Was this a fair consequence?

Yes. You stole and you got caught. From the employers stand point you are thief and they have to wonder what else you took without getting caught and what else you might steal in the future. Almost all employers now a days have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to stealing.

Take it for what it is, learn from it, and try to move on.

Agree with the above poster. The particular item you took and for what purpose is irrelevant.

Yes, it's fair. Theft will get you fired from any type of position, not just nursing.

Sorry,you deserved it.you have shown that you cannot be trusted. Three dollars in needles today, drugs tomorrow?Learn from this and move on. Next time, buy your own supplies.

That sucks. But lesson learned.

Lesson learned. Don't do that again.

I think it was fair, especially in some states you must have a prescription to have a needle & syringe in your posession. The value is irrelevant, you stole from your employer

Yup fair. Some lessons are hard learned.

Well, rather than bash you over the head over a mistake, I'll just say to remember this and learn from it.

Sometimes, I feel I set myself up for failure. I took 3needles from a supply room to give myself my B 12 shots. A nurse turned me in and I was fired. I feel I knew what I did was wrong, but, really lose your job over less than 3.00 dollars. What do y'all think??

This might be a good time to ask yourself if you really are setting yourself up for failure. If so, that's a hole in your armor that you might want to get fixed before venturing out again.

Not trying to put words into your mouth, but you said this in your post, and it made me wonder.

Hope you can move forward.

Well, what DO you think should have happened to you? (And am I the only one wondering if the B12 was stolen too?)

Theft is theft. Whether it be loading up your bag with office supplies, padding your time card or making off with 3 needles from the med room, it is stealing no matter how you look at it or the reasoning behind it.

Learn the valuable lesson being presented to you and wash the "sticky" off of your fingers before your next nursing job =)

The way they see it, if you are willing to steal $3 worth of something, you are willing to steal more. If you can't be trusted not to steal, then what else can you not be trusted with? Plus, some people steal for the "high", so will be more likely to continue to steal higher priced items and increase the risk of getting caught, to maintain that "high". May not be you, but you can see things from their perspective.

If someone you invited into your house just stole some change you had on the counter, how would you feel about having them in your home? How would the trust change?