Denied a job, what would you do?

[jpdlii]

I work in a med/surg neuro floor. I have been working there for 6 years. I recently applied for a charge nurse position. There were four candidates. I have my MSN, a member of American Association for Neuroscience Nurse. I will be sitting for my certification as a neuroscience nurse in July. I am a teacher at a local college two days a week. I have been doing relief charge nurse for the past 4-5 years on the unit. I have also volunteered my time with the American Cancer Society and Epilepsy Foundation. I am also part of the EHR team, where at least once a month I train travel nurses on the use of our EHR. The manager for the unit hired two nurses for the position. Both nurses only have their bachelor's degree. One has a license that is under probation, and he has only done the charge position one time. He has been working on the floor for approximately 3 years. I feel like the hiring process was unfair. I had a great interview, the manager even said that I had a great interview when she gave me the bad news. I really feel unfairly treated and discriminated against. What would you do?

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Management was thinking you are not just over qualified... you will be seeking greener pastures , STAT.

[OCNRN63, RN]

...and as an ADN nurse I was repeatedly chosen for charge positions, and eventually permanent charge, not because of (in spite of?) my degree, but because of my experiences both inside and outside of healthcare. I like to think that many attributes make a good charge; the degree not being the one highest on my personal preferences list.

​I'll be starting an RN-BSN completion program this Fall. When I read about the nurses who "only had their BSNs," it made me sigh. Am I going to go through all this work, just to be considered a nurse who "only has her BSN"?

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

​I'll be starting an RN-BSN completion program this Fall. When I read about the nurses who "only had their BSNs," it made me sigh. Am I going to go through all this work, just to be considered a nurse who "only has her BSN"?

And isn't that the way of it? At one time, diploma nursing (graduates of a hospital school of nursing) was the norm. Then came along the newfangled college degrees. At one time, an ADN opened any door. Now it's a BSN....and one day....who knows? Perhaps the next generation of nurses will have to have PhD.'s just to apply?

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

​I'll be starting an RN-BSN completion program this Fall. When I read about the nurses who "only had their BSNs," it made me sigh. Am I going to go through all this work, just to be considered a nurse who "only has her BSN"?

Only by someone who is fixated on education . . . and not in a good way. A BSN is an achievement -- especially when you're a grownup with grownup responsibilities.

[HappyWife77, BSN, RN]

Or maybe the manager was afraid you'd take her job if you got in as charge? :)

[tytkhat]

I'm inclined to think you are already overqualified for this position and once you are finished with the present goal, you would seek a position more in line with the education you have. I am sure management has thought about the possibility of having to do this over again, too.

[mhy12784]

You never mentioned what your MSN was in.

Was it an MSN in Leadership ? Nursing Administration ? If so then sure this seems pretty funky to me, and I personally would almost certainly start applying elsewhere.

If your MSN is in like informatics, clinical, research based or something not related to admin/leadership then it weighs far less in your behavior.

And the people attacking you for saying "just a BSN" are being absurd. BSN is bare minimum now a days. Graduating with a bachelors degree in ANY field is the equivalent of a highschool diploma 15-20 years ago.

No a degree should not carry more weight than experience by any means. And I dont think people who have been nurses for 20-30-40 years (and dont have a bsn) should need them, nor would benefit from them.

Eitherway the OP had by far the most experience of any candidate mentioned, AND was the only one who went above and beyond to get an advanced degree that (presumably) that actually teaches you important skills for leadership positions that ADN and BSN programs NEVER touch on at all whatsoever (budgets, HR, marketing, finance etc).

Of course I realize that its certainly possible that biases were in the OP's post (after all it is their perspective only ), and its certainly possible that personality issues/the human component could be lacking on their part making them less attractive for the position/leadership (after all your entire job is based around working with the staff).

But I think the OP has every right to be ****** the hell off, and should just use it to motivate them to bring their talents elsewhere.

[OCNRN63, RN]

And isn't that the way of it? At one time, diploma nursing (graduates of a hospital school of nursing) was the norm. Then came along the newfangled college degrees. At one time, an ADN opened any door. Now it's a BSN....and one day....who knows? Perhaps the next generation of nurses will have to have PhD.'s just to apply?

I graduated from a diploma program that was ranked 1st in the state for NCLEX pass rates and quality of graduates. In my area, there was a time that we were treated with great respect from the docs because we'd graduated from "X Hospital School of Nursing." Even the patients would make comments. The school has been closed for 25 years, yet I've had patients, on finding our I'd gone to that school, say, "That was a really good nursing school."

Yeah well. One day you're up, next day you're down.

[OCNRN63, RN]

And isn't that the way of it? At one time, diploma nursing (graduates of a hospital school of nursing) was the norm. Then came along the newfangled college degrees. At one time, an ADN opened any door. Now it's a BSN....and one day....who knows? Perhaps the next generation of nurses will have to have PhD.'s just to apply?

Kind of like the nursing version of "This is Spinal Tap": "Yes, but ours go to eleven." In nursing it would be, "Yes, but our school's applicants have PhDs."

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

I graduated from a diploma program that was ranked 1st in the state for NCLEX pass rates and quality of graduates. In my area, there was a time that we were treated with great respect from the docs because we'd graduated from "X Hospital School of Nursing." Even the patients would make comments. The school has been closed for 25 years, yet I've had patients, on finding our I'd gone to that school, say, "That was a really good nursing school."

Yeah well. One day you're up, next day you're down.

Out of curiosity, why was the school shut down?

To the OP, it does sound like you are FAR too "overqualified for the job" (and take it as a compliment!).

[OCNRN63, RN]

Out of curiosity, why was the school shut down?

To the OP, it does sound like you are FAR too "overqualified for the job" (and take it as a compliment!).

It was an economic move. Administration said that it was too expensive to continue having a school of nursing. They also closed their paramedic school, respiratory school, and one other program which I can't recall at the moment.

The school was based in a Catholic hospital, and around the time the school was closed, the church sold the hospital to a for-profit company. Things were never the same after that. It's very sad to see what was once a very good hospital decline.

It was an excellent school. Unfortunately, times change, and diploma programs are a thing of the past except for a few areas here and there, such as western PA.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Looks like the OP has left the building. Oh, well, she probably wasn't interested in our opinions anyway, once people started disagreeing c her. Happens.