Fired but asked to resign!

[RNStudy]

Hello fellow nurses,

Its been a while since posting on ALLNURSES.COM, however I feel compelled to post at this time.

Just recently (last Friday the 29th of Jan ) I was FIRED or better yet asked to resign from my position as a PEDS RN at a local hospital where I had been employed at for 2 years.

They fired me on the grounds that I had disregarded the attendance policy.

What baffles me is that I have seen several nurses and staff disobeying our attendance policy numerous times, by clocking in late or even calling out.

I feel that I was terminated more so for personality conflicts with staff in upper management. I am young and attractive, I get lots of compliments from patients and family.

They fired me and said Im a great nurse but hospital policy, blah blah blah on attendance.

I really feel discriminated against. Either because of race or maybe because of politics. All I know was I was terminated unjustly.

There was a nurse who even hooked up old IV tubing to a new patient thinking it was that patients tubing. Then come to find out that old tubing belonged to a patient who had HIV....

This RN is still working there!!!! Im hurt and feel as if I was wronged....

Can anyone give me any insite?

Maybe an opinion?

Thanks

Maria

[FlyingScot, RN]

DID you violate the attendance policy?

[DuluthMike]

Did you violate the attendance policy?

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Your gonna want to make sure you keep your ability to apply for unemployment insurance. No joke.

[mustlovepoodles, RN]

Did you violate the attendance policy? I think before you go right to the race card or "politics" you need to look at your part in this. If you violated the attendance policy, they can fire you. It doesn't matter what "everyone else" is doing. You can scream foul to the mountain tops, but if your attendance is in violation that's all they need.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Here's some insight: the number one reason people in all fields get fired is tardiness/absences. Why? Because it's objective. There's no messy judgement or personal assessment about performance or other nebulous issues -- the time on the clock is what it is, nothing more, nothing less.

If that is the express reason given for your termination (presuming that it's based on facts, backed up with appropriate timekeeping documentation), you're unfortunately not going to be able to fight this. Your perception, rightly or wrongly, that interpersonal issues went into the decision will not change the outcome.

An unfair fact of life: when decisions like this get made, the best you can do for yourself is to take advantage of the opportunity to resign, so that you don't face your job search with the hurdle of having been involuntarily terminated.

Good luck to you.

[RNStudy]

I was late be a whopping 2 minutes. So, yes I did violate the attendace policy.

Was I held at a different standard than other employees? YES. Many many employees are tardy. But in my instance it was grounds for termination. Again, I state it had more to do with personality conflicts.

[RNStudy]

I, unfortunately, completely agree. I WAS late and it was a policy. Though overlooked for certain employees.

I have learned a lesson.

[mamamerlee, LPN]

It's unusual for someone to be fired for being tardy once by only 2 minutes. What aren't you saying?

[llg, PhD, RN]

How many times were you late? How many times were you sick? I doubt they fired you for being 2 minutes late only 1 time in 2 years.

[mustlovepoodles, RN]

I was late be a whopping 2 minutes. So, yes I did violate the attendace policy.

Was I held at a different standard than other employees? YES. Many many employees are tardy. But in my instance it was grounds for termination. Again, I state it had more to do with personality conflicts.

I guess you could try to prove it, but I doubt you'll get anywhere beating that dead horse. They fired you for proveable, objective reasons. Take it all with a grain of salt and look inside yourself to see what *your* part is in all this. THen you can move on and not repeat the same issues. Like picking a new boyfriend--if you keep choosing an abusing jerk, eventually you'll end up with *surprise!* an abusing jerk. THe same thing goes for employers. Good fit is everything *and so is punctuality*

[eriksoln, BSN, RN]

I was going to add, the fact that others are not being fired for the same reason is of no importance. When a traffic cop pulls you over for speeding, the argument "But I was only doing 10mph over the limit and that guy was doing more" NEVER gets you outta the ticket.

As far as "personality issues" being involved, I had a long hard road to learn that this is, unfortunately the case a lot of times. I used to be one of those people who busted their tail all day at work, but I tended to be short with management and when they messed up........I let em know it (when I was younger and worked as a landscaper/restaurant). End result was, I was kept around for my production but not well liked by management. So, as soon as I crossed the line elsewhere, I was let go. Meanwhile, other people who were not half as fast as me and had committed the same infraction a million times............stayed. In the end, I learned fitting in and going with the flow (for the most part) will keep you your job long before production will. Thats just how it goes. The dishwasher who washes six loads an hour but has friction will be let go before the one who washes 3 loads an hour with no friction.....every time.