Delayed Graduation and has a new job. How do I tell the nurse manager?

[Elsii]

I'm an A an B student at a prestigious nursing school. I have had excellent clinical reviews and landed my dream job about a month ago. I told the nurse manager that I could begin the position at the begining of July.

Our school has a HESI exam which they require a 900 to proceed to practicum. I was 4 points shy of the required score. I spent months self preparing for this. I'm simply not very good at standardized exams, as some of my fellow peers passed without studying. These people made the same or lower grades than I did in my coursework. My school has no sympathy for me and the several other students they failed to prepare for this test. So, now I have to spend my summer in an HESI remediation course and wont even take that particular test again. Even though HESI says that an 850 is what correlates to passing the NCLEX, my school pretends that my score is unacceptable.

Now I wont be able to start my job until the first week of August. I'm not sure how to tell the nurse manager without appearing as if I'm less than adequate for the position. How should I approach this? I really want to keep this job.

THANKS :)

[llg, PhD, RN]

Delivering bad news is never pleasant, but it is a part of life that we, as nurses have to learn to deal with. There is no way to tell her that appears "good." All you can do is be prompt, honest, and straightforward. Simply state the facts, apologize for any inconvenience to her or to her unit, and express your hopes that she will still consider you a viable prospective employee.

You can't control her reaction to the news. All you can do is show her that you can handle it professionally and hope for the best. With any luck, you can impress her with your professionalism in the way you handle the situation. Don't delay. Don't play games. Don't blame other people. etc. Demonstrate that you can handle a difficult situation with grace and dignity. That's all you can do. Good luck to you.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

you are not the first to be in this position. Your manager will understand. Sometimes people graduate, are hired, then fail NCLEX. It happens and is never pleasant. Ask if there is a position in an unlicensed capacity till you re-test. Or ask what are the options - bet the mgr has come upon this issue before.

So sorry about your score!!!! You must be really bummed out

[smileymimi]

One month? They can wait!

Don't worry, it will work out. =)

[Elsii]

Thanks for the advice. I hope it all works out. I'll let you know!

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

Let her know ASAP. I delayed my start date at my first job and it was not a problem. LLG is right. Prompt honest communication is the key.

[Elsii]

I wanted to let everyone know that I did speak with the hospital about my delay and that there is no problems. Thanks for all of the advice!

[llg, PhD, RN]

Good for you! I'm glad it went well.