere.

duskyjewel · Aug 13, 2014

This seems to be another new grad who doesn't understand the concept of paying your dues. The job market absolutely sucks. Everyone looking is having a hell of a time finding a job right now, never mind being in a market that's totally oversaturated with too much labor competing for too few jobs. Being a new RN grad in May has got to be the worst job searching position ever these days.

You're probably not being blackballed. You probably just have to broaden your horizons and accept a job that's not your dream but can be a stepping stone on the path. Whether you hate it or not, and act that way, is largely a personal choice and a function of maturity. Either you can decide you hate it and show that (not good career strategy BTW) or you can decide up front to learn all you can and let it make you better. I know there are awful workplaces.....but I don't think they're the majority. I freely admit that may make me naive.

lub dub · Aug 13, 2014

@ RubyVee
I've run into this issue in a practice interview with my RN friends. So if I'm NOT allowed to state what skills and experience I have from the street and the ER, how exactly am I supposed to market myself. Apparently the fact that I know some things, doesn't really count since it wasn't as an RN. It doesn't matter that I start IVs, push drugs, read EKGs, run a code, intubate, triage patients, make life saving decisions....... because it wasn't as a RN.

Paramedics perform tasks. I'm not saying that these are unimportant tasks, but they are tasks. There is much more to being a nurse than simply performing tasks. That's the difference.

imintrouble, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2014

I don't have one single extra constructive thing to add.

Just some insight from somebody who's been there done that.

I never worked in an ER, but I did quit an organization I'd been with for about 6 years. All because I got mad, and felt unappreciated. The jobs I COULD find were awful.

When I eventually went back to that hospital and applied I was rehired.

But I lost the increased rate of vacation accrual, my place in seniority, the day shift I worked, and over 200 hrs of sick time I'd built up.

I'd give it some time before I threw it away.

trishmsn · Aug 13, 2014

Paramedics perform tasks. I'm not saying that these are unimportant tasks, but they are tasks. There is much more to being a nurse than simply performing tasks. That's the difference.

^This.

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Aug 13, 2014

Paramedics perform tasks. I'm not saying that these are unimportant tasks, but they are tasks. There is much more to being a nurse than simply performing tasks. That's the difference.

And quite frankly, in my experience, paramedics are led to believe they are inches from being an MD, much more important to patient care than nurses, and they have a complex clinical practice that nurses just don't get, and can't hold a candle to.

There are amazing paramedics that save lives. Under medical direction, policies and procedures, and algorythms galore, they perform tasks in a prehospital setting. There are not many paramedics that are able to intubate, start IV's and push meds in many ER settings. There are doctors, residents, CRNA's and the like who do that. And the liability in a hospital setting is concerning. Not to mention who takes the responsibility when something goes wrong--and a paramedic in the ER is delegated by whom, exactly?

OP, there are many, many transport companies who like to have both a medic/RN in air or surface transport. Perhaps this is something you may enjoy. Worth looking into.

In one of your previous posts you mention that as a medic in an ER you do "whatever you want" as far as pushing meds, intubating and the like. On a code team, there needs to be a system, and one person in charge running the code and others need to take direction well. Those who can not take direction and "take over" are far too wild and wooly--and when a patient is coding is NOT the time to have a peeing contest on who has mad skill.

In order to begin to realize what being a nurse is in practice, you may have to step back and start at square one.

AdamantiteEnigma · Aug 13, 2014

@ lub dub At my ER, the medics do pretty much whatever they want. Triage, lines, meds, ekgs, etc. We also do minimal charting. There are a few things that only the nurses do of course. I agree, an ER tech is not the same as an ER RN, I'm simply stating that what I do on a day to day basis is VERY similar to what RNs do. The biggest difference would be the charting. Again, this is why I feel the way I do. Why would someone from the outside be hired over an internal position. They can pay me less than the experienced one. I'm familiar with 'the system'. And again, I have experience, it's just not experience with an RN by the signature.

I haven't had the opportunity yet to read the entire thread. I had to stop here. I promise, I'll look at the rest here in a bit. I feel compelled to post it seems... I don't believe you are being blackballed as you say. Your situation sounds on the surface very common in relation to what I've seen over the years. Please allow me a moment. I, too was an ER tech for many years. Numerous certifications, Current ACLS/PALS, and the kitchen sink so to speak. I have 10 years in that title before becoming an LPN. Been an LPN for 13 years. Taking the difference in titles and such aside for a moment - I can speak to you a little regarding what has happened to you. I've noticed that a couple of others have touched on it as well. But maybe it will help some if you heard it from someone who has walked in similar shoes.

There is a problem that comes into play when you change titles. It's like outgrowing your favorite outfit during adolescence. That great pair of jeans and t-shirt to match isn't a second skin anymore. It restricts your movement, pinches in places you'd rather not discuss. Others give you funny looks when you are otherwise minding your own business and progressing through your day. You start to question what might be wrong, all the while oblivious to blatantly obvious thing just past your nose - that you've grown.

Simple fact of the matter is that what served as a second skin is now impeding your ability to function. And try as you might, it's not the same anymore, and never will be... Suffice to say, it's different now. This becomes problematic in a specialty area like the ED. Because getting a new pair of jeans, and a t-shirt cost money. Perhaps your folks just can't afford that at the moment. Happens to the best, and worst of people. So you've become expensive, and a possible safety risk practically overnight. Because you have the experience, you know the procedures blindfolded. Yet you have no experience doing it in your new set of duds.

It's a perfect gathering of circumstances to invite a potential problem. By changing titles and moving up, you've more or less edged yourself out of your opportunities there. It's time to move on to a bigger, better, opportunity. Yet there are going to be issues. Every hospital I've known of requires that 1 year of Med Surg or Critical Care to qualify stepping into the ED in your current title. It must be done. And I absolutely went into Med Surg kicking and screaming. There was much by way of teeth gnashing on my part. Yet I stayed for two years in that environment. Because I learned so very many things I'd not considered or realized were relevant. And I had to go to another hospital to do it.

It really created a lot of stress for me at the time. But I got through it, and you will as well. Your ED management can only see you as a potential liability now, and they are right. They aren't blackballing you. They are very likely trying to find a way to keep you, but can't. And they don't want to send their unresolved situation onto another management team. In another ED. And at a sister hospital.

You have the skills and the experience using those skills in procedures. What you don't have yet is the experience caring for those patients as a nurse. To make the transition from ancillary to primary, you must move on. If not to Med Surg or Critical Care (likely stepdown) within that hospital, then at another.

You will be a stronger practitioner in the end.

ICU56 · Aug 14, 2014

Im just going to throw my two cents into the ring here. I am a Paramedic. And now have been an RN for almost 2 years.

I was a medic for nearly 8 years. I thought I knew just how ****** nurses were and just how much better I was. I was wrong.

Am I a better nurse than most because I am also a medic? Absolutely. But as experienced as I was as a medic I wasn't experienced as a nurse. I came to find that there was much more below the surface of nursing than just what I saw when I was not one.

Be humble, if your attitude is coming across here without any body language etc. then you can guess that it is probably coming across to those prospective employers as well.

ClearBlueOctoberSky · Aug 14, 2014

OP, like you, I had over a decade of EMS experience and was a paramedic. It helped me during school, yes, but I still had a lot to learn about nursing. In getting a job, it really helped me because I was able to point at my resume and say "I have been consistantly employed as a full-time employee since graduating from my first college." Also, I had an incredibly smaller learning curve when it came to working with patients than some of my classmates; after all, I'd worked with an amazingly large and varied patient population, had seen things that pictures really can't describe, and had a handful of the technical skills required. The one time that I tried the "I'm a paramedic, I know stuff" card I was very politely put in my place by my professor - because I really didn't know the topic from the nursing standpoint. And I deserved it.
However, just because I had that EMS experience it didn't mean that I was a perfect fit for an ER RN job. As a paramedic, what I said may have went in the pre-hospital environment, but the minute I stepped through the doors of a hospital and was working under the direction of the nurses and physicians, I was the low man on the totem pole. They are two completely different environments with two different job descriptions.
Also, I applied to something like 15 jobs before getting one interview. I think that in the end, I applied to closer to 30. The job that I did get? Came about because I had done a clinical rotation there in school and had asked the nurse manager about working there after I graduated and passed the NCLEX. You can refer to experiences that you had as a paramedic, but be careful about how you frame them. "I successfully saved this patient" comes across a lot more negative than "my partner and I were able to successfully defibrillate the patient and return her to a normal sinus rhythm before arriving at the hospital." The first one is self-centered, the second shows teamwork.

Thank you! THIS is what I was trying to convey.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2014

In my resume, I didn't emphasize my hard technical skills, I emphasized the other skills I had developed and honed as a Paramedic: Leadership, Critical Thinking, my ability to work with together with different agencies (think IDT's), communication, etc. etc. My hard technical skills were able to show themselves once I started working.

That's a great point. As an RN in the ED, you are not going to "run" a code and you are not going to intubate. Plus, there is only minimal interest in you technical skills. Lots of people, including myself, come to the ED with shaky IV skills, yet those individuals (including myself) got an RN job in the ED. There is a whole lot more to ED nursing (and nursing in general) than just a set of technical skills. From a non-nurse perspective it may look like ED nursing is just paramedic skills plus a bit more charting. Well, that is not the case. You have to be able to sell yourself on the other stuff--as mentioned: leadership, communication, critical thinking. Plus, dare I mention, customer service...ugh.

dudette10, MSN, RN · Aug 14, 2014

After reading all your posts in this thread, I'm convinced that the NURSES you are interviewing with are turned off by your selling yourself as a paramedic, and they question your ability to successfully transition to the RN role.

Dial it back a notch. Good luck.