I got my first hospital job September 2014. Cardiac step down.
*****i have a lot of backstory but i'll try to be minimal.*****
i was 7a-7p for about two months but i couldn't keep up. i had some mistakes that made my unit manager question my critical thinking skills. they said i was more "task oriented" than relying on my critical thinking.
while being on that shift, i had pre-surgical pt who had an NG tube. one afternoon i was giving his meds via NG tube. i thought peg tubes were the same so i treated it as such. the tech told me his blood sugar was 34 while i was administering his meds. the meds then got stuck and clogged the tube. my thoughts at that moment was to fix the clog then deal with his blood sugar. my preceptor came into the room upset, "why are you fiddling with his ng tube when you should deal with his blood sugar?!"
another mistake, or more of a priority problem, i needed to prioritize my patients after each shift change report and number the patients verbally to my preceptor. i was nervous and not confident 80% of the time. i feared her 90% of the time. first hospital job, i guess most would be scared. i didn't communicate to her as much as i should have. by not asking questions they were wondering if i was stressed or really that incompetent. because i couldn't prioritize, their level of trust slowly decreased each day.
November 2014, my unit manager decided 7p-7a would be a better pace. i was grateful they demoted me to second shift rather than firing me. but i kept making mistakes.
during training, my preceptor and i were not aware that we were still giving anticoagulant meds a day before surgery. we both got written up.
finally on my own, i thought i was doing fine, but i was still task oriented according to my charge nurse. during shift change one morning, i was rushing to finish. i was drawing labs but forgot to label my tubes. i received a red rule offense and the warning if i commit two more offenses i would be fired.
i don't remember any other mistakes but the final one i'll never forget. a patient was scheduled for surgery. my job was to make sure all preparations and precautions were made before surgery. i thought everything was fine. until a week later. my unit manager sat me down discussing a patient i had sent to surgery who was positive for MRSA. according to the patient file, i was the nurse for that patient and the results stated that I was the nurse who received the positive MRSA result. but there was record that i had reported it to the doctor. the patient proceeded with the surgery without the proper infection precaution. when my unit manager spoke to me about this, i was just getting off shift. my mind was tired and i couldn't remember what happened and why i didn't report it. she asked what is the rationale for reporting this kind of result? i couldn't tell her a proper answer. and THAT right there confirmed to her that my basic nursing skills were incompetent and not fit for this position. She walked away with an upset look on her face. I thought I was "okay." that afternoon, she called and said I was suspended from work until monday (which was about 5 days away). i would then attend a meeting that monday per investigation of my mistake. monday came around and i wasn't just an investigation. i went straight downhill to "you are effective immediately terminated as of this day." the worst part is that my friend who got me this job was working that day and i cried in front of her as i was gathering my things.
I was working for a little over 6 months. my problem is how can I prove to my future employers that I can be rehired? the interview question that always gets me is "what are your reasons for leaving your previous work?" How do I word my answer? How honest should I be?
My mother, who is HR director at her work, believes I should NOT be honest about being fired. Instead, she say I go with the story of how I had an unforeseen family emergency. I tried explaining that to a phone recruiter for a position i applied for. I told him "i had a family emergency on my day off but couldn't be handled in a day. I had to call out the next work day. and eventually call out a second day saying I won't be able to come back to work. i basically admitted to "voluntarily terminating my position at my previous work." i never heard back from that hospital.
my mom thinks that because I didn't work there long enough I don't qualify for that family emergency medical leave thing. idk but that would be feeding into the lie.
so since, i've already lied to hospitals i've applied to, is it a lost cause? like am i not able to apply PROPERLY to another unit at those same hospitals?
i guess i could try to back to the nursing home i worked in prior to the hospital. i left on good terms. i just feel that my brain wasn't thinking critically at a nursing home. how do i know if I'm ready for the hospital if i stay at a nursing home?
Specializes in Infection Prevention, Public Health.
I'm the minority opinion here . It sounds to me like you were given a very poor orientation. Hello, the surgeon should have known about the patient's MRSA infection. Palming that responsibility off on the new grad wasn't nice or appropriate
then you got intimidated and lost your confidence. You are not an unsafe nurse and you haven't been given a fair shake.
Apply for a job anywhere you want to work. Tell them it was not a good fit at the previous position. If they ask for specifics tell them in straight forward manner but don't say you were an unsafe nurse. Talk about what you learned from that experience and then move on.
Best wishes on finding your next nursing position. You are at the beginning of your nursing career and you will go on to be very successful.
Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
I'm the minority opinion here . It sounds to me like you were given a very poor orientation. Hello, the surgeon should have known about the patient's MRSA infection. Palming that responsibility off on the new grad wasn't nice or appropriate
then you got intimidated and lost your confidence. You are not an unsafe nurse and you haven't been given a fair shake.
Apply for a job anywhere you want to work. Tell them it was not a good fit at the previous position. If they ask for specifics tell them in straight forward manner but don't say you were an unsafe nurse. Talk about what you learned from that experience and then move on.
Best wishes on finding your next nursing position. You are at the beginning of your nursing career and you will go on to be very successful.
However if she was terminated from ABC Hospital, likely not eligible for rehire. When she applied at XxZ hospital she lied and said she left ABC as a constructive resignation due to a family emergency. When XxZ HR did due diligence by verifying she was employed they discovered she didn't constructively resign due to a family emergency she was terminated for cause. (Had she told XxZ the truth she may have been given a chance, especially if she followed the advice above) XxZ pulled her from consideration and possibly marked her has do not hire for falsifying an application. If she applies for another position at XxZ she will likely be rejected.
Options now:
1. Apply to another hospital but tell the truth as outlined above
2. Apply to long term acute care, acute rehab or subacute rehab still high acuity but not as intense as acute impatient
3. If you are diligent in LTC you will most definitely not lose critical thinking. You need to be alert for subtle changes before a resident becomes acutely ill or an acute exacerbation of a chronic illness. Many are acutely ill or injured and require a higher level of care than in the past. Years ago these patients would be acute inpatient not any more
sunkistisawesom
3 Posts
so since, i've already lied to hospitals i've applied to, is it a lost cause? like am i not able to apply PROPERLY to another unit at those same hospitals?
i guess i could try to back to the nursing home i worked in prior to the hospital. i left on good terms. i just feel that my brain wasn't thinking critically at a nursing home. how do i know if I'm ready for the hospital if i stay at a nursing home?
thank you for all your help!!